KAP & UAV Exposure Control Intervalometer Script

M141

waterwingz
You now have my full and undivided attention. Would you mind enabling logging in the script parameter in the CHDK Script menu and run the test with both 1.2.0 and 1.3.0 and post the logs here?

Sure! I already had enabled logging and posting 2 logs. 120 log is from flight few days ago and pics + video seems to be ok.

130 log is from yesterday flight and again pics looks reasonable good, but every video is out of focus. Not very bad but clearly soft and blur.

Kap script is version 3.0 with my above post rude modification to set AFL for video. I might need to do proper tests as there's so much going on with my quadcopter, gimbal and camera setup right now that it's mixing my head 😀

Today i made one flight with same 1.3 chdk and modified KAP 3.2 version script only to use direct button commands to set AFL lock before video:

-- Video mode
function check_video(shot)
    local capture_mode
    if ((video_mode>0) and(shot>0) and (shot%video_mode == 0)) then
        unlock_focus()
		sleep(500)
		press("shoot_half")
		sleep(2000)
		click("left")
		sleep(500)
		release("shoot_half")
        printf("Video mode started. Button:"..tostring(video_button))

This seems to work just like it should. Press shutter half camera tried to focus-->got focused with green square ons creen-->clicked left button to set AFL--->AFL "logo" showed on screen and after that video started with locked focus. Of course this is not the best as focus can be also else where than infinity.

By the way should we see that Canon original AFL info or logo on screen with any of focusing modes in kap script? I quess not because i can't remember ever seen it ....

For Windows I'd suggest notepad++ although there are a raft of others.

Downloaded and it's great. Earlier i was using PSPad and noticed i somehow had 5-6 years old version of it :😀 Now it's updated but i think Notepad++ is still better...

Regards Jani

KAP_120.log

9.46KB

KAP_130.log

9.87KB

Johnso10

I recently sent our s100 for repair and when it came back the images captured using the script were extremely blurry yet when the same parameters are used just taking a picture manually (1/1600 tv; ~3.5av; ~200 ISO all at infinity) the images are crystal clear. When talking to the manager he mentioned that if a camera is sent to canon for repair they will automatically install the latest firmware even if that model (s100) has been discontinued...could this have any effect on the inability of the camera to focus using the script? I have another s100 with an IR lens that I swap the sd card with that uses the script with no issues but for some reason I can't get the newly repaired camera to work with the script...am I missing something extremely obvious? All the settings in the other camera are the exact same as the repaired one and they work pretty much he same except for when running the script...which has been an absolute lifesaver for us btw...if you have any ideas I would really appreciate the help seeing as we will start combining the fields soon and will start losing opportunities to fly our fields.

Thanks for any help,
Jeff j

waterwingz

Johnso10
I recently sent our s100 for repair and when it came back the images captured using the script were extremely blurry yet when the same parameters are used just taking a picture manually (1/1600 tv; ~3.5av; ~200 ISO all at infinity) the images are crystal clear.

Do I understand that your S100 would focus properly with the kap_uav.lua script prior to sending it for repair but not after it was returned? (Or had you not tested it prior to having it fixed?)

Setting focus on some cameras seems to be problematic. I've been working with several S100 users on this problem with little success. Yet my S100 does not have any issues setting focus at infinity accurately.

When talking to the manager he mentioned that if a camera is sent to canon for repair they will automatically install the latest firmware even if that model (s100) has been discontinued...could this have any effect on the inability of the camera to focus using the script?

No. If they had upgraded the firmware, you would need a whole new version of CHDK installed for that firmware. The old one simply would not work.

I have another s100 with an IR lens that I swap the sd card with that uses the script with no issues but for some reason I can't get the newly repaired camera to work with the script...

So does the IR converted camera focus properly? (How do you know if you are using it for IR ?)

am I missing something extremely obvious?

Just the sight of me slitting my wrists in frustration over this problem.

...which has been an absolute lifesaver for us btw...if you have any ideas I would really appreciate the help seeing as we will start combining the fields soon and will start losing opportunities to fly our fields.

Well, I'm still working the issue. I have a theory that in auto focus mode some cameras focus well based on feedback control but they will not set a manual focus accurately due to calibration issues. Just a theory at the moment - I'm using a test script with my cameras to compare lens mechanical posting and subject distance as reported by the camera to try and track this down.

Meanwhile, can you use the script if you set the Focus @ Infinity Mode to Off ?

Johnso10

1. Now that I'm thinking about it the reason I found the script in the first place was because we were looking for something that we could use to remotely retract the lens before landing due to breaking said camera...so I do not know if it was working previously.

3. Running the IR camera at infinity was returning images that were/are much clearer than those taken at infinity with the recently repaired camera...the only thing really being different is that the corn is "red" using the IR lens (actually uses an IR lens not just run without filter) so I guess I'm assuming the camera is focusing properly due to the much higher quality images.

4. I've found that pulling off fingernails is just as therapeutic and creates half the mess.

5. I just tried the camera in the kitchen without infinity and the images did seem to be a little better...does this mean I should take the camera out of 'M' mode and run it in something else or would this not make a difference?

I/we really appreciate the help and can't say enough how much this script has helped us...especially when using IR in changing light conditions, the previous stitched images had basically zero value for us when having to do multiple flights to capture a field so thank you for making me look much better at my job than I really am.

>Jeff j

waterwingz

Johnso10
5. I just tried the camera in the kitchen without infinity and the images did seem to be a little better...does this mean I should take the camera out of 'M' mode and run it in something else or would this not make a difference?

Leaving it in 'M' mode is fine - the script overrides all the M settings anyway. What you want to try is setting the script parameter that says Focus @ Infinity Mode to None. That will let the S100 autofocus and hopefully do a better job that the script can when it requests "infinity" and doesn't get it with the S100.

I/we really appreciate the help and can't say enough how much this script has helped us...especially when using IR in changing light conditions, the previous stitched images had basically zero value for us when having to do multiple flights to capture a field so thank you for making me look much better at my job than I really am.

Thanks. Always good to meet yet another member of the growing group of kap & uav users who have discovered the value and power of scripts written in Lua.

waterwingz

waterwingz

MarkB
Another test this weekend with the latest TLAPTEST script/ Some flicker and slow down and speed up.

I'll take a look tonight. Meanwhile, can you try the same sequence but with all logging disabled? ( set the Logging parameter to "none"). It will be interesting to see if all the speed changes go away

@MarkB : modified version of latest test script that let's you disable all logging to the SD card. Please do another time lapse run and see if the speed up / slow down goes away completely?

TIA

tlaptest3.lua

4.47KB

JMarques

Hi guys!

Fantastic script waterwingz! thx!

But i need a little help. I use a UAV to shoot vertical photos every 3s (Photogrammetry), i always use AUTO and it works very very well when is sunny. The problem is when its alot cloudy i get everything blurry and unfocus, already tried to play with the iso's an shutter speed but still cant find a good solution

Can anyway give me some advice on what should i use?

UAV speed = between 7m/s to 10/ms (25km/h to 36km/h)
Altitude = between 80m to 100m
Camera = Canon SX260 HS

Examples (both is auto):

Photo 1 (IMG_1384.JPG)

Sunny (taken at 11am) with F/Stop = 4, Exposure time = 1/500s, ISO = 100, Max Aperture = 3.625

Photo 2 (IMG_2486.JPG)

Cloudy (taken at 11am but alot cloudy) with F/Stop = 4, Exposure time = 1/250s, ISO = 125, Max Aperture = 3.625

Any tips to fix this?

Sorry to be such a noob with this question but if anyway can help it would be fantastic!

waterwingz

JMarques
But i need a little help. I use a UAV to shoot vertical photos every 3s (Photogrammetry), i always use AUTO and it works very very well when is sunny. The problem is when its alot cloudy i get everything blurry and unfocus, already tried to play with the iso's an shutter speed but still cant find a good solution

Can anyway give me some advice on what should i use?

Are you letting the script control exposure or relying on the camera?

In both your shots, the shutter speed (and thus the ISO setting) seem pretty low for UAV work. I've normally seen people using minimum shutter speeds of 1/500 or 1/1000 of a second. This will cause the ISO setting to crank up but as long as you keep it below 1000 you should be okay. You might even find the results at 1600 & 3200 acceptable so you should experiment a bit. You can use the script's parameter settings to do all of this.

JMarques

So i should use minimum shutter between 1/500 or 1/1000 and iso above 100 but below 1000. Correct?

And should i use this setup for sunny days and cloudy days? And the F-Stop? low = 2.8, target = 4.0, max = 8.0?

And btw in the Focus @ infinity mode i choose the none option, right?

Thank you so much waterwingz!

waterwingz

JMarques
So i should use minimum shutter between 1/500 or 1/1000 and iso above 100 but below 1000. Correct?

Start with 1/1000 and let the max ISO1 be 800 and max ISO2 be 1600 and see how it looks ?

And should i use this setup for sunny days and cloudy days? And the F-Stop? low = 2.8, target = 4.0, max = 8.0?

I'm travelling this week so doing this all from memory via a mobile phone. Does your camera actually even have a user adjustable aperture? If not, the script will just ignore those settings.

And btw in the Focus @ infinity mode i choose the none option, right?

If it works for you (and it does for most people) then the setting focus at infinity to MF is probably best. Gives the camera one less thing to do between shots.

Update : one of the common causes of blurr is vibrations on the UAV platform. You have some good pix so that's probably not an issue. Also, it seems that turning off image stablization (if your camera allows that) is may actually a good idea - YMMV.

JMarques

waterwingz

JMarques
So i should use minimum shutter between 1/500 or 1/1000 and iso above 100 but below 1000. Correct?

Start with 1/1000 and let the max ISO1 be 800 and max ISO2 be 1600 and see how it looks ?

Ok!

waterwingz

And should i use this setup for sunny days and cloudy days? And the F-Stop? low = 2.8, target = 4.0, max = 8.0?

I'm travelling this week so doing this all from memory via a mobile phone. Does your camera actually even have a user adjustable aperture? If not, the script will just ignore those settings.

It have only a ND Filter, so those settings wont work!

waterwingz

And btw in the Focus @ infinity mode i choose the none option, right?

If it works for you (and it does for most people) then the setting focus at infinity to MF is probably best. Gives the camera one less thing to do between shots.

Update : one of the common causes of blurr is vibrations on the UAV platform. You have some good pix so that's probably not an issue. Also, it seems that turning off image stablization (if your camera allows that) is may actually a good idea - YMMV.

How does it work that MF thing?
And regarding the vibration inst a problem, i got very sharp photos when there is plenty of sun!
And yes i can turn off the image stabilization!

Thank you so much man. Tomorrow i share the results!

waterwingz

The MF and AFL settings basically tell the camera not to autofocus. The script gives it a command to just set the focus at infinity. This saves time as the focus should be at infinity and the camera does not need to figure that out based on a moving image off in the distance.

Either of the setting works well on most cameras if you are using CHDK release 1.3.0.

JMarques

I have the 1.2.0 version.

Maybe that why that when i tried to use the AFL the result was total unfocus in all batch of photos (see attch)

Does it worth to upgrade to 1.3.0?

Ps. since the interval is 3s and i start to take photos since altitude is 0m to 100m maybe this option inst valid for me.

waterwingz

1.3.0. is what I use to test the script. You'll need it for MF setting. Go for it.

And on these little cameres, infinity starts at about 30' due to their large depth of field. So I'd advise using it if it works for you.

JMarques

ok! gonna upgrade ASAP.

And one final question i have another sx260 but with a NIR filter should i use the same settings? Or do i need another settings?

😉

waterwingz

I'm guessing the same settings. One script user reported better success with his IR modded camera than his stock unit.

JMarques

Thanks once again.

Tomorrow i will post some feedback regarding this settings!

😀

waterwingz

Make sure you have logging to the SD card enabled. If things don't turn out well those log files can be a big help in understanding what!

JMarques

Checked! 😉

MarkB

Finally got around to testing the latest TLAPTEST v3 script with no logging.

My apologies for taking so long.

I used the same SD card I had been using for all the previous test. In the video there does not seem to be the time shift I have been previously experiencing. Unfortunately it was a cloudless sky and the clouds moving was the easiest way to see the shift in the interval time, but the shadows moving and the traffic seems to be consistent. There is some flicker in the exposure. It is not the huge jumps I have seen in some of my other attempts but still there. This might be down to the limitations of the camera since it is one without an iris in the lens so if there is any breathing in the focus (the lens moving in and out) there might be subtle changes in the exposure.

http://youtu.be/4qMANT8VItA

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