Operation Manual

Perfect stabilization - tips & tricks

After running the video analysis and the first playback of the stabilized footage, you may well be

satisfied with the result – but perhaps it is possible to do even better. Check the following points

and you may be able to further improve the stabilization of your video.

•

Are you using the correct Stabi-Cam?

Although the Universal profile will improve your footage in all cases, in certain situations it makes

sense to try out a different Stabi-Cam in order to produce the perfect result.

•

Camera-Dynamic Yes/No?

Enabling the Keep Camera Dynamic option can have a major impact on your footage. For instance,

if you have shaky footage of a scenery WITHOUT any intended movements of the camera, it is

better to disable this option, in order to eliminate the shake as unwanted camera movement. You

would see considerable improvement in a scene of this kind with Keep Camera Dynamic on, but

better stabilization can be achieved with it off.

So when does it make sense to use Keep Camera Dynamic?

Whenever a scene has been filmed with intentional camera motion, such as panning or tracking

shots or similar movements.

What does Avoid Border mean?

Switching on the Avoid Border mode first of all hides the empty (black) areas of the image that

result from shifting the image to stabilize it. This is done by zooming the video.

As a result, the greater the degree of shake in the video, the greater the zoom factor in the

stabilized footage.

But Mercalli V2 also features a new Smart Border Technology. It tells the user by visual signals

that in certain parts of the footage a very high zoom factor would be necessary in order to

perfectly stabilize the video. The user can then choose either to have complete stabilization of

these parts of the video or trade a lower degree of stabilization at individual points for a lower

zoom factor. The advantages of less zoom are a sharper image and preservation of original details.

The user decides what is most important for the footage in question and is not constrained by an

automatic rule.

The parts of the video where the user can decide are indicated as follows:

This signal enables the user to make adjustments interactively during playback and either

increase the degree of stabilization or shift the weighting towards less zoom. This simple manual

intervention lets the cutter fine-tune the fully automatic stabilization to suit individual tastes and

objectives, and should thus meet all needs.