Category: FocusPulling Original

12 June 2017

5.7k VR Video Footage of Garmin VIRB 360 Camera

Written by Paul Moon

This is my first test of the new Garmin VIRB 360 Camera. So far, it ain’t goin’ well! The product is fresh from the factory, and I checked its lenses that are spotless/never touched, but these chromatic aberrations and overall foggy smudginess around the highlights are a big problem.

Aiming to push the camera to its maximum specs, I used the so-called “RAW” mode that doesn’t stitch in-camera. I also selected the Neutral color profile, to protect the highlights and accommodate later color grading. The reported ISO of the clip was quite low in this environment (a little over 100), but the digital noise and compression artifacts make the high resolution of this product (its best feature) almost meaningless.

Because the device is incapable of stitching its peak 5.7k resolution in-camera, and because Garmin provides no solution for dealing with that footage (Garmin’s VIRB Edit software fails to mention anything about this), I needed to use Autopano Video for manual stitching. Weirdly, although that program’s Fisheye Lens stitching parameter worked surprisingly well, this camera’s metadata reporting a 6mm focal length actually performed poorly: Autopano Video only stitched accurately after manual entry of 8mm; and then, all that was left was to level the horizon (easy).

Because Adobe Premiere is still in the stone ages when it comes to VR, there is no possible way to export 360-degree equirectangular videos at any higher resolution than 4k in H.264. Thus I could not do any editing to the clips and needed to export them straight from Autopano Video into ProRes format at the full 5760 x 2880 resolution that you are able to see here at this clip via YouTube. (The official H.264 spec is ultra-conservative, and Adobe obeys it, by preventing any exports beyond 4k, even though outside conversion — with further generational loss — is possible using other less conservative encoders like FFMPEG, which is itself a non-GUI command line dinosaur.)

I also ran a test using the in-camera stitching at the slightly lower 4k resolution (standard ultra-HD at 3840 x 2160 resolution). Embedded below (uploaded straight from the camera file, without any further encoding), it doesn’t look much better, further proving that the resolution gain of 5.7k is dramatically offset by poor optical quality, from the lenses down to the sensor.

I’m losing interest fast in this once-promising new product, but a full review will get published eventually here via sister site www.VRcine.org. Now, all eyes are on the Yi Technology 360 camera, which I hope to receive soon…

June 12, 2017 FocusPulling Original, FocusPulling Original Video, VRcine 2 Comments

08 March 2017

A Guide to Vimeo’s New Virtual Reality (VR) 360 2D/3D Video Support

Written by Paul Moon

Vimeo seems to be on a tear these days. They finally got their Android app up to snuff last year, and now they’ve added virtual reality (VR) capability to their platforms. Another way of looking at it is, they’ve finally caught up to YouTube. But here, I’ll make some distinctions and try to map out what we can expect from this exciting new feature.

Generally speaking, Vimeo wins filmmakers’ hearts in comparison to YouTube for a few reasons. First and most important, their video compression codecs are simply better. Naturally, in order to manage the upload traffic and storage at YouTube that’s orders of magnitude more than at Vimeo, YouTube videos simply look bad because they skimp on storage space. (Sidebar: it’s a well-known secret that if you render your footage into a 4k-UHD file, even if your target resolution or source camera resolution was 1080p, then when you upload it to YouTube, 1080p playback looks much, much better than if you just uploaded a 1080p file straight up.) Another gigantically better feature at Vimeo is the ability to upload a newer version of a video file at any time, without losing the original URL (i.e., without breaking the link that’s already disseminated onto the Interwebs), and also without losing the existing play counts/likes/analytics/SEO. At YouTube, even a tiny revision to your video makes you start from scratch. Lastly, the simple fact is, there are less trolls and negativity in comments at Vimeo. I don’t like politics, but can’t avoid noticing an irony: that the official color of YouTube is red, and the official color of Vimeo is blue…

I’m excited about Vimeo adding VR capability because it’s something I’m tiptoeing into. Problem is, the capture technology still stinks miserably. It’s something I wrote about extensively in an article here, Five Reality Checks on Virtual Reality (and introducing: VRcine). Please give it a look! You’ll see that I wrote it on the occasion of creating a new community here called VRcine: I felt like there was an unmet niche for reporting news, sharing samples and discussing VR from the perspective of cinematographers who are treating the new technology more as an art form than a marketing gizmo. You can sign up for the newsletter here, like the Facebook page here, follow on twitter @VRcine here — and starting today: join the Vimeo Group here.

Anyway, here’s how it works. I’ve uploaded a sample, which is so far my favorite VR video that I’ve created (a live performance by the Washington Bach Consort, conducted by my good friend J. Reilly Lewis who untimely passed away last June). Once you upload the file (up to 8k resolution), if it has metadata flagging the video as VR, Vimeo reads it and you’re mostly good to go. However, you could still output a video file without that metadata flag, and manually verify the right settings. It’s under the “Video file” sub-menu at any uploaded clip’s Settings. In the screen grab above, I’ve emphasized the spot where you can toggle-on 360, and also clarify whether it’s “Monoscopic” (i.e., 2D) or “Stereoscopic” (i.e., 3D). One thing I haven’t been able to test or verify — possibly troubling — is that the only stereoscopic option is “top/bottom layout.” The simple problem is that the majority of 3D VR clips are actually in a left/right layout. It remains to be seen whether this is a shortcoming that Vimeo plans to imminently address. I’ve asked them.

Did you notice the “Advanced 360 settings” link? It takes you to the above screen, where you can play back your uploaded clip and make adjustments to field of view and the pitch/yaw orientation. This is superior to YouTube’s platform. You can also see that, besides the Google Cardboard capability of using a headset and just turning your head (Oculus Rift and HTC Vive compatibility is coming soon), or clicking-and-dragging a mouse on the video frame to twirl around, you can also use your keyboard’s arrow keys.

One of my biggest complaints about Vimeo was that they resisted updating their Android app for over a year, and it was practically useless with bugs and feature deficiencies. (Their culture is clearly Apple-centric, built on the false and yet sorta true presumption that the creative world is all-Apple, even though smartphone penetration statistics show that iOS is a tiny minority of the world marketplace.) That said, Vimeo has virtuously added VR capability to their Android app in tandem with their iOS app. They don’t exactly deserve plaudits for being diligent that way, but it’s nice to see.

Isn’t this great? Congrats to the Vimeo team for getting it together. Now let’s all twirl and get motion sickness at better bitrates.

Here’s the link where Vimeo announced adding VR, and here’s their collection of blog posts teaching how to shoot VR.

March 8, 2017 FocusPulling Original, VRcine Leave a Comment

02 March 2017

Introducing the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro

Written by Paul Moon

Blackmagic Design just introduced their new URSA Mini Pro, expected to become available on March 9 via this link in the United States, and/or this link in Europe. It combines their prior URSA Mini 4.6k with more broadcast camera features, and more manual controls. Here’s a summary of its key additions:

1. Three built-in ND filters
2. PL, B4, Canon EF and (coming soon) Nikon lens mounts
3. Physical on/off toggle switch
4. Auto white balance mode
5. Black-and-white LCD on side panel
6. Still frame capture and audio channels 3 and 4 functions coming after beta testing
7. Redundancy for many of the most important buttons
8. Both CFast and SD dual card slots (total of 4)
9. Costs $5,995 and is available now
10. URSA users can upgrade to this camera for $3,495

My initial thoughts: these days the trend is towards continuously adjustable electronic ND filters, but having at least three neutral density choices in this camera is a nice feature (and seems more reliable as a physical element). Apparently the Nikon mount will come mid-way into this year, but it’s an interesting new addition to the Blackmagic camera line-up to those who swear by that lens format which has direct aperture controls, and a flange distance that’s maximally compatible with other cameras.

I love the clever idea of adding an old-skool physical toggle switch for power! It’s true, especially as these cameras get more sophisticated, you don’t want to hold down buttons and wait to confirm that the power-up sequence is really happening: you just flip the URSA Mini Pro’s switch, go do other stuff, and rest assured it’s gonna get there!

That full-blown color LCD panel on the side of prior models always seemed like overkill (and sucking more battery life away, for minimal gains). A monochrome LCD panel, which also can be seen in more lighting conditions including bright sunlight, is a great design evolution. Back to the basics!

Adding two additional audio channels (3 and 4) will be a welcomed feature; not sure why they claim it needs “more beta testers,” but when it arrives, that will keep pace with the URSA Mini Pro’s competitors, including the Sony PXW-FS7 — while there’s a strong argument to be made that Blackmagic’s color science, and actual dynamic range in practice, are the best in the industry, especially better than Sony’s. Also, a still frame grab button feature they mentioned in association with the forthcoming 3rd and 4th audio channels will be nice too, but nothing you can’t simply do in post where you’re more likely to do it with one click.

Blackmagic seems to want to carve a niche for itself as making the most durable cameras, including an all-metal design, and I like the thought of making multiple buttons control a single feature, for purposes of redundancy just-in-case. This is the first time I’ve seen a manufacturer tout it as a feature, and literally deliver on it.

Because I’m a cheapskate and stubborn about adopting new standards when they’re unnecessary, perhaps the most exciting news (in comparison to the URSA Mini and URSA) is the addition of dual SD card slots, as an alternative to the still-bloated cost of using CFast cards (though they offer dual slots for that too). Blackmagic Design warns that you’ll need UHS-II speed ratings for SD cards, and 4K RAW won’t be possible onto SD cards, but (let’s be honest) most Blackmagic users in practice actually shoot in ProRes, so the cost (and storage) savings of now being able to use SD cards for 4K-UHD is killer.

I wasn’t an original URSA buyer, but it seems really generous to me that Blackmagic offers this new $5,995 camera to verifiable URSA owners for only $3,495. Blackmagic says that this camera is “available now” — a huge paradigm shift from prior behavior, when we waited for months! — and this B&H link says expected availability is March 9, so you can pre-order now to get it earliest; or maybe Adorama will deliver first; will see. (European customers can order from CVP.com at this link.)

Keep watching our Blackmagic Cinema Camera User Group on Facebook and on Twitter @bmccusers for more information as it arrives! Here’s the official page for the product at the manufacturer’s website. And here’s my gallery of pictures from their live presentation:

March 2, 2017 Blackmagic Cinema Cameras, Camera User Groups, FocusPulling Original Leave a Comment