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Horizon – Record horizontally. Always

horizon.camera

11–20 of 63 posts

Re: Horizon – Record horizontally. Always

#12

Extremely shaky result, see unedited demo video on http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/14/horizon-shoots-all-of-your-... For those wondering, it's not free. It used to be $1, now it's $2.

Hey randunel, this is Stelios from Evil Window Dog :)

The TechCrunch post you are linking to was posted back on our initial launch at January 14th. This video was shot with the first version of Horizon that didn't feature any stabilization. Moreover, our straightening algorithm has improved a lot since back then (6 months ago). Plus we are always working on updates to improve it even further!

Concerning the price, Horizon was always $1.99 but had a -50% off launch sale in the first month of its release.

The 2.0 update is a free update for all our of existing users!

Re: Horizon – Record horizontally. Always

#14

Why can a software camera app be better quality than the original one, which is just supposed to feed data from the CCD to flash? You aren't interpolating, are you.

Even the original/stock camera app is a software app that processes the data from the CCD sensor before writing the final video file. For example, for stabilization, it interpolates the sensor input and executes image stabilization algorithms.

Horizon, processes the video input using the same tools that the default app uses to process video.

Re: Horizon – Record horizontally. Always

#15
post #4

Great product, but a question about the trailer video... Since the app seems to seamlessly adjust the picture so it doesn't rotate when you change the actual smartphone's physical orientation, what's the point of rotating the phone mid-shot? Take the example of the two women sitting for coffee... why does the camera-person bother rotating the phone to horizontal in the middle of the shot? Why not just stay in place?

It feels like an attempt to battle the plague of vertical video and for that I'm thankful. Otherwise it's a great way to end up with a horizontally stable shot while allowing you to hold the phone any way that feels comfortable.

I can't think of any time when that isn't what I want.

Re: Horizon – Record horizontally. Always

#16
Installing such app almost certainly implies that the user is aware of the problem of vertical videos. So being aware of it, they will simply rotate the device when recording (since it provides better quality/resolution).

It seems to me that it would be helpful if such idea is applied on the system level without the need for an app.

Re: Horizon – Record horizontally. Always

#17
post #16

Installing such app almost certainly implies that the user is aware of the problem of vertical videos. So being aware of it, they will simply rotate the device when recording (since it provides better quality/resolution). It seems to me that it would be helpful if such idea is applied on the system level without the need for an app.

This argument makes sense. However, it is more comfortable to hold the phone vertically even if you are aware of the Vertical Video problem. So, Horizon helps in these cases as well.

And even if you do hold it horizontally, you won't manage to shoot a perfectly aligned shot easily by yourself. For example, if you try to get a shot of a sunset.

Re: Horizon – Record horizontally. Always

#18
post #16

Installing such app almost certainly implies that the user is aware of the problem of vertical videos. So being aware of it, they will simply rotate the device when recording (since it provides better quality/resolution). It seems to me that it would be helpful if such idea is applied on the system level without the need for an app.

It allows you to easily zoom while filming.

Re: Horizon – Record horizontally. Always

#19
Quite the trade-off, so instead of shaky unaligned horizons you now get irritating zooms effects [1], plus up to more than 2/3 of the original frame missing? (at least that's what the online demo represents).

At least the constant zooming could be easily lessened by defining a safe area of the frame as the active content while using the remaining sensor area for compensation only.

[1] http://www.horizon.camera/demo

Re: Horizon – Record horizontally. Always

#20
post #16

Installing such app almost certainly implies that the user is aware of the problem of vertical videos. So being aware of it, they will simply rotate the device when recording (since it provides better quality/resolution). It seems to me that it would be helpful if such idea is applied on the system level without the need for an app.

Horizon isn't just about vertical vs horizontal video, it's about either being skewed to a diagonal. Consider how many videos (whichever general orientation) wobble 5-20 degrees off axis; that's what Horizon solves.

Compare those professional "unsteady cam" shots where there's lots of horizontal & vertical movement, but never any tilt.

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