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Archive For April, 2012

NAB2012 – Comments on the National Association of Broadcasters convention

April 26, 2012 · by parasam

Here’s a report on the NAB show I attended last week in Las Vegas. For those of you who see my reports each year, welcome to this new format – it’s the first time I’m posting the report on my blog site. For the uninitiated to this convention, please read the following introductory paragraph. I previously distributed a pdf version of my report using e-mail. The blog format is more efficient, allows for easier distribution and reading on a wider variety of devices, including tablets and smartphones – and allows comments from my readers. I hope you enjoy this new format – and of course please look around while here on the site – there are a number of other articles that you might find interesting.

Intro to NAB

The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade group that advocates on behalf of the nation’s radio and television broadcasters. According to their mission statement: NAB advances the interests of their members in federal government, industry and public affairs; improves the quality and profitability of broadcasting; and encourages content and technology innovation. Each April a large convention is held (for decades now it’s been held exclusively in Las Vegas) where scientific papers are presented on new technology, as well as most of the vendors that serve this sector demonstrate their products and services on the convention floor.

It’s changed considerably over the years – originally the focus was almost exclusively radio and tv broadcast, now it has expanded to cover many aspects of production and post-production, with big software companies making a presence in addition to manufacturers of tv transmission towers… While Sony (professional video cameras) and Grass Valley (high end professional broadcast electronics) still have large booths, now we also have Adobe, Microsoft and AutoDesk. This show is a bit like CES (Consumer Electronic Show) – but for professionals. This is where the latest, coolest, and most up-to-date technology is found each year for this industry.

Comments and Reviews

This year I visited over 80 vendors on the convention floor, and had detailed discussions with probably 25 of those. It was a very busy 4 days… The list was specifically targeted towards my interests, and the needs of my current employer (Technicolor) – this is not a general review. All information presented here is current as of April 24, 2012 – but as always is subject to change without notice – many of the items discussed are not yet released and may undergo change.

Here is the abbreviated list of vendors that I visited:   (detailed comments on a selection of this list follows)

Audio-Technica U.S., Inc.     Panasonic System Communications Company     GoPro     Canon USA Inc.     Leader Instruments Corp.     ARRI Inc.     Glue Tools     Dashwood Cinema Solutions
Doremi Labs, Inc.     DK – Technologies     Leica Summilux-C Lenses     Forecast Consoles, Inc.     Sony Electronics Inc.     FIMS/AMWA/EBU     Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA)
Tektronix Inc.     Evertz     Snell     DNF CONTROLS     Miranda Technologies Inc.     Ensemble Designs     Venera Technologies     VidCheck     EEG Enterprises, Inc     Dolby Laboratories
Lynx Technik AG     Digimetrics – DCA     Wohler Technologies, Inc.     Front Porch Digital     Blackmagic Design     Telestream, Inc.     Ultimatte Corporation     Adobe Systems
Adrienne Electronics Corp.     PixelTools Corp.     Red Digital Cinema     Signiant     Da-Lite Screen Company LLC     Digital Rapids     DVS Digital Video Systems
CEITON technologies Inc.     Planar Systems, Inc.     Interra Systems     Huawei     Eizo Nanao Technologies Inc.     G-Technology by Hitachi     Ultrium LTO     NetApp     Photo Research Inc.
Cinegy GmbH     Epson America, Inc.     Createasphere     Harmonic Inc.     ATEME     Sorenson Media     Manzanita Systems     SoftNI Corporation     Envivio Inc     Verimatrix
Rovi     MOG Technologies     AmberFin     Verizon Digital Media Services     Wowza Media Systems     Elemental Technologies     Elecard     Discretix, Inc.     Panasonic System Communications Company
3D @ Home Consortium     3ality Technica     USC Digital Repository

In addition to the technical commentary, I have added a few pictures to help tell the story – hope you find all this informative and enjoyable!

On final approach to Las Vegas airport (from my hotel room)

It all started with my flight into Las Vegas from Burbank – very early Monday morning:  looking forward to four days of technology, networking, meetings – and the inevitable leg-numbing walking of almost 3.2 million sq ft of convention halls, meeting rooms. etc.

Las Vegas: convention center in the middle

Zoomed in view of LVCC (Las Vegas Convention Center) - not a bad shot for 200mm lens from almost 1000 meters...

The bulk of all the exhibits were located in the four main halls, with a number of smaller venues (typically for pre-release announcements) located in meeting rooms and local hotel suites.

Vegas from hotel window (with unintended efx shot in the sky - had iPhone up against the window, caught reflection!)

The Wynn provided an easily accessible hotel location – and a good venue for these photographs!

Wynn golf course - just as many deals here as on convention floor...

Ok, now onto the show…   {please note:  to save me inserting hundreds of special characters – which is a pain in a web-based blog editor – please recognize that all trade names, company names, etc. etc. are © or ® or TM as appropriate…}

Also, while as a disclaimer I will note that I am currently employed by Technicolor, and we use a number of the products and services listed here, I have in every case attempted to be as objective as possible in my comments and evaluations. I have no commercial or other relationship with any of the vendors (other than knowing many of them well, I have been coming to NAB and pestering them for a rather long time…) so all comments are mine and mine alone. Good, bad or indifferent – blame me if I get something wrong or you disagree – that’s the beauty of this format (blog with comments at the end) – my readers can talk back!

Adobe Systems    link – the tactical news was the introduction of Creative Suite 6, with a number of new features:

  • Photoshop CS6
    • Mercury real-time graphics engine
    • 3D performance enhancements
    • 3D controls for artwork
    • enhanced integration of vector layers with raster-based Photoshop
    • better blur effects
    • new crop tool
    • better 3D shadows and reflections
    • more video tools
    • multi-taksing: background saving while working, even on TB sized files
    • workspace migration
    • better video compositing
  • Illustrator CS6
    • full, native 64bit support
    • new image trace
    • stroke gradients
    • inline editing in panels
    • faster Gaussian Blurs
    • improvements in color, transform, type, workspaces, etc.
  • InDesign
    • create PDF forms inside ID
    • better localization for non-Arabic documents (particularly for Farsi, Hindi, Punjabi, Hebrew, etc.)
    • better font management
    • grayscale preview with real pre-press WYSIWYG
  • Premiere
    • workflow improvements
    • warp stabilizer to help hand-held camera shots
    • better color corrector
    • native DSLR camera support to enhance new single-chip cameras used for video
    • and many more, including rolling shutter correction, etc.
  • not to mention Lightroom4, Muse, Acrobat, FlashPro, Dreamweaver, Edge, Muse, Fireworks, After Effects, Audition, SpeedGrade, Prelude, Encore, Bridge, Media Encoder, Proto, Ideas, Debut, Collage, Kuler and more…

In spite of that, the real news is not the enhancements to the full range of Adobe apps, but a tectonic shift in how the app suite will be priced and released… this is a bellweather shift in the industry for application pricing and licensing.. the shift to a true SaaS model for consumer applications – in a subscription model.

For 20+ years, Adobe, along with Microsoft and others has followed the time-honored practice of relatively high-priced applications, very rigorous activation and restrictive licensing models, etc. etc. For instance, a full seat of Adobe Master Collection is over $2,500 retail, and the upgrades run about $500 per year at least. With significant updates occurring each year now, this is an amortized cost of over $1,500 per year, per seat. The new subscription model, at $50/mo, means a drop to about $600 per year for the same functionality!

This is all an acknowledgement by the software industry at large that the model has changed:  we are now buying apps at $1-$5 each for iPhone, iPad, etc. – and getting good value and excellent productivity – and wondering why we are paying 100x and up for the same functionality (or less!) on a PC or Mac… the ‘golden goose’ needs an upgrade.. she will still produce eggs, but not as many, not as fat…

Adrienne Electronics  link

The AEC-uBOX-2 is a neat little hardware device that takes in LTC (LinearTimeCode) from a camera and turns this into machine control TC (RS-422). This allows pro-sumer and other ‘non-broadcast’ cameras and streaming content sources to feed a video capture card as if the NLE (NonLinearEditor – such as FinalCut) was seeing a high-end tape deck. This allows capture of time code associated with content to ease many editorial functions.

AMWA (Advanced Media Workflow Association)  link

This group (previously known as AAF – Advanced Authoring Format) is one of the industry’s important bits of glue that helps make things ‘interoperable’ – the word that is more often than not uttered as a curse in our industry.. as it’s as elusive as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbox… and we are missing the leprechauns to help us find it..

Led by the pied piper of Application Specifications – Brad Gilmer – this group has almost single-handedly pushed, prodded, poked and otherwise heckled many in our industry to conform to such things as AS02, AS03, etc. – which allow the over-faceted MXF specification to actually function as intended: provide an interoperable wrapper for content essence that carries technical and descriptive metadata.

Amberfin  link

The makers of the iCR – one of the best ingest devices on the market, have added even more functionality. The new things at the show:  UQC (Unified Quality Control – combination of autoQC with operator tools allowing for combination QC for highest efficiency workflows for QC) and  Multi-Transcode (which allows up to 8 nodes of transcoding on a single multi-core machine).

ARRI  link  

The ARRI ALEXA camera is in reality an ever expandable image capture and processing device – with continual hardware and software upgrades that help ameliorate its stratospheric price… v7 will add speed and quality to the de-Bayer algorithms to further enhance both regular and high-speed images; offer ProRes2K; LCC (LowContrastCurve); etc. The next release, v8, will add DNxHD 444; ProRes2K in high speed; vertical image mirroring (for Steadicam shots); post triggering (for nature photographers – allows ‘negative’ reaction time); and auto card-spanning for continuous shooting across flip/flop memory cards to not lose shots even when card capacity reached.

ARRI + Leica - match made in heaven...

Angenieux  link

The Optimo series of cinema camera lenses by Angenieux are of the the highest quality. In particular, they have the DP 3D package – a pair of precisely matched lenses for ease of image capture using stereo camera rigs. The tracking, focus and optical parameters are matched at the factory for virtually indistinguishable results on each camera.

Oh Angie... (Angenieux lens)

ATEME  link

The KFE transcoder – the product I am familiar with – continues to move forward, along with other efforts within the larger ATEME family. One interesting foray is a combined project with Orange Labs, France Télévisions, GlobeCast, TeamCast, Technicolor and Doremi, as well as the Télécom ParisTech and INSA-IETR University labs – to reduce the bandwidth necessary for UHDTV – or in real world-speak: how the heck to ever get 4K to the home… currently, the bandwidth for 4K delivery is 6Gb/s uncompressed, or about 1000x higher than a typical home connection… even for modern technology, this will be a hard nut to crack..

On other fronts, ATEME has partnered with DTS to offer DTS Neural Surround into the transcoding/encoding workflow. The cool thing about DTS’ Neural Sound technology its upmix capability. It can simulate 7.1 from 5.1, or 5.1 from stereo. I have personally listened to this technology on a number of feature film clips – comparing with originally recorded soundtracks (for instance, comparing actual 7.1 with the simulated 7.1) – and it works. Really, really well. The sound stage stays intact, even on car chases and other fast movements (that often show up as annoying phase changes if not done very carefully). This will allow better delivery of packages suited to home theatre and other environments with demanding users.

The Titan and Kyrion encoders have improved speed, capabilities, etc. as well.

Blackmagic Design  link

HyperDeck has added ProRes encoding capability; DesktopVideo will support AdobeCS6 when released; and the new Blackmagic Cinema Camera. The camera is a bit of a surprising move for a company that has never moved this far upstream in capture before:  to date they have a well-earned reputation for video capture cards, but now they have moved to actual image capture. The camera accepts EF lenses, has a 2.5K resolution, built-in SSD drive for storage, 13 stop dynamic range, DNG (RAW) files, as well as option to capture in ProRes or DNxHD. And it’s under $3,000 – (no lens!) – it will be interesting to see how this fits in the capture ecosystem…

Canon  link

Ok, I admit, this was one of the first booths I headed for:  the chance to get some hands on time with the new Canon EOS-1D C DSLR camera… the Cinema version of the recent EOS1 system. It records full 4K video (4096×2160), has their log-gamma as well as the Technicolor CineStyle plugin, for the best color grading. 18 megapixels at 4:2:2MJPEG 4K isn’t bad for a ‘little’ DSLR camera… and of course not new, but their glass is some of the best in the business.. Canon also introduced a number of new video zoom lenses for broadcast TV cameras, as well as true Cinema cameras (EOS C500) – 4K uncompressed (RAW) output – for external recording onto that trailer of hard drives you need for that data rate… <grin>

Their relatively new (introduced at CES in January) PixmaPro-1 12 ink printer is awesome for medium format fine-art printing, and for those with Pentagon type budgets, the PROGRAF iPF9100 is incomparable: 2400dpi native; 60″ wide roll paper (yes, 5 feet wide by up to 60 feet long…); and ok – it is $16,000  (not including monthly ink costs, which probably approach that of a small house payment…)

new Canon EOS1

when you're getting ready to drop a $1,000,000 or more on cameras and lenses, you have to see what is what.. so vendors build full scale operating evaluation stages for buyers to try out hardware...

one of Canon's four lens evaluation stages...

model had about 20 huge video lenses trained on her - she's looking at this guy with a little iPhone camera wondering what the heck he's doing...

An awesome lens: 200mm @ F2.0 - at 15 ft the depth of field is less than 1 inch! The image is knife-sharp.

MonsterGlass. If you really need to reach out and touch someone, here's the 400mm F2.8 Canon - tack sharp, but it will set you back about $35,000

the Canon iPF9100 printer: 5 ft wide print size, 12 ink, beautiful color

Ceiton Technologies  link

Ceiton provided German engineering focused on sophisticated workflow tools to aid firms in automating their production planning and control. As we know, file-based workflows can become horrendously complex, and the mapping of these workflows onto humans, accounting systems and other business processes has been absolutely littered with failures, blood and red ink. Sony DADC, Warner, Raytheon, AT&T, GDMX, A+E and others have found their solution to actually work. While I personally have not worked for a company yet that employs their solution, I have been following them for the last 5 years, and like their technology.

They have a modular system, so you can use just the pieces you need. If you are not a workflow expert, they offer consulting services to help you. If you are familiar, and have access to in-house developers, they provide API definitions for full integration.

Cinnafilm  link

Dark Energy, Tachyon… sounds like science fiction – well it is almost… These two products are powerful and fascinating tools to de-noise, restore, add ‘film look’, and otherwise perform just about any texture management function needed to content (Dark Energy); and if you need multiple outputs (in different frame rates) from a single input – faster than a speeding neutrino, then look to (Tachyon). An impressive and powerful set of applications, each one available in several formats – check their site. Also need to mention that seldom do I get as detailed, concise, eloquent and factual explanation of some complex technology as Ernie Sanchez provided (COO, Cinnafilm) – trade shows are notoriously hard on schedules, and I felt like I had a Vulcan mind-meld of info in the time I had available. Also thanks to Mark Pinkle of MPro Systems for the intro.

Dashwood Cinema Solutions  link

This company makes one of my two favorite 3D plug-ins for stereoscopic post-production (the other being CineForm). They have two primary tools I like (Stereo3D CAT and Stereo3D Toolbox) – the first is a rather unique stereoscopic analysis and calibration software. It lets you align your 3D rig using your Mac laptop with high precision, and during a shoot allows constant checking of parameters (disparity, parallax, etc.) so you don’t end up with expensive fixes after you have torn down your scene. Once in the edit session, the 3D Toolbox plugs in to either Final Cut or After Effects, giving you powerful tools to work with your stereoscopic captures. You can manipulate convergence, depth planes, set depth-mapped subtitles, etc. etc.

Digimetrics  link

This company provides, among other products, the Aurora automated QC tool for file-based content. With the speed required of file-based workflows today, human QC of large numbers of files is completely impractical. The Aurora system is one answer to this challenge. With a wide range of test capability, this software can inspect many codecs, containers, captions, and other facets to ensure that the file meets the desired parameters. In addition to basic conformity tests, this application can perform quality checks on both video and audio content. This can detect ‘pixelation’ and other compression artifacts; loss of audio and audio level checks (CALM); find ‘tape hits’ (RF dropouts on VTRs), and even run the so-called Harding analyzer tests (to meet FCC specs for photo-sensitive epilepsy).

Digital Rapids  link

Digital Rapids has long been one of the flagship applications for industrial-strength transcoding and encoding of content. They are continuing this tradition with enhancements to both their Stream and Kayak lines:  some of the new features include:  UltraViolet support (CFF files); Dolby Digital Plus; DTS-HD and DTS Express; and the highly flexible multi-format capabilities of the new Kayak/TranscodeManager platform. Essentially, the GUI on the Kayak/TM system lets you design a process – which is then turned into an automated workflow! I believe the namesake for this product (Kayak), aside from being a palindrome, is supposed to convey the ‘unsinkable’, ‘flexible’ and ‘adaptable’ characteristics of this little boat type.

There are only a few enterprise-class encoding/transcoding solutions in the marketplace today – DR is one of them. I’ve personally used this platform for over 8 years now, and find it a solid and useful toolset.

Dolby Laboratories  link

For a company that built its entire reputation on audio, it’s been quite a jump of faith for Dolby to significantly enter the visual space. They now have several products in the video sector:  a 3D display system for theaters; a 3D compression technology to transmit 2 full-sized images (not the usual anamorphically squeezed ‘frame compatible’ method) to the home; a precision Reference Monitor (that is simply the most accurate color monitor available today) – and now at the show they introduced a new 3D display that is auto-stereoscopic (does not require glasses).

The Dolby 3D display is based on an earlier Philips product that uses (as do all current auto-stereoscopic displays intended for home use) a lenticular film, that in conjunction with a properly prepared image on the underlying LCD panel, attempts to project a number of ‘views’ – each one offering slightly different information to each eye, thereby creating the disparity that allows the human eye-brain system to be fooled into thinking that it is seeing depth. The problem with most other such systems is the limited number of ‘views’ means that that the user’s eye position in relation to the screen is critical:  step a few inches to one side or the other from the ‘sweet spot’ and the 3D effect disappears, or worse, appears fuzzy and distorted.

This device uses 28 views, the most I have seen so far (others have used between 9 and 11). However, in my opinion, the 3D effect is quite muted… it’s nothing as powerful as what you get today with a high quality active or passive display (that does require glasses). I think it’s an admirable showing – and speaks to the great attraction for a 3D display that can dispense with glasses (the stand was packed the entire show!) – but this technology needs considerable work still. If anyone can eventually pull this off, Dolby is a likely contender – I have huge respect for their image processing team.

DVS  link

This company is known for the Clipster – a high end machine that for a while was just about the only hardware that could reliably and quickly work with digital cinema files at 4K resolution. Even though now there are other contenders, this device (and it’s siblings:  Venice, Pronto, etc.) are still the reference standard for high resolution digital file-based workflows. The Clipster has ingest capabilities tailored to HDCAM-SR tape, camera RAW footage directly from RED, ARRI, Sony etc. It can also accept Panasonic AVC-Ultra, Sony SR, Apple ProRes422/444 and Avid DNxHD formats. One of its strengths is its speed, as it utilizes purpose-built hardware for encoding.

Eizo  link

Eizo is a provider of high quality LCD monitors that are recognized as some of the most accurate displays for critical color evaluation. They have a long history of use not only in post-production, but across many industries: print, advertising, medical, air traffic control and other industrial applications. The ColorEdge family is my monitor of choice – I have been using the CG243W for the last 3 years. For the NAB show, a few new things were brought to the floor: a 3D LUT (LookUpTable) that provides the most accurate color rendition possible, including all broadcast and digital cinema color spaces – so that the exact color can be evaluated across multiple potential display systems. This device also supports DCI 2K resolution (2048×1080) for theatrical preview. In addition, they showed emulation software for mobile devices. This is very cool: you measure the mobile device (while it is displaying a specialized test pattern), then the table of results is copied into the setup of the Eizo monitor, and then you can see exactly what your video or still will look like on an iPad, Android or other device.

Ok, we’ve had a fair tour so far – and here all that’s moving are your eyeballs… I walked about 6 miles to gather this same info <grin>   that’s one of the big downsides of NAB – and why ‘shortest path planning’ using the little “MyNAB” app on the iPhone proved invaluable (but not perfect – there were the inevitable meetings that always seemed to be at the other end of the universe when I had only 10 minutes to get there). This year, it was hot as well – 30C (86F) most days. Inside is air-conditioned, but standing in the cab lines could cause dehydration and melting…

trade shows always have two things in common: lower back pain and low battery life..

The absolute best thing about a short time-out at NAB: a bench to sit down!

Now that we are rested… on with some more booths…

Elecard  link

This company, located (really!) in Siberia (in the city of Tomsk) brings us precision software decoding and other tools for working with compressed files. They make a large range of consumer and professional products – from SDKs (SoftwareDevelopmentKits) to simple video players to sophisticated analysis tools. I use StreamEye Studio (for professional video analysis), Converter Studio Pro (for transcoding), and Elecard Player (for playback of MPEG-2 and H.264 files). All the current versions were shown in their booth. Their tools are inexpensive for what they offer so make a good addition to anyone’s toolset.

Elemental Technologies  link

Elemental is a relatively new arrival on the transcoding scene, only founded in 2006 and really just in the last few years have they matured to the point where their products have traction in the industry. Their niche is powerful however – they make use of massively scaled GPUs to offload the processing of video transcoding from the normal CPU-intensive task queue. They have also made smaller stand-alone servers that are well suited to live streaming. With nVidia as their main GPU partner, they have formed a solid and capable range of systems. While they are not as flexible as systems such as Digital Rapids, Rhozet or Telestream – they do offer speed and lower cost per stream in many cases. They are a good resource to check if you have highly predictable output requirements, and your inputs are well defined and ‘normal’.

Front Porch Digital  link

Front Porch makes, among other things, the DIVA storage system along with the SAMMA ingest system. These are high volume, enterprise class products that allow the ingest and storage of thousands to millions of  files. The SAMMA robot is a fully automated tape encoding system that automatically loads videotape into a stack of tape decks, encodes while performing real-time QC during the ingest, then passes the encoded files to the DIVA head end for storage management. In addition they have launched (at NAB time) a service called LYNXlocal – basically a cloud storage connection appliance. It essentially provides a seamless and simple connection to Front Porch LYNX cloud service – at a smaller scale that a full DIVA system (which has had LYNX support built in since version 6.5)

Harmonic – Omneon and Rhozet

Both Omneon and Rhozet are now part of Harmonic – whose principle product line is hardware-based encoding/transcoding for the broadcast and real-time distribution sector. Omneon is a high end vendor of storage that is specific to the broadcast and post-production industry, while Rhozet, with their Carbon and WFS transcoding lines, serves file-based workflows across a wide variety of clients.

I have personal experience with all of these companies, and in particular have worked with Omneon and Rhozet as they are extensively used in a number of our facilities.

The Omneon MediaGrid is a powerful and capable ‘smart storage’ system. It has capabilities that extend beyond just storing content – it can actually integrate directly with applications (such as FinalCut), perform transcoding, create browse proxies, manage metadata, perform automatic file migration and even host CDN (ContentDistributionNetworks). It was one of very, very few systems that passed rigorous scalability and capacity testing at our Digital Media Center. One of the tests was simultaneously supporting HD editing (read and write) from 20 FinalCut stations at the same time. That’s a LOT of bandwidth. And our tolerance was zero. As in no lost frames. None. At NAB Omneon announced their selection by NBC for support in the Olympic Games in London this summer, along with Carbon transcoding.

Rhozet, which came on the scene with the Carbon Coder and Carbon Server (transcoding engine and transcode manager platform) has been a staple of large scale transcoding for some time now. Originally (and still) their claim to fame was a lost cost per seat while maintaining the flexibility and capability that are demanded of many file-based workflows. In the last few years, the ecosystem has changed:  Carbon Coder is now known as ProMedia Carbon, and the WFS (WorkFlowSystem) has replaced the Carbon Server. WFS is highly amenable to workflow automation, and basically designed to ingest, transcode, transfer files, manage storage, notify people or machines, and many other tasks. The WFS can be interfaced by humans, scripts, API calls – and I suppose one of these days by direct neural connections…

WFS integrates with actual ProMedia Carbon nodes for the actual transcoding, and can also directly integrate with the QCS (QualityControlSystem) of Rhozet for live QC during the workflow, and with Microsoft Enterprise SQL Database for reporting and statistical analysis.

INGRI;DAHL  link

This is the only virtual booth I visited 🙂  But Kine and Einy have a great small company that makes really hip 3D glasses. Since (see my earlier review on Dolby and other auto-stereoscopic displays) we are going to be needing 3D glasses for some time yet – why not have ones that are comfortable, stylish and stand out – in a good way? Yes, they are ‘passive’ – so they won’t work with active home 3D tv’s like Panasonic, Samsung, etc. – but they do work with any passive display (Vizio, RealD, JVC, etc.) – and most importantly – at the theatre! Yes, you get ‘free’ glasses at the movies.. but consider this:  if you’ve read this far, you’ve seen a 3D movie in a theatre -with glasses that fit well and are comfortable, right…?? And… one of the biggest challenges we have today is the low light level on the screen. This is a combination of half the light being lost (since only 50% at most reaches each eye, with the alternate polarization), poor screen reflectance, etc. Although it’s not a huge difference, these glasses have greater transmittance than the average super-cheap movie-theatre glasses – therefore the picture is a little bit brighter.

And they offer a set of clip-on 3D glasses – for those of us (like myself) who wear glasses to see the screen in the first place – wearing a second pair over the top is a total drag. Not only uncomfortable – I look even more odd than normal… Check them out. The cost of a couple of tickets will buy you the glasses, and then you are set.

Interra Systems  link

Interra makes the Baton automated QC analyzer. This is a highly scalable and comprehensive digital file checker. With the rate of file manufacture these days, there aren’t enough eyeballs or time left on the planet to adequately QC that many files. Nor would it be affordable. With a template-driven process, and a very granular set of checks, it’s now possible for the Baton tool to grind through files very quickly and determine if they are made to spec. Some of the new features announced at NAB include: wider format support (DTS audio, MKV container, etc.); more quality checks (film grain amount, audio track layout, etc.); closed caption support; verification efficiency improvements; audio loudness analysis and correction (CALM); new verification reports and high availability clustering.

Manzanita Systems  link

Manzanita is the gold standard for MPEG-2 multiplexing, demultiplexing and file analysis. Period. Everyone else, in my professional opinion, is measured against this yardstick. Yes, there are cheaper solutions. Yes, there are more integrated solutions. But the bottom line is if you want the tightest and most foolproof wrapper for your content (as long as it’s MPEG-2 Program Stream or Transport Stream – and now they’ve just added MP4) – well you know where to go. They are a relatively small company in Southern California – with a global reach in terms of clients and reputation. The CableLabs standard is what most VOD (VideoOnDemand) is built upon, and with their muxing software (and concomitant analyzer), Manzanita-wrapped content plays on just about any set top box in existence – no mean feat.

New things:  CrossCheck – a fast and lower cost alternative to the full-blown Transport Stream Analyzer; MP4 multiplexer; Adaptive Transport Stream Mux (for mobile and “TV Everywhere” apps); integration of DTS audio into Manzanita apps; and a peek at a highly useful tool (prototype at the show, not a full product yet):  a transport stream ‘stitcher/editor’ – basically allows ad insertion/replacement without re-encoding the original elementary streams. Now that has some interesting applications. If you have a thorny MPEG-2 problem, and no amount of head-scratching is helping, then ask Greg Vines at Manzanita – he’s one of our resident wizards of this format – I can’t remember an issue he has not been able to shed some light on. But buy something from them, even the really inexpensive (but useful and powerful) MPEG-ID tool for your desktop – no one’s time is free… 🙂

MOG Solutions / MOG Technologies  link

MOG is a Portugal-based firm (MethodsObjectsGadgets). So now, in addition to world class sailors, great port, we have excellent quality MXF from this country of light and history. I’ve worked with them extensively in the past, and they make a small but powerful set of SDKs and applications for processing the MXF wrapper format. The core is based on the Component Suite from MOG Solutions – a set of SDKs that allow wrapping, unwrapping, editing and viewing of MXF containers. This underlying code is integrated into a number of well known platforms which allows the growing ubiquitous reach of this standards-based enabling technology.

As a new arm, MOG Technologies was formed to offer some new products that are differentiated from the core code provided by the parent MOG Solutions. They have introduced the mxfSPEEDRAIL to offer SD-HD/SDI ingest, file-based ingest, digital delivery and real time playback. The recorder handles multiple resolutions and multiple formats: SD or HD, any normal frame rate, natively encodes to QuickTime, Avid, MXF, AVCIntra, DNxHD, DVCProHD, XDCAM/HD, ProRes. Many other features. Also accepts files in any of those formats.

Panasonic  link

Panasonic offers a wide array of professional video products, from cameras, monitors, memory cards, mixers & switchers, etc. Probably one of the more interesting products is the 3D camcorder: AG-3DP1. This is ‘bigger brother’ of the original AG-3DA1. The newer model has slightly better pixel count, main difference is better recording format:  true AVC-Intra instead of AVCHD, and 10bit 4:2:2 instead of 8bit 4:2:0  It’s almost twice as expensive, but still very cheap for a full 3D rig ($35k). This camera has numerous limitations, but IF you understand how to shoot 3D, and you don’t break the rules… (biggest issue with this camera is you can’t get close to your subject, since interaxillary distance is fixed) you can make some nice stereo footage at a bargain price.

With such a wide range of products, it’s impossible cover everything here. Check this link for all their NAB announcements if you have a particular item of interest.

Photo Research  link

This is one of the best vendors of precision spectrometers. This is a must have device for precision optical measurements of color monitors. While calibration probes and software can calibrate individual monitors of the same type, only a purely optical spectrometer can correlate readings and match devices (or rather give you the information to accomplish this) across different technologies and brands – such as matching (to the best degree possible) CCLF LCD to LED LCD to Plasma. If you are serious about color, you have to have one of these. My preference is the PR-655.

RED Digital Cinema  link

Well.. now we have arrived at one of the most popular booths at the show. The lines waiting to get in to the REDray projector went around the booth.. sometimes twice.. As has often been the case in the past, RED has not done incremental – they just blow the doors off… 4K playback in 3D by real lasers in a small box that doesn’t cost the budget of a small African country?? and a home version as well (ok, still 4K but 2D). And of course they still make an awesome set of cameras… the Epic is well, epic?? Of course, with almost obscene resolution and frame rates, copious data rates have forced allowed RED to vertically integrate.. you now have RED ROCKET so you can transcode in real time (what ARE you going to do with 2 x 5K streams of RED RAW data squirting out of your 3D rig… you did remember to bring your house trailer of hard disks, correct?? Anyway, just go their site and drool, or if you have backing and the chops, start getting your kit together…

RED camera

RED 3D (in 3ality rig)

RED skirt/bag

couldn’t resist…

rovi – MainConcept  link

Now owned by rovi, MainConcept has been one of the earliest, and most robust, providers of software codecs and other development tools for the compression industry. Founded in 1993, when MPEG-1 was still barely more than a dream, this company has provided codecs ‘under the hood’ for a large majority of compressed video products throughout this industry. Currently they have a product line that encompasses video, audio, muxing, 3D, transcoding, streaming, GPU acceleration and other technologies as SDKs – and applications/plug-ins for transcoding, decoding, conversion and codec enhancements for popular NLE platforms.

I personally use their Reference Engine professional transcoding platform (does just about everything, including Digital Cinema at up to 4K resolution), the codec plug in for Adobe Premiere and various decoder packs. The plug-in for Adobe will advance (to support CS6) by the time the new version of Premiere releases…

Schneider Optics  link

A great many years ago, when such wonderful (and now a bit archaic) technologies such as 4×5 sheet film was the epitome of “maximum megapixels” [actually, the word pixel wasn’t even invented yet!] the best way to get that huge negative filled up with tack-sharp light was a Schneider “Super Angulon” lens. I still remember the brilliance of my first few shots after getting one of those lenses for my view camera. (And BTW, there is not a digital camera out there, even today, that can approach the resolution of an 4×5 negative on Ilford Delta100 stock… when I scan those I am pulling in 320 megapixels, which, even in grayscale (16bit) is about 500MB per frame.. almost sounds like RED data rates <grin>. At the show, Dwight Lindsey was kind enough to share a detailed explanation of their really awesome little adaptive lenses for the iPhone camera: they have a fisheye, a wide angle, and are just about to release a telephoto. These high quality optics certainly add capability to what’s already a cool little camera. (for more info on the iPhone camera, look elsewhere on my blog – I write about this consistently)

Signiant  link

Signiant is one of the major players in enhanced file transfer. They have a range of products dedicated to highly secure file movements over global networks. They offer a combination of high speed (much better utilization that TCP) as well as security strong enough to pass muster with the security/IT divisions of every major studio. They offer highly capable workflow engines – it’s not just a souped-up FTP box… Management, scheduling, prioritization, least-cost routing – all the bits that a serious networking tool should possess.

With the ability to transfer over the internet, or direct point-to-point, there is real flexibility. An endpoint can be as simple as a browser (yet still totally secure), or a dedicated enterprise server with 10Gb fiber connectivity. This toolset can be an enabler for CDNs, and automatically redirect content formats as required to fulfill anything from set top boxes to mobile devices.

Snell link

Formerly Snell & Wilcox, since the merger with ProBel the combined firm is now just Snell. A long time front-runner in broadcast hardware, and a recognized world leader in television conversion products, Snell has continued to adapt to the new world order – which still BTW uses a LOT of baseband video! The conversion to pure IP is a ways off yet… and for real day-to-day production, SDI video is often king. The combined company now offers a wide range of products in such categories as control & monitoring; routing; modular infrastructure; conversion & restoration; production & master control switching; and automation/media-management. Too many things to go into detail – but do check out Momentum – announced at NAB:  their new unified platform for managing complex workflows across multiple screens.

SoftNI  link

Subtitling/closed captions. Done well. Their products handle basically the full range of world broadcast, cable, satellite, OTT, etc. distribution where there is a need to add subtitles or closed captions. The capabilities extend to theatrical, screening rooms, editorial, contribution, DVD, etc. etc. The software handles virtually all non-Arabic languages as well (African, Asian, European, Middle Eastern).

Sony  link

With probably the largest booth at NAB, Sony just boggles the mind with the breadth and depth of their offerings. Even though the consumer side of their house is a bit wilted at the moment, the professional video business is solid and a major part of so many broadcasters, post-production and other entities that it’s sort of like part of everyone’s DNA. There’s always a bit of Sony somewhere… HDCAM-SR? DigiBeta? XDCAM? and so on.. Here’s just a minuscule fraction of what they were showing:  compare the PMWTD300 3D camcorder to the Panasonic discussed earlier. Very similar. It’s basically a 3D XDCAM/HD. And they are getting their toes in the water with UHD (UltraHighDefinition) with their 4K ‘stitch’ display technology. Had to laugh though: the spec sheet reads like a fashion magazine:  “Price upon Request” – in other words, just like buying haute couture from Dior, if you have to ask, you can’t afford it…

8K x 2K display! (2 x 4K displays stitched together...)

one of the displays above... the small red box is detailed below

close-up of red outline area above.. I focused as close as I could get with the iPhone - about 2" from the screen - you can just barely see the pixels. This is one sharp image!

Tektronix  link

Tektronix has been a long standing provider of high end test equipment, with their scopes, waveform monitors and other tools being seen in just about every engineering shop, master control and OB van I’ve ever seen… but now, as with most of the rest of our industry, software tools and file-based workflows demand new toolsets. Their Cerify platform was the first really capable automated QC analysis platform, and it is still capable today. At the show, we saw upcoming improvements for v7 – the addition of audio loudness measurement and correction (in conjunction with Dolby technology), as well as other format and speed enhancements.

Telestream link

The company that brought us FlipFactory – aka the universal transcoding machine – has spread its wings a lot lately. While FF is still with us, the new Vantage distributed workflow system is like a tinkertoy set for grownups who need to make flexible, adaptable and reliable workflows quickly. With the addition of Anystream to the Telestream fold, there are now additional enterprise products, and Telestream’s own lineup has expanded as well to encompass Pipeline, Flip4Mac, Episode, etc. etc. A few of the NAB announcements included Vantage v4.0 (CALM act compliance, new acceleration technology, better video quality); Vantage HE Server (parallel transcoding for multiscreen delivery); and enhanced operations in Europe with the opening of a German branch.

Verizon Digital Media Services  link

VDMS is a big solution to a big problem. The internet, as wonderful as it is, handles small packets really, really well. Little bits of emails, even rather big spreadsheet attachments, zip around our globe in large numbers, with the reliability and fabric of many interconnected routers that make the ‘net what it is. But this very ‘fabric of redundancy’ is not so wonderful for video.. which is a data format that needs really fast, smooth pipes, with as few stops as possible. It’s not the size of the highway (those are big enough), but rather those toll stations every 5 miles that cause the traffic jams…

So… what do you do? If you own some of the largest private bandwidth on the planet, that is NOT the internet.. then you consider providing an OTT solution for the internet itself… This has the potential to be a game-changer, as video delivery – through a true unicast system – can be offloaded from the internet (not completely of course, but enough to make a big difference) and turned into a utility service.. well, kind of like what a phone company used to be… before landlines started disappearing, analog phones checked into museums, and pretty much everyone’s talking bits…

This could be one of our largest digital supply chains. Let’s see what happens…

VidCheck  link

There are several cool things in Bristol, UK (apart from the weather) – the British Concorde first flew from Filton (suburb of Bristol) in April of 1969 (a bit after the French version – yes, this was the forerunner of AirBus – the original distributed supply chain… and hmmm…. seems like, as usual, the Brits and the French are still arguing…) – in more recent years this area has become a hub of high-tech, and some smart engineers who cut their teeth on other automated QC tools started up VidCheck. In my view, this is a “2nd generation” toolset, and brings some very interesting capabilities to the table.

This was one of the first to be as capable in fixing errors in a file as in just finding them… It handles a very wide array of formats (both containers and codecs – it’s one of the few that processes ProRes). Another unique aspect of this toolset is the “VidApps” – which are plug-ins for common NLEs – QC/fix now becomes part and parcel of the editorial workflow. Particularly with audio, this simplifies and speeds up corrections. NAB announcements included:  the new “VidFixer” app – which is designed from the ground up to integrate into workflow automation systems as well. In addition, the VidChecker software is now part of the new Amberfin UQC (UnifiedQualityControl) platform – providing the same detailed and rapid analysis, but integrated into the Amberfin platform.

Wowza  link

We can never seem to get away from multiple formats. First we had NTSC and PAL, then VHS and Beta, then different types of HD, etc. etc. etc. Now we have tablets, smartphones, laptops, Dick Tracy video wristwatches, etc. – all of which want to display video – but in a universal format? No such luck… Silverlight, HLS, HTML5, WideVine, Flash, TS, …… enter Wowza, who essentially is a ‘transmuxer’ (instead of a transcoder) – since usually the elementary streams are ok, it’s the wrappers that are incompatible. So basically the Wowza server skins a potato and re-wraps it in a banana skin – so that what was a Flash file can now play on an iPad… of course there’s a bit more to it… but check it out – it just might save you some migraines…

and wow – you’ve stuck through till the end – congratulations for your perseverance! Here’s a bit of my trip back as well, in pictures…

Sort of like life: Easy / Hard

There’s always several ways to do a workflow…

end of the day - SHOES OFF!!

Convention is ending – and believe me it takes its toll on feet, legs, backs…

Sunset on Encore

Wynn reflected in Encore

the Starship Enterprise has landed...

Walking back from a meeting at the Palazzo…

heading back to hotel...

convention over: now 100,000 people all want to leave airport at the same time - no seats. nowhere...

your roll-on also makes a good seat...

finally, Southwest flight #470 is ready for take-off...

please put your legs in the upright and locked position to prepare for take-off...

It took almost as long to get luggage in Burbank as it did to fly from Vegas... waiting... waiting...

still waiting for luggage...

The Return

someone else we know and love came back from Vegas on our plane...

homeward bound...

That’s it! See you next year just after NAB in this same space. Thanks for reading.

A few comments on the iPhone camera posts…

April 13, 2012 · by parasam

I have just posted the third of my ongoing series of discussions on iPhone camera apps (Camera Plus Pro). Thanks to all of you around the world who have taken the time and interest to read my most recent post on Camera+   To date I have had about 7,500 views from 93 countries – that is a fantastic response! Please share with your friends:  according to the developers of Camera+ they have sold about 10 million copies of their app, so that means there are millions more of you out there that might like to have a manual for this app (which does not come with one) – my blog serves as at least a rudimentary guide for this cool app.

It’s taken several weeks to get this next one written, hopefully the rest will come a bit faster. Apps that have a lot of filters require more testing (and lot of image uploading – the most recent post on Camera Plus Pro has 280 images!). BTW, I know this makes the posts a bit on the large side, and increases your download times. However, since the subject matter is comparing details of color, tonal values, etc. I feel that high resolution images are required for the reader to gain useful information, so I believe the extra time is worth it.

Although this list is contained in my intro to the iPhone camera app software, here are the apps for which I intend to post analysis and discussions:

Still Imaging Apps:

  • Camera
  • Camera+
  • Camera Plus Pro
  • almost DSLR
  • ProHDR
  • Big Lens
  • Squareready
  • PhotoForge2
  • Snapseed
  • TrueDoF
  • OptimumCS-Pro
  • Iris Photo Suite
  • Filterstrom
  • Genius Scan+
  • Juxtaposer
  • Frame X Frame
  • Phonto
  • SkipBleach
  • Monochromia
  • MagicShutter
  • Easy Release
  • Photoshop Express
  • 6×6
  • Camera!

Motion Imaging Apps:

  • Movie*Slate
  • Storyboard Composer
  • Splice
  • iTC Calc
  • FilmiC Pro
  • Camera
  • Camera Plus Pro
  • Camcorder Pro

The above apps are selected only because I use them. I am not a professional reviewer, have no relationship with any of the developers of the above apps, am not paid or otherwise motivated externally. I got started on this little mission as I love photography, science, and explaining how things work. At first, I just wanted to know what made the iPhone tick… as my article on the hardware explains, that was more of a mission than I had counted on… but fun! I then turned to the software that makes the hardware actually do something useful… and here we are.

The choice of apps is strictly personal – this is just what I have found useful to me so far. I am sure there are others that are equally as good for others – and I will leave it to those others to discuss. It’s a big world – lots of room for lots of writing… Undoubtedly I will add things from time to time, but this is a fair list to start with!

Readers like you (and so many thanks to those that have commented!) are what brings me back to the keyboard. Please keep the comments coming. If I have made errors, or confused you, please let me know so I can correct that. Blogs are live things – continually open to reshaping.

Thanks!

iPhone4S – Section 4c: Camera Plus Pro app

April 13, 2012 · by parasam

This is a similar app to Camera+ (but not made by the same developers). (This version costs $1.99 at the time of this post – $1 more than Camera+). It’s similar in design and function. The biggest differences are:

  • Ability to tag photos
  • More setup options on selections (self-timer, burst mode, resolution, time lapse, etc.)
  • More sharing options
  • Ability to add date and copyright text to photo
  • A ‘Quick Roll’ (light table type function) has 4 ‘bins’ (All, Photos, Video, Private – can be password protected)
  • Can share photos via WiFi or FTP
  • Bing search from within app
  • Separate ‘Digital Flash’ filter with 3 intensity settings
  • Variable ‘pro’ adjustments in edit mode (Brightness, Saturation, Hue, Contrast, Sharpness, Tint, Color Temperature)
  • Different filters than Camera+, including special ‘geometric distortion’ filters
  • Quick Roll design for selecting which photos to Edit, Share, Sync, Tag, etc.
  • Still Camera Functions  [NOTE: the Video Camera functions will be discussed separately in later in this series when I compare video apps for the iPhone]
    • Ability to split Focus area from Exposure area
    • Can lock White Balance
    • Flash: Off/On (for the 4 & 4S); this feature changes to “Soft Flash” for iPhone 3GS and Touch 4G.
    • Front or Rear camera selection
    • Digital Zoom
    • 4 Shooting Modes: Normal/Stabilized/Self-Timer/Burst (part of the below Photo Options menu)
    • Photo options:
      • Sound On/Off
      • Zoom On/Off
      • Grid Lines On/Off
      • Geo Tags On/Off
      • SubMenu:
        • Tags:  select and add tags from list to the shot; or add a new tag
        • Settings:  a number of advanced settings for the app
          • Photos:
            • Timer (select the time delay for self-timer: 2-10 seconds in 1 second increments
            • Burst Mode (select the number of pictures taken when in burst mode: 3-10
            • Resolution (Original [3264×2448]; Medium [1632×1224]; Low [816×612]) – NOTE: these resolutions for the iPhone4S, each different hardware model supported by this app has a different set of resolutions set by the sensor. Essentially it is Full, Half and Quarter resolution. The exact numbers for each model are in the manual.
            • Copyright (sets the copyright text and text color)  [note: this is a preset – the actual ‘burn in’ of the copyright notice into the image is controlled during Editing]
            • Date (toggle date display on/off; set date format; text color)
        • Videos (covered in later section)
        • Private Access Restriction (Set or Change password for the Private bin inside the Quick Roll)
        • Tags (edit, delete, add tag names here)
        • Share (setup and credentials for social sharing services are entered here):
          • Facebook
          • Twitter
          • Flickr
          • Picasa
          • YouTube (for videos)
        • Review (a link to review the app)
      • Info:
        • Some ‘adware’ is here for other apps from this vendor, and a list of FAQs, Tips, Tricks (all of which are also in the manual available for download as a pdf from here)
  • Live Filters:
    • A set of 18 filters that can be applied before taking your shot, as opposed to adding a filter after the shot during Editing.
      • BW
      • Vintage
      • Antique
      • Retro
      • Nostalgia
      • Old
      • Holga
      • Polaroid
      • Hipster
      • XPro
      • Lomo
      • Crimson
      • Sienna
      • Emerald
      • Bourbon
      • Washed
      • Arctic
      • Warm
    • A note on image quality using Live Filters. A bit more about the filters will be discussed below when we dive into the filter details, but some test shots using various Live Filters show a few interesting things:
      • The pixel resolution stays the same whether the filter is on or off (3264×2448 in the case of the iPhone4S).
      • While the Live Filter function is fully active during preview of an image, once you take the shot there is a delay of about 3 seconds while the filtering is actually applied to the image. Some moving icons on the screen notify the user. Remember that the screen is 960×640 while the full image is 3264×2448 (13 X larger!) so it takes a few seconds to filter all those additional pixels.
      • This does mean that when using Live Filter you can’t use Burst Mode (it is turned off when you turn on a Live Filter), and you can’t shoot that rapidly.
      • Although the pixel dimensions are unchanged, the size of the image file is noticeably smaller when using Live Filters than when not. This can only mean that the jpeg compression ratio is higher (same amount of input data; smaller output data; compression ratio mathematically must be higher).
      • I first noticed this when I went to email myself a full resolution image from my phone to my laptop [faster for one or two pix than syncing with iTunes] as I’m researching for this blog – the images were on average 1.7MB instead of the 2.7MB average for normal iPhone shots.
      • I tested against four other camera apps, including the native Camera app from Apple, and all of them delivered images averaging 2.7MB per image.
      • I then tested this app (Camera Plus Pro) in Unfiltered mode, and the size of the output file jumps up to an average of 2.3MB per image. Not as high as most of the others, but 35% larger. Therefore a 35% reduction in compression ratio. I’ll run some more objective tests during the filter analysis section below, but both in file size and visual observation, the images appear more highly compressed.
      • This does not mean that a more compressed picture is inferior, or softer, etc. – it is highly dependent on subject material, lighting, etc. But, what is true is that a more highly compressed picture will tend to show artifacts more easily in difficult parts of the frame than will the same image at a lower compression ratio.
      • Just all part of my “Know Your Tools” motto…
      • Edit Functions
        • Crop
          • Freeform (variable aspect ratio)
          • Square (1:1 aspect ratio)
          • Rectangular (2:3 aspect ratio) [portrait]
          • Rectangular (3:2 aspect ratio) [landscape]
          • Rectangular (4:3 aspect ratio) [landscape]
  • Rotation
    • Flip Horizontal
    • Right
    • Left
    • Flip Vertical
  • Digital Flash [a filter that simulates flash illumination]
    • Small
    • Medium
    • Large
  • Adjust [image parameter adjustments]
    • Brightness
    • Saturation
    • Hue
    • Contrast
    • Sharpness
    • Tint
    • Color Temperature
  • Effects
    • Nostalgia – 9 ‘retro’ effects
      • Coffee
      • Retro Red
      • Vintage
      • Nostalgia
      • Retro
      • Retro Green
      • 70s
      • Antique
      • Washed
    • Special – 9 custom effects
      • XPro
      • Pop
      • Lomo
      • Holga
      • Diana
      • Polariod
      • Rust
      • Glamorize
      • Hipster
    • Color – 9 tints
      • Black & White
      • Sepia
      • Sunset
      • Moss
      • Lucifer
      • Faded
      • Warm
      • Arctic
      • Allure
    • Artistic – 9 special filters
      • HDR
      • Fantasy
      • Vignette
      • Grunge
      • Pop Art
      • GrayScale
      • Emboss
      • Xray
      • Heat Signature
    • Distortion – 9 geometric distortion (warping) filters
      • Center Offset
      • Pixelate
      • Bulge
      • Squeeze
      • Swirl
      • Noise
      • Light Tunnel
      • Fish Eye
      • Mirror
  • Borders
    • Original (no border)
    • 9 border styles
      • Thin White
      • Rounded Black
      • Double Frame
      • White Frame
      • Polaroid
      • Stamp
      • Torn
      • Striped
      • Grainy

Camera Functions

[Note:  Since this app has a manual available for download that does a pretty fair job of describing the features and how to access and use them, I will not repeat that information here. I will discuss and comment on the features where I believe this will add value to my audience. You may want to have a copy of the manual available for clarity while reading this blog.]

The basic use and function of the camera is addressed in the manual, what I will discuss here are the Live Filters. I have run a series of tests to attempt to illustrate the use of the filters, and provide some basic analysis of each filter to help the user understand how the image will be affected by the filter choice. The resolution of the image is not reduced by the use of a Live Filter – in my case (testing with iPhone4S) the resultant images are still 3264×2448 – native resolution. There are of course the effects of the filter, which in some cases can reduce apparent sharpness, etc.

A note on my testing procedure:  In order to present a uniform set of comparison images to the reader, and have them be similar to my standard test images, the following steps were taken:

Firstly:  my standard test images that I use to analyze filters/scenes/etc for any iPhone camera app consists of two initial test images:  a technical image (calibrated color and grayscale image), and a ‘real-world’ image – a photo I shot of a woman in the foreground with a slightly out-of-focus background. The shot has a wide range of lighting, color, a large amount of skin tone for judging how a given filter changes that important parameter, and a fairly wide exposure range.

 The original source for the calibration chart was a precision 35mm slide (Kodak Q60, Ektachrome) that was scanned on a Nikon Super Coolscan 5000ED using Silverfast custom scanner software. The original image was scanned at 4000dpi, yielding a 21megapixel image sampled at 16bits per pixel. This image was subsequently reduced in gamut (from ProPhotoRGB to sRGB) and size (to match the native iPhone4S resolution of 3264×2448) and bit depth (8bits per pixel) . The image processing was performed using Photoshop CS5.5 in a fully color-calibrated workflow.

The source for the ‘real-world’ image was initially captured using a Nikon D5000 DSLR fitted with a Nikkor 200mm F2.8 prime lens (providing an equivalent focal length of 300mm compared to full-frame 35mm – the D5000 is a 2/3 size sensor [4288×2848]). The exposure was 1/250 sec @ f5.6 using camera raw format – no compression. That camera body captures in sRGB color space, and although outputs a 16bit per pixel format, the sensor is really not capable of anything more than 12 bits in a practical sense. The image was processed in Photoshop CS5.5 in a similar manner as above to yield a working image of 3264×2448, 8 bits per pixel, sRGB.

These image pairs are what are used throughout my blog for analyzing filters, by importing into each camera app as a file.

For this test of Live Filters, I needed to actually shoot with the iPhone, since there is no way using this app to apply the Live Filters to a pre-existing image. To replicate the images discussed above as closely as possible, the following procedure was used:

For the calibration chart, the same source image was used (Kodak Q60), this time as a precision print in 4″x5″ size. These prints were manufactured by Kodak under rigidly controlled processes and yield a highly accurate reflective target. (Most unfortunately, with the demise of Kodak, and film/print processing in general, these are no longer available. Even with the best of storage techniques, prints will fade and become inaccurate for calibration. It will be a challenge to replace these…)  I used my iPhone4S to make the exposures under controlled lighting (special purpose full-spectrum lighting set to 5000°K).

For the ‘real-world’ image, I wanted to stay with the same image of the woman for uniformity, and it provides a good range of test values. To accomplish that (and be able to take the pictures with the iPhone) was challenging, since the original shot was impossible to duplicate in real life. I started with the same original high resolution image (in Photoshop) in its original 16bit, high-gamut format. I then printed that image using a Canon fine art inkjet printer (Pixma Pro 9500 MkII), using a 16 bit driver, on to high quality glossy photo paper at a paper size of 13″ x 19″. At a print density of 267dpi, this yielded an image of over 17megapixels when printed. The purpose was to ensure that no subsampling of printed pixels would occur when photographed by the 8megapixel sensor in the iPhone. [Nyquist sampling theory demands a minimum of 2x sampling – 16megapixels in this case – to ensure that). I photographed the image with the same controlled lighting as used above for the calibration chart. I made one adjustment to each image for normalization purposes:  I mapped the highest white level in the photograph (the clipped area on the subject’s right shoulder – which was pure white in the original raw image) to just reach pure white in the iPhone image. This matched the tonal range for each shot, and made up for the fact that even with a lot of light in the studio it wasn’t enough to fully saturate the little tiny iPhone sensor. No other adjustments of any kind were made. [This adjustment was carried out by exporting the original iPhone image to Photoshop to map the levels].

While even further steps could have been taken to make the process more scientifically accurate, the purpose here is one of relative comparison, not absolute measurement, so I feel the steps taken are sufficient for this exercise.

The Live Filters:

Live Filter = BW

Live Filter = BW

The BW filter provides a monochrome adaptation of the original scene. It is a high contrast filter, this can clearly be seen in the test chart, where columns 1-3 are solid black, as well as all grayscale chips from 19-22. Likewise, on the highlight end of the scale, chips 1-3 have no differentiation. The live image shows this as well, with a strong contrast throughout the scene.

Live Filter = Vintage

Live Filter = Vintage

The Vintage filter is a warming filter that adds a reddish-brown cast to the image. It increases the contrast some (not nearly as much as the previous BW filter) – this can be seen in the chart in the area of columns 1-2 and rows A-J. The white and black ends of the grayscale are likewise compressed. Any cool pastel colors either turn white or a pale warm shade (look at columns 9-11). The live image shows these effects, note particularly how the man’s blue shirt and shorts change color remarkably. The increase in contrast, couple with the warming tint, does tend to make skin tones blotchy – note the subject’s face and chest.

Live Filter = Antique

Live Filter = Antique

The Antique filter offers a large amount of desaturation, a cooling of what color remains, and an increase in contrast. Basically, only pinks and navy blues remain in the color spectrum, and the chart shows the clipping of blacks and whites. The live image shows very little saturation, only some dark blue remains, with a faint pink tinge on what was originally the yellow sign in the window.

Live Filter = Retro

Live Filter = Retro

The Retro filter attempts to recreate the look of cheap film cameras of the 1960’s and 1970’s. These low quality cameras often had simple plastic lenses, light leaks due to imperfect fit of components, etc. The noticeable chromatic aberrations of the lens and other optical ‘faults’ have now seen a resurgence as a style, and that is emulated with digital filters in this and others shown below. This particular filter shows a general warming, but with a pronounced red shift in the low lights. This is easily observable in the gray scale strip on the chart.

Live Filter = Nostalgia

Live Filter = Nostalgia

Nostalgia offers another variation on early low-cost film camera ‘look and feel’. As opposed to the strong red shift in the lowlights of Retro, this filter shifts the low-lights to blue. There is also an increase in saturation of both red and blue, notice that in the chart. The green column, #18, hardly has any change in saturation from the original, while the reds and blues show noticeable increases, particularly in the low-lights. The highlights have a general warming trend, showed in the area bounded by columns 13-19 and rows A-C. The live shot shows the strong magenta/red shift that this filter caused on skin tones.

Live Filter = Old

Live Filter = Old

The Old filter applies significant shifts to the tonal range. It’s not exactly a high contrast filter, although that result is apparent in the ratio of the highlight brightness to the rest of the picture. There is strong overall reduction in brightness – in the chart all differentiation is lost below chip #16. There is also desaturation, this is more obvious when studying the chart. The highlights, like many of these filter types, are warmed toward the yellow spectrum.

Live Filter = Holga

Live Filter = Holga

The Holga filter is named after the all-plastic camera of the same name – from Hong Kong in 1982. A 120 format roll-film camera, the name comes from the phrase “ho gwong” – meaning ‘very bright’. The marketing people twisted that phrase into HOLGA. The actual variations show a warming in the highlights and cooling (blue) in the lowlights. The contrast is also increased. In addition, as with many of the Camera Plus Pro filters, there is a spatial element as well as the traditional tonal and chromatic shifts:  in this case a strong red tint in one corner of the frame. My tests appear to indicate that the placement of this (which corner) is randomized, but the actual shape of the red tint overlay is relatively consistent. Notice that in the chart the overlay is in the upper right corner, in the live shot it moved to lower right. There is also desaturation, this is noticeable in her skin, as well as the central columns of the chart.

Live Filter = Polaroid

Live Filter = Polaroid

The Polaroid filter mimics the look of one of the first ‘instant gratification’ cameras – the forerunner of digital instant photography. The PLC look (Polariod Land Camera) was contrasty with crushed blacks, tended towards blue in the shadows, and had slightly yellowish highlights. This particular filter has a pronounced magenta shift in the skin tones that is not readily apparent from the chart – one of the reasons I always use these two different types of test images.

Live Filter = Hipster

Live Filter = Hipster

The Hipster filter effect is another of the digital memorials to the original Hipstamatic camera – a cheap all plastic 35mm camera that shot square photos. Copied from an original low-cost Russian camera, the two brothers that invented it only produced 157 units. The camera cost $8.25 in 1982 when it was introduced. With a hand-molded plastic lens, this camera was another of the “Lo-Fi” group of older analog film cameras whose ‘look’ has once again become popular. The CameraPlusPro version shows pronounced red in the midtones, crushed blacks (see column 1-2 in the chart and chips #18 and below), along with increased contrast and saturation. In my personal view, this look is harsher and darker than the actual Hipstmatic film look, which tended towards raised blacks (a common trait of cheap film cameras, the backs always leaked a bit of light so a low level ‘fog’ of the film base always tended to raise deep blacks [areas of no light exposure in a negative] to a dull gray); a softer look (lower contrast due to raised blacks) and brighter highlights. But that’s purely a personal observation, the naming of filters is arbitrary at best, that’s why I like to ‘look under the hood’ with these detailed comparisons.

Live Filter = XPro

Live Filter = XPro

The XPro filter as manifested by the CameraPlusPro team looks very similar to their Nostalgia version, but the XPro has highlights that are more white than the yellow of Nostalgia. The term XPro comes from ‘cross-process’ – what happens when you process film in the wrong developer, for instance developing E-6 transparency film in C-41 color negative chemistry. The effects of this process are highly random, although there is a general tendency towards high contrast, unnatural colors, and staining. In this instance, the whites are crushed a bit, blacks tend blue, and contrast is raised.

Live Filter = Lomo

Live Filter = Lomo

The Lomo filter effect is designed to mimic some of the style of photograph produced by the original LOMO Plc camera company of Russia (Leningrad Optical Mechanical Amalgamation). This was a low cost automatic 35mm film camera. While still in production today, this and similar cameras account for only a fraction of LOMO’s production – the bulk is military and medical optical systems – and are world class… Due to the low cost of components and production methods, the LOMO camera exhibited frequent optical defects in imaging, color tints, light leaks, and other artifacts. While anathema to professional photographers, a large community that appreciates the quirky effects of this (and other so-called “Lo-Fi” or Low Fidelity) cameras has sprung up with a world-wide following. Hence the Lomo filter…

This particular instance shows increased contrast and saturation, warming in the highlights, green midtones, and like some other CameraPlusPro filters, an added spatial effect (the red streak – again randomized in location, it shows in upper left in the chart, lower right in the live shot). [Pardon the pilot error:  the soft focus of the live shot was due to faulty autofocus on that iPhone shot – but I didn’t notice it until comping the comparison shots several days later, and didn’t have the time to reset the environment and reshoot for one shot. I think the important issues can be resolved in spite of that, but did not want my readers to assume that soft focus was part of the filter!]

Live Filter = Crimson

Live Filter = Crimson

The Crimson filter is, well, crimson! A bit overstated for my taste, but if you need a filter to make your viewers think of “The Shining” then this one’s for you! What more can I say. Red. Lots of it.

Live Filter = Sienna

Live Filter = Sienna

The Sienna filter always makes me think of my early art school days, when my well-meaning parents thought I needed to be exposed to painting… (burnt sienna is a well-know oil pigment, an iron oxide derivative that is reddish-brown. My art instructor said “think tree trunks”.)   Alas, it didn’t take me (or my instructor) long to learn that painting with oils and brushes was not going to happen in this lifetime. Fortunately I discovered painting with light shortly after that, and I’ve been in love with the camera ever since. The Sienna as shown here is colder than the pigment, a somewhat austere brown. The brown tint is more evident in the lowlights, the whites warm up just slightly. As in many of the CameraPlusPro filters, the blacks are crushed, which creates an overall look of higher contrast, even if the midtone and highlight contrast levels are unchanged (look at the grayscale in the chart). There is also an overall desaturation.

Live Filter = Emerald

Live Filter = Emerald

Emerald brings us, well, green… along with what should now be familiar:  crushed blacks, increased contrast, desaturation.

Live Filter = Bourbon

Live Filter = Bourbon

The Bourbon filter resembles the Sienna filter, but has a decidedly magenta cast in the shadows, while the upper midtones are yellowish. The lowered saturation is another common trait of the CameraPlusPro filters.

Live Filter = Washed

Live Filter = Washed

The Washed filter actually looks more like ‘unwashed’ print paper to me.. Let me explain:  before the world of digits descended on photography, during the print process (well, this applies to film as well but the effect is much better known in the printing process), after developing, stopping and fixing, you need to wash the prints. Really, really well. For a long time, like 30-45 minutes under flowing water. This is necessary to wash out almost all of the residual thiosulfate fixing chemical – if you don’t, your prints will age prematurely, showing bleaching and staining, due to the slow annihilation of elemental silver in the emulsion by the remaining thiosulfate. The prints will end up yellowed and a bit faded, in an uneven manner. In this digital approximation, the biggest difference is (as usual for this filter set) the crushed blacks. In the chemical world, just the opposite would occur, as the blacks in a photographic print have the highest accumulation of silver crystals (that block light or cover up the white paper underneath). The other attributes of this particular filter are: strongly yellowed highlights, lowlights tend to blue, increased contrast and raised saturation.

Live Filter = Arctic

Live Filter = Arctic

This Arctic filter looks cold! Unlike the true arctic landscape (which is subtle but has an amazing spectrum of colors), this filter is actually a tinted monochrome. The image is first reduced to black and white, then tinted with a cold blue. This is very clear by looking at the chart. It’s an effect.

LIve Filter = Warm

Live Filter = Warm

After looking so cold in the last shot, our subject is better when Warm. Slightly increased saturation and a yellow-brown cast to the entire tonal range are the basic components of this filter.

Edit Functions

This app has 6 groups of edit functions:  Crop, Rotate, Flash, Adjust, Filters and Borders. The first two are self-evident, and are more than adequately explained in the manual. The “how-to” of the remaining functions I will leave to the manual, what will be discussed here are examples of each variable in the remaining four groups.

Flash – also known as “Digital Flash” – a filter designed to brighten an overly dark scene. Essentially, this filter attempts to bring the image levels up to what they might have been if a flash had been used to take the photograph initially. As always, this will be a ‘best effort’ – nothing can take the place of a correct exposure in the first place. The most frequent ‘side effects’ of this type of filter are increased noise in the image (since the image was dark in the first place – and therefore would have substantial noise due to the nature of CCD/CMOS sensors), raising the brightness level will also raise the appearance of the noise; and white clipping of those areas of the picture that did receive normal, or near-normal, illumination.

This app supports 3 levels of ‘flash’ [brightness elevation] – I call this ‘shirt-sizing’ – S, M, L.  Below are 4 screen shots of the Flash filter in action: None, Small, Medium, Large.

This filter attempts to be somewhat realistic – it is not just an across-the-board brightness increase. For instance, objects that are very dark in the original scene (such as her handbag or the interior revealed by the doorway in the rear of the scene) only are increased slightly in level, whiile midtones and highlights are raised much more substantially.

Flash: Original

Flash: Small / Medium / Large

Adjust – there are 7 sub-functions within the Adjust edit function; Brightness, Saturation, Hue, Contrast, Sharpness, Tint and Color Temperature. Each function has a slider that is initially centered, moving it left reduces the named parameter, moving it right increases. Once moved off the zero center position, a small “x” on the upper right of the assoiciated icon can be tapped to return the slider to the middle position, effectively turning off any changes. Examples below for each of the sub-functions are shown.

Brightness: Minimum / Original / Maximum

Saturation: Minimum / Original / Maximum

Hue: Minimum / Original / Maximum

Contrast: Minimum / Original / Maximum

Sharpness: Minimum / Original / Maximum

Tint: Minimum / Original / Maximum

Color Temperature: Minimum / Original / Maximum

Color Temperature: Cooler / Original / Warmer

Filters – There are 45 image filters in the Edit section of the app. Some of them are similar or identical in function to the filters of the same name that were discussed in the Live Filter section above. These are contained in 5 groups: Nostalgia, Special, Colorize, Artistic and Distortion. The examples below are similar in format to the presentation of the Live Filters. The source images for these comparisons are imported files (see the note at the beginning of this section for details).

Nostalgia filters:

Nostalgia filter = Coffee

Nostalgia filter = Coffee

The Coffee filter is rather well-named:  it looks like your photo had weak coffee spread over it! You can see from the chart that, as usual for many of the CameraPlusPro filters, increased contrast, crushed blacks and desaturation is the base on which a subtle warm-brown cast is overlayed. The live example shows the increased contrast around her eyes, and the skin tones in both the woman and the man in the background have tended to pale brown as opposed to the original red/yellow/pink.

Nostalgia filter = Retro Red

Nostalgia filter = Retro Red

The Retro Red filter shows increased saturation, a red tint across the board (highlights and lowlights), and does not alter the contrast – note all the steps in the grayscale are mostly discernable – although there is a slight blending/clipping of the top highlights. The overall brightness levels are raised from midtones through the highlights.

Nostalgia filter = Vintage

Nostalgia filter = Vintage

The Vintage filter here in the Edit portion of the app is very similar to the filter of the same name in the Live Filter section. The overall brightness appears higher, but some of that may be due to the different process of shooting with a live filter and applying a filter in the post-production process. This is more noticeable in the live shot as opposed to the charts – a comparision of the “Vintage” filter test charts from the Live Filter section and the Edit section shows almost a dead match. This filter is a warming filter that adds a reddish-brown cast to the image. It increases the contrast some  – this can be seen in the chart in the area of columns 1-2 and rows A-J. The white and black ends of the grayscale are likewise compressed. Any cool pastel colors either turn white or a pale warm shade (look at columns 9-11). The live image shows these effects, note particularly how the man’s blue shirt and shorts change color remarkably. The increase in contrast, coupled with the warming tint, does tend to make skin tones blotchy – note the subject’s face and chest.

Nostalgia filter = Nostalgia

Nostalgia filter = Nostalgia

The Nostalgia filter, like Vintage above, is basically the same filter as the instance offered in the Live Filter section. The main difference is the Live Filter version is more magenta and a bit darker than this filter. Also the cyans tend green more strongly in this version of the filter – check out columns 12-13 in the chart. Some increased contrast, pronounced yellows in the highlights and increased red/blue saturation are also evident.

Nostalgia filter = Retro

Nostalgia filter = Retro

The Retro filter, as in the version in the Live Filter section, attempts to recreate the look of cheap film cameras of the 1960′s and 1970′s. These low quality cameras often had simple plastic lenses, light leaks due to imperfect fit of components, etc. The noticeable chromatic aberrations of the lens and other optical ‘faults’ have now seen a resurgence as a style, and that is emulated with digital filters in this and others shown below. This particular filter shows a general warming, but with a pronounced red shift in the low lights. This is easily observable in the gray scale strip on the chart.

Nostalgia filter = Retro Green

Nostalgia filter = Retro Green

The Retro Green filter is a bit of a twist on Retro, with some of Nostalgia thrown in (yes, filter design is a lot like cooking with spices..)  The lowlights are similar to Nostalgia, with a blue cast, the highlights show the same yellows as both Retro and Nostalgia, the big difference is in the midtones which are now strongly green.

Nostalgia filter = 70s

Nostalgia filter = 70s

The 70s filter gives us some desaturation, no change in contrast, red shift in midtones and lowlights, yellow shift in highlights.

Nostalgia filter = Antique

Nostalgia filter = Antique

The Antique filter is similar to the Antique Live Filter, but is much lighter in terms of brightness. There is a large degree of desaturation, some increase in contrast, significant brightness increase in the highlights, and very slight color shifts at the ends of the grayscale:  yellow in the highlights, blue in the lowlights.

Nostalgia filter = Washed

Nostalgia filter = Washed

The Washed filter here in the Edit section is very different from the filter of the same name in Live Filters. The only real similarity is the strongly yellowed highlights. This filter, like many of the others we have reviewed so far, has a much lighter look (brightness levels raised), a very slight magenta shift, slightly increased contrast, enhanced blues in the lowlights and some increase in cyan in the midtones.

Special filters:

Special filter = XPro

Special filter = XPro

The XPro filter in the Edit functions has a different appearance than the filter of the same name in Live Filters. This instance of the digital emulation of a ‘cross-process’ filter is less contrasty, less magenta, and has more yellow in the highlights. The chart shows the yellows in the highlights, blues in the lowlights, and increased saturation. The live shot reveals the increased white clipping on her dress (due to increased contrast), as well as the crushed blacks (notice the detail of the folds in her leather handbag are lost).

Special filter = Pop

Special filter = Pop

The Pop filter brings the familiar basic tonal adjustments (increased contrast, with crushed whites and blacks, an overall increase in midtone and highlight brightness levels) but this time the lowlights have a distince red/magenta cast, with midtones and highlights tending greenish/yellow. This is particularly evident in the live shot. Look at the black doorway in the original which is now very reddish in the filtered shot.

Special filter = Lomo

Special filter = Lomo

The Lomo filter here in the Edit area is rather different than the same named filter in Live Filters. This particular instance shows increased contrast and saturation, yellowish warming in the highlights, and like some other CameraPlusPro filters, an added spatial effect (the red splotch – in this example the red tint is in the same lower right corner for both chart and woman – if the placement is random, then this is just coincidence – but… it makes it look like the lowlights in the grayscale chart are pushed hard to red:  not so, it’s just that’s where the red tint overlay is this time…). Look at the top of her handbag in the live shot to see that the blacks are not actually shifted red. As with many other CameraPlusPro filters, the whites and blacks are crushed some – you can see on her dress how the highlights are now clipped.

Special filter = Holga

Special filter = Holga

The Holga filter is one where there is a marked similarity between the Live Filter and this instance as an Edit Filter. This version is lighter overall, with a more greenish-yellow cast, particularly in the shadows. The vignette effect is stronger in this Edit filter as well.

Special filter = Diana

Special filter = Diana

The Diana filter is another ‘retro camera’ effect:  based on, wow – surprise, the Diana camera… another of the cheap plastic cameras prevalent in the 1960′s. The vignetting, light leaks, chromatic aberrations and other side-effects of a $10 camera have been brought into the digital age. In a similar fashion to several of the previous ‘retro’ filters discussed already, you will notice crushed blacks & highlights, increased contrast, odd tints (in this case unsaturated highlights tend yellow), increased saturation of colors – and a slight twist in this filter due to even monochrome areas becoming tinted – the silver pendant on her chest now takes on a greenish/yellow tint.

Special filter = Polaroid

Special filter = Polaroid

The Polaroid filter here in the Edit section resembles the effects of the same filter in Live Filters in the highlights (tends yellow with some mild clipping), but diverges in the midtones and shadows. Overall, this instance is lighter, with much less magenta shift in the skin tones. The contrast is not as high as in the Live Filter version, and the saturation is a bit lower.

Special filter = Rust

Special filter = Rust

The Rust filter is really very similar to old-style sepia printing:  this is a post-tint process to a monochrome image. In this filter, the image is first rendered to a black & white image, then colorized with a warm brown overlay. The chart clearly shows this effect.

Special filter = Glamorize

Special filter = Glamorize

The Glamorize filter is a high contrast effect, with considerable clipping in both the blacks and the whites. The overall color balance is mostly unchanged, with a slight increase in saturation in the midtones and lowlights. Thr highlights on the other hand are somewhat desaturated.

Special filter = Hipster

Special filter = Hipster

The Hipster filter follows the same pattern as other filters that have the same name in both the Live Filters section and the Edit section: the Edit version is usually lighter with higher brightness levels, less of a magenta cast in skin tones and lowlights, and a bit less contrast. Still, in relation to the originals, the Hipster has the typical crushed whites and blacks, raised contrast, and in this case an overall warming (red/yellow) of midtones and highlights.

Colorize filters:

Colorize filter = Black & White

Colorize filter = Black & White

The Black & White filter here is almost identical to the effects produced by the same filter in the Live Filter section. A comparison of the chart images shows that. The live shots also render in a similar manner, with as usual the Edit filter being a bit lighter with slightly lower contrast. This is yet another reason to always evaluate a filter with at least two (and the more, the better) different types of source material. While digital filters offer a wealth of possibilities that optical filters never could, there are very fundamental differences in how these filters work.

At a simple level, an optical filter is far more predictable across a wide range of input images than a digital filter. The more complex a digital filter becomes (and many of the filters discussed here that attempt to emulate a multitude of ‘retro’ camera effects are quite complex) the more unexpected results are possible. When you consider that a Wratten #85 warming filter is really very simple (an orange filter that essentially partially blocks bluish/cyan light) – therefore this action will occur no matter what the source image is.

A filter such as Hipster, for example, attempts to mimic what is essentially a series of composited effects from a cheap analog film camera:  chromatic aberration of the cheap plastic lens, spherical lens aberration, light leaks, vignetting due to incomplete coverage of the film (sensor) rectangle, focus anomalies due to imperfect alignment of the focal plane of the lens with the film plane, etc. etc. Trying to mimic all this with mathematics (which is what a digital filter does, it simply applies a set of algorithms to each pixel) means that it’s impossible for even the most skilled visual programmer to fully predict what outputs will occur from a wide variety of inputs.

Colorize filter = Sepia

Colorize filter = Sepia

The Sepia filter is very similar to the Rust filter – it’s another ‘monochrome-then-tint’ filter. This time instead of a reddish-brown tint, the color overlay is a warm yellow.

Colorize filter = Sunset

Colorize filter = Sunset

The Sunset filter brings increased brightness, crushed whites and blacks, increased contrast and an overall warming towards yellow/red. Looks like it’s attempting to emulate the late afternoon light.

Colorize filter = Moss

Colorize filter = Moss

The Moss filter is, well, greenish… It’s a somewhat interesting filter, as most of the tinting effect is concentrated solely on monochromatic midtones. The chart clearly shows this. The live shot demonstrates this as well, the saturated bits keep their colors, the neutrals turn minty-green. Note his shirt, her dress, yellow sign stays yellow, and skin tones/hair don’t take on that much color.

Colorize filter = Lucifer

Colorize filter = Lucifer

The Lucifer filter is – surprise – a reddish warming look. There is an overall desaturation, followed by a magenta/red cast to midtones and lowlights. A slight decrease in contrast actually gives this filter a more faded, retro look than ‘devilish’, and in some ways I prefer this look to some of the previous filters with more ‘retro-sounding’ names.

Colorize filter = Faded

Colorize filter = Faded

The Faded filter offers a desaturated, but contrasty, look. Usually I interpret a ‘faded’ look to mean the kind of visual fading that light causes on a photographic print, where all the blacks and strongly saturated colors fade to a much lighter, softer tone. In this case, much of the color has faded, but the luminance is unchanged (in terms of brightness) and the contrast is increased, resulting in the crushed whites and blacks common to Camera Plus Pro filter design.

Colorize filter = Warm

Colorize filter = Warm

The Warm filter is basically a “plus yellow” filter. Looking at the chart you can see that there is an across-the-board increase in yellow. That’s it.

Colorize filter = Arctic

Colorize filter = Arctic

The Arctic filter is, well, cold. Like several of the other tinted monochromatic filters (Rust, Sepia), this filter first renders the image to a monochrome version, then tints it at all levels with a cold blue color.

Colorize filter = Allure

Colorize filter = Allure

The Allure filter is similar to the Warming filter – an even application of a single color increase – in this case magenta. There is also a slight increase in contrast.

Artistic filters:

Artistic filter = HDR

Artistic filter = HDR

The HDR filter is an attempt to mimic the result from ‘real’ HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. Of course without true double (or more) exposures, this is not possible, but since some of the ‘look’ that some instances of HDR processing reveal show increased contrast, saturation and so on – this filter emulates some of that. Personally, I believe that true HDR photography should be indistinguishable from a ‘normal’ image – except that it should correctly map a very wide range of illumination levels correctly. A lot of “HDR” images tend to be a bit ‘gimicky’ with excessive edge glow, false saturation, etc. While this can make an interesting ‘special effect’ I think that it would better serve the imaging community if we correctly labeled those images as ‘cartoon’ or some other more accurate name – those filter side-effects really have nothing to do with true HDR imaging. Nevertheless, to complete the description of this filter, it is actually quite ‘color-neutral- (no cast), but does add contrast, particularly edge contrast; and significant vibrance and saturation.

Artistic filter = Fantasy

Artistic filter = Fantasy

The Fantasy filter is another across-the-board ‘color cast’ filter, this time with an increase in yellow-orange. Virtually no change in contrast, just a big shift in color balance.

Artistic filter = Vignette

Artistic filter = Vignette

The Vignette filter is a spatial filter, in that it really just changes the ‘shape’ of the image, not the overall color balance or tonal gradations. It mimics the light fall-off that was typical of early cameras whose lenses had inadequate covering power (the image rendered by the lens did not extend to the edges of the film). There is a tiny loss of brightness even in the center of the frame, but essentially this filter darkens the corners.

Artistic filter = Grunge

Artistic filter = Grunge

The Grunge filter is a combination filter:  both a spatial and tonal filter. It first, like past filters that are ‘tinted monochromatic’ filters, renders the image to black & white, then tints it – in this case with a grayish-yellow cast. There is also a marked decrease in contrast, along with elevated brightness levels. This is easily evident from the grayscale strip in the chart. In the live shot you can see her handbag is now a dark gray instead of black. The spatial elements are then added:  specialized vignetting, to mimic frayed or over-exposed edges of a print, as well as ‘scratches’ and ‘wrinkles’ (formed by spatially localized changes in brightness and contrast). All this combines to offer the look of an old, faded, bent and generally funky print.

Artistic filter = Pop Art

Artistic filter = Pop Art

The Pop Art filter is very much a ‘special effects’ filter. This particular filter is based on the solarization technique. This process (solarization) is in fact a rather complex and highly variable technique. It was initially discovered by Daguerre and others who first pioneered photography in the mid-1800’s. The name comes from the reversal of image tone of a drastically over-exposed part of an image:  in this case, pictures that included the sun in direct view. Instead of the image of the sun going pure white (on the print, pure black in the negative), the sun’s image actually went back to a light gray on the negative, rendering the sun a very dark orb in the final print. One of the very first “optical special effects” in the new field of photography. This is actually cause by halogen ions released within the halide grain by over-exposure diffusing to the grain surface in amounts sufficient to destroy the latent image.

In negatives, this is correctly known as the Sabattier effect after the French photographer, who published an article in Le Moniteur de la Photographie 2 in 1862. The digital equivalent of this technique, as shown in this filter, uses image tonal mapping computation to create high contrast bands where the levels of the original image are ‘flattened’ into distinct and constant brightness bands. This is clearly seen in the grayscale strip in the chart image. It is a very distinctive look and can be visually interesting when used in a creative manner on the correct subject matter.

Artistic filter = Grayscale

Artistic filter = Grayscale

The Grayscale filter is just that:  the rendering of the original image into a grayscale image. The difference between this filter and the Black & White filters (in both Live Filters and this Edit section) is a much lower contrast. By comparing the grayscale strips in the original and filtered chart images, you can see there is virtually no difference. The Black & White filters noticeably increase the contrast.

Artistic filter = Emboss

Artistic filter = Emboss (40%)

Artistic filter = Emboss (100%)

The Emboss filter is another highly specialized effects filter. As can be seen from the chart image, the picture is rendered to a constant monochrome shade of gray, with only contrasting edges being represented by either an increase or decrease in brightness. This creates the appearance of a flat gray sheet that is ‘stamped’ or embossed with the outline of the image elements. High contrast edges are rendered sharply, lower contrast edges are softer in shape. Reading from left to right, a transition from dark to light is represented by a dark edge, from light to dark is shown as light edge. Since each of these Edit filters has an intensity slider, the effect’s strength can be ‘dialed in’ as desired. I have shown all the filters up to now at full strength, for illustrative purposes. Here I have included a sample of this filter at a 40% level, since it shows just how different a look can be achieved in some cases by not using a filter at full strength.

Artistic filter = Xray

Artistic filter = Xray

The Xray filter is yet another ‘monochromatic tint’ filter, with the image first being rendered to a grayscale image, then (in this case) undergoing a complete tonal reversal (to make the image look like a negative), then finally a tint with a dark greenish-cyan color. It’s just a look (since all ‘real’ x-ray films are black and white only), but I’m certain at least one of the millions of people that have downloaded this app will find a use for it.

Artistic filter = Heat Signature

Artistic filter = Heat Signature

The Heat Signature filter is the final filter in this Artistic group. It is illustrative of a scientific imaging method whereby infrared camera images (that see only wavelengths too long for the human eye to see) are rendered into a visual color spectrum to help illustrate relative temperatures of the observed object. In the real scientific camera systems, cooler temperatures are rendered blue, the hottest parts of the image in reds. In between temperatures are rendered in green. Here, this mapping technique is applied against the grayscale. Blacks are blue, midtones are green, highlights are red.

Distortion filters:

The geometric distortion filters are presented differently, since these are spatial filters only. There is no need, nor advantage, to using the color chart test image. I have presented each filter as a triptych, with the first image showing the control as found when the filter is opened within the app, the second image showing a manipulation of the “effects circle” (which can be moved and resized), and the third image is the resultant image after applying the filter. There are no intensity sliders on the distortion filters.

Geometric Filter: Center Offset - Initial / Targeted Area / Result

The Center Offset filter ‘pulls’ the image to the center of the circle, as if the image was on an elastic rubber sheet, and was stretched towards the center of the control circle.

Geometric Filter: Pixelate - Initial / Targeted Area / Result

The Pixelate filter distorts the image inside of the control circle by greatly enlarging the quantization factors in the affected area, causing a large ‘chunking’ of the picture. This renders the affected area virtually recognizable – often used in candid video to obfuscate the identity of a subject.

Geometric Filter: Bulge - Initial / Targeted Area / Result

The Bulge filter is similar to the Center Offset, but this time the image is ‘pulled into’ the control circle, as if a magnifying fish-eye lens was applied to just a portion of the image.

Geometric Filter: Squeeze - Initial / Targeted Area / Result

The Squeeze filter is somewhat the opposite of the Bulge filter, with the image within the control circle being reduced in size and ‘pushed back’ visually.

Geometric Filter: Swirl - Initial / Targeted Area / Result

The Swirl filter does just that:  takes the image within the control circle and rotates it. Moving the little dot controls the amount and direction of the swirl. She needs a chiropractor after this…

Geometric Filter: Noise - Initial / Targeted Area / Result

The Noise filter works in a similar way to the Pixelate filter, only this time large-scale noise is introduced, rather than pixelation.

Geometric Filter: Light Tunnel - Initial / Targeted Area / Result

The Light Tunnel filter is probably a Star Trek shadow – what part of our common culture has not been affected by that far-seeing series? Remember the ‘communicator’?  Flip type cell phones, invented 30 years later, looked suspiciously like that device…

Geometric Filter: Fish Eye - Initial / Result

The Fish Eye filter mimics what a ‘fish eye’ lens might make the picture look like. There is no control circle on this filter – it is a fixed effect. The center of the image is the center of the fish-eye effect. In this case, it’s really not that strong of a curvature effect, to me it looks about like what a 12mm lens (on a 35mm camera system) would look like. If you want to see just how wide a look is possible, go to Nikon’s site and look for examples of their 6.5mm fisheye lens. That is wide!

Geometric Filter: Mirror - Initial / Result

The Mirror filter divides the image down the middle (vertically) and reflects the left half of the image onto the right side. There are no controls – it’s a fixed effect.

Borders:

Borders: Thin White / Rounded Black / Double Frame

Borders: White Frame / Polaroid / Stamp

Borders: Torn / Striped / Grainy

Ok, that’s it. Another iPhone camera app dissected, inspected, respected. Enjoy.

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