Messages

76

Chronos User Discussion / Re: transfer video to computer via code

« on: August 13, 2019, 12:10:05 PM »

The error basically means the connection to the camera failed on port 22.

Can you try to use ssh to connect to the camera? PuTTY is a great windows tool for that. Or use BASH directly if you're on windows 10.
From there on troubleshooting is much easier.

Good day. I had the same problem as a user above. Now I connected to camera via SSH as a root. What can/should I do now in order to enable the script provided above to work? (The main task for me is to get the images/videos from the camera when I need via python script, if this information is necessary)

Run the script on the computer, not the camera. You don't have to log in via SSH separately.  The script will do that for you.
Logging in via ssh might be useful as a debugging step if the script isn't working.

77

Chronos User Discussion / Re: 2x2 binning on Chronos 1.4.

« on: August 12, 2019, 05:06:08 PM »

It is supported by the sensor, but not in the camera's software yet. As far as I know, it will be in a future software version.
Once it is supported, cameras with monochrome sensors will be able to turn binning on or off in software.
To use 2x2 binning on a color sensor, the LUX330 would be needed; it can't just be changed in software because of the larger pixel size on the color filter.

78

Software Dev / Re: Chronos V0.3.2-RC1

« on: August 09, 2019, 03:32:41 PM »

Thanks for finding the bug.
I just tried to reproduce it on my camera, and it actually happened with all the save formats that I tried, not just DNG. Also, the frame was copied from whichever frame is currently visible, not necessarily from the end of the selected region.

79

Software Dev / Re: Chronos V0.3.2-RC1

« on: August 02, 2019, 01:11:42 PM »

Thanks for the feedback, guys. We've been able to reproduce both the focus peaking lag and the issue with reverting settings and are working on fixes.
About reverting settings - it's actually OK to shut down the camera right when the shutting down screen is displayed - no need to wait.

80

General high-speed discussion / Re: Speed Calculations

« on: July 29, 2019, 08:38:38 AM »

For the calculation of the speed accurately. First, take two successive images from your video. you can use "free video to jpg converter" to extract every frame.

The Chronos can already safe individual frames, no need for external  tools here. However a firmware upgrade might be required to do this.

Yes. Also as a TIFF Format, but I found it less quality than h.254
[/quote

In what way was the quality lower for TIFF? The TIFF images are uncompressed, so they should be higher quality.

81

Software Dev / Re: Chronos V0.3.2-RC1

« on: July 26, 2019, 01:38:49 AM »

Great News!

Do we have to factory calibrate after applying this update or just use it as is?  Will test this weekend. Thank you!

No, it's not necessary to factory calibrate after the update.  That feature really just does black cal for all of the standard resolutions.

82

Software Dev / Chronos V0.3.2-RC1 and RC2

« on: July 25, 2019, 09:42:07 PM »

Here is Chronos 1.4 Software V0.3.2-RC2. Do not use this software version if you are capturing something that is not easily replicated.

    +----------------------------------+
   ++                                  ++
   |   Chronos V0.3.2-RC2 Changelog     |
   ++                                  ++
    +----------------------------------+

Notable Changes:
 - Automatic ADC calibration during black calibration, which should reduce column banding across a wider temperature range.
 - Add a storage tab to the util menu to view, eject and format the attached storage devices.
 - Speed boost at most resolutions, with a top speed of 1069fps at 1280x1024, and 40420fps at 320x96.
 - Configurable automated power-on and off depending on the AC adaptor status.
 - Option to disable the ring buffer when in segmented recording mode.

Minutiae:
 - Factory black calibration is now user accessible from the Factory tab of the util window.
 - The software update button has been moved to the storage tab of the util window.
 - Shipping mode to disable power-on by battery until an AC adaptor is attached.
 - Add a watchdog to reboot the camera in case of a power-on boot failure.
 - Display descriptive error strings instead of number on failure.
 
Minutiae (relative to RC1):
 - End of recording from lack of free space generates a warning dialog.
 - Revert to a valid resolution when focus is lost while editing the H/V resolution widgets.

Fixed Bugs:
 - Gated burst record mode may lock up after several trigger edges.
 - Gated burst record mode unreliable when trigger debounce is enabled
 - Memory leak in the M3 video coprocessors which could lead to a crash after lots of H.264 encoding.
 - Ignore video which was recorded during zero-time black calibration (which happens after changing resolution).
 - Stuttering issue on the playback window on new production LCD modules.
 - Fixed deadlock in camera when restoring user settings from external media.

Fixed Bugs (relative to RC1):
 - Corrupted overlay text at narrow resolutions.
 - Video stream would remain in playback when starting recording via auto-record.
 - Opening and closing the white balance menu can lead to an unexpected change of the custom preset.
 - Bug in calculating the trigger delay on boot (segmented mode only).
 - Ensure a minimum of 0.25 bits/pixel when encoding h.264 video.
 - Crash can occur when saving extremely short videos.
 - Lag when focus peaking or zebra stripes (focus and exposure aids) are enabled
 - On the save file settings window, the bitrate as listed above the resolution may be lower than the actual bitrate, if Saved File Framerate is lower than 60fps

Fixed since V0.3.2-beta-6:
 - Changes to focus aid or exposure aid (zebra stripes) would have no effect until resolution is changed.
 - Changes to exposure may be overwritten during black calibration.
 - Bad image quality at 336x120 resolution
 - Util window, storage tab - bottom of text cut off if device has multiple partitions
 - Factory black cal (black cal all resolutions) would get overridden by old user black cal, if a user had done their own black cal, even before.

Known bugs still in V0.3.2-RC2:
 - Video system may crash after about 200-300 saves, on average. (bug present in RC1 and RC2)

Updating Your Camera
====================
 - Extract the `.zip` file into the root directory of a FAT32 formatted USB drive.
 - Turn on your camera and insert the USB drive into the USB/eSATA combo port, not the one labeled 'OTG'.
 - From the main window, tap the `Util` button to open the utility window.
 - As a precaution, tap the `Backup Calibration Data` button on the utility window before starting the update.
    - When the backup is completed, a pop-up window will be displayed.
    - Tap the `Done` button to close the pop-up window.
 - From the utility window, tap the `Apply Software Update` button to begin the software update.
    - A warning message will be displayed, tap the `Yes` button to confirm and begin the update.
    - If a pop-up that says 'No software update found' is displayed, even when a USB stick containing the update in the correct location is connected, reboot the camera and try again.
 - During the update, the screen will go blank and an `Applying Update` message will be displayed.
 - After approximately 60 seconds, the update will be complete and the camera will restart.

83

Chronos User Discussion / Re: please help if you know how to make a trigger cable

« on: July 23, 2019, 01:47:17 PM »

What's your configuration in Trigger/IO Settings? To use the BNC as a trigger, you should have one of the pullups enabled for IO 1, and the trigger should be set to Record End Trigger.

84

General high-speed discussion / Re: Problems with Triggering in Exposure Trigger and Gated Trigger

« on: June 25, 2019, 02:08:37 PM »

That's right, in Normal record mode, Shutter Gating should work fine to control exposure time and frame rate.  I will clarify this in the next iteration of the manual.

85

Chronos User Discussion / Re: New to Chronos 2.1 questions

« on: June 24, 2019, 03:30:32 PM »

When starting a new recording, the previous one is replaced.

However, you can use the Segmented recording mode, where a fraction of the total buffer is allocated for a each segment. Each time the camera detects a trigger, a new segment is recorded. You can set any number of segments you like. A camera with twice the amount of RAM can record twice the number of segments, or segments twice as long.

The other exotic record mode is Gated Burst, where the only frames that are stored in RAM are the ones while the trigger is pressed, and shortly before it is pressed (called prerecord time, which is also configurable)

Currently, only external triggers can be used, meaning a pushbutton trigger or a signal generator.  We plan to have the red shutter button on the top of the camera to be usable for these modes too.

86

General high-speed discussion / Re: Problems with Triggering in Exposure Trigger and Gated Trigger

« on: June 24, 2019, 01:56:34 PM »

The software update helped although I still have problems with the gated mode. It keeps recording 1 frame. I am using 1280x1024 at max frames (1057). I have set recording mode to gated burst and the trigger to gated. I am proving a 1khz square wave with 50% duty.

I am a novice at this and I know I maybe annoying many. Any help is really appreciated.

I have attached a picture of my function generator settings.

If you disable gated burst, does the camera properly record a frame for each cycle it receives?

Do you want to set up the camera so that to record frames only when both trigger 1 (for example, a pushbutton trigger) is pressed and trigger 2 is receiving a signal? We haven't tested the use of gated burst and shutter gating at the same time, but in theory, it should work with a setup such as this:  Record mode = gated burst, Trigger 1 = Record End Trigger Trigger 2 = Shutter Gating

87

General high-speed discussion / Re: Problems with Triggering in Exposure Trigger and Gated Trigger

« on: June 21, 2019, 09:52:35 PM »

In both Exposure Trigger and Shutter Gating, the camera records only one frame per pulse received. The difference is in how long the image sensor stays exposed. With Exposure Trigger, the exposure is as long as whatever was set on the main screen. With Shutter Gating, the exposure lasts for as long as the pulse lasts, which was 2 seconds, a very long exposure.

Also, you might want to upgrade to the latest software, V0.3.0 may have had some bugs related to triggering or record modes.  Here is V0.3.1: http://forum.krontech.ca/index.php?topic=460.0

88

Chronos User Discussion / Re: New to Chronos 2.1 questions

« on: June 21, 2019, 08:51:10 PM »

2/ Is there any samples of DNGS from the camera so I can see what the footage grades like? You tube doesn't quite do the footage justice.

Here is some footage from aaronkondziela: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1udpw4u6zs3sgeq/AADhYb-k_7OORKui9Q94CkLDa?dl=1
details about the footage in this post http://forum.krontech.ca/index.php?topic=271.msg1859#msg1859
and grade of that footage was linked here: http://forum.krontech.ca/index.php?topic=271.msg2206#msg2206

4/ After the camera has been triggered- say for the 5 secs it records, with a very fast SD card, how long wouldI be expected to wait for 5 secs of 1080p DNGs to copy over? I know you guys may not have the camera, but someone who has the older camera kind of know- is the expected wait going very painful? will it 30 sec's or many minutes?

If saving the whole 5 seconds, it will take more than half an hour to save the entire buffer of a 16GB camera. The Chronos 1.4 saves 1280x1024 CinemaDNG files at about 3-4fps, and RAW 12-bit packed format at 4-5 fps.  If saving in RAW 12-bit packed, the file will be 3/4 the size of either CinemaDNG, and the file can be converted to a set of DNGs using our python script: https://github.com/krontech/chronos-utils/tree/master/python_raw2dng
If you want to save only portions of the video to save time and storage space, it's easy to scroll through the footage on-camera and select a region to save.  You can come back to the camera after it's done and save more regions too.

5/ I know there is some talk in some posts about a micro 4/3rds mount, is this available, or do I need to adapt from c-mount somehow? I would be keen to use a 0.64x metabones with canon full frame glass. What exactly is c-mount? an old screw in mount?

7/ Does anyone make a cage for this to mount accessories?

We don't have an accessory cage or micro 4/3 mount or adapter available at this point. C-mount is a screw in mount.
Nikon1 seems to know a lot about lenses, so he may be able to help. http://forum.krontech.ca/index.php?topic=464.msg2481#msg2481
AimedResearch has made MFT mounts, but he hasn't been on the forum for a while. http://forum.krontech.ca/index.php?topic=97.msg802#msg802

6/ What output is available for monitoring with an external screen? There's HDMI- but what does this output? 1080p? The screen on the back is not enough res to really work and focus easily.

Video output is 1080p if the display supports it, or 720p if not.

89

Software Dev / Re: Question about SD card wear.

« on: June 14, 2019, 01:50:26 PM »

In what way did it fail?
The OS and camera application don't write enough the SD card to cause failures for a very, very long time.

90

Chronos User Discussion / Re: Segmented recording problem

« on: June 07, 2019, 07:57:36 PM »

Yes, mine operates the same way. As foobar explained, this is operating as intended.
But, we do want to add an option to disable the ring buffer.  Disabling the ring buffer means the camera will stop recording after the final trigger.