Hello forum!

I'm new to this software and it seems really fun to use, however I'm having a bit of trouble. I'm checking out tutorials and everything to figure out how to use it, but there's one thing I can't figure out... I can't seem to find the "Calibration" tab in iPi Studio, which seems essential to properly calibrate using a marker and to mark the ground points. I'm using the trial version and 1 PS3 Eye camera. Could that be affecting anything?
I downloaded the iPi Calibration Tool software, so maybe that replaced the tab?

Can someone please clear this up for me?

Much appreciated,
-Anthony

Hello!

The thing is that Calibration is required only for multi-camera video. If you'll use 3 or 4 cameras you'll see calibration tab.

Also note that single camera version doesn't support officially yet. You can try but at your's own risk.

Oh ok I guess that makes sense. I'll try with the single camera for now I guess. I want to avoid buying multiple cameras for now, at least until I decide to completely commit to this software.

Thanks!

BTW, the Calibration tool is not needed if you have a PS3 camera. It's only meant for cameras where the FOV is unknown. (For the PS3 Eye, use the default setting of 75 degrees.)

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

Thanks for the tip Greenlaw :)

One more question though, do you think two cameras would be enough? Or is 3 really recommended? I realized I have a Future Shop gift card and no other use for it so I might buy a second PS3 camera since I have enough for it. :P

The two cameras would be placed diagonally to my left and to my right (NE and NW) pointing towards my front, rather than having 3 (Front, Left, Right). Do you think that setup would work fairly decent?

Use as many cameras as you can afford or get. The size of you space will determine how you set them up. Half or full circle. In each camera view, you will want to have the capture actor in full view no matter how he moves. So the head or feet should be always in view. This means the cameras need to be back about 5 to 6 feet each. Not having enough space for a full circle I have use the half circle capture setting with 6 cameras. The software works fine, but you will find out, as you record, that when you add cameras the computer power or more accurately usb bandwidth will be used up. To overcome this newer computer or added usb2 or usb3 cards are needed. You might have a ton of usb jacks on your computer but the reality is that their probably only one or two ports.

The second problem that you will run into is the graphics card on your computer really maters. The faster the better. The difference is that 10 seconds per frame can take hours, where 2 seconds will be minutes. So my normal shot takes about 2 hours to render where the new card will do the same in 24 minutes.

Dale

I've never tried capturing with two cameras but I think it should work. The trick will be giving the cameras as much information about the action and the space it's moving through, so you may need to change the camera positions depending on the action you're wanting to record. Obviously, with more cameras surrounding the action this becomes less of a concern.

I think the biggest limitation you will run into is if you want the character to walk or turn, since the software will have less information to be able to follow the 'curves' of the motion. Two cameras might be fine if the character is standing or sitting in place, and maybe it will be okay if the character is only taking one or two steps forward/backward.

Keep experimenting and asking questions: I can at least give you tips for what to avoid. Good luck! :)

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!