Lens breathing compensation

Lens breathing refers to a shifting of the angle of view or focal length of a lens when the focus changes. Catalyst Browse allows you to use metadata from clips to compensate for the effect of lens breathing.

  1. Click the Browse button at the top of the Catalyst Browse window to view the Media Browser.

  2. Select the clip you want to correct. An on a thumbnail indicates a clip that contains metadata for lens breathing compensation.

    The lens breathing icon is not displayed for clips on FTP devices, XDCAM Station volumes via CIFS, XDCAM decks, XDCAM Drive units, or Optical Disc Archive volumes.

    For information about camera settings for enabling compensation using metadata, please see Information on Software Applications.

    Lens breathing compensation is not supported when changing camera settings or detaching the lens during clip recording.

  3. Perform any of the following actions to display the Correct clip workspace:

    • Click the Lens breathing button at the bottom of the Catalyst Browse window.

    • Right-click the clip in the Browse pane and choose Lens breathing compensation from the shortcut menu.

    The Lens breathing button is not available when multiple clips are selected.

    When the Catalyst Browse window is resized, the Adjust color , Lens breathing compensation , and Stabilize clip buttons are available in the Adjustments menu .

  4. Use the Correct clip workspace to preview and adjust settings for the selected clip:

    1. Set the Mark In/Out points to indicate the portion of the clip you want to correct. For more information, see "Marking in and out points for playback."

    2. Choose a Compensation mode setting to compensate for lens breathing:

      • Select the Auto button in the Inspector to adjust cropping automatically.

        Item

        Description

        Auto cropping amount

        After the clip is analyzed, this indicator represents the amount of cropping that will be used to correct the clip.

        Maximum cropping amount

        Drag the slider to set the amount of cropping that can be applied to correct a clip.

        • If the automatic adjustment results in a clip that is larger than the maximum cropping amount, the Maximum cropping amount will be used.

        • If the automatic adjustment results in a clip that is smaller than the Maximum cropping amount setting, the automatic adjustment results will be used.

        This setting is persisted when changing the selected clip or exiting the Correct clip workspace.

        When correcting a clip using a Maximum cropping amount setting that is too large, clips with significant lens breathing may exhibit a black border around the frame. We recommend using a setting that is close to the default cropping size in manual mode. To check the default manual cropping size, click the Manual button or double-click the Cropping amount slider handle to reset the setting to its default.

        Source resolution

        Displays the dimensions of the source media before cropping is applied.

        Corrected crop resolution

        Displays the dimensions of the frame after cropping is applied.

        Minimum crop resolution

        Displays the minimum dimensions of the corrected frame based on the Maximum cropping amount setting.

      • Select the Off button if you do not want Catalyst Browse to compensate for lens breathing. If the clip includes in-camera breathing compensation, it will be preserved.

  5. Click the Analyze button to analyze the selected clip and update the preview to show the corrected clip.

    After analysis, the Summary section of the Info panel displays the corrected crop resolution.

  6. Click the Before/After button at the top of the video preview to choose a preview mode so you can compare your original and corrected video before applying the changes, and then use the transport controls above the timeline to preview the clip.

    • Before: the clip is displayed in its original state.

    • After: the cropped and corrected clip is displayed.

    • 2 Up: two full frames are displayed in a split-screen view with the original video on the left and the corrected video on the right.

    In some cases, Catalyst lens breathing compensation can be less effective than in-camera lens breathing compensation if stabilization is also enabled. Use the Preview pane to compare the original and corrected clip. You can set Stabilization mode or Compensation mode to Off as needed before exporting the corrected clip.

  7. To save a clip with the corrected settings, click the Export button at the top of the Catalyst Browse window, and use the Export pane to choose a destination and format for your exported files. Click the Export button at the bottom of the Export pane to start exporting the selected clip.

    For more information about the controls, please see "Saving and sharing clips".