I was wanting to know if Movie Edit Pro supports using a Canon DSLR connected to PC via USB for live view shots?
Hi and welcome to the forum.
. . . . Movie Edit Pro supports using a Canon DSLR connected to PC via USB for live view shots . . . .
Canons 'Live view' is their term for using the LCD display when recording videos as the mirror has to be raised, it does not refer to streaming to the computer which I assume is what you are wanting to do.
Assuming you mean stream the video over to the computer, eg to use as a webcam or record directly into the computer, maybe, it depends if your camera model has this capability either via cable or wifi.
You need to consult the manual and possibly install the Canon software to enable this.
HTH
John EB
Hi Christopher.
Try looking at this site DigiCamControl for the needed software to connect your camera to your PC and then use something like OBS studio for live-streaming or screen capturing. Just make sure your camera is on the supported list. Quite a few are.
Ray.
Thank you both for your input. I fear however I wasn't exactly clear on my intention. My grandson and I have gotten very interested in making stop motion animation, i.e. Lego, brickfilm, etc.. That said, we are not so much interested in sharing "video" from the DSLR, but rather single shot images, strung together and then edited with post production effects, colors, etc.. So I can see that Movie Edit Pro works with captured video, most of the available programs do; we are looking for a somewhat inclusive single frame capture/edit program.
Thanks again for your input and sharing, I appreciate it greatly. Stay healthy!
Hi Christopher.
There is a little free program I use, to put jpg frames together form either Time-lapse photography or motion capture and produces a film that can be used in MEP or just played back in Windows. It's meant for their Osmo cameras but accepts the jpg files from my Nikon cameras.
You can find it here. The results may run faster than you want though and may need adjusting after in an editing program like MEP and slowed down.
If you want to take snapshots from the camera directly into MEP, I think it can do that but I need to charge the battery on my DSLR to try it out for you. Give me six hours. The signs look promising but will get back to you.
The reason I mentioned the DigiCamControl in my reply above is sometimes you need an additional interface between the camera and a program to get them talking to each other and that particular program also allows the camera to be remotely operated so no camera shake from depressing the shutter button or adjusting focus or any other controllable action from the camera.
You can definitely download images taken from your camera directly into MEP once on your hard drive as long as they are jpg images to make into a video clip.
I just selected a folder to see if images would import. You would need tons of images, not what I have in my example but seems to work OK. No idea about setting up the export though.
One last observation. Some DSLRs will produce noisier images as the sensor heats up if it is continuously switched on in live view or using mirror up. It is a known problem in astro photography but I'm not sure about it in this scenario. It may be worth checking your manual or visiting a users' forum about it.
Ray.
Hi Christopher.
I could only get MEP to recognize my camera as a storage device. It will import and save all files from the camera including the digital negatives but I doubt it can actually use them whereas the JPGs should be no problem. I don't think you will be able to use MEP as a stills capture device.
On the other hand I took my own advice and downloaded the free DigiCamControl software and for free software it certainly does a lot. I will be using it to make my DSLR into a webcam and maybe live web chats on YouTube at a later date. For you though it will take snapshots and by the looks of it then be able to generate a movie sequence. It was so easy. I plugged my camera into my PC via my USB lead and fired up DCC and it immediately found and connected to my camera. I gave me full remote control over all parameters of my camera including using the mouse to focus on a section of the screen. How many focus points you get will depend on your camera but I can cover the whole screen. If you have two cameras, you can control two cameras in the same session.
I'm still playing with it but I think this will do for you working from a screen, but then you would still need an editing package to add effects and titling and maybe mix a soundtrack. I'm not sure how long a USB lead you could use as my camera one is quite short, so I'm limited as to what I can experiment with.
I'm certainly going to hang on to this software though.
Hear's a couple of screen grabs.
Sorry about the lighting but I'm facing my monitors and my lighting doesn't touch that area of my studio.
Ray.
Hi
. . . . stop motion animation, i.e. Lego, brickfilm, etc. . . . .
The process importing into Movie Edit Pro is a technique I use for time lapse photography, however you must use jpg images and import them from the camera to your computer into a folder of their own and ensure they are in the correct order.
The easy way to get the imported images to the correct length is to change the Standard picture length setting within the program settings as shown below before importing the images.
You may want to play with the length for a stop motion.
The value you use will depend on how many images you are taking for each second of video I would suggest starting with a length no more then 3 frames for 25 fps video or 4 frames 30 fps video ie you need 8 images for each second of playback.
HTH
John EB