Syntheyes matchmoving software heads up
 

Just searched across all forums to see if anyone was familiar with the program, came up with nothing. I feel it is my forumly duty to let you know about this Syntheyes application.

Like boujou or PFTrack (formerly ICARUS), but without the several-thousand-dollar price tag.

Can't tell ya how well it works on real world projects, as the footage I've tried has been either incredibly simple or overwhelmingly complex (riding the Long Island Expressway at sixty miles an hour with other vehicles driving in both directions, swaying trees, and moving clouds), but there's a thirty day demo available which should show you what it can do.

Powerful software, wonderful UI, and great results for about three hundred fifty US dollars...what more could you want?

I heard some good things about SynthEyes (supposedly better
than Boujou), but haven't tried it out yet. So how did your tests
go?

I was quite happy with the results, although that's not saying much. Aside from having simplistic shots that didn't really tax the software, I also did not own any of the supported export applications. Combustion is the only export option that I could have used, and that exporter was only "in development" while I was trying SynthEyes out. Heck, it could still be unreleased, I haven't purchased my copy yet (other expenses are taking priority at the moment, you understand).

Wish I could provide a more useful assessment of the tracking quality...that shot on the LIE, for example. I'm fairly certain SE could handle it, with a bit of garbage masking, but not being allowed to save projects or render results made such techniques impractical. Not something I, personally, could get done in a day, and my computer's too noisy to be leaving on all night. :P

Note that there are several exporter examples on the download page, showing off what the tracking results for the "flybys" test shot--available on the same page, along with a few other test pieces--look like in a variety of applications.