Folder Monitor - Any way to delay processing?

[horshack]

I'm trying to use the Folder Monitor for a folder that my tethered camera is uploading focus stacked images into.

The problem is the monitor starts processing the first file(s) it sees immediately. This doesn't give any shooting application enough time to deposit all the files of the stack into the folder. As designed it doesn't appear the Folder Monitor feature would work for any scenario due to this behavior.

Is there a way to have the Folder Monitor wait a certain amount of time after seeing a new file before it scans the folder for all the files in the stack, so that there is time for all the files to reach the directory? Ideally it would let you configure the amount of time to wait after the last new file activity is detected, for example, wait 5 seconds after the final photo of a stack has been deposited into the folder.

[Catherine]

Why do you want to wait? The strength of the folder monitor is that it processes the files as they appear and the result is ready almost immediately after the last file has been downloaded, rather than having to wait for however much time it takes to process the whole stack.

[horshack]

Why do you want to wait? The strength of the folder monitor is that it processes the files as they appear and the result is ready almost immediately after the last file has been downloaded, rather than having to wait for however much time it takes to process the whole stack.

Because if you don't wait then Helicon only uses the first two or three files of the stack rather than all 20, 30, etc, since the other files for the same stack are still in the process of being uploaded from the camera and deposited into the folder.

[Catherine]

You just have to specify a longer time threshold so that it doesn't decide prematurely that the stack is complete.

[horshack]

You just have to specify a longer time threshold so that it doesn't decide prematurely that the stack is complete.

That doesn't work. The "Time between shots to split into stacks (seconds)" setting in the Folder Monitor dialog is only evaluated for the files that Helicon can already see. It is not being used to wait for new files to arrive in the folder. To demonstrate, I have that setting set to 10 seconds and Helicon still starts stacking immediately even though the files are still incoming at the rate of about 3 per second, which is much faster than the 10 seconds I have configured for that setting.

Here's a quick demonstration of the problem.I'm using an Olympus OM-1 tethered to my Windows PC over USB, running OM Capture to initiate the focus bracketing, configured to upload the exposures into a directory that I have configured Helicon to monitor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CfRegGxtc8

[Catherine]

The file creation time is being used. Maybe your software is setting file time to the shot taken time from EXIF or something like that? Check the creation times in the file attributes.

[horshack]

The file creation time is being used. Maybe your software is setting file time to the shot taken time from EXIF or something like that? Check the creation times in the file attributes.

Thanks. Based on your helpful reply I checked my camera's clock and it was one hour behind my Windows PC. When I synchronized the camera's clock to my PC, Helicon waited much longer before starting the stack, which is good, but it still started the stack before all the files were uploaded. Helicon appears to be applying my configured "Time between shots" value of 10-seconds against the first file it sees rather than the most recent file, so starting the stack 10 seconds after it sees the first file even though more files are incoming. If I change the "Time between shots" setting to a longer time like 60 seconds then it waits for all the files before starting the stack.

This is a good temporary solution but it causes unnecessary delays when multiple shooting stacks of various lengths. For example, if I shoot a stack with 50 shots I have to set "Time between shots" to a large value like 60 seconds to make sure Helicon waits for all the files. If I then immediately perform a 10-shot stack then Helicon is going to wait that same 60 seconds for the smaller stack.

As described in my OP, a nice solution would be to have Helicon apply its delay/wait from the most recent file it sees, rather than the first file.

[Catherine]

Thanks for the explanation, I understand. Please wait, we are figuring out how exactly the time is measured, and whether or not this is how it was intended to work.

[horshack]

Hi Catherine, I'm reviving this old thread because I'm still having this issue.

Can you please advise on how to get Helicon to delay processing a file set by a certain number of seconds after it detects the first new file in the monitored directory? Without such a feature it renders the Folder Monitor feature practically useless.

[horshack]

Also, I've encountered a new issue. Helicon intermittently skips one of the files deposited in the monitored folder.

Here's a screencast demonstrating the issue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt5YQe02344

The video shows my camera tethering app depositing 20 files into the folder monitored by Helicon, in this instance "P8201261.ORF...P8201280.ORF". Helicon only processes 19 of the 20 files, skipping one of the files in the middle (P8201264.ORF).

[Catherine]

Hi,

We are working on it, there were multiple issues with the monitor function and we're fixing/re-implementing it for the next update of Helicon Focus. Would you like to try the new version when the monitor overhaul is done, maybe in a couple days? It's a work-in-progress version of Helicon Focus that's not final quality yet, but it should be functional.

[horshack]

Absolutely, I would be happy to try it, thanks.

[Catherine]

Great! But it's taking us a bit longer to sort out the Mac version, sorry about that. Don't want to give a time estimate yet, but we're working on it right now.

[horshack]

Great! But it's taking us a bit longer to sort out the Mac version, sorry about that. Don't want to give a time estimate yet, but we're working on it right now.

Ok, no worries. I'm running Windows btw, in case you want an early testing start on that platform.

[Catherine]

I see! That's good, I got something mixed up and at some point started thinking you're on Mac. There is one issue on Windows that we need to fix, and then it should be in working order.