camocomp is a Python package that can stabilize videos, i.e. generate a video copy in which the camera motion is compensated. This results in a video where the fixed background (e.g. buildings, roads) appears to be static.
Camera motion compensation is useful for a variety of tasks, including
- stabilizing camera shake
- recovering the camera motion for video and scene analysis
- differentiating between the foreground motion (e.g. of actors) and the motion caused by the moving camera (for motion analysis)
The source code is currently hosted on GitHub at: http://github.com/daien/camocomp
Binary installers for the latest released version are available at the Python Package Index:
http://pypi.python.org/pypi/camocomp/
And via easy_install or pip:
easy_install camocomp pip install camocomp
Note: this package relies on Hugin's python scripting interface (HSI): http://wiki.panotools.org/Hugin_Scripting_Interface
In the camocomp directory (same one where you found this file), execute:
python setup.py install
Note: this only works on Unix-like platforms.
New BSD License
We provide a utility script called camocomp_video that can generate a
stabilized copy of a video.
The video example_mocomp.avi in the example directory contains a
stabilized video obtained with the command:
camocomp_video -o example_mocomp.avi -c -v p_y -f 40 example.avi
Depending on your input videos, you might need to play around with the input field of view parameter (-f option) and/or the variables to optimize ('v'iewpoint, 'p'itch, 'y'aw, and 'r'oll).
It relies on image stitching techniques similar to the ones used to create panoramas from multiple photos. This allows to compensate for a vast array of time-varying camera motions (e.g. camera shake, pan, zoom, tilt).
The stitching approach faces the following limitations:
- it assumes that a large part of each frame is the background;
- it also assumes that the background is textured (in order to detect
control pointson the background);- the spatial extent of the camera motion must be rather limited (i.e. restricted panning or translation, such that the background covered is limited) in order to avoid an extravagantly large output resolution;
- some camera motions are problematic (e.g. rotation around the subject);
- finding the correct input field of view parameter might require some trial and error;
- the stitching optimization step (using hugin's autooptimizer) is VERY slow.