Crocolis HD

Tom Hardwick · January 17th, 2012, 11:22 AM

Well here's proof that my Extreme cam's waterproof - at least down to 2 metres. These three minutes were snipped out of about 30. Shot mainly in 720/50p for the greatest wide-angle (172 deg in air, so very nearly a FFFE - full frame fish eye).

The cam struggles in low light, and under water you must lose another 1½ stops or so. Footage looked underexposed and the GoPro did better in the same conditions. The 7.8mbps is borderline for fast action as you'll see. It's so-so hi-def, but clicking the 720 or 1080 buttons may make it look better your end.

The Well Done Team.mpg - YouTube
tom.

Tom Hardwick · January 27th, 2012, 08:38 AM

Just done a quick test between the Extreme cam and the Canon 60D with the Tokina 11 - 16 mm fitted. Shooting from the same position I notice both field of views are almost identical (apart from the barrel distortion, natch).

Tom Hardwick · March 2nd, 2012, 06:33 AM

Another 3½ mins to show the Extreme cam's waterproof. This time I shot at 1440x1080/25p (for the best performance in low light) and bumped the EV by +1 stop in the menu because of shooting into the blue LED lighting. As the pool's a bit shallow I might have been better off using the 720/25p setting to get the wider field of view, but the low 5.6 mbps bit rate at that setting puts me off somewhat.

Tom & Sarah swim.m2t - YouTube

tom.

Tom Hardwick · April 24th, 2012, 03:17 AM

I used the Extreme cam under water again this week. I wanted the best low light performance (the pool's hardly bright) and the widest field of view (the pool's hardly deep), so I set the camera to 720/25p. The resulting footage (action swimmer) is horribly staccato, but a plus point is that every frame is sharp so stills are easily lifted from the timeline. To restore fluidity to the finished film I simply imported the cam's footage into a 1280x720/50i timeline and let the computer invent the in-between frames.

Jim Cancil · April 24th, 2012, 06:25 AM

...compared to the average kiddy pool video this is very artistic. The blue lighting and bubbles add somewhat of a SloMo effect where the rest of the image is in realtime - like swimming in gelatin. Cool.

Jim

Tom Hardwick · May 3rd, 2012, 07:56 AM

The Extreme cam is much more light-sensitive in its 25p modes but action footage can look a bit jerky and staccato at this low frame rate. So with this little 5 min film I shot at 1440x1080/25p and used +1 EV for the shots looking up from the bottom. Poolside shots were done mostly using a Panasonic SD900, the 20x zoom contrasting nicely with the Extreme cam's fixed super-wide.

I pulled all the footage into a 50' Edius timeline and let Edius 'invent' the in-between frames. It's smoothed the film out nicely.

tom.

Mark Pleasant · May 21st, 2012, 01:13 PM

Just wondered if anyone has seen this problem. I'm thinking it's a rolling shutter issue but not sure if the Croc is using a CMOS chip.

CROCOLIS HD CAM ISSUE - YouTube

Ian Newland · May 21st, 2012, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Pleasant

Just wondered if anyone has seen this problem. I'm thinking it's a rolling shutter issue but not sure if the Croc is using a CMOS chip.

CROCOLIS HD CAM ISSUE - YouTube

High freq engine vibrations transmitted through the mount generally cause this especially if chassis mounted. Isolation is the only fix or use a CCD based camera.Vibration wise, body mount is the best place for a POV cam.

Mark Pleasant · May 21st, 2012, 07:39 PM

You nailed it...Thanks!

January 17th, 2012, 11:22 AM	#31
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Re: Crocolis HD Well here's proof that my Extreme cam's waterproof - at least down to 2 metres. These three minutes were snipped out of about 30. Shot mainly in 720/50p for the greatest wide-angle (172 deg in air, so very nearly a FFFE - full frame fish eye). The cam struggles in low light, and under water you must lose another 1½ stops or so. Footage looked underexposed and the GoPro did better in the same conditions. The 7.8mbps is borderline for fast action as you'll see. It's so-so hi-def, but clicking the 720 or 1080 buttons may make it look better your end. The Well Done Team.mpg - YouTube tom.

January 27th, 2012, 08:38 AM	#32
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Re: Crocolis HD Just done a quick test between the Extreme cam and the Canon 60D with the Tokina 11 - 16 mm fitted. Shooting from the same position I notice both field of views are almost identical (apart from the barrel distortion, natch). Attached Thumbnails

March 2nd, 2012, 06:33 AM	#33
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Re: Crocolis HD Another 3½ mins to show the Extreme cam's waterproof. This time I shot at 1440x1080/25p (for the best performance in low light) and bumped the EV by +1 stop in the menu because of shooting into the blue LED lighting. As the pool's a bit shallow I might have been better off using the 720/25p setting to get the wider field of view, but the low 5.6 mbps bit rate at that setting puts me off somewhat. Tom & Sarah swim.m2t - YouTube tom.

April 24th, 2012, 03:17 AM	#34
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Re: Crocolis HD I used the Extreme cam under water again this week. I wanted the best low light performance (the pool's hardly bright) and the widest field of view (the pool's hardly deep), so I set the camera to 720/25p. The resulting footage (action swimmer) is horribly staccato, but a plus point is that every frame is sharp so stills are easily lifted from the timeline. To restore fluidity to the finished film I simply imported the cam's footage into a 1280x720/50i timeline and let the computer invent the in-between frames.

April 24th, 2012, 06:25 AM	#35
Jim Cancil Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Salisbury Maryland Posts: 161	Re: Crocolis HD ...compared to the average kiddy pool video this is very artistic. The blue lighting and bubbles add somewhat of a SloMo effect where the rest of the image is in realtime - like swimming in gelatin. Cool. Jim

May 3rd, 2012, 07:56 AM	#36
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Re: Crocolis HD The Extreme cam is much more light-sensitive in its 25p modes but action footage can look a bit jerky and staccato at this low frame rate. So with this little 5 min film I shot at 1440x1080/25p and used +1 EV for the shots looking up from the bottom. Poolside shots were done mostly using a Panasonic SD900, the 20x zoom contrasting nicely with the Extreme cam's fixed super-wide. I pulled all the footage into a 50' Edius timeline and let Edius 'invent' the in-between frames. It's smoothed the film out nicely. Brentwood School Pool.m2t - YouTube tom.

May 21st, 2012, 01:13 PM	#37
Mark Pleasant New Boot Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Nashville TN Posts: 23	Crocolis HD ISSUE Just wondered if anyone has seen this problem. I'm thinking it's a rolling shutter issue but not sure if the Croc is using a CMOS chip. CROCOLIS HD CAM ISSUE - YouTube

May 21st, 2012, 07:39 PM	#39
Mark Pleasant New Boot Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Nashville TN Posts: 23	Re: Crocolis HD You nailed it...Thanks!