Best Color and Exposure Settings for PTZ Optics Cameras | Church Live Streaming

[@graceunitedmethodistchurch1505]

This is so helpful! We recently updated the lighting in our sanctuary and it looks great in person, but now we're trying to figure out the new balance on our livestream. Thanks for sharing!

[@jofoldipeter]

you could try giving out visca commands from companion, that you wouldn't have to use this time consuming workaround.

[@mattwoltjer4376]

which commands? I actually use companion for all of our control and livestream for these cameras so I already send commands to them. It's been a while since I read through the command list. Is there one to save color settings to all presets or something?

[@jofoldipeter]

@@mattwoltjer4376 search ptz optics visca over ip, they have a table of those. include those custom commands of settings in your preset keys in companion and boom voila you never have to do it manually when you save positions. this a better workaround in my opinion.

[@bitrate3691]

@@jofoldipeter Kudos to PTZ Optics for documenting those commands! Looks like they have even updated the pdf files since this video came out. I wrote my own App in C++ which uses those commands and I no longer use the controller software or the PTZ Menu for dialing in my settings. I also made it easier to save the settings into existing presets.

[@nathanielmcbride2645]

Totally agree, Lighting is by far the most important thing! I'm running the same camera you are but found I Need the gain around 2 then up the shutter speed to prevent blowing out the highlights. Overall, the image looks a bit flat but MUCH improved. Ptzoptrics has a 4k Move 30x model that has a slightly larger sensor at 1/1.8". This unit has better color reproduction low light performance. At this point, I don't recommend buying anything with a smaller sensor as the difference is so great. Thanks for the quality content. This video was much needed, and I learned several new things!

[@mattwoltjer4376]

Glad it helped and yes, it's not that these are the "best" settings. These are what worked for me. It takes some playing around with them with whatever lighting, distance, subjects, etc. you have in your space. I saw that they had come out with some new cameras. Maybe we'll get to test some in the future. We got to play around with the Cannon PTZ cameras at the churchfront live conference and those look AMAZING. They're also like $5k so...

[@nathanielmcbride2645]

@@mattwoltjer4376 love it man! Keep up the great work.

[@stevenneaves8079]

I truly loathe PTZOptics 😭 they get the job done but they are a pain and definitely a get what you pay for kind of product. I’ve had the color issue with presets before and discovered the menu change thing on my own as well. Using the superjoy controller seems to save well directly accessing OSD, but you still need to do the menu thing. I’m now at my second church with them, thankfully we are in the middle of renovating our old building we inherited and are getting some Panasonic AW160s so it’ll be a world’s better from those perspectives. I’ll be moving the PTZ optics to either classroom cameras or pov stage cameras near backline and drums.

[@bdiaz4742]

Help! Currently, we have three stationary cameras on tripods, but managing both the tripods and the switching has become a manpower challenge. To streamline our operations, we're considering transitioning to three PTZ cameras. This way, we can have one person in complete control of all the cameras. However, I'm having difficulty deciding between the PTZ Optics 4K Move cameras and the Canon CR-N100 cameras. The PTZ cameras offer decent auto-tracking functionality, but I have reservations about the focus quality. On the other hand, the Canon cameras boast phenomenal focus, but they lack native auto-tracking (without additional cost). What do you personally recommend between the 2 options. Unfortunately, jumping up to the Canon N500 is beyond our budget, and the Canon N300 seems similar to the N100, excluding the SDI feature. I would appreciate your insights on whether my thought process regarding the Canon N300 is accurate.

[@churchfrontmatt]

I haven't used either of those two cameras personally. I may be able to get my hands on the plz optics one soon so if I do I'll check back on this comment but here's my two cents. Sensor over features. Do your research on the quality of the image and optics. My gut tells me the cannons with their color science will create a better image. PTZ optics cameras are both tough to make look good and feel more like they're made by engineers and not by camera guys. The auto follow feature isn't something I'd trade in a better image for. I'd find good ptz cameras that have a great image, use different camera shots to stay on my pastor while he's speaking, and then when I'm ready I'd get one follow cam (which I'm probably going to do this year) that I'd have one camera operator use while still using the ptz cameras along side the one follow cam. Hope that helps.

[@Jaymze13]

Not even a minute and a half in and I had to stop. 😟 We don't have good lighting and it won't be fixed anytime soon. I knew there needed to be some backlighting, but I'm the only one. Or at least I'm the only one who has mentioned it. My video looks bad every week no matter what I do either live or in post the next day. I guess that's how it is. Thanks for being honest and upfront early in the video. Saved me over 10 minutes. Hopefully someday I'll be able to come back and watch this and get some ideas of what to do. 😒

[@hansonscott1]

Have you tried the Camera Management Platform (CMP) from PTZOptics?

[@mattwoltjer4376]

I actually did when it was in beta. I only really tried it out to test the auto feature. Does it do a better job of saving color to presets?

[@prisual]

Great video!！

[@johngriffith8888]

I always cut to the main camera input. I use the presets to move the position and focus but cut to the main camera input so I only have to set exposure and color on the main input not the presets.

[@mattwoltjer4376]

I would be interested to know what you mean by this. I’m not sure what “main camera input” means. How do you get to that setting? No matter what I did my color settings would change back to default when I recalled another preset unless I saved over every single preset the way I explain in the video but if there’s an easier way I’d love to see it!

[@i3theanswer]

is it possible to get the church stream recording link up on the description so we can take a look at the actual output of the PTZ setup in a more complete manner?

[@riverrunchristianchurch]

We tried adding the link to our last service but it wouldn’t let us. If you go to our page you can see our last weeks service by going to the live tab.

[@garrettbaudioandvideo]

Are these settings also adjustable from the PTZ camera controller. We have the the joystick controller, not the software.

[@mattwoltjer4376]

I am not entirely sure but I know the software is free from PTZ optics.

[@MrTJCCREATIONS]

We use the Super Joystick controller and I do all of the camera adjustments with the Super Joy. Works great for us. Camera settings are saved as part of the preset. I don't know which joystick you have, but if it is the superjoy you are good to go.

[@TriplePinesStudios]

We just got our PTZ move 4k cameras but there is a lot of ghosting and smearing in the image any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, we are using the ATEM min Pro ISO sdi version

[@MattSponaugle]

Very helpful. Thank you!

[@geebuzem143]

which lights are you using for subject lighting from the front?

[@mattwoltjer4376]

They are the Stage Right by Monoprice 180W RGBW COB LED DMX Ellipsoidal Stage Light Spotlight with Adjustable Manual Zoom and 17 ~ 50-degree Beam Angle

[@brianlebrun2382]

Very helpful. I've spent hours on the 5 cameras that we have in order to make the hue and colors the same. Our issue now is the new encoder. It wants to see 60fps and we've been doing 50. It shows a very slight stutter and now the quality and sharpness have taken a dip. I have a company on it but when they tried to do the switch it killed the feed from all the cameras so for now it's 50fps. I'll keep watching. Great info.

[@mattwoltjer4376]

What encoder are you using?

[@brianlebrun2382]

@@mattwoltjer4376 an epiphan pearl nano

[@mattwoltjer4376]

50 fps is pal right? Is that what you're trying to be in?@@brianlebrun2382

[@hilljd23]

Thank you!!

[@lukejackson1116]

Great vid Matt!

[@mattwoltjer4376]

Thanks Luke!

[@TheJayTrain12]

My settings save every time without the extra steps. Am I doing something wrong? Haha. Excellent video!

[@bitrate3691]

You may have an older firmware version. It seems the newer versions store exposure settings in presets.

[@louisgarcia5425]

Which joystick controller do you use for ptz controll?

[@mattwoltjer4376]

We had a joystick that stopped working and I honestly don't like the movement provided by these cameras live anyway. So rather than moving a camera that is live we set up presets that are recalled via a stream deck. I have three pages on the stream deck that are dedicated to programing the presets on each camera and then the first page of my stream deck has the first 8 presets of all three cameras and a row dedicated to our atem. Each button for the presets recalls that camera preset and then also puts that shot in the preview screen of our atem so that all you have to do is cut or fade to that shot on our livestream.

[@louisgarcia5425]

@mattwoltjer4376 Yeah I bought the ptz optics super joy and was disappointed with control features. I think with this level of camera you get what you pay for. They're really good for what they are, but you have to know the limitations. Thanks for the info!

[@mattwoltjer4376]

@@louisgarcia5425 I'm hoping to do a video at some point outlining how I set up and control my livestream using a stream deck xl but until then I highly recommend diving into some youtube videos about it. There's SO MUCH you can do with a stream deck that can simplify your work flow.

[@louisgarcia5425]

@@mattwoltjer4376 That would be awesome. I'll do some research on that. Thanks again!

[@ADKDIO-Camera]

This video is awesome! ! !

[@mattwoltjer4376]

Thanks!

[@seanbaxter869]

So for saving the settings. If you use the remote to the cameras to make these changes it will automatically save those changes to every preset. Also I do not use the advanced panel with the software controller, if I touch anything in that panel it changes all my settings. The presets I use are only in the software. Screen just under the controller. I caveat this with I’m not using an input switcher. I do use a video switcher, but not to control the cameras.

[@mattwoltjer4376]

You’re talking about the tv style remote? If that’s the case that’s why I never figured it out… they were lost before I got there. Having said that I do it this way so my baptism setting is actually at 3600k since that area is still lit by incandescent bulbs. So this let me save that one preset different anyway.

[@seanbaxter869]

Yes. Tv style remote. If you have one, it will control them all. You don’t need more than one. I verified today when making changes you recommended. It saved to all of my settings when changing presets. It’s a game trying different settings. One issue I’m having is we have a 20x and a 12x view PTZ optics version 2. The colors won’t match no matter how much I change them. One is always a little more yellow or the blue is just brighter than the other. Do you have any suggestions on how to correct it? I’ve tried to white balance, with no luck. I’m using the one push settings now for color.

[@mattwoltjer4376]

@@seanbaxter869 there’s really no substitution to getting a person on the stage and getting two almost identical shots and making the person look the same in both. Color matching different cameras always takes more work. Even identical ones aren’t always identical. We had two black magic broadcast cameras at my last church and they would not balance with identical color temperatures. I’d play around with the red green and blue green tunings on the var white balance option if the one push doesn’t work.

[@seanbaxter869]

@@mattwoltjer4376 I'll keep plugging away at it. I set up the cameras with the same shot on stage. Theres a wood podium that gives good indication of the yellow/red colors, and blue choir chairs that give a good blue indication. The DRC (not sure if you covered this in another comment) helps to lighten the shot, almost mitigating the f-stop. It helped me some with balance with the blue color. I love these cameras, but wow, this color correction is difficult in general! Thanks for your replies!

[@mattwoltjer4376]

@@seanbaxter869I didn’t really know what the drc was but it looked like another digital gain which I would be careful bumping up. If it’s not actual light and the camera is making something lighter using processing it will just about never look as good as getting more actual light in the camera.

[@osmrrdgz]

Great video! …The beard with no mustache style gotta stop.. sorry 😮