Who has more issues? The Phantom 4 or SOLO

[pyrate]

Those who are not familiar with GoPro's Protune capability for video will be suprised at its "power", if one eventually understand how to grade using protune in its native editor the freebie GoPro Studio, in Cineform format and then use the usual editor of choice which knows cineform codec...simultenously.

If one is a diver, underwater video color grading or correction with Protune is like "god sent" in camera factor so small n low cost.

that and a quality red filter

 

[pyrate]

Hi Greg,

Try to read these.......

GoPro/CineForm Insider: Why I shoot Protune -- Always!

GoPro/CineForm Insider: Protune 2.0

GoPro CineForm codec support in Premiere Pro
GoPro CineForm intermediate codec support in Premiere Pro | Adobe Premiere Pro CC tutorials

Old info, but useful nevertheless
Protune vs. Cineform in Vegas -- the Tests : Vegas Pro Forum

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Below is cineform.mov from GoPro Studio running parallel* with After Effect, start at 4:30

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This one I never try , I am dumb on NLE use and only use the super easy Vegas Pro
GoPro LUTs Color Grading Pack by IWLTBAP

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Cineform.mov from GoPro Studio can run parallel* with Vegas Pro too.
*Best to have two screens and both screen calibrated.

Here is a sample I am running parallel GoPro Studio and Vegas Pro, but the video is not
recorded in Protune, so I don't grade anything.
View attachment 3271


This one I mess color in GoPro Sudio and it will happen too in Vegas Pro.
View attachment 3272

Cineform avi or mov, no matter how much you mess with its color or contrast or whatever, it stays a virgin file as you only mess with its metadata.

If MP4 file, when u want to mess with color, true result can only be seen when already rendered and that make it a 2nd or 3rd copy. MP4 is a lossy codec. Cineform is "almost" lossless.

Protune is not for everybody. Cineform was bought out by GoPro when Hero2 was rigged to do 3-D video.
Because GoPro Studio is free, many people underestimated it. When Cineform was Cineform stand alone, you need to pay decent $$ to use it for as intermediate codec.

Info on Cineform, if you want to learn more of it....
GoPro's CineForm Codec Is Now an Industry Standard
Cineform - superior alternative to ProRes

Enjoy.........

That is why I used to always run video through studio for rough edit, then imported the AVI files into Premiere pro. Lately though PP has gotten a lot better handling protune right out of the camera no?

 

[SPP]

Pyrate,
Me only knows how to use Vegas Pro ...LOL.
Since GoPro Cineform codec is now more widely accepted , I am sure its runs easier with many popular NLE, like your Premiere Pro.

 

[STMPNGRND]

I could read in the Dji forum, that Phantom 4 has many issues.
Even with the last update, the thing gets worse.
Do you think that SOLO has such important issues as it has Phantom 4 ?
What issues are around SOLO, right now ?

Well..I've only had my Solo since early March and it has been pretty much flawless. I did end up changing the gimbal hdmi cable to a thin ribbon style because of some slight vibs in more windy conditions...but I'm a DIY guy at heart so I don't hold it against Solo more just I tinker with everything. I have 100% confidence in flying Solo and it does exactly what I ask of it.

 

[pyrate]

solo is so much more fun for us tinkerers

 

[Greg Parker]

Hi Greg,

This one I mess color in GoPro Sudio and it will happen too in Vegas Pro.
View attachment 3272

Cineform avi or mov, no matter how much you mess with its color or contrast or whatever, it stays a virgin file as you only mess with its metadata.

If MP4 file, when u want to mess with color, true result can only be seen when already rendered and that make it a 2nd or 3rd copy. MP4 is a lossy codec. Cineform is "almost" lossless.


Enjoy.........

So are you doing your initial color corrections In GP Studio after shooting with Protune on and WB to Native?

 

[SPP]

Yes Greg, if I choose to use Protune, surely I will choose WB native and its meant to be color graded in GoPro Studio first when it already became a cineform avi/mov.

 

[Greg Parker]

Yes Greg, if I choose to use Protune, surely I will choose WB native and its meant to be color graded in GoPro Studio first when it already became a cineform avi/mov.

Thanks for the info on your workflow.

 

[Greg Parker]

@SSP,

What does the initial conversion do in GP Studio if one is not doing a fisheye correction?

 

[J R]

I've got to be honest with you guys, I've been favoring my P3's. I know you guys are pro's but what I get out of the P3 is good enough for an amateur hobbyist like me. Solo is a bit too clunky, too much to look after (again, for an amateur). I put the P3 out, fire it up and off I go. I've put some really serious miles on these things. Yesterday I went out over 25k', one way and still made it home (I do have a $20 Windsurfer on the RC, short of that, no mods). No signal loss and video feed the whole way. Mind you, I'm on old firmware and using a 3rd party app ($25) to fly but it truly is a joy just to fly without some of these other worries. I really was looking to the 3dr Solo to take me away from DJI but with the "new" direction of 3dr I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon.

I'm not busting balls here (so don't start flaming me), just calling it as I see it.

Jerry

 

[STMPNGRND]

I've got to be honest with you guys, I've been favoring my P3's. I know you guys are pro's but what I get out of the P3 is good enough for an amateur hobbyist like me. Solo is a bit too clunky, too much to look after (again, for an amateur). I put the P3 out, fire it up and off I go. I've put some really serious miles on these things. Yesterday I went out over 25k', one way and still made it home (I do have a $20 Windsurfer on the RC, short of that, no mods). No signal loss and video feed the whole way. Mind you, I'm on old firmware and using a 3rd party app ($25) to fly but it truly is a joy just to fly without some of these other worries. I really was looking to the 3dr Solo to take me away from DJI but with the "new" direction of 3dr I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon.

I'm not busting balls here (so don't start flaming me), just calling it as I see it.

Jerry

Just an honest question...curious why the need to fly 25k' ?

 

[J R]

Just an honest question...curious why the need to fly 25k' ?

STMP,

An honest question, worthy of an honest answer. I don't. I was in a zone and just wanted to keep flying. There is some competition on other sites for long distance runs and I got a tickle out of it. Some guys are adding external batteries and antenna's to the Phantoms for the fun of it. Somebody actually put on 19 miles in a single run! To me, that's incredible and what Amazon will need to do to deliver packages. I just wanted to see what my stock bird would do (I'm in the boonies too, just flying over corn and bean fields).

We talk about open-architecture here but I don't see a lot of development, from a practical standpoint, for the hobbyist. Again, it's critically important to note that I'm just doing this for the fun of it. I'm not trying to produce income. That, in itself, makes my opinion very biased and possibly even irrelevant. I love this forum and the many knowledgeable people here but I'm going to be as honest as I can be.

I can charge the batteries much faster, 3 at the same time, in about an hour (I usually don't run them down past 30%). I've got a pristine preview with Lightbridge, they go up as soon as I turn everything on with a sat lock and 12-15 sats, I can get a good 16-18 minutes of actual flight time on a single battery. It's just an easier bird for me.

I'm not giving up on the Solo, I've just lost a little of the thunder.

Respectfully,

Jerry

 

[pyrate]

I do think this was an error on 3drs part.
Solo was and never will be a phantom and I am glad.
Phantoms are great for casual flyers 3DR should have left that part of the business to DJI
Solo does require more, and developers who are doing things unpaid could give two hoots about what people want. They are following their passion.

If those two intersect that is awesome. But as someone who has done things for fun, and had people develop expectations to the point that they stole my fun, I can tell you. If I am not getting paid to do it, dont bug me about what you think I should be developing.
Or when you think I should have released it.

That RTF thing is a losing proposition. It leads people to believe they can open a box and become the Steven Spielberg of the air
Never mind the people who have spent years crafting the art and technical aspects of shooting good video, much less great video on a flying platform.

For those of us new to flying things, I am ashamed to say that I too felt like solo should be able to do all of these awesome things without me having a clue what I was doing.
I am honest enough about it to say that was wrong.

And It ignited an interest in me to not move to the out of the box easy path, but to the more difficult DIY path. Yes I am building my very first UAV at the moment.
It will never be able to do what solo does right out of the box, but, I will know how it works.
Not because I need to, I could buy a Yuneec or DJI and focus on my filming and processing. But Because I want to.

JR I get what you are saying and I think you hit it on the head for the folks that want an out of the box solution. No issue with that.
Some people say I am terse, well I was around in the early days of solo and the bashing was non stop.
I sort of grew tired of people whining about all the things they felt shorted about, and frankly do hope they go by a phantom and move on.

For those of us who have been inspired by solo, we really are just kind of tired of the moaning.
Pixhawk 2 is now free of 3Dr
So is Arudupilot
They are doing some amazing things, and solo owners will reap the benefits. Some will appreciate those efforts, others will just continue to complain.
The current software release that was talked about at NAB is undergoing user beta testing, and it is a complete rebase of solos code to unify it with Arducopter.
At that point, the solo will be able to benefit from all the future development by people who are far more dedicated then most of the casual users ever thought to be.

But solo will never be a phantom
That will make the phantom fan boys happy
And quietly those of us who get what is going on with the long term platform will just be just as happy they dont get it

 

[SPP]

@SSP,

What does the initial conversion do in GP Studio if one is not doing a fisheye correction?

Note, I do not use GP Studio for still 1 shot photos, only for time lapsed , which later the photo set is to become a video. Basically GP Studio ( used to be called Cineform xxxx ) is first and foremost a 3D video maker and awesome color corrector, a good tool for those who understand its use,.... if one choose Protune....where you must first convert GP MP4 to Cineform avi/mov before you mess with it in Cineform. Yes, a fish-eye remover too it can do.

Its only because GoPro is pushing it to make it a super easy lightweight editor, people think it is an editor.

Go back to my first post and study all the links. As I said Protune and Cineform transcoding is not for everybody. Its kinda complex to learn at first. The key is : In the right hands, you have more rooms to mess when video is taken with Protune, that is the bottom line.

Again to note, I do not take photo using Protune. So I don't know what advantage Protune has on photos if it is for a single shot. For time lapsed is easy , it will become a video so the metadata is good to have.

Enjoy...

 

[pyrate]

that new speed mapping in studio is pretty nice. wish it had better controls

 

[jibcamera]

I did some testing last night and saw no benefits from grading and transcoding to cineform codec in gopro studio... as opposed to just importing the native mp4s into fcpx (optimized)and grading there..gopro studio has the option to also export transcoded to h264 which i didnt try, but in cineform it made 5minutes of 2.7k/60 protune footage into 25GB +the render time+less accurate grading tools= no thanks
ETA: if you dont have editing software, then gopro studio is a fine free grading tool, though I'd probably only export in h264 due to file sizes

 

[J R]

I sort of grew tired of people whining about all the things they felt shorted about, and frankly do hope they go by a phantom and move on.

Pyrate,

I'm not whining and I don't feel shorted. Just expressing an opinion, very carefully I might add. I'm not bashing anything or anyone. That's one of the biggest problems on these forums, people get too loyal to a particular product. I do get offended when someone comes at me personally but I don't get offended when someone shares an opinion that may be different from mine. I think you read what you wanted to of my post, not what it was intended to be. I didn't knock anything. There was nothing negative for you to be offended.

Jerry

 

[J R]

I do think this was an error on 3drs part.

Pyrate,

Just to note, I've supported the hell out of this platform. Maybe it didn't mean anything to you but I did everything. From swapping HDMI cables to GPS shields, to balancing motors and props. In many cases I even provided tests and videos. I bought 2 GoPro's and swapped lenses. I've got a 3.97 and a 4.4 Peau corrected lens running right now. I've still got a 3.8 sitting in a box. I've invested heavily. I've got 8 motor pods, 5 batteries, a complete shell and numerous miscellaneous Solo related things. I've even asked if I could assist in testing various functions since I'm retired and others have to work for a living. I'm not a troll just showing up this morning. I've respected you, your work and your opinions, you should do the same. Of course, as seems I need to continually say, just my humble opinion.

Respectfully,

Jerry

 

[pyrate]

I was not dissing you, I think you point is very valid, please forgive me if it came across the wrong way. In my own weird way it was actually agreeing with you.
Was not referring to you when I made most of my observations which by the way are just my opinion, and in the grand scheme of things mean nothing.

The main point I think you were trying to make, is that 3DR just never made it as easy to get into the air as Phantom did.

My main point was it was the wrong approach (in my opinion) for 3dr to compete against phantom on that field.
It was always going to be what it has turned out to be, a long term development platform

Any way, I hope you know you are always welcome at the cove if you get to Texas

 

[J R]

Any way, I hope you know you are always welcome at the cove if you get to Texas

Pyrate,

Maybe I misinterpreted some of your words. If I did so, I apologize. All's good on my end. Next time we head to Texas, we're heading your way!

Respect.

Jerry