Flight movie with my new toy

[Maurice]

I finally succumbed to the temptation of getting a new movie camera. So here is my first attempt at stardom ... step away Spielberg  .

Of course, the quality of this particular 'production' leaves a lot to be desired...handholding the camera in my right hand while trying to taxi or fly with my left hand is not exactly ideal but I was just too impatient to try my new toy.

The flight is from Innsbruck to Nice and I ended up filming a lot of clouds since there were some very nice cloud formations. Anyway, I think the video shows why wraparound visuals are really hard to beat, even with the pixellation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga6Hh7ZNMW4

Maurice

[Jetcos]

Very nice Maurice. Love it!  I better get up there soon. Maybe when Jack goes up again?

Steve

[727737Nut]

Very Nice!  What zoom setting you using?

[Bob Reed]

Looks great! YOu are trying to get me to switch to FSX.... 

[Nat Crea]

Well done Mau! Frikin sensational mate...

I need to buy some clouds I think...

Nat

[Garys]

That looks fantastic Mau. Keep them coming.

[Maurice]

Thank you all for the nice comments. I won't forget you when I'm rich & famous 

" What zoom setting you using? " No zoom, just the regular wide angle on the camera which by the way is a Canon Vixia HFR200.

"YOu are trying to get me to switch to FSX....  " Shouldn't everyone?  Actually no...wait for MS flight first

"I better get up there soon. Maybe when Jack goes up again?" You'd better make it before that Steve. I will soon be dismantling some things for needed repairs/improvements. Really hate the idea because I'm enjoying myself a bit too much lately but the sim suffered during the move to Gravenhurst and I need to 're-align' some parts and change some gas springs. Maybe an oil change as well 

Maurice

[Drewsta]

I think I just ruined my keyboard by drooling on it and raping the rewind button!!! Awsome visuals, hope mine look something like that.

Drew

[Drewsta]

Maurice, your using FSX, just curious what computer setups you have to get those smooth frames?

Drew

[Kennair]

Gorgeous visuals Maurice and nice deep colours.  Have you done any special treatment on the screen?

Ken.

[fdspcos]

Fantastic Mau. Really great to see a flight...
Peter

[XOrionFE]

Looks great Maurice and seems you picked a great camera!    Love your setup.  You have to be just thrilled with it.   

Scott

[Maurice]

Gorgeous visuals Maurice and nice deep colours.  Have you done any special treatment on the screen?

Ken.

Thanks. I used PaintonScreen paint but I don't think I would use it again. It probably is better for night flights but you do lose brightness compared to a white paint. In hindsight, I should have used a different paint than the one I used. The salesman recommended one with a darker shade but I should have gone for the lighter tone. Anyway, for anyone just starting, I would say use pure white first and see if you like it. That's my 2 cents and I may just paint my screen white some day as well.

Maurice

[Maurice]

Maurice, your using FSX, just curious what computer setups you have to get those smooth frames?

Drew

Yes, FSX for sure. My system is pretty high end --I7 980X overclocked to 4.6 GHZ, GTX 480, SSD drives. It runs pretty smooth under most conditions but there are stutters in busy airports like KJFK with 20% traffic, but mostly when taxiing and looking to the sides or when turning very fast. Looking straight ahead is quite acceptable under almost any condition. Hard to get anything better I think when you have 3 undocked windows and one in the background.

Maurice

[Maurice]

Looks great Maurice and seems you picked a great camera!    Love your setup.  You have to be just thrilled with it.   

Scott

Thanks Scott. I lucked in (or out?) when I got this camera since I really don't know much about video cameras. It is full HD but I filmed in regular mode only (whatever that is) and the results are better than what I expected.

BUT... the camera is a real time waster when you're still building your sim. I have a full overhead from FDS which I need to assemble and I'm playing instead   

Maurice

[CeeGee]

Just enjoy it Maurice - what a fabulous setup and the camera work is very good!! I am very impressed with the screen but I think that we are going to have to suspend ours from the roof for short throw projectors. Darned good effort, big pats on the back. Charlie.

[MLeavy737]

Maurice,
  Looks great! Enjoyed watching it thanks that visual setup is something else! Hope to have a bunch of questions for ya soon

Mike Leavy

[matta757]

Maurice,

That looks simply incredible. I seriously forgot a few times that I was watch a simulator. I wish I could afford such a setup. Really, really awesome work.

Best,
Matt

[Maurice]

Maurice,
  Looks great! Enjoyed watching it thanks that visual setup is something else! Hope to have a bunch of questions for ya soon

Mike Leavy

Thanks Mike. I should have another video soon...still in editing stages.

I'm ready for your questions anytime. 

Maurice

[carlos hermida]

Maurice,

      Wow, looks incredible your sim visuals ! Can I ask you the eyepoint view settings and zoom  that you are using ?

  Best,

[jackpilot]

Good "point" as we tried some finetuning when I was at Mau's.
Not an easy issue as the peripheral vision allowed by the 180° visual plays tricks on your perceptions, at least in my opinion.
Mau will chime in with a better answer.

[Maurice]

Maurice,

      Wow, looks incredible your sim visuals ! Can I ask you the eyepoint view settings and zoom  that you are using ?

  Best,

Hi Carlos,

My current eyepoint settings are:
[Views]
eyepoint= -7.993, -3, 3.596

(subject to change without notice  but that looks good to me from the pilot seat anyway.

My zoom settings are really not useful to you unless you have the same exact screen size. I started with 0.69 when I thought my field of view was 210 degrees but it is more like 240 although the screen is only 210 degrees.

So I had to change it to 0.575 otherwise the sides did not look quite right. In other words, if I was standing at a 90 degree runway intersection and looked right & left, the runway looked like it was further back than it should look.

The best way to know if the zoom value is correct is to position yourself at the center intersection of two 90 degree runways or taxiways. Open an outside top down view and see how the airplane is positioned. Move the airplane so that the cockpit is exactly at the intersection of the two center lines. If the zoom value and the camera rotations angles are correct, you should be able to see exactly what you would see from that airplane in the top down view.

The zoom value is not the only variable though since it also works with the rotation angle for the various cameras. The two are dependent on each other to get the right outside views. I posted a guide a while back and here is the link...might be useful to you or anyone using undocked views.
http://www.cockpitbuilders.com/community/index.php?topic=1340.msg9988#msg9988

Ivar has also posted an excellent tutorial about setting up 3 projectors

Confusing but hope this helps anyway,

Maurice

[carlos hermida]

Hi Mau,

   Thank you ! I know that zoom settings are very specific for each sim but I will see how it works at least your eyepoint in my sim.
   Just to confirm, you fly using  2D view for this settings, correct?

Best,

[Maurice]

Hi Mau,

   Thank you ! I know that zoom settings are very specific for each sim but I will see how it works at least your eyepoint in my sim.
   Just to confirm, you fly using  2D view for this settings, correct?

Best,

Correct.

Maurice