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9 out of 10 Total Reviews for SynthEyes
The excellent feature is that simulating the motion of an actual camera to generate 3D virtual camera motions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
When considering open-source or more simple tracking systems, full-featured versions are little costly for individual users. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Honestly, the most helpful thing about Synthe eyes is how much the program has allowed me to see and visualize the camera movement during and after shots. I can position it in places where the program shows me the most objects. The tracking is accurate enough so that we can get different shots with different settings. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
In my honest opinion, I think tracking at the moment is still very "new" and still needs to be developed more in this field. I find myself needing to shoot multiple shots over and over again. The layout of the app could be optimized, but overall I think this program is worth the time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The best thing about SynthEyes is the ability to track patterns. There are various types of pattern identification and arrays of methods you can use in film. The survey shots are amazing as well as the reference geometry. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The one thing that I dislike about SynthEyes is how setting up the layout of your environment is difficult. No node system is in the software, which means that I need to track my shoots over and over again to get what I want. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
SynthEyes' tracking algorithm is generally quite accurate, and has an array of options for different types of pattern identification (though I rarely find myself using anything other than rgb). Solving is also generally quite intelligent, although I do find I sometimes get different results when solving the same shot with the same settings? By far the best features are the use of survey shots or reference geometry, which allow for significantly more accurate solves on shots that otherwise seem impossible. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I have thought for some time that SynthEyes (and other tracking software) would benefit from the ability to set up camera rigs as they were present on set to get more accurate results on a rail or dolly. It does have a constraints system that I use to similar effect, but it becomes tedious to try to layout your scene so that the X camera move will align with the X constraint and then re-solving your shot with these constraints applied. Such a rigging system would also account for the difference between the sensor and lens, and the rotational pivot of the camera on tripod shots, as this can very quickly become the bane of your existence on some nodal shots. As long as this feature remains unavailable, I think I am still going to have to keep taking 1/10 nodal shots into Maya post-track to counter-animate to account for this pivot misalignment. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
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SynthEyes has a clear, simple interface. It's not convoluted or under-designed. All the buttons are an easy read. It has a quick solution for automatic tracking as well as controlled, supervised track. It's an amazing program because it's reliable on fast, automatic track. There's also lot of tutorials from the actual inventor Russ Anderson. So this is someone who stands by their product. Even though I use an older version, it still works on the newer OS. I always appreciate this about any software that doesn't become obsolete when OSes are updated. So no forced to upgrade or money pit.
3D tracking has become a "thing" in recent years. Heck, even phones and social media has 3D face tracking. However, that doesn't negate the need for a Pro 3D tracking solution. Let me reiterate, it doesn't negate the need for a "specialized" pro 3D tracking system. Industry work takes industrial strenght software. Even After Effects has a 3D tracker nowadays, but it's not the same as software designed specifically for 3D tracking. SynthEyes handles shots that would not be doable with generalist tracking software. A true 3D tracker has layers of controls specifically for hard-to-track or "bad" shots. So you don't just run a filter over a scene and wish for the best. You can take control of slippage and predetermine the outcome of your tracks with supervised tracks. This supervised method of tracking separates the deep end from the kiddie pool. Some trackers are good at doing short, challenging tracks, but Syntheyes does long tracks well. There's other features in SynthEyes like replacing or rotoscoping out a car in a background. Syntheyes also has a measurement system for scale. It can also geometry from video. So SynthEyes can track objects and not just backgrounds or scenes. It's film production worthy because you can track on a low proxy and transfer the data to a larger resolution format. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Now let's get really really. Though there's a lot of tutorials from Pluralsight, FXPhd and Gnomon, tracking can still sometimes be problematic. It's not really guess work because it is "iffy" sometimes. No fault of Syntheyes because most tracking software. Tracking just isn't easy. So professional studios assits tracks with in camera markets. In other words, you need to learn how to shoot so shots track well. How to place markers to get good paralax and how markers should be shaped to register well. Then you just like any other skill, you need to practice to get good at it. So you have to learn techniques that you can apply methodically to get the best solutions but like anything you get the hang of it. Syntheyes goes a long way of taking the guess work and errs out of the process with a error tolerance rating. It does a lot of work for you then give you control to handle it better yourself. For instance, say you weren't on the set to document the lens, or their focal length. SE can gives you a good solve without manual user input of these parameters but if you have them, you can still help the solve by applying the numbers to the solution.
Lens distortion and rolling shutter are common known problems when tracking but SynthEyes has ways of solving if not illuminating with a lens distortion workflow. You can literally see curves geometry from len distortion in SynthEyes. Upon all, I just look the look and feel of the app. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
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SynthEyes does what other, more expensive tracking software does, at a fraction of the cost. Good balance of autotrackers and the flexibility to use hand-placed tracking points, with easy to use masking features. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Layout is not always intuitive, but all the standard features are there and the online help is quite extensive. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
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It really has a simple user interface. Tools and features are really not that hard to find. I really like how well the exported tracks work with programs like Maya and Lightwave. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The wonkiness of how it'll some times track terrible footage just fine, but yet it will struggle with clear defined footage at other times. It's a hit and miss, even when tinkering with the footage grading to make trackable objects more noticeable, it will completely ignore them and break the track. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.