Mercalli bargain!

riredale wrote on 11/27/2013, 10:18 AM

Ritsmer, I agree that it looks funny some times when the camera is TOO smooth, just as I agree with OldSmoke that some stuff on TV can induce nausea (and not just from the program content). I remember that early episodes of "Law and Order" really had terrible cases of ShakeyCam (intentional camera shake) but they then dialed it down significantly for later years.

I've stuck with DeShaker and have found I like my footage best when the stabilization is set to 500 (pretty mild). I think the ideal amount is where the viewer is not drawn to the technique but rather is able to focus entirely on the content. I also do not zoom to hide the borders but rather have DeShaker borrow from preceding and succeeding frames to fill in. I also overlay a 4% Cookie Cutter border to hide any leftover edge artifacting. 4% is small enough to never be noticed on most TVs.

DeShaker works on video fields so processed footage is a bit softer in the vertical dimension than the original. But the effect is subtle and in any event unnoticeable when I down-rez to DVD.

Peter Riding wrote on 11/27/2013, 10:55 AM

I can see whats happened now. I wanted V3 not V2. I can see the upgrade path from Easy to V2 but not direct from Easy to V3. I would have had to go Easy > V2 > V3 and incurred another $49.

Confusing but quite an enjoyable hunt to distract me from doing proper work :- )

Thanks for the tip anyway Arthur, it spurred me into getting a good stabiliser.

Pete

MikeyDH wrote on 11/27/2013, 1:15 PM

Thanks DiDegu. I appreciate it.

pauli-hietala wrote on 11/27/2013, 2:42 PM

What differences can be found in the Mercalli Easy vs. Mercalli V3? I do not see the difference between them.

MikeyDH wrote on 11/27/2013, 4:32 PM

OK so what is the better bargain? The V2 Pro @ $150 or The V3 SAL @ $179? Hopping from Easy to V2 to V3 is $200...

Kimberly wrote on 11/27/2013, 4:56 PM

Well I think it depends on how you work.

In my case, I'm the camera operator and I control the footage. I decide what gets used and what doesn't. I'm going to use it to stabilize select clips, but for sure I won't stabilize everything. Maybe 10% - 15% of my clips in any given piece?
In that case, the V2 plug-in for Vegas makes a lot of sense because I'm only stabilizing what I actually use and I won't gobble up a lot of time/space stabilizing things I won't use.

Others may have a need to stabilize everything. Maybe they are getting footage from others and there is a mandate to use what they are given. In that case, V3 SAL (with batch processing capability) makes a lot of sense. They can batch process all the clips, walk away, and then get to work when the batch is ready.

Grazie wrote on 11/28/2013, 1:20 AM

Kimberly: "In my case, I'm the camera operator and I control the footage."So am I, but I want even more stabilization from the tools I have and I can give. I now have to have a really good reason to schlep out my Tripod with my bridge HD camera. Plus I like the flexibility of the camera up-close-and-personal with my now preferred way of shooting.

No, I don't use "others" footage, it's my own work. Consequently, MercPro3SA having the combo of Top n' Tail and Batching makes for a truly beneficial product allowing for quick n dirty shots being converted/turned into something more professional looking. And that's what we are all after.

ProMerc3SAL, came along just at the right time for me.

Grazie

ritsmer wrote on 11/28/2013, 4:37 AM

Graham: your fine XF300 has got even 3 modes of optical stabilization - do you use this for quick & dirty shots - or - how do you see built-in stabilization vs or maybe together with stabilization in post?

I mean i.e. besides stabilizing the shot the optical camera stabilization also normally prevents or decreases the motion blur - which else remains no matter how much one stabilizes in post.

Grazie wrote on 11/28/2013, 4:47 AM

My "fine" XF goes on a tripod and yes, there are some fine stabilization with it. Love it!

Grazie

pauli-hietala wrote on 11/28/2013, 1:02 PM

Now, Mercalli Easy side by side with NewBlueFX. The difference is quite dramatic. The foreground objects interfere with the operation of NewBlueFX.

Arthur.S wrote on 11/29/2013, 4:58 AM

Just as an aside to this; I have 2 x Canon XA 20 cams with the new "dynamic stabilisation" 5 axis mode. I've found that this actually looks worse than the 'normal' stabiliser. Not sure why, but thinking that as I have a pretty steady hand, and also use a mono pod a lot when I'm on the move, it's somehow over compensating. Both cams show the same results. Thoughts?

pauli-hietala wrote on 11/30/2013, 11:07 AM

If Sharpening is applied after Mercalli, the render output looks odd. This issue is solved, so they said. But it is not true.

But if the sharpening is done first and then the Mercalli, everything looks good.

pilsburypie wrote on 12/3/2013, 4:20 AM

I have been interested in stabilising a few clips so jumped at the chance of testing this software out for free to see if it would be a worthwhile tool for the box. It really does a grand job of removing a decent amount of camera shake, but outputting the result is a different story.

My source footage is 1080 50p AVCHD. When Mercalli has analysed and worked its magic I output the file to WMV high quality. A big jump in size from the original clip 91Mb to 289Mb, which is not a problem, but the quality is poor. The resulting image is less sharp, but more importantly quite blocky. Some of the edges have quite a pixellated look to them. So much so that I'd choose my original shakey footage over the stabilised version.

What is causing this? The original footage file format? AVCHD? 1080 50p? The rendering to WMV? The limited options on this free trial? Anyone else noticed this? How can this be overcome?

Thoughts appreciated.

Kimberly wrote on 12/3/2013, 8:00 AM

@pilsburypie:

Are you trialing the Mercalli Easy or the Mercalli V2 SAL/Plug-in or Mercalli V3 SAL?

I trialed the Mercalli Easy. For me, it did not fit my needs and the output choices were very limited. I think WMV was one of the choices and if memory is correct, it was a small out put file. I think that's the extent of the "free" or $20 Mercalli Easy.

My apologies if you are speaking about V2 or V3. In my case I installed V2 Plug-in and it works great, no apparent loss of crispness, nothing blocky.

Regards,

Kimberly

pilsburypie wrote on 12/3/2013, 8:48 AM

Kimberly

You are correct in assuming I am using the Easy version. It would seem this is the problem then. Good to know it is just limited to this.

My reason for going with the Easy version was the free continuous trial. Does this apply to the V2 or is it a limited time trial?

pauli-hietala wrote on 12/3/2013, 9:53 AM

pilsburypie: "What is causing this? The original footage file format? AVCHD? 1080 50p? The rendering to WMV?"

Save it to Microsoft MPEG-2 -format.

Kimberly wrote on 12/3/2013, 8:38 PM

[I]Does this apply to the V2 or is it a limited time trial?[I]

I don't know about the duration of the free Mercalli Easy. I do know once you own a Mercalli Easy serial number you can upgrade to V2 Plug-In + V2 SAL at a discount (see above screenshot).

Another use commented that his prior trial on Mercalli V2 or V3 SAL created a problem with getting the discount. In my case I trialed it before I bought it but it did not create a problem with the discount for me. For sure you would want to trial the V2 or V3 to make sure you like the results. Can't say if you would have issues getting the upgrade discount though.

jetdv wrote on 12/4/2013, 9:11 AM

Pete, the only product that has really caused any instability with Vegas is Titler Pro. NewBlue is working on that at the moment and we have a new beta of Titler Pro 2 that seems to be working for all people who have tested it. I'm sure there will be a new release soon. As for all the other effect, there has never been any real issues with them.

pilsburypie wrote on 12/4/2013, 9:20 AM

@Pawe "Save it to Microsoft MPEG-2 -format."

I have tried that mate - same sort of results with that slightly blocky look to the edges. Also the file is massive 430Mb from a 90Mb clip - but that wouldn't bother me if the result was decent.

Will trial V2 plugin and see how that goes - then decide how often I'd use it before purchasing.

Thanks for the replies

OldSmoke wrote on 12/4/2013, 11:36 AM

Yes, I have seen similar blocky edges in the Easy version. I then tried the same clip on Mercalli V3 and it went away. The source was HDV 1440x1080 50i.

pauli-hietala wrote on 12/4/2013, 12:02 PM

My filefotmat is AVCHD 1080 50i and it works fine with Mercalli Easy. V2 also works well.