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Microsoft Pix

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Re: Microsoft Pix

#161
post #81
post #58

I wonder if there is a plan for an Android version. I'd love to play with this.

An Android version is development. We can't comment on release date, but we're working on it.

Not an Android user, but this is great to hear.

Will Pix replace hyperlapse on android?

Re: Microsoft Pix

#162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see that its only available for apple devices, is there a technical hurdle in doing this for android?

If I had to guess, the diversity of Android hardware and operating system versions in the wild make delivering a quality experience more difficult compared to the narrower range of Apple devices and their generally higher specification of processors and cameras. And if I were to wildly speculate, Apple phone owners are a more desirable demographic to pursue over the long run.

Counterpoint: Microsoft Hyperlapse for Android

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft....

Re: Microsoft Pix

#163
post #76

We're from the Microsoft Pix team, and we are interested in your feedback. Happy to answer questions.

I was on vacation recently and used Pix all over---I got many great photos that were clearly better than what I would have gotten with the stock app (the built-in comparison feature is a great idea), even on landscapes where there weren't faces to focus on. Pix also managed to take a fantastic Live Image of my sister and me, which is really special because I don't get to see her very often. Thanks to you all for that…

Could you comment on the size of the generated files? live images in particular?

On W10m live photos are just too large (10-15MB) to be sent to others.

Re: Microsoft Pix

#164

am i the only one who thinks the iphone 6s images look better?

No, I think the same. The Pix photos look a bit washed out. Faces are brighter, but it doesn't look natural to me anymore. I'd rather use a flash for the pictures where faces were really dark, would probably deliver better results.

Re: Microsoft Pix

#165
post #9

There's an interesting example they use to show the ostensible improvement of Pix over the Apple's Live Photo: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/... The Pix-enhanced version: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/... Sure, the Live Photo version has distracting movement, but it also has much more natural motion in terms of hair flow. And I feel that the camera instabili…

"The Pix version offers a clearer image"

For me the Live Photo version is more sharper than the Pix one and it has better exposure too.

Re: Microsoft Pix

#167
post #98

Does it automatically take horizontal video when you are holding your camera vertically? When will we get that technology?

I think the limiting factor for this is that the sensor itself is rectangular, pretty much in line with what you're expecting (aspect ratio of image produced, etc).

You could always have a square sensor, but then when shooting landscape pictures, you'd be throwing away a lot of the sensor data. In short, people generally want rectangular photos, and coupled with economics this means that sensors are that shape.

On the extreme end, I guess you could have some kind of rotating lens / sensor, which would automatically keep level.

Re: Microsoft Pix

#168
post #76

We're from the Microsoft Pix team, and we are interested in your feedback. Happy to answer questions.

The linked landing page is nearly 40MB. What's the deal? http://i.imgur.com/70wES9O.png On a 56K modem that would take 1.5 hours to download...

How long would it take over 1200 baud modem? Who cares?

It's a page about a camera app it probably needs to have images. And it creates animations so it's useful to include samples of that, right? I like to moan about website sizes as well but here it's sort of justified.

Re: Microsoft Pix

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Pix version looks like one of those old computer games when they wanted to animate some wind, but cut only afford to animate a handful of sprites on the screen. So everything is stiff as a board except for some flipping scarves/hair/etc...

I think you're referring to color cycling, and it's a much interesting technology than just a handful of sprites: http://www.effectgames.com/effect/article-Old_School_Color_C...

They're talking about the more general effect of a complete hand-drawn background with mobile sprites/items layered on top (usually with somewhat different color palette &al, so you'd "see the seams" so to speak between what would or had moved and the actual immoveable background)

Re: Microsoft Pix

#170
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The original creates the perception of realness and dimension through the effect of wiggle stereoscopy.[1] Wiggle stereoscopy: http://i.imgur.com/FhA9aZI.gif In contrast, the Pix version removes that sense of depth, and turns it into what is essentially a cinemagraph.[2] Cinemagraph: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5303/5659130034_7fc3dcfb8c_o.... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiggle_stereoscopy [2] https://en.wik…

Cinemagraphs are all the rage now. Maybe it was intentional. Probably compresses much better.

Indeed. The LiveImage example reminded me of the paintings on the walls at Hogwarts :)
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