Zooming while filming video on the iPhone?

[japanime]

I've officially released on the app store for anyone interested, it just showed up today.

MagicZoom App - App Store

Download MagicZoom by Eric Thurber on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more apps like MagicZoom.

apps.apple.com

Congrats! It always feels good when getting an app approved.

 

[Eric]

Congrats! It always feels good when getting an app approved.

What a process, in some ways it was harder than creating the app.

 

[Roller]

Hi Eric. I downloaded the app and have been trying it. Great start! I have a few comments. Would you prefer that I post them in this thread or DM you?

 

[Eric]

Hi Eric. I downloaded the app and have been trying it. Great start! I have a few comments. Would you prefer that I post them in this thread or DM you?

Great, thanks for helping to test. Let's have them here, the one thing I'll add that I've heard about from a couple of people is the camera jerk as it switches through cameras, after a lot of research it appears to be a hardware issue that can't be controlled (without really messing it up) through software. It's the same when you use the slider in the native camera app as well.

I figure if there's enough interest I'll update so I welcome the feedback.

 

[Roller]

Great, thanks for helping to test. Let's have them here, the one thing I'll add that I've heard about from a couple of people is the camera jerk as it switches through cameras, after a lot of research it appears to be a hardware issue that can't be controlled (without really messing it up) through software. It's the same when you use the slider in the native camera app as well.

I figure if there's enough interest I'll update so I welcome the feedback.

OK, thanks. Here goes:

1. Is there any way to let the user know that they'll be crossing lens boundaries on their device before they start the zoom?
   
   
2. If the user doesn't provide or disables permission to access the device's microphone, the only way to continue is to open Settings and grant it. There is an X on the Permission Required screen, but it doesn't respond to a tap. I think it should be possible to capture zooms without sound if so desired.
   
   
3. As the Start and End sliders are moved, the text at the right that shows the magnification jumps around a bit because there's not enough room to display the number and the x character. This is only a problem in portrait mode and not a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.
   
   
4. It would be great to be able to save a few zoom presets to recapture scenes from different locations and/or at different times consistently.

Apologies if these are too nit-picky or unreasonable!

 

[Eric]

OK, thanks. Here goes:
Is there any way to let the user know that they'll be crossing lens boundaries on their device before they start the zoom?

There is a little i button just above the sliders that explains best practices when tapped, I just didn't know where to place it in a way that wasn't obtrusive (see attachment) but I agree this should be more obvious, maybe an initial screen that only shows once before first use.

As the Start and End sliders are moved, the text at the right that shows the magnification jumps around a bit because there's not enough room to display the number and the x character. This is only a problem in portrait mode and not a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.

I've noticed this too and will work on better placement.

If the user doesn't provide or disables permission to access the device's microphone, the only way to continue is to open Settings and grant it. There is an X on the Permission Required screen, but it doesn't respond to a tap. I think it should be possible to capture zooms without sound if so desired.

This is a bug that I should've spent more time testing, we built in the functionality if denied but I've always accepted. I'll work this one out, great catch.

It would be great to be able to save a few zoom presets to recapture scenes from different locations and/or at different times consistently.

As it is it's setup to retain the last used settings but this is a good idea for an added feature.

Apologies if these are too nit-picky or unreasonable!

Not unreasonable at all, this is all very useful and appreciated.

 

[Yoused]

Usage note: I tried it on this here iPad, and it was difficult to use because it is framed for an iPhone, but the framing is 90° off. I am holding the iPad L, but the window is P-shaped, and the image is in L (rotated). If I can frame it right for a fixed zoom, it would be fine, but if I want to add any lateral or vertical motion, it is awkward. And, of course, it saves it to Pictures as vertical.

I personally rarely do video on the iPad, so it is probably not worth attending to.

 

[Eric]

Usage note: I tried it on this here iPad, and it was difficult to use because it is framed for an iPhone, but the framing is 90° off. I am holding the iPad L, but the window is P-shaped, and the image is in L (rotated). If I can frame it right for a fixed zoom, it would be fine, but if I want to add any lateral or vertical motion, it is awkward. And, of course, it saves it to Pictures as vertical.

I personally rarely do video on the iPad, so it is probably not worth attending to.

Thanks for trying anyway. Yeah, this is strictly for the iPhone only as I didn't really want to go down the path of testing and adding the iPad.

 

[Roller]

There is a little i button just above the sliders that explains best practices when tapped, I just didn't know where to place it in a way that wasn't obtrusive (see attachment) but I agree this should be more obvious, maybe an initial screen that only shows once before first use.

View attachment 38741


I've noticed this too and will work on better placement.


This is a bug that I should've spent more time testing, we built in the functionality if denied but I've always accepted. I'll work this one out, great catch.


As it is it's setup to retain the last used settings but this is a good idea for an added feature.


Not unreasonable at all, this is all very useful and appreciated.

Thanks. Happy to help.

For the first one, I did use the info button that displays a caution about lens boundaries, though it was hard to read the text against the nearly transparent background.

What I meant to ask if there’s a way in software to determine if the current settings will cross a lens boundary on that particular device and perhaps display a warning icon for the user. But no biggie if not.