Fastest way to batch correct barrel distortion in videos?

fuzzybabybunny · Sep 7, 2015

I've got the Hero 3+ Black and shoot videos professionally, so I need a fast workflow and barrel distortion screams "amateur." I bought the Solo (the gimbal won't be in stock for another 3 weeks - how retarded...)

Say that I've got 20 individual 1080p clips from my GoPro Hero 3+. What's the fastest way to remove the barrel distortion on all of these all in one go while still retaining quality and the latitute to bring out shadow and highlight details?

Adobe Premiere and After Effects have a special GoPro setting for removing distortion but it's not hardware-accelerated so it is INCREDIBLY slow, to the point of being unusable.

Has anyone used ProDrenalin from ProDAD? Any other options?

Jubalr · Sep 7, 2015

fuzzybabybunny said:
I've got the Hero 3+ Black and shoot videos professionally, so I need a fast workflow and barrel distortion screams "amateur." I bought the Solo (the gimbal won't be in stock for another 3 weeks - how retarded...)

Say that I've got 20 individual 1080p clips from my GoPro Hero 3+. What's the fastest way to remove the barrel distortion on all of these all in one go while still retaining quality and the latitute to bring out shadow and highlight details?

Adobe Premiere and After Effects have a special GoPro setting for removing distortion but it's not hardware-accelerated so it is INCREDIBLY slow, to the point of being unusable.

Has anyone used ProDrenalin from ProDAD? Any other options?

I have used a few different software, but none of them are very fast. If you are dealing with high res videos there may not be much you can do speed wise. I would think you would be better off replacing the lens on the GP fo a non distortion 5.4 or 4.35mm version. We have some professional editors that may have a software solution, but have a look at lens replacements to eliminate the need all together. Here is one company that offers lens replacements..GoPro Lenses

fuzzybabybunny · Sep 7, 2015

Jubalr said:
I have used a few different software, but none of them are very fast. If you are dealing with high res videos there may not be much you can do speed wise. I would think you would be better off replacing the lens on the GP fo a non distortion 5.4 or 4.35mm version. We have some professional editors that may have a software solution, but have a look at lens replacements to eliminate the need all together. Here is one company that offers lens replacements..GoPro Lenses

Gotcha. Thanks. Would you happen to have a good recommendation for one of those rectilinear lenses? I'm also concerned about hacking away at a $500+ camera...

Jubalr · Sep 7, 2015

fuzzybabybunny said:
Gotcha. Thanks. Would you happen to have a good recommendation for one of those rectilinear lenses? I'm also concerned about hacking away at a $500+ camera...

It's actually much easier than they show on the Peau site. Check this video..

Philip Hinkle · Sep 7, 2015

I work for ProDRENALIN and we actually have a special going right now for ProDRENALIN and 3DR solo owners. You can grab a copy of ProDRENALIN for only 19.95 USD with the coupon code 3DR.

In ProDRENALIN you can import multiple clips, select a profile from the camera selections to dewarp your footage and export. It will export all your clips with the distortion fixed. It works as fast and the export process can function on your computer. Don't select any stabilization or other options but it will export all your clips. You may want to select a DeNoise option in the export screen as it will add a little sharpness back into your footage that is lost in the process of dewarping the fisheye. You will also want to select a new folder in the export screen.

You can download a trial version from www.prodrenalin.com and try it out first if you want. The 3DR coupon code is only valid on prodrenalin.com.

1264_Solo · Sep 7, 2015

fuzzybabybunny said:
I've got the Hero 3+ Black and shoot videos professionally, so I need a fast workflow and barrel distortion screams "amateur." I bought the Solo (the gimbal won't be in stock for another 3 weeks - how retarded...)

Say that I've got 20 individual 1080p clips from my GoPro Hero 3+. What's the fastest way to remove the barrel distortion on all of these all in one go while still retaining quality and the latitute to bring out shadow and highlight details?

Adobe Premiere and After Effects have a special GoPro setting for removing distortion but it's not hardware-accelerated so it is INCREDIBLY slow, to the point of being unusable.

Has anyone used ProDrenalin from ProDAD? Any other options?

Just like the poster said above me, their software is great. I tried it out this weekend and while it wasnt 100% effective, it's hardly the fault of the software but more of the gopro.
From the footage it WAS able to correct it looked very nice.

Earldgrayjr · Sep 7, 2015

fuzzybabybunny said:
I've got the Hero 3+ Black and shoot videos professionally, so I need a fast workflow and barrel distortion screams "amateur." I bought the Solo (the gimbal won't be in stock for another 3 weeks - how retarded...)

Say that I've got 20 individual 1080p clips from my GoPro Hero 3+. What's the fastest way to remove the barrel distortion on all of these all in one go while still retaining quality and the latitute to bring out shadow and highlight details?

Adobe Premiere and After Effects have a special GoPro setting for removing distortion but it's not hardware-accelerated so it is INCREDIBLY slow, to the point of being unusable.

Has anyone used ProDrenalin from ProDAD? Any other options?

Actually, Premiere will use hardware acceleration if you have it and tell it to use it. Search GPU acceleration. It is set in the project as you create it. The lens profiles in Premiere are the best.

When stabilizing in Premiere, keep in mind, it should be done on clips or subclips, not large files. This speeds it up quite a bit. It also makes it work better. If you are doing pro work and have Premiere, that is by far the most seamless workflow.

If you want something free and simple, use GoPro Studio to get rid of fish eye. It is a separate app (though it does simple editing) and it works well also for that function, though it has no stabilization. As has been mentioned, Prodenalin and numerous other packages (including YouTube) do that.

You can also get an alternate "rectilinear" lens for the GoPro that eliminates the barrell effect. I use the 5.44mm and really love it. In the end, if you are going for pro, I recommend a lens change and Premiere.

fuzzybabybunny · Sep 8, 2015

Earldgrayjr said:
Actually, Premiere will use hardware acceleration if you have it and tell it to use it. Search GPU acceleration. It is set in the project as you create it. The lens profiles in Premiere are the best.

When stabilizing in Premiere, keep in mind, it should be done on clips or subclips, not large files. This speeds it up quite a bit. It also makes it work better. If you are doing pro work and have Premiere, that is by far the most seamless workflow.

If you want something free and simple, use GoPro Studio to get rid of fish eye. It is a separate app (though it does simple editing) and it works well also for that function, though it has no stabilization. As has been mentioned, Prodenalin and numerous other packages (including YouTube) do that.

You can also get an alternate "rectilinear" lens for the GoPro that eliminates the barrell effect. I use the 5.44mm and really love it. In the end, if you are going for pro, I recommend a lens change and Premiere.

It's not that simple. The lens correction effect, even in Premiere CC 2014, is not GPU accelerated. Even with the GPU acceleration turned on the lens correction effect won't use it. Other effects will, of course.

Which 5.44mm lens do you use? Do you find any balancing problems with the gimbal when you swap lenses?

Earldgrayjr · Sep 8, 2015

fuzzybabybunny said:
It's not that simple. The lens correction effect, even in Premiere CC 2014, is not GPU accelerated. Even with the GPU acceleration turned on the lens correction effect won't use it. Other effects will, of course.

Which 5.44mm lens do you use? Do you find any balancing problems with the gimbal when you swap lenses?

It really is that simple. I am looking at PP now with a GoPro preset applied to a clip. I can dynamically change curvature, prism, decentering, etc. even while playing it back. It takes zero seconds.

As illustrated here.

Warp Stabilization is also a listed GPU accelerated plugin.

Adobe Premiere Pro Help | About effects

That does take some time on the first analysis, but if you have the hardware it is accelerated, which is as fast as you can expect. My system will do a one minute clip in about 45 seconds. Slows the workflow to be sure, but it is "useable".

The lense I use is the PEAU 5.44mm. It isn't swappable, but I also have several GoPros. I had considered swapping lenses on another to the 4.35mm (wider FOV) based on some complaints of others, but in practice I just don't agree, and I don't need it.

I may get another 5.44mm on a camera as a backup, but now I can also get the same job done with the lens presets and just moving closer if I needed to, as long as I know what I am after in the end...

I also use one or more filters, and so was concerned about the gimbal and weight. They are very light though, and they don't seem to have any effect at all.

I also shoot in 4K and that gives me a lot of options in editing.

Maddog · Sep 11, 2015

Have you tried GoPro Studio? That's what I use. Very easy to remove lens distortion- you can then export to another editing program if you wish to do more work.
And it's free!

Burkeam · Sep 11, 2015

Maddog said:
Have you tried GoPro Studio? That's what I use. Very easy to remove lens distortion- you can then export to another editing program if you wish to do more work.
And it's free!

studio is quick and cheap-free but limited in the export options