DOP control tool - command your live view Canon/Nikon DSLR with greater precision than ever before, zoom in to your cameras sensor 1:1, histograms, color correction, Zebra highlighting, exposure information and shot composition tools
The DOP control tool allows you to accurately set the camera parameters and lighting on set. The DOP control tool only works withcompatible Canon and Nikon cameras with EVF. This tool is in Action! HD and Studio editions of SMP.
Note: Nikon cameras operate differently to Canon DSLRs. For instance, changes to exposure are not reflected in the Nikon live view. To evaluate exposure properly, take a test capture and check the actual captured image.
Select main menu Tools|DOP control. The DOP control interface opens:
Display and navigation
Left click on the image to move, use the mouse trackball to zoom in and out of the image. The scroll bars can also be used to move the image view.
To show the image at a 1:1 pixel match, click Full Size.
To show the image so it fits the viewer window area, click Best Fit.
Test frames
The DOP allows test frames to be taken and analysed for lighting and camera settings. These test frames are kept sperate from the animation sequence frames.
Click Capture to take a test frame. The new frame is added to the test frame viewer.
Click Live to view the live image from the camera.
Left click to select a test frame to display in the main DOP control tool window.
You can delete the currently selected test frame using the Delete key.
Sidebar tool - Image settings
Use this tool to view the camera setting of the test frame. You can also add notes to each test frame.
Enter notes in the text field then click Apply.
Sidebar tool - Histogram
Use this tool to view a histogram of the frame.
The required color channel can be selected from the drop down list.
Sidebar tool - Zebra and Magnify
Use this tool to highlight under or over exposure. You can also enlarge a specific part of the frame.
Select the required Zebra value in the spin edit controls. Any overexposed areas will be show as red. Any underexposed areas will be shown as blue.
Tick Display Zebra to show the Zebra settings.
Tick Display Magnifier To enlarge a specific part of the frame.
Select the magnify box with a left click and it can be moved around the frame. Change the Zoom factor and Size of the magnify box using the sliders (see the effect below.
Sidebar tool - Color and brightness (Studio editions only)
Use this tool to adjust the color and brightness of the frame.
Select an existing Preset from the drop down list.
To adjust the color balance of the image, choose the channel you want to adjust from the Edit Channel drop down list. RGB channel will change the brightness.
To set a point, click on the curve line and the cursor shape will change to a hand.
Drag the curve until the image looks the way you want it.
A number of points can be set on the curve.
To adjust the Brightness, Saturation and Contrast move the slider, or enter a value in the spin edit control.
Tick Display to show the Color and brightness settings.
Tick Apply to all captured frames to apply the Color and Brightness settings to the Assist and Proxy frames in Stop Motion Pro. This does not affect the high resolution files or RAW files.
Click Save to save the current preset.
Click Reset to set all values to the default value.
Sidebar tool - Camera settings
Use this tool to change the camera settings.
TV - The camera shutter speed.
AV - The camera aperture value. If you are using a manual aperture lens, this option is likely to be greyed out, depending on your camera.
Live view exposure offset
This can be used to increase the brightness of the live view image when a manual iris lenses are used. On some Canon DSLR cameras there is a Camera settings option to control the live view brightness. (refer to your camera manual).
However on other cameras (usually the more economical ones in the range) the live view brightness gets 'confused' when the manual iris lenses are used. In this situation the live view image is much darker than the actual captured frame.
Increase the value of Live view exposure offset to increase the brightness of live view to match the captured frame exposure. We set our 40D to +10 for example.
Camera zoom
Select the in camera zoom factor for magnification. A red box appears on the image, you can click and drag this box to change where you magnify on the main screen.
Sidebar tool - Safe zone Use this tool to overlay the Safe zone over the frame.
Select the required aspect ration from the Aspect ratio drop down list.
The percentage of the frame size can be set using Action safe spin edit and Title safe spin edit.
Tick Display to show the Safe zone settings.
Tick Mask to set the area outside the Action safe area to black.
Tick Crosshair to show a crosshair marker in the middle of the frame.
Tick Show rule of thirds to show the Rule of thirds markers.
Tutorials 
DOP control tool - command your live view Canon/Nikon DSLR with greater precision than ever before, zoom in to your cameras sensor 1:1, histograms, color correction, Zebra highlighting, exposure information and shot composition tools
