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Hi,
Is it possible to import a camera fbx that has basic tracking data and use that to do a refine pass OR atleast use the starting position and track further? And is it possible to combine that with a Lidar scan in survey node? If so how do I do it?
Thanks.
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Hi, it seems like the entire youtube channel and tutorials for pfTrack are gone? I was hoping to learn how to use a lidar scan to assist my camera tracking. I'm guessing I should use Survey Solver? But I was hoping the videos were gonna help with all the steps. Can you point me to how to obtain that information? Thanks
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Building on the internal Camera Library introduced in our last major release, we are excited to introduce a powerful new capability: we are opening up our Sensor Preset Database to third parties.
This feature extends our existing library architecture, allowing third-party experts to integrate their own precision sensor data directly into PFTrack.
To launch this, we are proud to feature Matchmove Machines CamDB as the first available integration.
Why add Matchmove Machines to your library?
Enhanced Precision: Sensor sizes are meticulously recalculated from original manufacturer data to eliminate rounding errors.
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Hi everyone,
We are working on a project that involves motion control. We will be exporting the camera/rig coordinates from the robot arm as FBX or Alembic (ABC).Is there a way to import these coordinates into PFTrack?
There is an object to track in this shot, and our goal is to use the motion-control data as the camera track, then use PFTrack specifically to track the object.
Is there a workflow in PFTrack that allows this?
Hello Mongin, welcome to the group.
You can certainly load an FBX file into PFTrack to use as a camera path and then track an object as your asking (provided you’ve also set up your camera lens), but quite how well this would work in your personal situation is difficult to determine without having more information.
Your desired workflow is likely achievable, given PFTrack's support for metadata, hinting tools, and Python scripting. Sharing details about your project, including rig setup and exported data, will help the community assist you further.
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In older versions of pftrack, export automatically named files based on the name of the clip at the beginning of the stream. Can you enable this option again?
Hi Zlajokv,
The Scene Export node was updated several years ago to make the naming of your export files more flexible. You can use variables to define your own naming scheme, and also set these in the preferences for future use: Set the default name using the %m variable, which maps to the input clip name and automatically fills in the export filename.
For reference you can find more information here:
https://pftrack.thepixelfarm.co.uk/documentation/pftrack_preferences_application.html#export
And don’t forget: you can also use the newly released ‘AI Assistant’ or the built-in ‘Keyword search’ from the ‘Help menu’ to find this kind of information quickly.
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Can you make it possible to select several curves at once in the graph so that, for example, if necessary, all three lines are smoothed at once. In older versions of pftrack it was possible, but in the new version only one curves at a time has to be selected, which takes a lot of time.
Hello Zlajokv,
We made some updates to the ‘Curves Editor’ several years ago, since it’s intended for fine-tuning, curves are selected and edited individually because often a single smoothing operation isn't suitable for all the curves and you have better control when adjusting them separately.
If your goal is simply to smooth everything globally, for example, all translation or rotation parameter curves together, you can do that much more quickly using the Translation and Rotation Smoothing controls in the Solving Parameters. That way you get the overall smoothing you need without having to work through each curve one by one.
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Can you make it show the focal length of the sensor in the solver when the option is set to unknown? in older versions these two options were displayed.
I'm a +1 on this, especially for the "estimated" focal length with "unknown" footage. I remember how helpfult this was years ago when I was starting to use PFTrack and before it was changed. I've gotten used to going to the solver log (the workaround to the UI change) but still think this would be helpful to add the estimate from the standpoint of not having to click around the UI to see a result. If it's a matter of not confusing the user between known/unknown, I actually think it would be great to have it color coded to indicate the difference between known (white text) and maybe unknown (blue?), something similar to the active sensor size in the Camera Sensor Database window. I'd be curious for other users to give feedback on this.
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I liked my old subscription model - relatively little to pay each month, and full software functionality. However, I've upgraded to the studio edition (I had no choice) and then discovered that I cannot open any of the hundreds of pftrack files I have saved. Does anyone have a workaround, or is my world going to collapse 6 days from now???
Follow up: My question was answered in the Transition FAQ's. Old personal subscription files cannot be opened in any of the new options. In addition, since I generated a discount code, my old personal account will be deleted in 6 days. This is very disappointing.
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Hi!
Is it possible to get the full user manual for PFTrack in PDF format? I find the lack of a search feature for the documentation a bit frustrating. I'm a new user trying to find information on the "Motion Metadata" settings, but the integrated AI knew nothing about those, google finds zero results on the topic and there is no apparent way to search the online manual. Any chance of getting the manual in PDF form?
Thanks for your helpful reply! I missed the search field in the app, knowing about it helps.
Wow! You aren't kidding. The YouTube Channel is gone (at least as of this moment)! The only videos that seem to exist produced by TPF right now are the ones from the learn link or about 4 videos on their Vimeo account. I'm hoping this is just because there's a glitch with YouTube, and not that TPF has just nuked their videos. IMO this has been a long-standing issue. Many developers will go ahead and leave up older tutorials, even if the software has changed. This is great because there are often useful nuggets that still apply and most users can sort out the differences and keep working. TPF does not seem to have this view. There was a really old tutorial from the TPF that I would refresh my knowledge with every year or so because I used the technique it showed about that often so I always needed a refresher. When they cleared out the Vimeo channel, it was lost forever.
I haven't had time in a LONG while, but I've been occasionally creating tutorials https://vimeo.com/user167257849?fl=pp&fe=sh with the intent of trying to give more insight into how to gain more control with the app. I'd backed off because TPF has (had?) been putting out more and better content in the last few years. I'm hoping this hasn't come to an end. Maybe this will inspire me to try to get back into it.