Messages

16

Software Dev / Re: Software V0.3 Beta

« on: January 02, 2018, 05:13:31 AM »

We've experienced the same issue over the Christmas break, with the camera saying there's no free space when there clearly is enough. We'll be fixing that first thing when we go back to work tomorrow. I'll post here when we have a fix.

Thanks for the update.

Overall this is a very good update. Just one minor bug for everyone. 

17

Software Dev / Re: Software V0.3 Beta

« on: January 01, 2018, 07:36:35 PM »

Same here today. I use a 64GB SD-Card fat32 and after 3,39GB of PixelStuff the  Camera said nope. Enough is enough.
But i got all my Firework-Stuff on Video so i dont really care c:

Yea, finally got around to updating my camera.

New version works great, but on h264 the files now take 700 MB each. That is not a problem, always good to have max quality and edit down in post, except for the fact that I am running into the same 4GB save limit, on a 64 gb card, that others are having

18

Software Dev / Re: Saving setting across reboots is BAD

« on: January 01, 2018, 07:33:05 PM »

I personally love the save settings after reboots  please leave it

Same. It's incredibly handy, especially when you get things setup absolutely right, but need to shut down the camera to move things around for whatever reason

Hopefully there is an easy way to perhaps have the setting be toggle-able on and off.

19

Chronos User Discussion / Re: Chronos 1.4 Footage Thread

« on: January 01, 2018, 07:30:34 PM »

I have wanted to get a clip that would be along the lines of the one Taofledermaus has on the main page that would be suitable to potentially use as an example of what the camera is capable of on the main page.



I think I might have done so with this one of my Taurus 445, 44 Special.



If someone is better at making GIF files, I can provide the raw video.

20

Chronos User Discussion / Re: Chronos 1.4 Footage Thread

« on: December 16, 2017, 10:29:24 AM »

Diagnosed a mechanical problem with a typewriter using Chronos, decided to turn it into a video. Loving this camera!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC0LSqeR75E

=)

Very cool vid!  I wonder how much longer it'll be before the general public doesn't even know what a typewriter is...or are we already there? 

Lets be honest, there is lots of old stuff that is cool to look at, but you are happy you don't have to actually use.

I have been going to the steam thresher reunion in Rollag, MN ever since I was a child. Lots of fantastic machines. Glad we don't have to run our society off them anymore.

21

Software Dev / Re: Software V0.3 Beta

« on: December 15, 2017, 10:38:28 AM »

I'll have to give this a shot.

A couple questions/comments:

1. Thank you for being able to retain settings between reboots.
2. Stupid question, how fast does it currently save at? Faster save FPS will really help those 17,000 fps shots. I'm always paranoid and put big handles on my saves.
3. Easier trigger delay will be handy. Always hard to judge how long to wait before hitting the trigger. Now I can just hit it when stuff happens and know that I'll have a handle on the end.
4. What ram configurations have been used on cameras shipped thus far? Just wondering if I have  2 8gb or 1 16.
5. RAW saving I presume is uncompressed video? Is there. Information about the differences between the option you listed? Sounds like a great option for retaining maximum detail when you know you will be running the video through an editor.
6. Standalone mode will be interesting to try.

7. I know we are all waiting for this, but how are things going with HDMI support?

Thanks again for all your hard work.

22

Chronos User Discussion / Re: Serial numbers.

« on: December 02, 2017, 09:43:05 PM »

I always thought it funny that they chose the number 42, given its significance and meaning in Jewish numerology

23

Chronos User Discussion / Re: Let's talk lighting

« on: October 31, 2017, 07:47:04 PM »

I got screwed by Amazon. Bought a bunch of the 48 watt automotive LEDs. They claim 48 watts, they actually use only 8 watts.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M7TG8ID/ref=od_aui_detailpages01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Getting ready to return these units. Might have to go with a build-it-yourself approach.

To be fair to them, they don't claim they consume 48W in power, they say they are 48W LED output power.
All those LED spots of different types use '3W' LEDs in various arrays, so on that lamp they are using 16 x 3W = 48W.

I have four of those same spots and they're not to bad really, probably fairly close to the claimed LED output power, but they don't compare to the 100W Stratus.

They should then claim 48 watt equivalent, like all the incandescent replacement LEDs do.

24

Chronos User Discussion / Re: 12 Volt power adapter.

« on: October 31, 2017, 07:44:58 PM »

Are you connecting them directly to the camera? If so, that won't work, 12V is too low and 24V is too high.

Thanks for your response! Yes, I connected them directly, hoping that they would support the internal battery at least. So a voltage converter is the solution...

Yes, that is what you need. A laptop car charger like the one I linked works perfectly and lets you use any 12 volt battery you happen to have. Just get a cigarette power plug and wire it up to the battery. With those batteries you can either use them one at a time or wire them up in parallel.

25

Chronos User Discussion / Re: Let's talk lighting

« on: October 30, 2017, 05:41:55 PM »

I got screwed by Amazon. Bought a bunch of the 48 watt automotive LEDs. They claim 48 watts, they actually use only 8 watts.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M7TG8ID/ref=od_aui_detailpages01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Getting ready to return these units. Might have to go with a build-it-yourself approach.

26

Chronos User Discussion / Re: Chronos 1.4 Footage Thread

« on: October 22, 2017, 02:27:50 PM »

Did a bunch of shooting at the range today. Here is the first one with a Taurus 94, 22 revolver at 17,000 FPS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5KFmQTJX6E

27

Software Dev / Re: Improving the Jog Wheel, ideas.

« on: October 12, 2017, 09:56:06 AM »

Stopped for the moment while on the road.

Some great input from you two. Though I disagree with the usefulness of frame by frame jogging, I just don't see myself using it, I see that I was wrong about it not bring important to people. I should rethink some of the presets I suggest to include frame by frame jogging and do some math to see what it would do at different frame rates.

I'll have to type up my revised thoughts in more detail when at home and I may even bust out my MSPaint skills to take the input thus far and get a rough design of what the jog screen would look like. Feel free to come up with your own if anyone wants to.

28

Software Dev / Re: Improving the Jog Wheel, ideas.

« on: October 12, 2017, 05:22:35 AM »

1. I do not agree, I like to be able to see the video frame by frame for the critical moments before saving it in case something is wrong and I need to re-shoot the video.

2. I totally agree, push and releasing is the way to go IMHO. If possible with more than 2 frame-rates (3 or 4 would be a good balance I think). I really like the idea of fractions of the buffer in addition to one frame per detent.

Instead of presets for the whole thing I guess it would be better to be able to chose a preset for each click on the jog wheel; less presets needed, more customizable and maybe no need for an advanced mode because we can already do advanced things with this simple UI.

1. Fantastic. Someone who likes frame by frame on the jog wheel. Input from people like you will be valuable for us to go back and forth and come to a good solution. Perhaps there can be some presets with a mix of fractions and frames. Such would be for sure doable in the advanced settings.

2. I think pretty much everyone will agree with this one.

I think presets with only 2 values would be liked, though we would need to actually test this in the field to see if I am right or wrong.

I really believe there needs to be a solid set of presets like there are in the "Record Settings" page for people who just want to turn the camera on and start shooting video. Though you have made me rethink the need for an "Advanced settings" menu. Like the "Record Settings" page, we should be able to fit both on the same page.

Thank you so much for your feedback.

29

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.

30

Chronos User Discussion / Re: Chronos 1.4 Footage Thread

« on: October 04, 2017, 07:21:17 PM »

We film usually couple videos per week with the Chronos but I really like this video that we filmed couple days ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUYSOFStJ9c

We filled up some "balloons" with non newtonian fluid and shot them with the crossbow. I think I used something like 3000 fps on most of the shots.

Wow, fantastic video. You can see where the NNF goes from behaving like a solid back to behaving like a liquid, going from sharp edges to rounded fluid shapes.