[markr041]

Power Director 13 is the editor of choice for many owners of the Samsung NX1/NX500, since it edits H265 files natively. One of its features is a stabilizer.


I shot some crocuses with the NX1 and macro lens - crocuses are small and close to the ground, so you need to get up close and it is very difficult to use a tripod, so I did not. The result is a shaky, but not jittery, video. So I tried out the PD 13 stabilizer.


The first set of clips in this video are the native clips, stabilized only by the lens OIS - it does a pretty good job considering how close I was shooting - followed by the same clips using the PD 13 stabilizer. It is clear that the stabilizer crops the frame, so there must be some resolution loss. You can see how it did:


https://vimeo.com/124258599


And here are some 4K frame grabs, just to show how well the lens focuses (on crocuses (!)). You can see from the blades of grass how small these flowers are.

Yeah, not a crocus.

And this one used manual focus (all the rest used CAF):

 

[bsprague]

Mark,

Very good! It looks like it works well. I've written before that 4K viewing of 4K footage is not my primary goal for using 4K footage. I'm more intrigued by the post processing opportunities it allows, including stabilization.

When I got the LX100, I updated Premier Elements to the latest version 13 for some 4K compatibility. One of the promoted features was an improved shake stabilizer. I've tried it on some wiggly clips, including walking. I've pleasantly surprised how good it is. It was not very good in previous versions.

I did post a "test" on Vimeo and put it in a topic here. I don't recall it got any plays! I've since deleted it.

With PrE it will not batch process. You have to do one clip at a time in the project and it can be a little slow. Will PD do batches?

Another "lesson" in PrE is that there seems to be differences when applying the stabilizer to clips where the in camera stabilizer is off or on. It appears that results might be better if I leave the LX100 stabilization off if I know I will be doing it in post processing. In other words, "stacking" stabilizers may not be the best approach. In your clip at 1:10 you can see a little "squishy" background movement in the top of the frame while the flower is very steady. This is similar to my result in using both stabilizers at once.

Bill

 

[Ken Ross]

Impressive Mark.

It seems that PD13 has a very effective stabilizer. Many stabilizers can do the job, but you sacrifice detail in the process.

The PD13 stabilizer seems to have very minimal loss of detail, if at all.

 

[markr041]

It seems to require application to each clip separately, although it is essentially two clicks. The crop is not small, so if one anticipates using the stabilizer, that should be taken into account in framing in the field.


I don't think it will solve the 50-200mm lens shake issue

 

[bsprague]

The PrE 13 stabilizer can be a two click operations with a "Quick" button. It also has "Advanced" sliders where you can match the amount of correction needed to the amount of shake. A handlebar mounted GoPro would require different adjustments than a handheld flower shot. Reducing the default "Quick" amounts significantly reduce the cropping.

As I said, my view of a 4K advantage is that there is room to loose a little detail if the benefit to viewing is there. Giving up a little of the 4K detail is worth it if it improves the clip's viewing experience.

 

[bsprague]

..... Many stabilizers can do the job, but you sacrifice detail in the process.....

Ken,

Can you pass on any experience with other stabilizers? Awhile back I did some research and kept landing on one called Mercalli. http://www.prodad.com/home/products/video_optimization/300391667,l-us.xhtml

It has been on my try it out list but have done nothing yet.

Bill

 

[Ken Ross]

It seems to require application to each clip separately, although it is essentially two clicks. The crop is not small, so if one anticipates using the stabilizer, that should be taken into account in framing in the field.


I don't think it will solve the 50-200mm lens shake issue

No stabilizer can do that!

I'm returning the 50-200 lens tomorrow since it seems the firmware update is not coming so fast. I may just go with the 18-200.

 

[Ken Ross]

Ken,

Can you pass on any experience with other stabilizers? Awhile back I did some research and kept landing on one called Mercalli. http://www.prodad.com/home/products/video_optimization/300391667,l-us.xhtml

It has been on my try it out list but have done nothing yet.

Bill

Bill, yes, I have used both Mercalli and the one that's built-in to Edius Professional. I suspect that there one in the same since both yielded identical results in my tests.

However, based on Mark's results, I'd say the one built in to PD13 is as good as any and maybe a bit better. They all have quirks in terms of resolution loss, cropping issues and odd things going on in some clips.

 

[bsprague]

Bill, yes, I have used both Mercalli and the one that's built-in to Edius Professional.....

Thanks.