Would You Perhaps Be Interested In A Different GX80/85 Colour Profile???

[18hans]

Hey @BTM_Pix,

you got the problem right.

I don't understand how your first solution is supposed to work? If I got you right you want to use this Keyboard Maestro App basically for remote controlling the Mac and run the tether app on it? The problem ist, that the tether app has no feature for video playback included. And transferring the file and playing it back afterwards just takes too much time.

But your solution with the Toshiba Air sounds really interesting, I'm just wondering if the transfer rate ist high enough. 
But let's see, I have just ordered the W-04 card and will try it out.

Are you sure that it can be used as typical network drive? The only information I found so far is that it can be mounted as a WebDAV drive, but that should work as well I think.

[BTM_Pix]

43 minutes ago, 18hans said:

Hey @BTM_Pix,

you got the problem right.

I don't understand how your first solution is supposed to work? If I got you right you want to use this Keyboard Maestro App basically for remote controlling the Mac and run the tether app on it? The problem ist, that the tether app has no feature for video playback included. And transferring the file and playing it back afterwards just takes too much time.

 

As far as I can see from the manual (I don't have a GH5), the Tether app has the option to write to the host PC as well as the card?

If mplayer can play files while they're still writing as @tupp says then it would be able to do that so wouldn't need playback within the Tether app.

43 minutes ago, 18hans said:

But your solution with the Toshiba Air sounds really interesting, I'm just wondering if the transfer rate ist high enough. 

It depends on your file but mplayer should at least smooth out the playback even if it does take some time to buffer.

Its obviously limited by the nature of it being a wifi device but I'm out of options for getting it out of the camera any other way

43 minutes ago, 18hans said:

Are you sure that it can be used as typical network drive? The only information I found so far is that it can be mounted as a WebDAV drive, but that should work as well I think.

Yes, I was playing fast and loose with terminology but WebDAV mapped as a drive if you need it.

In this application with mplayer we would just access it directly by ip address

[18hans]

1 minute ago, BTM_Pix said:

As far as I can see from the manual (I don't have a GH5), the Tether app has the option to write to the host PC as well as the card.

If mplayer can play files while they're still writing as @tupp says then it 

It depends on your file but mplayer should at least smooth out the playback even if it does take some time to buffer.

Yes it can write to the computer, but I'm not sure if mplayer could play it that way? 

Anyway, I think the FlashAir solution would be the better one if it works as planned. I will try it out and see.

[BTM_Pix]

I probably should have mentioned that I do have one of the FlashAir cards that I have been testing with in a GX85 so I can confirm the functionality with mplayer addressing it and the simultaneous remote playback of a video file whilst recording a new one (which is a functionality I have an interest in for a different purpose  ).

The rest of it in terms of programming is just http request stuff which is no major hardship so that will be fine too.

The only bugbear may be the start up speed for the sort of files that you are generating but, as I say, I can't think of an alternative hands off solution with the way Panasonic cameras operate.

Well, I can but I'm not sure how keen you are to take the camera apart.....

[tupp]

There are three ways that mplayer could work in this scenario:

• it can play the video playback/live stream from the camera (given that the camera playback/live stream is the desired fps);
• it can play the file directly off the camera at the fps specified in the mplayer command (given that the destination device can mount the camera's storage);
• it can play the file from the destination device, as it is being transferred to (or stream-captured to) the destination device (at the original fps or slower);

 

I have just tested the last method by playing (at 24 fps) a Canon 60 fps MOV file off of a USB pen drive as was being transferred to the pen drive.  Not sure if it will work with every codec/container.

 

I misread the requirement of a "box."  I thought that the box was intended as a "controller box" to enable the instant slow-mo -- not that the box was a "photo booth."  Now that I understand what you are trying to do, I think there might be better camera alternatives if you are not locked into getting a GH5 or using your A7's.  For instance, it would probably be easier to just use a machine vision camera that was constantly streaming and merely record/capture and playback that stream, with a button (or two) that starts/stops the right scripts.

 

The real challenge might be devising a usable and appropriate interface.  Are there any prior examples of a slow-mo photo booth?

[BTM_Pix]

7 minutes ago, tupp said:

The real challenge might be devising a usable and appropriate interface.  Are there any prior examples of a slow-mo photo booth?

I think its just a big button job isn't it?

Person comes in, presses button, shakes hair for a few seconds and then it autoplays on a TV.

So a button into a Raspberry Pi (either connected to a GPIO or a bluetooth key or midi button/footswitch), when it picks up the trigger it starts the camera, counts to however many seconds are needed, stops the camera, requests the files.html from the FlashAir, pulls out the last file name in that list, fires up mplayer with that file name, HDMI out of Pi to TV and job done.

Funnily enough, I actually experienced a slow-mo photo booth in Tokyo last month at a Sasmung event for the S9.

Which I had completely forgot about !

So, the alternative answer to this might well be to use a Samsung S9  

[18hans]

15 hours ago, tupp said:

I misread the requirement of a "box."  I thought that the box was intended as a "controller box" to enable the instant slow-mo -- not that the box was a "photo booth."  Now that I understand what you are trying to do, I think there might be better camera alternatives if you are not locked into getting a GH5 or using your A7's.  For instance, it would probably be easier to just use a machine vision camera that was constantly streaming and merely record/capture and playback that stream, with a button (or two) that starts/stops the right scripts.

I just had a look at these camera, there are no price tags but they are looking like industrial cameras which are quite costly I suppose?

To the Sonys and Panasonics I have access already and since it's only a small project, the investment probably won't be worth-it, at least not in the first stage.

If the idea works out well it might be possible to change the system but for the beginning it would be the best to go with the GH5 I think.

15 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

I think its just a big button job isn't it?

Person comes in, presses button, shakes hair for a few seconds and then it autoplays on a TV.

So a button into a Raspberry Pi (either connected to a GPIO or a bluetooth key or midi button/footswitch), when it picks up the trigger it starts the camera, counts to however many seconds are needed, stops the camera, requests the files.html from the FlashAir, pulls out the last file name in that list, fires up mplayer with that file name, HDMI out of Pi to TV and job done.

Yes, that's exactly the plan.

Interesting though that you experienced something like that already hehe

[BTM_Pix]

20 minutes ago, 18hans said:

Interesting though that you experienced something like that already hehe

And a testament to my addled brain that I'd forgotten all about it !

 

[tupp]

On 6/21/2018 at 10:27 AM, BTM_Pix said:

think its just a big button job isn't it?

I can imagine that someone would want to start/stop the recording to get a good take within the allotted recording time.  Changing slo-mo speed might be a desirable feature, as well.

 

Also, some folks might want a copy of the footage, so entering an email address for a download link might be required, which would probably necessitate some sort of GUI.

 

In addition, it might be beneficial to add the options of virtual masks, costumes and backgrounds.

[BTM_Pix]

13 minutes ago, tupp said:

I can imagine that someone would want to start/stop the recording to get a good take within the allotted recording time.  Changing slo-mo speed might be a desirable feature, as well.

Detecting the Start button is hit again before the timer expires is an easy logic to include in the script which would restart the process and do a remote delete of the camera file.

Changing frame rate could be a toggle switch between two file formats but that would mean the camera would have to be wifi controlled as well as the card so would need a small router which is no big issue really.

21 minutes ago, tupp said:

Also, some folks might want a copy of the footage, so entering an email address for a download link might be required, which would probably necessitate some sort of GUI.

File can be auto uploaded to a website and the URL presented as a QR code on the display screen when the clip has been replayed so they can retrieve it.

Simpler to implement then letting them enter an address and clears the booth faster for the next visitor.

File would need to be transcoded though to keep space requirements down but can be script driven into ffmpeg or similar

21 minutes ago, tupp said:

In addition, it might be beneficial to add the options of virtual masks, costumes and backgrounds.

Thats probably a hack too far for me and the Pi  

[tupp]

53 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

Detecting the Start button is hit again before the timer expires is an easy logic to include in the script which would restart the process and do a remote delete of the camera file.

Of course, such functionality has to be obvious to drunken wedding goers, hence my call for usability considerations in an above post.

 

 

53 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

Changing frame rate could be a toggle switch between two file formats but that would mean the camera would have to be wifi controlled as well as the card so would need a small router which is no big issue really. 

It might be easier to just start with a faster frame rate and simply choose the desired frames (every frame, every other frame, every third frame, etc.) to yield the final speed -- rather than changing the frame rate (and shutter speed?) on the camera. 

 

Again, sloppy bridesmaids (and groomsmen) have to be able to operate this machine, so dumb-simple speed-changing usability is key.

 

 

53 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

File can be auto uploaded to a website and the URL presented as a QR code on the display screen when the clip has been replayed so they can retrieve it.

Simpler to implement then letting them enter an address and clears the booth faster for the next visitor. 

Not sure if wedding goers will remember the URL in the morning, but if there is a booth attendant, he/she can jot down the specific download link and hand it to users as they stumble out of the booth.  Actually, an attendant might as well operate the camera controls...

[BTM_Pix]

8 hours ago, tupp said:

Of course, such functionality has to be obvious to drunken wedding goers, hence my call for usability considerations in an above post.

OK, we'll push the boat out and have 2 big buttons.

Though if you've ever been in a queue behind drunk people trying to order in a kebab shop on a Saturday night it's often a good idea to not offer them such a wide choice of options.

8 hours ago, tupp said:

It might be easier to just start with a faster frame rate and simply choose the desired frames (every frame, every other frame, every third frame, etc.) to yield the final speed -- rather than changing the frame rate (and shutter speed?) on the camera. 

Again, sloppy bridesmaids (and groomsmen) have to be able to operate this machine, so dumb-simple speed-changing usability is key.

Within the confines of having to use a GH5 for this project, the only way to change the frame rate remotely would be through file format change.

It would be masked of course to the user and implemented by way of a hardware selector switch triggering the command.

8 hours ago, tupp said:

Not sure if wedding goers will remember the URL in the morning, but if there is a booth attendant, he/she can jot down the specific download link and hand it to users as they stumble out of the booth.  Actually, an attendant might as well operate the camera controls...

With the QR code they wouldn't have to. 

They just point their phone at it and it instigates the download automatically.

If if was being used in a communal event context like a wedding or birthday party it would be more applicable to upload it to the event's own Facebook page or the new fangled Instagram TV.

Though we'd have to rotate the booth to meet the vertical video requirement of the latter

If I was making these hypothetical booths for a living rather than trying to figure out ways to shoehorn the functionality into a GH5 then I'd base them on something like this 

https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/product/asi294mc-color

It's primarily designed for astrophotography but essentially it's a pretty familiar Sony MFT sensor in a box that can run up to 120fps and is operated and transfers over USB3.

Cheaper, smaller and far far easier to implement as a solution than using a GH5

[18hans]

6 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

Though if you've ever been in a queue behind drunk people trying to order in a kebab shop on a Saturday night it's often a good idea to not offer them such a wide choice of options.

Haha interesting into which direction this discussion is leading ?

But developing a UI or something would be the easier part.

6 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

If I was making these hypothetical booths for a living rather than trying to figure out ways to shoehorn the functionality into a GH5 then I'd base them on something like this 

https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/product/asi294mc-color

It's primarily designed for astrophotography but essentially it's a pretty familiar Sony MFT sensor in a box that can run up to 120fps and is operated and transfers over USB3.

Where did u get this information from? On the linked website it says max. 19fps.

I'm using the GH5 in the first place because I have already access to it to check if the concept works out. But if it does, upgrading to a better suiting camera might be an option of course.

[BTM_Pix]

7 minutes ago, 18hans said:

Where did u get this information from? On the linked website it says max. 19fps.

I'm using the GH5 in the first place because I have already access to it to check if the concept works out. But if it does, upgrading to a better suiting camera might be an option of course.

Its based on the sensor spec (which is likely the same one as the GH5 based on different discussions) which can do 120fps at 1080 and that the software enables you to tweak binning and regions of interest and create your own capture resolutions as listed on the product link.

You'd have to check with the manufacturer regarding the specifics of those settings but the software appears to support the creation of it.

As this is only an example of such a product (there are a bunch of companies who make similar ones based on the same principle using the same or similar sensors) then if this one doesn't allow the exact resolution/fps combo that you need then I'm sure a more comprehensive dig around will find one that does.

I had a look at the forum where astrophotographers are discussing it but I gave up after about 20 pages because, with all due respect to them, it was a bit of a dry read that makes train spotting seem like an extreme adrenaline sport in comparison

[nielsviv]

Sorry if this has been answered before, but I can buy a like new body of the GX7MkII i.e. Japanese version of the GX80/85 for a very reasonable price and wonder if your program will work on this too.

Or if the camera only understanding Japanese will make it not recognise the English commands.

[BTM_Pix]

I haven't got one of those cameras to test it with but it works irrespective of the language setting on the GX80/85 so I can't see why it wouldn't from the point of the commands.

However, I would say you should test it yourself before buying it just in case there is something different in the firmware of the Japanese version (and there might possibly well be) that stops it from working.

 

[Wilus12345]

40 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

I haven't got one of those cameras to test it with but it works irrespective of the language setting on the GX80/85 so I can't see why it wouldn't from the point of the commands.

However, I would say you should test it yourself before buying it just in case there is something different in the firmware of the Japanese version (and there might possibly well be) that stops it from working.

 

Dear BMT_Pix, any luck in improving the focus in gx80 (by implementing shutter angle hack)???

[Wilus12345]

Dear BMT_Pix, any luck in improving the focus in gx80 (by implementing shutter angle hack)???

[BTM_Pix]

Unfortunately not.

I tested it with the shutter angle commands and they are inoperative on the GX80/5

[nielsviv]

On 7/13/2018 at 10:55 PM, BTM_Pix said:

I haven't got one of those cameras to test it with but it works irrespective of the language setting on the GX80/85 so I can't see why it wouldn't from the point of the commands.

However, I would say you should test it yourself before buying it just in case there is something different in the firmware of the Japanese version (and there might possibly well be) that stops it from working.

 

Thank you very much for your reply. I'll just go ahead and buy one, for 230 euro it's still not that much money. I'll try your program and get back to you with the results.