35 replies to this topic

[wagsy]

Looks like they finally released the new firmware. :-)
35mbps up from 15mbps plus more.

http://gopro.com/cam...dition/#protune

EDIT, have now installed the new firmware.
No more blocky blue skys...much much better :-)

[AndreSmith]

Just installed it as well without any problems.

Do you think the Pro Tune will improve UW video Wagsy?

[wagsy]

Sure will, compressing blue water shots way down to 15mbps creates all kinds blocky problems.
30mbps will be much better.
Go out and shoot the blue sky and move it around abit, you will see it's much better.

[Steve Douglas]

Is this an update found in their Cineform Studio software or a separate app?
Steve

[recd]

Is this an update found in their Cineform Studio software or a separate app?
Steve

It's the Firmware update downloaded via Cineform Studio software. Greates a ProTune option under settings -> more

[Steve Douglas]

What are your suggested settings using Pro Tools in the Hero2?
In the Cineform Studio itself, vers. 1.3, once I import a clip with step 1, should I hit the step 2 edit tab, the canvas goes black so any of the editing tools cannot be used. What am I doing wrong? I'm stumped.
Steve

Edited by Steve Douglas, 14 October 2012 - 05:12 PM.

[escape]

What are your suggested settings using Pro Tools in the Hero2?
In the Cineform Studio itself, vers. 1.3, once I import a clip with step 1, should I hit the step 2 edit tab, the canvas goes black so any of the editing tools cannot be used. What am I doing wrong? I'm stumped.
Steve

You need convert the clip first in step1, converted to cineform clip will appear in step2.

[uwxplorer]

A caveat with ProTune is that max footage duration is significantly reduced. Considering that the max SD card supported by the GoPro seems to be 32GB, you can store ~1.5 hr at 1080p30. At least that's what the camera indicates.
Also, if you use the GoPro in a "set and forget" mode, it is easy to end up with multiple 2GB clips named something like 000x, 1000x, 2000x, etc, each lasting about 7.5 min.
I haven't figured yet how to stitch them together (I would suppose ClipWrap's function for that should work but I haven't tried it yet).
Quality-wise, it appears to result in smooth blue backgrounds, but since these were my first dive with the GoPro, I also noticed something that I am not sure existed before ProTune (it is probably unrelated): a Garibaldi (bright orange for those not familiar with SoCal) zooming in front of the camera totally threw off the white balance, making everything look blueish. It took my camera several minutes to get back to a decent WB setting (I had put it on a tripod sort of like a surveillance camera, so the scene was pretty much static apart from the occasional fish coming to check out the tripod). I wonder if this is known by GoPro and worth reporting?

[ChrigelKarrer]

uwexplorer,
the GoPro Hero2 has a automatic white balance.
Under certain circumstances - murky green water for example - the camera turn the green water in radioactive waste green water.
I found no way to avoid that and this behaviour makes color correction rather difficult as the color may change every time something white/clear
passes in front of the camera.
I experienced this effect only in Costa Rica where the water is rather green while in Sardinia the deep blue water seems to not - or much lesser -
influence the white balance. Using a color filter may reduce this effect but this is still to verify.
You can try this by your self holding a white slate or similar in sight and you will see how the color of the surroundings changes.
Chris

[Steve Douglas]

All this just in time for the new HERO3 to come out. I got the ad for it this morning.
Steve

[Nick Hope]

With Protune and the Hero3, GoPro suddenly starts to seem like a more serious proposition... higher resolutions, higher bitrate, flatter log curve, manual white balance control... We need a solid housing for this with a good lens and access to that MWB.

[scaper]

The Black edition Hero 3 looks incredible. It shoots 4k at 12 fps, 2k at various frame rates, and has manual white balance and various fields of view. Looks like their own housing has a lens/port that focuses well underwater:

[Steve Douglas]

That's some decent footage, even for a heavily worked promo. Looking forward to getting my hands on it.
Steve

[uwxplorer]

An interesting read on Protune by one of its developer:

http://cineform.blog...10/protune.html

[uwxplorer]

I think I understand better what you are talking about!
I have posted a short example of a similar thing I experience during my first try:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=U-QTF8UXxW0

Forgive the poor color balance. I tried to not modify the raw footage (except for compression on export).
This being said, I am not sure how to take advantage of the Hero3 MWB without a display... It would have been preferable to have the option to use a predefined setting and lock the WB, relagating proper handling of colors in post, IMO...

uwexplorer,
the GoPro Hero2 has a automatic white balance.
Under certain circumstances - murky green water for example - the camera turn the green water in radioactive waste green water.
I found no way to avoid that and this behaviour makes color correction rather difficult as the color may change every time something white/clear
passes in front of the camera.
I experienced this effect only in Costa Rica where the water is rather green while in Sardinia the deep blue water seems to not - or much lesser -
influence the white balance. Using a color filter may reduce this effect but this is still to verify.
You can try this by your self holding a white slate or similar in sight and you will see how the color of the surroundings changes.
Chris

[wagsy]

I wonder how much of that promo was shot with GoPros:-)
Were is the jittery wonky jello stuff that everyone else in the world gets when using them.
Does not matter where I put the Hero2 on my motorbike there is horrible jitter and jello.
We tried putting Hero 2's running ProTune on a Eurocopter in PNG and did nto matter where we put them the footage was next to useless.

[SPP]

I wonder how much of that promo was shot with GoPros:-)
Were is the jittery wonky jello stuff that everyone else in the world gets when using them.
Does not matter where I put the Hero2 on my motorbike there is horrible jitter and jello.
We tried putting Hero 2's running ProTune on a Eurocopter in PNG and did nto matter where we put them the footage was next to useless.

Hi Wagsy,

Abe K the magic video guy at GoPro has experience both in camera use + supporting equipment and post correction no one can touch.....yet.
http://www.shayboard...-kislevitz.html

GoPro video team is the creator of such insane footage, where it is only possible with light weight cameras like theirs. They are the master at it. There is no faking in any of GoPro original official video, extra stabilizer and that sort...yes. Bullshit NO. This is what I believe since Dec 2009 I been using HD1.

Abe K is why GoPro Official videos are so good/cool and they do lots of test to get those, unlike us with 1 hour run and expect magic as result. Abe does this 10 hours a day everyday since some years ago. I am talking of a person who probably tinker with a GoPro even in his dream ha ha ha.

What Abe is for GoPro, is probably a good comparison of what Yoshi Hirata is for UW macro mania.
These are silent super heroes, where their work is the result people enjoy and many do not know who made those
masterpiece. Could also lead people to believe the work is not genuine though.


From Rip Curl 32 camera array , Ken Block 20ish camera array, to HD3, Abe K knows his trade and he has the skill.
Google "Rip Curl GoPro Camera Array". You will get 2 videos in Youtube. One is the result and one is behind the scene.

The bike scene in latest HD3 Highlight at 02:19 to 02:20, that is a helmet mounted spinning pole. See the shadow of the rig at 02:20, left side near tarmac and the grass. The same rig is used on many snow ski footage like 03:39 to 03:40.

On bikes mounted cameras, they are hard to get jello free........if you do the conventional way of suction cup or stick on flat/curve mount or handle/bar mount and also DO forget it if on a Harley. Notice GoPro bike of choice is those smooth high performance bikes and not strong vibrations one like Harley and they got tricks mounting those on bikes which we do not know. They even test the frequency of the vibrations of the bikes and choose safe one for least jello effect. There is always a sweet spot in every spinning machine vibration against certain frame rate.

Below scene is a conventional mounting of the cameras, no other way. They know where to mount and how to correct the vibrations in post if excessive. Red bull plane. I seen some average Joe footage where the camera is located not near wing tip but rather in the middle, I guess more turbulence in the middle because the jello is quite pronounced.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO0FmzRW96o


I too been amazed on how GoPro does all this insane stuff. The best video to see where and how GoPro is used or located, is Ken's Block in Hollywood. Since this is not a 100% shot on GoPro, this video will never be part of GoPro channel but here has lots of useful 101 if you know how to spot them. Go to the forklift scene at the first few frames of 04:38, there are 3 GoPro-s on that fork lift and not including the many GP-s on the Ford Focus. DC Shoes and Red Bull is like GoPro partner so to speak and between them 3, their "how-to-use-a-GoPro" technique is light years ahead of the rest for POV type camera users.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=btViXvIDsi0
.


GoPro on a Robinson 22. Average Joe video guy I suppose. Still jello free.
tripple-w:youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=hZchgnH9Mf4

.
.
RC mounted footage on RC chopper for a GoPro, watch this , one of my favorite due to smoothness of such RC design multiple propellers. I also think two out of 4 propellers could be counter rotating.
tripple-w:youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3MipnUmnmOA

Another nice one, lens is replaced with something narrower. You can get one from 3rd party sources.


Enjoy them...........


PROTUNE
In HD2 Protune is still AWB.
CAM RAW in HD3 and only in HD3 Black & Silver , is the equivalent of Raw AWB and so far my friend tested it ( my region does net get HD3 yet ) and its the most stable one, much more stable than anything I have seen before. More so for UW in murky water and those who love to shoot sun-ball and then fish in blue or green water.........which usually throws off GoPro AWB in HD2.

HD2 AWB is more prone to this glitch than HD1, with or without URPro Cyan. But UrPro Cyan does stabilize HD2 AWB plenty.

CAM RAW page 38
http://gopro.com/wp-...G_FINAL_Web.pdf


I love small video cameras which we can bring UW...Damn technology is indeed sweet.
.

[uwxplorer]

Thanks for the link to CAM RAW. So the HD3 allows choosing a WB setting, rather than MWB upon the press of a button (presumably facing a white slate or whatever), which is probably a safer approach than blindly trusting a MWB button to make the right choice.
Still no gain or exposure control though...

[SPP]

Thanks for the link to CAM RAW. So the HD3 allows choosing a WB setting, rather than MWB upon the press of a button (presumably facing a white slate or whatever), which is probably a safer approach than blindly trusting a MWB button to make the right choice.
Still no gain or exposure control though...

Glad u find Cam Raw interesting.
Well a POV camera with only two mechanical buttons, choosing the various modes alone takes time hehehe.
Everyone did wish HD3 can do more manual control but that probably won't happen since its original design is : stick it on something, record and forget.

Short of shooting very pretty sun ball, this baby is a good shotgun rider on any UW camera we use.

Probably we need only to wait a while, guys like Eric Cheng with his super popular & creative "shark-bit-my-GoPro-HD1" video, I am sure will make something nice soon using HD3 Black and EJ ( Escape ) would probably do some nice footage too ....soon.
.

[Steve Douglas]

Pardon my ignorance or oncoming dementia but maybe I am missing something here. I have installed the latest Cineform Studio 1.3.1 I see in my GoPro 2's menu that the ProTune is set to 'On". I have no idea what it is doing or whether I am to be doing something. With Cineform Studio opened and up to date I can import a file(s). I choose one and drag it to the main interface screen to set in and out points. If I go to the edit tab, the screen turns black and the various controls become non functional. If I take the other approach and click on Convert, the process then puts a mov file on my desktop. Do I then bring that file back into the main screen interface to enable the 'edit' tools? Nope, I see that doesn't work either.
Guess I am really not sure just how to use this application. Could someone explain it to me. Please.
Steve