Use The Camera You Got

The last guy at work

Those pictures look great. What camera do you have? Anyone involved with photography hates those words, and always feels that it somehow cheapens what they do. There are a few aspects of photography which make for better pictures of course, and the camera is just part of it. However, let me say something. If you give the average photographer  a better camera they are going to get better pictures. There I said it, and it is true. If it wasn't true why wouldn't a pro just shoot everything on an iPhone? Obviously the pro can get a lot more out the camera than the typical amateur, but better camera equals better pictures. I always acknowledge that I like better cameras. Sometimes it is cool to say I used an iPhone, especially when I get a really good picture. However, most people really aren't looking for a true work of art, they just want a picture of their friends, or a picture that looks cool and reminds them of a good time from the past. If that were not true Instagram or Camera Awesome wouldn't be so popular. When I am asked about what camera to buy, I first ask questions about money to spend, is it for a special occasion, for pictures of family and friends, nature photography, etc. In other words, when choosing a camera you need to think about how you are going to use that camera. Pocket cameras tend to get used more than larger cameras, except for special events like going to your first African safari, or your first visit to Australia. Many times I head out of the house with my Kodak Z1485 IS. It fits in my pocket and I can take a few pictures or movies if in the mood. I take my Nikon D90 if my intent is to "take pictures". If I feel like taking a picture and I don't have a camera on me I use the my iPhone. I usually throw an iPhone picture on Facebook to tell a story or provide a mood. Like heading outside to get in the car and it is covered in snow. I can say it's cold out or I can show the snow covered car. However, I put iPhone pictures on my photo site as well. Heading to the airport in Sao Paulo the iPhone provides information to the viewer of what they can expect to see. Let's face it, nobody really believes that every place you go on this planet looks perfect, or something edgy can only be shown in black and white. The main thing is to use whatever camera you have and start capturing memories.

In route to the Sao Paulo Airport

Taken with my iPhone 4

The true secret to great pictures is that you only show people your great pictures

Mercalli V2 Pro

Mercalli V2 - More than just a stabilizer

Mercalli V2 Pro

Important facts about Mercalli and V2 Improvements:

• 3D stabilization of all 3 camera axis
• Fully automatic rolling-shutter correction of jello/skew/wobble effects
• Available Mercalli SAL stand alone application offers features not possible in a plug-in solution
• Lower need for zoom-in than other post-capture stabilization products
• Dynamic camera mode retains the flavor of the video during stabilization
• Automatic scene change detection allows one stabilization pass for several scenes
• Eliminates jitter in video, even in zoom/pan moves
• Smoother results for all video records, from Handycam until Steadycam
• Unlimited Multi-core CPU support for super-fast renderings
• Full resolution preview for fast and efficient fine-tuning
• No need for keyframes or time-consuming tracking points
• Superior ease of use: Load video – stabilize – go!
• Full 32-/64-Bit Support for the Standalone application as well plug-ins for popular editing solutions

I have been using the Mercalli plugin from proDad since it was introduced, and I have had great success with it. The fact that I could use it as a plugin with my NLE made it very convenient to use, and it worked great. I have used both Mercalli and Virtual Dub, but I have always felt that Mercalli gave me a slightly better final result. Of course that may be subjective on my part, but there are a few others that agree. This past year I decided to go total 64bit and not bother installing the 32bit NLE. As a result I needed to update to Mercalli V2 Pro which comes in 32bit and 64bit versions. proDad has done a great job provide several versions of the Pro stabilizer for the cost of the upgrade (32bit, 64bit and a Stand Alone Version).

John RoFrano has done an excellent job reviewing Mercalli V2 Pro. No sense rehashing what John has so thoroughly already done.

Warning: You may need to alter your work flow if you find yourself needing to stabilize a clip. For example if you split the clip in to two clips each segment will need to have the Mercalli plugin applied. That could result in a different border/zoom for each clip. The seamless flow between the split clip could cause what appears to be a jump cut, because the two clips most assuredly will have a different zoom (caused by the settings and unsteadiness for that unique clip).

In John's video he shows you the zoom change between Mercalli 1 and 2. In my clip I decided to use the borders option which does not zoom. This example allows you to see how much more of the picture Mercalli 2 displays than older V1 when applying an almost exact same amount of stabilization.

In the above video clip Mercalli Expert is applied to the left half of the video and Mercalli V2 Pro is applied to the right half. I used the border option so no zoom would be applied. As you can see the stabilization is very close to matching for each half, but notice how much more of the image can be seen on the right side using V2. Well worth the investment! I was able to upgrade for $111.20. After the purchase it took about 6 hours to get the license key and links to download the Mercalli software.

In the video below Hyderabad traffic was captured on a Sony HDR-XR520. I then applied Mercalli V2, color correction, unsharp mask and a small amount of saturation.

Traffic Stabilized by Mercalli V2 Pro

Roll Compensation: 50%, Horizontal Tilt Compensation: 50%, Vertical Tilt Compensation: 50%, Glide Camera w/Rolling-Shutter Compensation, Pan Smoothing: 40%, Avoid Border set at 30% zoom.

Traffic Stabilized Original Vs Stabilized

Here is a split screen comparison of the stabilization.

Traffic Stabilized on raw footage Vs Stabilized (Mercalli V2 Pro).

To see stabilized video from my Nikon D90 using Mercalli V2 Pro Stand Alone follow this link.

Nikon D90 Side by Side Edit Comparison

A clip shot with a Nikon D90. On the left is the raw footage. On the right is the Vegas Pro 10 version. NewBlue Gradient "Bluer Skies" and Split Screen were used for the comparison shot. Mercalli V2 Pro SAL was used to stabilize the shot and the output was imported into the Vegas project. I shot this at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, India on January 26, 2010.

Nikon D90 Side by Side Edit Comparison

A hand held clip shot with a Nikon D90 at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, India on January 26, 2010. I stabilized the clip using Mercalli V2 Pro SAL and then imported that into my NLE. If you have read any of the comments on my other pages you know I like blue skies. The sky wasn't blue enough for me so I decided that I would try out NewBlue V3 "Gradient Tint Bluer Skies". On the left is the raw footage. On the right is the Bluer Skies version. It isn't as simple as drag and drop and it takes some experimenting to achieve the results you see. While I was at it I decided to punch up the saturation a little bit and sharpen the image. You could make the sky bluer using saturation, but the amount of blue I wanted would have impacted the other blues in the scene, and made for a very unnatural look. To achieve the bluer sky I needed to use the gradient.  The D90 doesn't auto focus and my eyes aren't so good anymore. It looked in perfect focus when I shot it!

Here is an earlier version of the video without split screen or stabilization applied.

Ramoji Film City Main Ticket Gate - Hyderabad, India

 

8mm Conversion Thoughts

Me editing a home movie in 1976

I was surfing the net today looking at the "how to" videos for film conversion (16mm, 8mm and Super 8) and was amazed at what I saw. Obviously you can convert your films however you what, but personally I would never put one of my films into an old projector and watch it. Too many dangers with that. People can say whatever they want, but I have seen film sprocket holes just shredded by projectors because the film was just breaking apart. Next comes the big burn hole in a couple of frames from the old "hot" bulbs. That still brings on flashbacks for me. Projectors converted for film transfer use "cool" light sources that also distribute the light evenly over the film rather than the typical hot spot you see when projecting film from a standard projector. Treat your film as fragile and valuable. Please do not capture your video off of a projected image on a wall or sheet of paper. That's like filming your wedding on your cell phone.

Typically the biggest problem projecting your old films is splices coming apart, and it isn't unusual to see scotch tape used instead of splicing tape. Film can be pretty dirty as well. Cleaning it helps for a better transfer so you don't see all that "stuff" clinging to the film. The Buddy Rich film on this site had a scotch tape splice on it that I didn't touch. I had to edit around it rather than try and fix it. It is also why you have to inspect the film before you project it. Over the years your film can have mold embedded into it that cannot be removed. There are a few ways that you can work around this after the film is digitized, follow this link to read more. The prep work done before converting helps for a better end product. For an overview of transfer methods see my Film Conversions page.

I really enjoy taking one of my old Super 8 films and bring it back from the coma it has been in since the 70's. Ask your parents and other family members what film they may have stuck in the corner of their house and get started bring them back from the brink.

Super 8 Film Before

This is the "Corvette Canton Awards Banquet 1978" video as it appears on the physical film. It has shifted to red and a lot of grain is present. Several techniques were used to bring the film back to its original condition. See the next video for the finished product.

This Super 8mm film was shot under poor lighting conditions at an awards banquet in 1978.  It isn't unusual to see film in this condition after 30 years of storage. Typically films made in the 50's and 60's are actually in better condition than films made in the 70's. However, it is hard to predict what the true condition of the film is until you transfer it. During digital capture the camera was adjusted to minimize the red shift, but as you can see it didn't help. This was a Super 8 sound film, probably Ektachrome (introduced in 1971). In the film you can hear the camera motor running. Something you would never notice because typically you hear the projector which is much louder.

This is a digitally converted Super 8 sound movie from 1978. The original film had begun to deteriorate and this is a restored version. No work has been done for stabilization or sound clean-up in this example.

This is after applying fixes in post. There is still some work that can be done on the audio. How good the fixed video will look is very dependent on the quality of the original. Low light and the high amount of grain makes the task very difficult. There is a lot more editing that could be done to this film to improve its flow and make it more watchable.

This is a video of my friend Roger Henry who passed away just before his 35th birthday. This is the very first post I made on my Blog and I dedicate it to him.