Filmmaker Mark Bone has just discovered that some free software from Sony can stabilize footage from his FX9 to the point that he’s wondering how often he will ever need to use a gimbal in the future. Check out this short video.
Bone puts the stabilization offered by Sony Catalyst Browse, Sony’s free clip management tool, up against that provided by the Warp Stabilization offered by Adobe Premiere. As Bone explains, “it’s night and day.”
While the FX9 doesn’t support in-camera stabilization, Catalyst Browse takes the metadata from the camera’s gyroscope that is embedded into every file. Catalyst Browse then recalculates the movement of the camera and creates stabilized footage than can then be exported. The processing seems to be quite rapid.
Unfortunately, before you get too excited, Catalyst Browse does not have the same functionality with footage shot on Sony hybrid cameras as they lack the same internal gyroscope. As one of the comments to Bone’s video notes: “When you hear that catalyst doesn’t stabilize a7 footage and your heart breaks.”
Watch to the end to find out why Sony might not be able to offer a simple solution for internal raw.
Have you tried using Sony Catalyst Browse? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.