At the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, NHK has demonstrated just how much image quality, in a high-resolution video feed, depends on things other than image resolution.
We are aware that the above is a remarkably vague way of putting things, but we figured it wouldn't be nice to spoil the surprise by mentioning the 8K image quality right off the bat.
Nevertheless, this is what the demo consisted of: a camera capable of capturing video in a resolution of 8K, according to Engadget.
8K is the short term for 7680 × 4320 pixels (33.2 megapixels) resolution, whose X / Y pixel count is twice as good as that of 4K (3840 x 2160) and four times better than that of Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels).
For photographs, a camera doesn't really need anything more than a good enough image sensor and decent zoom and data writing (on the memory card) capabilities.
Video recording depends on more than these factors though. In fact, the capture rate is at least as important, especially at high resolutions.
To show this, NHK held the demo we've already mentioned. We don't have the specs of the product, and we probably won't get them, but we do know that capture rate is of 120 Hz.
That is twice as fast as on normal models, and the difference between 120 Hz and 60 Hz became more than obvious when filming rapid-motion footage, or when panning the camera.
Long story short, sports events and camera movement netted a much blurrier picture with the 60 Hz capture rate, while the 120 Hz camera did much better. Only during slow-moving scenes, or when filming static objects, was the difference negligible.
That said, 8K as a consumer-available technology is still ages away, so the issue of capture rate will more than likely be surpassed by the time 4K becomes mainstream.
