Topics

1

Chronos User Discussion / One line of lighter pixels in saved video.

« on: September 26, 2020, 08:47:25 PM »

Had video today have one line of pixels lighter than the rest. Any idea the cause? Running the new OS. Line was not visible when reviewing the footage before saving.





Sometimes looks to be the same line.



Sometimes it's a different line.



Sometimes it disappears completely.



Video I took yesterday did not have this problem.



I noticed today that sometimes during saves the FPS that it was saving at would drop for a few seconds before resuming. not sure if that is normal behavior or a sign of trouble.

Thanks for any help you can give.

2

Chronos User Discussion / My external monitor for Chronos

« on: October 06, 2018, 09:20:21 PM »

The addition of HDMI output on the Chronos makes shooting video much easier, here is the monitor I picked up for the purpose and my thoughts on it.

A big desire was for a mobile monitor with no internal battery. While many people will want a monitor with a built in power supply, I'm intending to use this monitor for a long time. With hot and cold shooting conditions, the battery will eventually be cooked and become nothing but dead weight.

Here is the monitor I eventually chose, the Kenowa 11.6 Inch.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0796MKMCY/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Pro:

Full 1920x1080 resolution
75mmx75mm VESA mount on the back.
Standard female 1/4"-20 tripod mounting point on the bottom. This is not documented on Amazon in the feature or in the pictures. I was thrilled to find it.
Metal case held together with screws. Allows easy disassembly if you want.
Wide viewing angle.
You can see what is on the screen in bright sunlight, but it's not fantastic. Better than some monitors I have seen that are completely washed out. Just make sunshield out of some cardboard to get it in some shade and it works great.
Inputs are on the side and not poking out the back. They feel like they are firmly mounted and won't easily snap off.
Takes standard 5.5mm power plug and 12 volts. Everything from car batteries, to AA, to Lithium-Ion can be rigged up to power this.
Screen view can be rotated via the OSD.


Con:

Buttons and power LED are on the back side of the unit. They are directly mounted to the PCB and simply stick up through holes in the case. You're only really gonna need the power button, but not being able to see the power LED easily will be a problem for some.
Case is made of thick, but soft and easily bent sheet metal. Have a case of some sort for it when transporting.
Stand it comes with will work if you are using the screen as a picture frame, but you'll want something better. Doesn't really matter since it has the VESA and tripod mount.

At first I thought the labels on the buttons was upside down, but once I had it on a tripod, realized that they appear right-side up when looking over the top.

The layout of the plugs are all right next to each other in one spot, but not so close as to be crowded.

Built in speakers are a nice thing to have in case you want to use the monitor to play back video from a camcorder. They aren't fantastic, but they do work.

Overall I am very pleased with this unit. A large, full resolution, portable monitor for under $100.

3

Chronos User Discussion / Fantastic macro lens on eBay.

« on: April 23, 2018, 06:01:21 PM »

Found a fantastic macro capable lens on eBay. I have been playing with it for awhile and think I should share it with everyone else.

Not a super expert on lenses, but want something where you can shoot from a few inches away? I've found the lens.

There are several auctions with this lens or its equivalent. It appears to have been sold under several names. https://www.ebay.com/itm/NAVITAR-MACRO-1-8-12-5-75mm-C-MOUNT-ZOOM-LENS-16MM-MOVIE-CAMERA/281769329972?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

You can focus until the subject is literally a fraction of an inch from the lens. (Not a good idea, but you can do it.) In the following videos the lens was about 3-4 inches from the tuna. Only reason i didn't go closer was because the cat would knock the camera out of the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hOlUMPvmP4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7xmZxSU300

A fantastic deal for $100 for the used ones. (Plus Shipping) The ONLY downside is that it clips the edges of the image when recording at full resolution, as it is a 16mm lens and not a full 2/3". Record at less than full resolution and you won't notice it. Note: You will need a C-mount spacer ring, but those are easy to come by. Also, mine came with a polarized filter. I swapped it with a UV filter as a lens protector. It takes standard 49mm ones.

Hope everyone finds this helpful.

4

Chronos User Discussion / Found lens spacer rings for cheap.

« on: March 09, 2018, 09:08:00 PM »

Well I have been getting more and more comfortable with using the Chronos. However, one thing that continues to annoy me is how far away the minimum focus is, especially with how small some of the things I want to film are and not having the ability to use an HDMI monitor. Unscrewing the lens and spacer technically works, but reproducing your lens position is impossible and leaving your lens loose like that is an accident waiting to happen.

With my testing, it looks like adding 1.5-2.5mm of spacers with the Computar 12.5-75mm lens will let me focus down to 6-12" from the subject. The penalty in terms of image brightness is virtually imperceptible.

Some places online want several dollars per spacer. Thankfully eBay gives us more options.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H1.XC-mount+Lens+spacer.TRS0&_nkw=C-mount+Lens+spacer&_sacat=0

I personally ordered some of the .5mm out of tolerance spacer rings from Singapore. Copper is soft enough that I'll be able to open them up slightly with my set of mini-files if I need to.

I figured I would post this in case others wanted to get some spacer rings of their own.

5

Chronos User Discussion / Found a good foot trigger.

« on: January 07, 2018, 06:07:55 PM »

The "stock" BNC trigger is nice, but it is handheld only as well as needing to be in your hand to trigger. (It's not practical to have your thing happen and then pick it up to trigger.) When shooting rifles and many handguns (Especially the sawed-offs.) by yourself, things can get difficult.

I figured the obvious solution would be to find a foot pedal type trigger. I went on Amazon and after a little searching I found this foot switch, originally for tattoo machines.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G1JQONK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



I bought one and I am happy to report that this is a fantastic addition to ones list of Chronos accessories.

This pedal and pedal base appears to be made of some non-magnetic cast metal. This gives it a good amount of weight and makes it plenty strong for the task. It looks and feels like it should provide years of use under the most foot-stompy of people. (Provided you don't use it to anchor a boat or drop bowling balls on it from a 3rd story window.)

The "Switch" feels like it is just two terminals, one on the foot pedal and one on the base, making contact. Nothing fancy and perfectly adequate for the task. The spring that holds the pedal up is of moderate strength. Strong enough to prevent accidental triggering if you move it by sliding it with your foot. The bottom has some of that non-slip stuff on it.

This also makes a great "Slapper" hand switch. No need to pick up or hold anything, set it on the table or counter and slap it when you need to trigger the camera.

One thing to note is that the one I received has a RCA connector, not BNC. The cable it comes with matches what the pedal is, but you won't be using the cable it comes with, so plan appropriately.

Hope everyone finds this helpful.

6

Software Dev / Improving the Jog Wheel, ideas.

« on: October 11, 2017, 09:33:20 PM »

Like an excited child reading over the specs of the latest gaming console, I poured over the manual for the Chronos well before I got mine. I went over the section on how the job wheel worked and it sounded perfectly reasonable to me.

"Moves playback 1 frame per detent (rotational click). Press and hold dial clicked in to move fast (40 frames per detent) "

I actually get it and do a recording session in my driveway with me chucking glass jars against pavement. (I looked like a crazy person to anyone watching me.) The jog wheel is quickly abandoned in favor of the on-screen slider.

As someone who has worked with designing products at my work I COMPLETELY understand what happened. An idea that sounded perfectly reasonable in the design phase turns out to not work well in practice. Nothing wrong with that, we're all human.

The problem is NOT the jog wheel itself. I like it's placement and feel. The problem is how it is setup in software.

1. One frame per click is too-fine. Most people only care about getting close enough to the section of the frame buffer they need to save. You want to have handles on your video anyway, so you will save a little bit before the area of interest and a little bit afterwards, 5-10 seconds is what most people I have seen recommend. If people need to go over video frame by frame they will typically do this later when on a PC with a large monitor.

2. Holding the jog wheel down while turning is impractical. If this was a jog wheel on a desk or control panel there would be no problem, but this is a camera on a tripod or handheld.

Since the problem is in software, we just have to come up with a new convention with choices for the user.

HOWEVER, we need to be VERY careful about giving the user choice. Choice CAN be good, but only up to a point.

Let me use an example that the designers of the Chronos did VERY well. On the "Record Settings" page, we can set the exact resolution down to the pixel, adjust the offset, set the specific frame rate, and exposure. OR, we can just select the drop down and pick from a list of presets that cover 95% of use cases. VERY good design. You make it easy for the 95% who actively do not want to have to bother with fine tuning their camera while allowing the people who want to tweak every last setting to get things exactly how they want it.

So, we need to do the same here. Have a relatively few pre-made options for the jog wheel that 95% of users will be fine with while allowing the people who just HAVE to customize everything to do their thing.

First, the menu to adjust the jog wheel would be in the "Util" page . There is plenty of space there to put a button titled "Jog Wheel".

I personally think push and hold needs to be abandoned, instead pushing and releasing the jog wheel cycles through the jog rates.

Presets would be in a drop down menu like the frame rates on the "Record Settings" page. I spent quite a bit of time on a long drive home from a job site mentally thinking through these. Most people just want to get the mark in and mark out close enough to the interesting bits, save, and move on to the next shot. They want a hatchet, not a scalpel. They will edit the video down to the specific frame when they have the video on their computer.

I see the attraction of jog rates based on frames, but if you are swapping between frame rates on a shoot, like I will, jog rates based on frames for one frame rate will be too big or too small on another frame rate. Meaning you will want to switch jog rates when you switch frame rates. Too much work, not user friendly. Instead, jog rates perhaps should by default be defined by fractions of the frame buffer per rotational click. Pressing the jog wheel would advance the jog rate to the next fastest rate. If already at the fastest rate it would cycle back to the slowest rate. Going with fractions of the frame buffer means jogging will be consistent between frame rates.

I have some ideas for presets

1/8 Frame Buffer, 1/32 Frame Buffer
1/16 Frame Buffer, 1/64 Frame Buffer
1/16 Frame Buffer, 1/128 Frame Buffer
1/32 Frame Buffer, 1/256 Frame Buffer
1/8 Frame Buffer, 1/32 Frame Buffer, 1/128 Frame Buffer
1/8 Frame Buffer, 1/64 Frame Buffer, 1/512 Frame Buffer
1/16 Frame Buffer, 1/128 Frame Buffer, 1/512 Frame Buffer
1/32 Frame Buffer, 1/256 Frame Buffer, 1/2048 Frame Buffer

These presets will allow the user to quickly locate the "Mark In" that they want and add a handle by simply going back a click or two. Then they cycle back to the "coarse" setting, locate the "Mark Out" location, and add a handle. Then they save and move on to the next shot.

Advanced settings menu would open an additional window for the people who want to adjust EVERYTHING. I think up to 5 jog rates would be enough. If they want to jog based on a specific number of frames they can do that or go by fraction of the frame buffer. There would be drop downs on each jog rate that would define the rate by frame or fraction of the frame buffer. Then enter a numerical value. Each jog rate would have a "NA" option, so if someone wants only 2-4 jog rates they can easily set that. Perhaps have an option to name the jog rates and save them.

This setup lets the users who just want to shoot high speed video have a selection of useful presets to use without being overwhelming. These presets will probably be good for 95% of users. For that 5%, they just go into the advanced menu and make their own jog rates.

Please let me know your feedback on this. Hopefully we can go back and forth and discuss various ideas. Perhaps someone has an even better idea.

7

Chronos User Discussion / 12 Volt power adapter.

« on: September 24, 2017, 08:00:26 PM »

Well my order has moved to the "Processing" phase and I am now thinking more and more about accessories I will need.

One thing that I foresee is needing an external battery. I plan on not relying on the internal battery except to just keep the camera powered on when moving things about.

I know that some people have used an inverter plugged into their car and ran an extension cord to the camera. While that works in many situations, there are going to be plenty of times this is not practical.

The obvious solution, since the Chronos uses a standard 5.5/2.5mm power plug, is to find and buy an appropriate laptop car power supply. Then you can use whatever 12 volt battery you have available by connecting a car plug to the battery. (In my case, a Power Wheels 12v battery I got NIB at a garage sale for $5.)

Of course, the problem is that most laptop car chargers only give make and model of laptop. They don't explicitly state power plug size. I did some research and I think I have found something at a good price.

https://www.amazon.com/CHARGER-Asus-Vivobook-Transformer-Pa-1650-01-Adp-65jh/dp/B004NVT7BK/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1506301995&sr=8-8

I have searched the models listed and everything I find says this a 5.5/2.5mm plug. The right-angle tip was something I specifically wanted, as I think most people will want, to reduce strain on the connector. 65 watts, plenty of power.

Then to attach it to whatever 12v battery you have, you just use one of these alligator clip thingies. (Don't want to assume that everyone has or has used one, so figure I better link to a good one.)

https://www.amazon.com/Roadpro-Battery-Cigarette-Lighter-Adapter/dp/B00065L2D8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506305466&sr=8-1

I'll toss one of these into my Amazon cart for the next order I make from them. I will report in once I have my camera so people can be absolutely sure that this works.

Please let me know if anyone sees any problems. I figure I can't be the only person interested in something like this.

8

General high-speed discussion / Introducing myself, my plans for my Chronos, and some of my past videos

« on: September 18, 2017, 05:34:38 AM »

Good day,

It's a little sparse here, so I figure I'dd add some more content to this section of the forums.

I have been interested in high speed video for a long time. When buying my first camera of my own, that wasn't from the clearance section at Wal-Mart, I bought the Casio EX-ZR100 specifically because of its high speed video function. I put together some videos and put them on YouTube, but always felt that the Casio, while a good camera for the price, just wasn't good enough to do what I wanted to do.

A friend told me about the Chronos a year or so ago, don't remember exactly when. They were in on the Kickstarter, but I didn't have the money at that time to toss at something like that, though I found it quite interesting.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, he showed some friends and I that he had gotten with his Chronos.. I checked the site here and pulled the trigger on ordering one.

What do I plan to do with mine?

I'll be doing high-speed video of gun stuff of my own, both shooting and things being shot. There are some questions that I have about some of the PD .410 shotshell loads, among other things.

I have a couple gunsmith friends who I will do high-speed stuff for, troubleshooting guns, in exchange for the stuff they do for me.

I'll go to the RC plane/helo club and whatever other event is going on where high-speed video of someones stuff might be wanted. (The RC helo pilots will be ALL OVER this.) This will be good practice for me. Don't plan on charging people, but I'll take donations and reserve the right to put the video on YouTube.

There is a big university in town. Once I get some experience and word gets around a bit, I could help with or rent out the camera to them. I will obviously need to have some sort of contract demanding full replacement costs if the camera gets damaged. Has anyone written something up like that for their own use of the camera?

I'm not planning on making super amounts of money. Just looking to get some experience with the camera, a variety of footage, and help offset some of the cost of the camera.

So, here are some of the videos I have done with my Casio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DQ2sY2mzaw Mini 14 High Speed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrL2oCZvsXQ Ruger GSR Rapid Fire and High Speed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNAASH4fxW0 Ruger PC-40 High Speed Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHHNQrJesc M-11 submachine gun with LAGE MAX-31 9mm Suomi upper. Function test. HD and High-Speed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Nkep_0liE Swiss Schmidt Rubin Model M1911 HD and 240 fps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX9L-3Zs2-E Slide Fire AR-15 Stock - 240fps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AdnjP4Inxw Pallet Bonfire Side View - 240 fps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N76tKVA0tm4 Pallet Bonfire - 240 fps