tom95521

Hi Eric, I will check out the stabilization mode. I am getting a pistol grip like the handles on the old 8 mm film cameras. If I get that Panasonic FZ1000 it will be interesting to compare focus and stabilization. I know the 4K video quality will be amazing. I sure hope PTE supports 4K video. I guess I can download one of the FZ1000 sample videos and test with PTE. Thanks, Tom

Even with a tripod (I think) the newer superzoom bridge cameras at full zoom need to be corrected for stabilization. The tripod does help but some of these cameras have 60x zoom and they can act like a seismometer, transferring small ground movements into image displacement. Barry, since you seem to favor DSLR cameras over bridge cameras and images over video I doubt if this applies to you? Tom

Still testing the Mercalli software. Even with the tripod it seems to help when zoom is 12x or greater. Even after the video is stabilized in software I think I can see the Panasonic OIS "wobble" where the lens is tilted to attempt to stabilize the video. Since it's a tilt and not a pan I don't think it can be removed. Maybe I should turn OIS off. Anyone who wants to experiment without spending too much money there are a few options (besides the free VirtualDub/Deshaker). http://www.mercallieasy.com/ and http://www.muvee.com/products/turbo-video-stabilizer Thanks, Tom Video using tripod. Most of them were at 300mm(12x) and 600m (24x).

I think I will do another test using a tripod at different zoom settings to see if stabilization software does make a noticeable difference. The above test video was created on purpose to be hard to stabilize with the added flag movement. I could have probably made it more stable by increasing the zoom and camera movement settings. Eric, That FZ1000 looks nice. Some smartphones shoot 4K now. Nice video of the train. Thanks, Tom

Hi Jose, I think the pistol grip might improve my video stabilization a small amount so I will not have to apply such a large amount of software image stabilization. The fluid head for my tripod is for smooth video panning although using a tripod should help with video stabilization. I am using Corel x7 ultimate which includes the Mercalli plugin. It is 64 bit, has smart rendering and supports 4K @ 65 mbps. Speaking of 4K I have been reading about the new Panasonic FZ1000 and the sample videos look great (even on 1080 display). Thanks, Tom

Waiting for PTE 8.5 beta testing to start... I rarely carry a tripod when I go out with my camera. It's usually not a problem for image capture but for video capture movement is noticeable when using zoom (optical image stabilization enabled). Video stabilization software works by panning rapidly to correct for movement and then adjusting zoom and crop. Due to the zoom the video quality is slightly lower than the original. The more stabilization the more zoom is required. I am planning on buying a pistol grip for my camera and a fluid head for my tripod (and keep it in my pickup). There are also steadicam devices but I am not planning on walking while capturing video. I am testing Mercalli software. VirtualDub with Deshaker does the same thing and is free. Thanks, Tom Sample. I don't think the quality suffers too much. (Hint) I try to add a static image to the start of my youtube videos to allow the cache to buffer the video before higher bitrate motion.

My Windows 8.1 PC with 4770K i7 cpu and 8 GB ram has bitdefender free version and malwarebytes pro 2 installed. I do not have problems creating mp4 files. Some motherboards do not like odd number of dimms (dual channel memory) - (you mentioned 3GB ram). If problem happens again I would run memtest86 or some other ram testing software. Good luck! Tom

For adding to the timeline we can already do this by using Windows explorer. Slide Options, Default, Comments already has EXIF time and date? http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?/topic/16650-how-to-sort-images-by-recording-date-time/?p=114475 Tom

I don't think I have enough vacation time to sail her 14,000 km. At 100 km per day average it would take about 4 1/2 months. I like to live next to the ocean but not in it. Thanks, Tom

Do you deliver? Tom

Yes. The image capture towards the end of the video was using the intervalometer at 1 fps. I have not tried any of the other settings for long exposure at night, etc. Wide angle would be better but the frequent overcast clouds we have around here during the summer are not very interesting. So far my favorite subjects are from the end of streets looking back at the traffic and cumulus clouds. I just wanted to show the mechanics of the sculpture and how slow it normally rotates. The city maintenance worker cleans out the impeller pond about once a week and tops of the water level as needed. It runs 24/7 except for maintenance. Thanks, Tom

Having spent a few hours capturing and converting images I find that there is more to time lapse than meets the eye. A camera that supports time lapse is a nice feature. If you want to create a UHD (4K) time lapse then image capture is currently the best method, shooting RAW, and using Lightroom. This will change when the newer 4K video cameras are affordable. For 1080 HD videos then video capture is much easier. Most video editors allow you to change the speed. The main problem I have with image capture method is slow capture rate. My intervalometer maximum capture rate is 1 fps. My camera generates 9 MP 16:9 images and I doubt if it could capture more than 2 fps continuous. Here is my latest video testing video and image capture. Tom

Hi Eric, Thanks for providing a video. I'm on a tablet more often than PC these days. Living on a boat would be fun for awhile but I don't know if I could do it all the time. Over here some retired people have giant motor homes (land yachts) that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and tow their cars. I think they must sell their homes to afford such big vehicles. Many spend the winters in the southern states (snowbirds). Thanks, Tom

Hi Lin, I don't think so. The PTE viewer would be almost the same as we are currently using, It could launch other slideshows. If you have PowerPoint viewer installed and you double click a .pps file it plays the slideshow. Tum

I am going to try and answer the above comments in one message. Eric. Yes there are better cameras than the FZ150 for time lapse. Electronic shutter video capture seems to be the easiest method. The recently available 4K video cameras might work great. Jean-Cyprien. Yes. I need to be more accurate in my explanation of time. Peter. My fault for not including normal speed in the video. The seagull sculpture is powered by a water pump and impeller at the bottom. It rotates at maybe 3 rpm. If I make a new video I will include normal speed too. Maybe I should use an analog clock for my test subject. Dave. I will be attempting video frame extraction next. I think my FZ150 has an option to disable motion blur. If I extract only full video frames (I frames) I hope it will be sharp. I will try both ffmpeg and Corel x7. Eric. Thanks for the info. I am still learning. I thought I might be able to use PTE to playback full resolution images at 30 fps by decreasing default slide duration to 1/30 second and quick transition. Playback speed at 30 fps was not smooth and the file size was very large. Video frame extraction versus multiple image joining requires additional testing. Video frame extraction is definitely less wear on the shutter. Thanks, Tom "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." - Albert Einstein

I don't know how hard this would be to implement. How often is the PTE player engine updated? Every minor version of PTE? Only Igor and his programmers know if this is a reasonable solution. Unfortunately any downloaded file (not created by the PC) that contains executable code is sometimes considered dangerous by malware/AV scanners. Most media formats (image/audio/video) do not contain executable code. The player is installed separately from the media. I think this is the safest method to distribute multimedia. The "Safe Executable File for Internet" is good, but a separately installed player would be even better. This would not replace existing publish options. Thanks, Tom

Please add new option to publish the data file for slideshows. This should prevent most false positives for viruses when shared over the internet. Also a stand alone PTE viewer app that can be installed on the PC and file extension configured to play .ptshow data files when opened. The viewer app can read slideshow version information and prompt to upgrade viewer if the slideshow was created in a newer version of PTE. Thanks, Tom

I have recently experimented with time lapse photography and have learned a few things and still have many questions. What I think I know so far. 3 fps capture and 30 fps playback = 10 x capture time (electronic shutter) 1 fps capture and 30 fps playback = 30 x capture time (mechanical shutter) My intervalometer (JJC TM-D) has a maximum capture rate of 1 fps. To capture 60 seconds of video at 30 fps it requires 1800 images (+ wear on the mechanical shutter) and 30 minutes. I am going to state the obvious when I say if you have a limited amount of time you might want to consider high speed video capture instead of time lapse. My next attempt will be to capture 1080p video at normal speed and then select 1/N frames for time lapse. I think the 3 fps looks smoother but the miniature tilt-shift is something the camera adds and can not be completely removed. My research now begins for a new camera with very wide fps range and 4K video capture. 240 fps capture at 1080p would be nice too. Thanks, Tom My test video.

Here is a short example that shows a single signed player .exe and 2 .ptshow files. I am going to submit a suggestion that Igor adds a new publish option for just the .ptshow data files. It make things easier than publishing 2 safe for internet shows and then selecting only the files we need. Menu.zip Tom

I thought we figured this out a couple of months ago in a different thread. From your menu slideshow you just run the .pteshow file instead of the .exe? Tom

You must be referring to Gary (Goddi). Although I don't know him we are both located "across the pond". Tom

I suppose if someone renamed the zip file after it was created by PTE and then extracted it could cause a problem? I think the player should automatically look in the current working directory for the .pteshow file without having to know the name of the folder? It's just something that I think software should be able to figure out without requiring a folder in a folder. I must confess that the smallest things bug me when most people hardly notice them. Tom

Hi Dave, Extracting a zip file is an extra step that most of us do without thinking but I know computer users (not PTE users) who would not be able to do this.. When I zip files together it does not create a folder in a folder. I don't understand the technical reason why PTE does this. Tom

A few things that make me think twice before using this feature. It's requires more effort and technical knowledge to unzip the file and then open the slideshow folder and then open another slideshow folder before playing the slideshow. I have mentioned to Igor I thought this folder in a folder was just an extra step that should be eliminated. Another problem that is more specific to your question is that the Google Chrome download manager was detecting the files as malware and blocked the download even though the player is a signed app (problem not limited to safe executable for internet). I have not tested this for a few weeks so maybe Google no longer blocks the slideshows. I have had issues in the past with dropbox and PTE slideshows. They were scanning my PTE files (OK), blocking sharing (OK), but not telling my why or what files were causing the problem (NOT OK). The error message said over quota which had nothing to do with the problem. I dropped them. Personally I would like to see a PTE player application we could install on our PC and then just send data slideshows (like adobe acrobat reader). Then all of the AV scanners should not have a problem with the files (since there is no .exe code in the file). The problem with this method is sharing slideshows with relatives that have no idea how to install the player. Who knows, maybe 4K video will be common in the future and the .exe slideshow format will gradually fade away? Tom

Hi Lin & Eric, A steadicam device is probably a better solution than stabilization software. I don't know how to force electronic shutter in the FZ150 except to use video capture which limits me to 1080p. Maybe I will use the mechanical shutter and hope it doesn't wear out. I will disable OIS in the camera when it's on the tripod. Thanks, Tom