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Messages - NoDak

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1
Chronos User Discussion / Re: One line of lighter pixels in saved video.
« on: September 26, 2020, 10:20:32 PM »
At my cameras this thin line happend if I change the resolution and forgot a black calibration. Or I using the exposure slider - then I have to make a black calibration too.
Waaaaaaait. So using the exposure slider requires a black calibration afterwards?  :o Was this documented somewhere and I just completely missed it or forgot it?

2
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.

3
Software Dev / Re: Chronos V0.5.0 Full Release
« on: July 30, 2020, 09:15:36 PM »
Is there any problem with using a larger than 8gb SD card? Smallest is about 16gb nowadays. I'd like to keep my old OS card just in case.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089DPCJS1/ref=twister_B08CLNX58K?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

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Chronos User Discussion / Re: My external monitor for Chronos
« on: October 07, 2018, 08:48:28 AM »
This looks quite promising. What is shown on the last pic? I can't figure it out...

Ah, sorry for causing confusion. That picture was to show the thickness of the case material.

The monitor should hold up to plenty of use. Shouldn't need to baby it, but don't drop-kick it either.

5
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.
















6
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.

7
Chronos User Discussion / Re: IR light Source
« on: March 10, 2018, 12:34:57 AM »
I have some VERY minor "flicker" with my 100W LED modules. Not enough to be unusable, but still there. I would advise buying one module and testing before buying a bunch.
Yes, i could also just reccomend that.
(If you are patient enough to wait two times for the Delivery from China and also if you care about your money)
I paid a bit extra and ordered from a US seller. There usually is a couple who ship from the US.

8
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.

9
Chronos User Discussion / Re: IR light Source
« on: March 09, 2018, 08:46:55 PM »
I have some VERY minor "flicker" with my 100W LED modules. Not enough to be unusable, but still there. I would advise buying one module and testing before buying a bunch.

10
Software Dev / Re: Software V0.3 Beta - Updated Jan 4 2018
« on: January 30, 2018, 05:05:58 PM »
What save format are you using? Dumping the whole buffer with the default compressed format gives me files that are only about 710 mb.

You may want to post more information about the settings you are using.

11
Software Dev / Re: Very ugly artifacts after upgrade to 0.2.5
« on: January 09, 2018, 05:26:48 AM »
Also, is it okay to mix and match ran in the cameras long as it is all compatible. ie, can I use the 16 gb stick my camera came with and just slap in an additional 16gb stick?

I suppose I could just pop open my camera and see what make/model it already has and go hunt down another one of those.

12
Software Dev / Re: Software V0.3 Beta - Updated Jan 4 2018
« on: January 08, 2018, 07:03:34 PM »
Splitting this up into another post since this is unrelated to the last issue.

When "Auto Save" is selected, pressing "Stop" on the touch screen causes the camera to begin auto saving. The problem is that there is no way, that I can see, to disarm the camera when auto save is enabled. You will have to let the camera start saving and then abort the save, which is both inconvenient and puts lots of files on the memory card you never wanted to put there in the first place.

Don't know what the best solution would be, but figured I should mention it.

13
Software Dev / Re: Software V0.3 Beta - Updated Jan 4 2018
« on: January 08, 2018, 06:53:24 PM »
My Chronos has locked up while testing to see if the issues with .3 have been solved.

I was had my camera plugged in on my desk and I was having it simply auto save the whole buffer at the default 1,000 FPS. Once I saw it had finished I would hit record and save the whole buffer after enough time had passed for it to fill.

I left the camera running overnight, recording a few more buffers worth of video as I got ready for work. I leave the camera running during the day on my desk, then come home and start recording more.

After one such save, the camera gives me a grey screen. I try to record, but it fails. I go into the settings and I cannot change the resolutions. I go out to the main screen and the camera gives the "Shutting down" message, but locks up on this screen until I hard power it down.

The card is 64gb and saved video until it was 29.8gb filled of 59.4gb (Don't know if this is relevant.)







Camera works fine after the hard reset.

14
Chronos User Discussion / Re: Found a good foot trigger.
« on: January 08, 2018, 05:53:14 PM »
Great idea! Unfortunately it's currently unavailable.

Well poo.

I went and looked around online and found the makers site where they appear to still be available.

https://www.eztat2.com/standard-supplies/clip-cord-foot-switch.html

15
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.

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