gizmag
The video capture capabilities found in today’s mobile phones has made it easier than ever to record those priceless memories whenever and wherever they may occur. However, one of the downsides to cramming a video camera into such a small device is the lack of stability that often results in videos that look like they were shot the morning after a big night. With a full-blown steadycam rig probably not the best solution for smoothing out things on the go, Midnox has created an app that provides real-time image stabilization for the iPhone 4.
If someone could independently review this, please post it here.
Seems like a scam to me. iTunes App Store shows this getting an average of 2 stars out of 5
58 ratings with 33 giving it a 1 star rating.
Won’t be up for long.
Tiffen get very unhappy with people calling things a SteadyCam ™ especially if they capitalize it like that.
iphone 4 only
Good, a new Big Foot video would now be watchable.
Unfortunately, we’ll likely only get better Palin videos, aka Big Mouth.
Reviews say you can only view video if location services is turned on. That smells like a marketing scam to me.
Now if only they could apply this method to Hollywood productions. I’ve turned off several movies and TV shows as they try to imitate the ‘webcam’ look. The faux reality look is awful. On a big screen, it can make one nauseous. ‘Battlestar Galactica’ was the worst. I boycotted the series over the camera methods. Nothing stood still. It was as if the camera men had Parkinsons.
Why is this advertisement for this shitty app on this website? Check the reviews in iTunes!
Not a panacea!
Frame rates go down. At best, in full sunlight, you get slightly less than 24 fps without any audio.
Audio recording reduces frame rate.
Well, the 24 fps isn’t so bad, but in any reduced light, you get 20 fps (slightly less) making your “stablilized” image into strobe city.
It shows promise, in that it does indeed restabilize the image and force the CMOS chip to record without the rolling shutter distortion, but the trade-offs are harsh.
BTW: None of the images used in this Vimeo post were shot with an iPhone. They don’t have the tonal range or color or contrast of an iPhone 4 at all. And they weren’t “graded” to look this way from iPhone originals, either.
Too bad they resorted to scam advertising.
The demo (free) will show you what the effect looks like, but is limited to 15-second shots. The full deal costs $3.
Cool idea, long way from being great. I think it’s remarkable that people are even trying a software solution to this problem on a general purpose handheld device. It just shows how far mobility has come in 10 years.
#3; Tiffen owns “Steadicam” not SteadyCam, Steadycam or Steady Cam, unless they were clever enough to lock those in long ago.
BTW, you can get a REAL Steadicam for your iPhone 4. Tiffen makes it and they call it the Smoothee.
Prebalanced. Camera + holder = standard weight and CG. Meaning you can substitute iPhone 4, iPod Touch, iPhone 3GS or Flip HD without having to do the rebalancing procedure. Each cam has its own holder. Camera holders are tripod screw threaded for super stable shots like time-lapse.
Search Vimeo for Smoothee demos. Full 30 fps, since no change is made to the camera operation.
There’s an app called Almost DSLR which allows you to lock exposure throughout the shot. An essential. $2.
Realtime? That would be killer. Fingers crossed.