Video stabilization

[NightStorm]

I want to thank RichWest for suggesting I re-post to this forum a comparison video I did a week or two ago. I had been very impressed with the proDAD Mercalli stabilizer a year ago when it was able to make some sense out of a complete garbage video, enough so that I bought a copy.

I've been fortunate in that I've had very little stabilization required of the video I get from my Solo but in a recent foliage trip one windy flight made for a lot of gimbal shudder and that got me to trying out the stabilizer in both the newer proDAD Mercalli SAL V4 and that in Davinci Resolve V14. Check it out if you are so inclined. I'd always been impressed with what Mercalli could do yet here I found that Resolve does very well and at a great price (this was with the free version).

 

[RichWest]

I've been fortunate in that I've had very little stabilization required of the video I get from my Solo but in a recent foliage trip one windy flight made for a lot of gimbal shudder and that got me to trying out the stabilizer in both the newer proDAD Mercalli SAL V4 and that in Davinci Resolve V14. Check it out if you are so inclined. I'd always been impressed with what Mercalli could do yet here I found that Resolve does very well and at a great price (this was with the free version).

I like the fact that these are un-edited for length, end to end filming of a flight comparing non-stab, Mercalli and then Resolve. If you are trying to figure out what does what, these are great video comparisons that are worth the time to review. Regardless of the platform, post-stab work is needed to squeeze out even better results.

I appreciate you sharing these videos. It's a nice break from watching my own efforts working the hardware angle of stab. Wish more people shared their results and experiences...

 

[Maddog]

Do these do basically the same thing as ProDrenalin?
Any idea if one is better than the other?

 

[David Boulanger]

Adobe Premier Elements does a good job stabilizing also. I don't think I have any video however because I was just testing and did not save it. Maybe in the next week or so I'll post a little something

 

[NightStorm]

Adobe Premier Elements does a good job stabilizing also. I don't think I have any video however because I was just testing and did not save it. Maybe in the next week or so I'll post a little something

I would love to see an example of the Adobe Premier stabilizer.

It would be nice to have a single video to try all of the stabilizers against. I'm willing to post the original of this one to my Dropbox but it may not be the best of examples. Plus someone with Adobe would have to be willing to download and process it, not a small file as I think it is around 4G.

 

[NightStorm]

Do these do basically the same thing as ProDrenalin?
Any idea if one is better than the other?

I used to use Prodrenalin but picked up the Mercalli during one of their $99 sales. Prodrenalin worked very very well while Mercalli had more advanced stabilization tools (few of which I've used). This offers a comparison.

 

[David Boulanger]

I would love to see an example of the Adobe Premier stabilizer.

It would be nice to have a single video to try all of the stabilizers against. I'm willing to post the original of this one to my Dropbox but it may not be the best of examples. Plus someone with Adobe would have to be willing to download and process it, not a small file as I think it is around 4G.

Put it up on dropbox or onedrive type of thing and I'll give it a try over the next couple days. 1080 or 4k. 2.7 with Adobe is a bit of a problem.

 

[pyrate]

I have a post on here somewhere comparing all the usual suspects. While I love Premiere for most things, warp stabilizer does a poor job with micro vibes. Mercalli is my goto app for stabilization, but now the lower cost Prodad uses the same engine

 

[David Boulanger]

That could be. I usually use a filter to slow the shutter down and that could be the reason I have not noticed. Adobe's stabilizer makes my 2 axis gimbal look like a 3 axis one. Sacrificing a little field of view of course. It would be interesting having several members here with the same raw video enhance it with different software.

 

[NightStorm]

Put it up on dropbox or onedrive type of thing and I'll give it a try over the next couple days. 1080 or 4k. 2.7 with Adobe is a bit of a problem.

Original is here.
FWIW: Shot with Hero 4B, Protune, 2.7k, 60fps, flat, sharpness=low, EV -0.5

 

[David Boulanger]

nightstorm shkredction.mp4

Nightstorm. Here is a little stabilization on your video with Adobe Premier Elements. Its not Adobe Pro but the consumer version of Adobe. It totally butchers your take off but once at altitude does a good job taking the up and down and left and right jitters out of your video. It stabilize 4K or 1080 but not 2.7. I had to convert yours to 1080 and go from there. Later I'll post a test I did with just a 2 axis gimbal. If you have ever flown and taken video with a 2 axis gimbal you will see it is a big help. This ProDAD thing looks great but until I get an I7 computer intended for this kind of stuff it won't help me. I use an old AMD 8 machine and this stuff takes forever.

 

[David Boulanger]

pond post.mp4

I wish I had the original of this for comparison. This is a test video of a F450 after doing an autotune on it. Did not want to risk a Peau lensed 4 black so I used an old 3+ Black on it. This is at 30 FPS with only a 2 axis gimbal. My yaw motion looks like crap with only 30 FPS and the speed at which I rotated. However, for those of us that have flown with only a 2 axis gimbal understand how the quad will move a little left and right a lot. I thought Adobe Premier Elements did a pretty good job stabilizing not only left and right movement but also sudden jerks I made with the aircraft vertically. Its best to download this stuff so you are not dependent on Wi-Fi speed to watch it.

 

[wsalopek]

Prodrenalin V2 has the same stabilizer engine as Mercalli V4...Prodrenalin V2 has been my favorite stabilization program...as far as I knew, it was the only program to effectively address jello...esp important with the Solo's gimbal jitter issues.

It's good to see Resolve 14.x seems to be able to do the same thing...it's free.

Last time I tried Adobe's warp stabilizer, it didn't do nearly as well with the jitters/jello...THAT aspect of "stabilizing" seems to be a whole 'nother "stabilizing engine" as compared to simple up/down left/right, etc, motions. But perhaps warp stabilizer has been improved since I last tried it.

 

[David Boulanger]

Prodrenalin V2 has the same stabilizer engine as Mercalli V4...Prodrenalin V2 has been my favorite stabilization program...as far as I knew, it was the only program to effectively address jello...esp important with the Solo's gimbal jitter issues.

It's good to see Resolve 14.x seems to be able to do the same thing...it's free.

Last time I tried Adobe's warp stabilizer, it didn't do nearly as well with the jitters/jello...THAT aspect of "stabilizing" seems to be a whole 'nother "stabilizing engine" as compared to simple up/down left/right, etc, motions. But perhaps warp stabilizer has been improved since I last tried it.

There is a rolling shutter setting on adobe but honestly I have zero jello on all my Solo's. But I usually filter the camera and run slow shutter speeds.

 

[wsalopek]

To me, jello and "rapid jitter" are cousins. I don't think I have jello either...at least not the normal kind which is normally produced by the high frequency vibrations of the motors and/or props...on the Solo, jello seems to be created more by the rapid "micro jitters" of the gimbal.

Anyway, good to know you have none...and yes, shooting at a slow shutter speed via adding, say, an ND filter, is an effective way to get rid of jello.

--

Bill