News
5/22/2013ProShot v2.7 is DONE!
We are very happy to announce that we have completed work on ProShot v2.7. The update comes with over 50 improvements (both internal and external) that will make this the best photography experience on Windows Phone! It should be available for download by the end of the week.
5/17/2013
Two Point Seven: Important News, Complications
We have discovered a massive memory leak in Microsoft's Camera API related to image saving. This is the last thing that is holding back v2.7 from release and is the main reason why the current version of ProShot crashes. We have reached out to Microsoft for support, but have yet to hear back. We are currently evaluating our options, and we appreaciate your patience in the meantime.
5/11/2013
Attention Lumia 520, 521, 620, 720, HTC 8S Owners:
The current version of ProShot may not run properly on the above devices due to memory constraints. We are doing our best to address this in the next update (v2.7), and hope to have it finished and ready for download towards the end of next week (May 16-17). Thank you for your patience!
5/8/2013
Two Point Seven
I'm sorry things have been quiet for a while, we've been working really hard on v2.7. We wanted to include fast app resume in this release, but ran into quite a few challenges getting it to run without frequent crashing. Seems to be working pretty well now, though the app will crash on occasion. We believe it's a bug in Microsoft's code, but can't say for certain. We will release 2.7 with fast app resume enabled, but will remove it in a subsequent update if users experience frequent crashes.
Ok, with that disclaimer out of the way, we are happy to say that v2.7 is nearing completion! It should be done and submitted for approval before the week is over. Should make a good accessory for that hot new Lumia 928 :)
Oh, also, we will be updating the manual soon, and hopefully have a brand spankin' new website in June!
4/17/2013
Second Place!
With your help, ProShot won second place in Microsoft's Next App Star contest! Pretty sweet! Check it out below:
Things have been moving very quickly these past few weeks, and I've had very little time to update this site. I'm still working on updating the manual, and literally spending every other waking moment on ProShot updates. Good things are coming soon!
Finally, we have a twitter account now! Please tweet us your best pics! @RiseUpGames #ProShotApp
Show us your pro side :)
3/16/2013
Version 2.6, User Manual Updates
Sorry I haven't updated in a while, it's been a rough week. I'm working on the next update, which I hope to have done within the next week. If you've noticed, image save speeds have slowed down a bit with the release of v2.5. That's because we added contrast / saturation sliders, and it takes a lot of processing power to compute those values across 8,000,000 pixels. I did some ridiculous optimizations to get things going as fast as they are now, but in v2.6 I've actually managed to speed things up just a tiny bit more.
In all honesty things could go even faster, but the Windows Phone Camera API has its quirks (and bugs), most glaring of which is that images cannot be saved in a background thread (it will cause the system to crash after 2 or 3 attempts), so everything must be done in the UI thread. This slows performance down considerably. We have hopes that it will be fixed in the next update to Windows Phone.
As usual, the next update will have some new features, but I'm not ready to talk about those yet. Suffice to say, ProShot is going to keep getting better and better :)
Finally, the user manual is in desperate need of an update, and I will be taking care of that in the next few days.
3/6/2013
ProShot v2.5 is DONE!
This update is massive. First and foremost, I've patched a bug that was causing battery drain and stability issues while ProShot was running in the background (it had something to do with the way I was handling the accelerometer). Additionally, I've fixed the 'light' theme bug, and massively optimized ProShot's power needs, cutting CPU usage in half!
Not only that, but I've also added some sweet new features! Check em out:
Contrast / Saturation Sliders
Highlight Clip Tool
For complete info on what's new, please check the changelog.
3/4/2013
Good News! Issue Resolved!
After a really long and crazy day, I was finally able to address the problem. It will be fixed in the next update, which I hope to finish by either Monday or Tuesday. Thank you so much for your patience!
3/3/2013
ProShot v2.4 Error Loading?
I am getting reports that some users are having trouble loading ProShot v2.4. I am doing everything I can to get to the bottom of this, I hope to have it fixed by the end of the day. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience!
UPDATE: The problem is caused by the 'light' theme. I am doing my best to fix this issue. In the meantime, please switch your phone's theme to 'dark' and ProShot should run just fine.
2/26/2013
ProShot v2.4 Is Done!!!!
What, already?? Yep!
In this version we've added zoom, a black and white mode, completely overhauled the viewfinder code, as well as fix timelapse and other secondary mode bugs. It's been submitted to Microsoft for approval and should be available sometime early next week!
2/22/2013
Updated! PLEASE READ: Important Info About v2.3, Timelapse Bug, Etc.
I am sorry to say that ProShot v2.3 ships with a few bugs in timelapse. We hurried and submitted an update v2.3.1 to fix it, but it looks like it got published as a separate app, and not as an update to ProShot. Unless I am missing something, it looks like Microsoft doesn't allow developers to stack updates, and have to wait until one update is approved before submitting another.
We are currently really busy trying to prepare a big update in time for this contest. The app needs to be published by March 5th in order to be considered, and since each update takes so long to approve,
We hope to have everything wrapped up by the end of the month and published before March 5th.
UPDATE: I just had an awesome breakthrough tonight!
Looks like I may finish v2.4 a lot earlier. I don't want to promise anything, but I am doing my best to have it finished AND ready to download by this Friday!
2/18/2013
ProShot v2.3 Done!
Finally! This update brings a lot of new features including an intervalometer, a self-timer, MF assist, the option to select the display language, plus we managed to triple the image save speed! Check the changelog for more info.
ProShot v2.3 has been submitted for approval and it should be available for download by the end of the week! Phew, time to get some rest.
Update: UGH. I found a bug in timelapse. It will die after about 50 photos. I submitted an update that fixes the issue. Hopefully v2.3 and the update go live by the end of the week. Sorry about that :/
2/13/2013
ProShot v2.3: More Info, Good News!
Yeah! I love having good news to share! First, we have been able to dramatically increase image save speed (and reliability) to the point where we have gotten rid of the "image save speed" slider. Photos are still placed in a queue for saving, but they are now saved almost instantly!
Second, we were able to shorten the minimum timelapse interval from 5 seconds to 3 seconds! Check out this quick test with a Lumia 920.
ISO 100
1/2s shutter
3s interval
portrait orientation
assembled from 127 frames
2/11/2013
ProShot v2.3: Introducing Self-Timer, and Intervalometer! (plus caveats)
We had hoped to be done with v2.3 by now, but that proved to be too ambitious of a goal. There are so many hardware inconsistencies and bugs with Microsoft's API, it's been hard to stay sane. While yes, an intervalometer is coming,
- The screen must stay on during timelapse capture (we did our best to work around this, but the camera dies pretty quickly once the screen is locked. It's a hardware issue.)
- The Lumia 920 is awesome for night timelapses with its ability to take longer exposures. BUT! Since there is no way to turn off the Optical Image
Stabilization,
certain frames come out off-axis from the rest, and when assembling the final timelapse, one must remove those frames manually.This may not be the case. More testing is required. See the post above, timelapse was taken with 1/2s shutter speed and all frames were aligned properly. I think when this test was shot, the phone wasn't properly stabilized. - The HTC 8X doesn't allow captures at its slowest shutter speed (1/2s) unless ISO is set to Auto. I can confirm this is a hardware bug because it does not happen on the Lumia 920.
Since there is a bug in Microsoft's API for saving images (requiring the image saves to be spaced out), the shortest interval we can currently allow is 5 seconds. In a future update, we may be able to add shorter intervals, but there is stil a lot of testing that needs to be done on that front, so it won't make it for v2.3.
Here is a quick sample I took tonight. Please note that the low quality is only because I hastily assembled them in iMovie and didn't have a high resolution export option. The source images are 8 megapixeles, and given the right timelapse software, one could get some decent pans and zooms out of them.
To end on a good note, I think I've been able to relaibly quicken the image save speed for burst mode. More testing needs to be done on that front, but it's lookin good so far. Also, there may be a few more surprises coming in v2.3, but I am not ready to talk about them yet. Stay tuned!
2/11/2013
Update, and bug report
I was hoping to announce tonight what will be coming in v2.3, but that will have to wait til tomorrow night as I need a bit more time to make sure I can get these features ready on time. So look for that bit of info tomorrow!
As for the bug, I've found that if one wants to take a 1/2s exposure with an HTC 8X and they want to manually set the ISO, the 8X won't use 1/2s shutter speed (it will use 1/2s shutter only if ISO is set to Auto). This is not a bug in ProShot. I am not really sure whom to contact regarding this issue, but I have sent an email to HTC.
2/7/2013
Thank You!
I want to give a big thank you to all of you out there for all of your kind words, thorough reviews, and thoughtful feedback this past week! I am so happy to hear so many of you enjoying the updates!
We are already hard at work on v2.3, and I hope to have info to share with you sometime this weekend. In the meantime, we'd like to ask you a favor:
One of the most requested features we get for ProShot is to allow the app to be launched using the camera button. If this is something that you would like to see, please let Microsoft know by clicking here and voting. The more votes we can get, the better the chances we have of Microsoft listening!
Thank you, and have a great rest of the week!
2/4/2013
ProShot v2.2 Now Available For Download!
The manual has also been updated to explain how to use burst mode, focus lock, and auto aspect ratio.
Have a great week!
1/30/2013
ProShot v2.2 Done!
Phew that was a wild ride. Please click here to see what's new. Notable additions include burst mode, portrait UI, custom UI opacity, disable the "Leave app?" prompt, and...
A band new icon! (+ splash screen). We hope you enjoy the new look!
As always, it's going to take up to 5 days to certify ProShot, but there's still a good chance it will be available before the week is over. We can't wait to get it out there!
1/29/2013
ProShot v2.2: Enter Burst Mode!
This .gif isn't the most telling, but I made it from a short 3fps burst I took earlier in the day (note: ProShot burst mode does *not* automate .gif creation).
Here's a quick look at the UI for it:
Activating burst mode is simple: just press and hold on the screen until focus is locked, then while still pressing the screen, press down and hold the camera button.
Please note that this is not a full-resolution burst mode. The current API prevents me from getting anything higher than about 0.7fps at full resolution, so that is not going to be included. The pic below was taken with burst mode @ 5fps on an HTC 8X. Please click the picture to check out the full sized sample.
And that's all for now. It's looking like I will have everything wrapped up on ProShot v2.2 by the end of the day today (Tuesday), so there's a good chance it could be available for download by the end of the week! I'll write up a post on what else is new once I've finished.
1/28/2013 : 3:49AM
OMG.
For some unknown reason I just woke up in the middle of a dream, grabbed my phone, and checked the Marketplace, only to discover that ProShot is the featured app today!!! This is so awesome!!
For everyone visiting this site for the first time, welcome! I try to post frequent updates on my progress with ProShot, to keep you all informed of where it is going, and what is on the horizon.
Currently there are a few bugs out there, but I'm working really hard on an update (that's just around the corner) that will address those issues, as well as add a bunch of new features!
I will write a post sometime this afternoon detailing what's coming in the next update. For now, I've got to try and catch some sleep. Goodnight!
1/28/2013
Update!
Hello! I'm really sorry for letting a week go by without an update, I've been working hard trying to squash bugs, get the UI to support portrait mode, design a new icon / splash page, localization, and cram in a few surprises. I have to say it's really coming together quite nicely - I can't wait to get it out there!
Here's a peek at what portrait mode will look like:
I have at least one (little?) surprise in store for version 2.2, but I don't want to overpromise until I conduct a few more tests in daylight / outdoors tomorrow. I'm actually hoping to wrap everything up by Monday afternoon so the update will be available in time for the weekend, but this may slip into Tuesday. In any case, it's almost done!
Look for a post tomorrow with full details on what's coming in ProShot v2.2. Goodnight!
1/20/2013
FAQ Updated, Plus Some News
I've been getting a lot of questions and feature requests, and I just wanted to take a moment to address the most common ones. Please check it out here!
I've been really excited to get to work on a host of awesome new features for ProShot, but I'm not comfortable moving forward until I've addressed a few key bugs, namely stuff based around orientation. The next update will address these issues as well as add a few little things to enhance the user experience. It'll hopefully be done by the end of the week and available shortly thereafter. Just wanted to give you all a head's up!
1/18/2013
So, What Do You Want To See Next?
I have a giant list of features I plan to add to ProShot. They are sorted by priority, but I am not sure that what I want in a camera is what you want. So! If you have an idea or a feature you would like to see added into the next update, send us an email at
support@riseupgames.com
with the subject line "ProShot feature request". I will pick the top choices (within reason, I'm not gonna make ProShot play DOOM..... wait, that sounds awesome. If any of you work at id, let's make this happen). I totally lost where I was, but yeah, send me ideas and I will put the top ones in!
This next update is going to be pretty big, so it may be a while before it is finished. But rest assured it will be worth the wait! And it's gonna come with a new logo and splash screen! Good times.
1/17/2013
ProShot v2.1 Is Available Now!
This one brings some good updates and bugfixes, most notably, the Level Gauge bug is fixed, and photo saving speed is up to 3x faster! This was tested quite thoroughly on both the Lumia 920 and HTC 8X and we encountered zero issues during development. If, however, you experience any freezing, go to the DSP tab and uncheck the 'Fast Image Save' box.
For more info on this release, please check the changelog.
1/16/2013
New Look!
It ain't much, but it's better than what it was! ProShot v2.1 should be hitting the marketplace within the next day or two, and we're already working on adding more features for the next update. Stay tuned!
1/14/2013
ProShot v2.1 submitted for approval!
This was quite a successful day. Not only did I fix all of the bugs reported, but I also managed to dramatically speed up image saving! Check the changelog for more information.
There will be an option in the 'Display' panel to revert back to the slower way of saving if any issues appear, but I'm quite confident things should go smoothly. I've really put it through its paces on my Lumia 920 and HTC 8X and haven't had any crashes or freezing at all. Sweet deal.
ProShot v2.1 should be available by the end of the week. And I will be working throughout the week to spruce up this site a bit. Goodnight!
1/13/2013
OMG v2.0 Is Published Already??
This kind of caught me off guard, I didn't think it'd go up til at least Tuesday....I haven't finished this site yet! Bear with me as I work on it today and get things settled.
BUG NOTE: The level gauge will be on every time you start the app. To turn it off, go to the Level Gauge option in the Display panel, and check the box twice. I am sorry this one slipped through the cracks! If you notice any other issues with the app, email us at support@riseupgames.com. We will submit an update at the end of the day with all bugfixes reported. Thank you!
1/10/2013
Aaaand That's a Wrap!
ProShot v2.0 is done! I... honestly never thought I'd live to see this day...
It's been brutal trying to come up with a workable solution to the freezing issue many of you have been experiencing on your devices. I wish the Camera API behaved consistently across all phones, and that the most important function, the one that actually saves the image to your phone, didn't randomly and irreparably die for no reason and bring the entire program to it its knees.
In any case, guess what! I managed to squeeze in a lil' something extra into this update as well... a redesigned Level Gauge!
And now for the bad news: there is still an issue with Manual White Balance and Nokia devices. It runs just fine on the HTC 8X, but nothing happens on Lumias. This issue will be investigated further, but for now I will be submitting the update as is.... the things it adds and fixes are too important to wait.
I hope you enjoy all the of the blood, sweat, and mostly tears that have gone into v2.0! It's hard to tell exactly when the update will be certified, but hopefully the it will be available to download sometime early next week. I'll post here the moment it becomes available. Goodnight!
1/9/2013
Introducing some new stuff!
Here's all the new stuff that will be coming in the next update!
Buffer Indicator
When this is blinking, it means the device is busy processing something, and a photo cannot be taken. It will start blinking right after a photo is taken, or when the mode is changed.
Background Saving
Images are no longer saved the moment they are taken. They are put into a queue and saved in the background. This *vastly* improved app stability to the point where we have yet to experience any more freezing!
Additional Custom Mode
Cause two is better than one.
Focus Lock!
You want it, you got it :)
There's also a host of bug fixes coming with this update, and Shutter Priority mode is now called "Manual". They behave the same, I just felt "Manual" was a more appropriate title.
I hope to have this update finished by the end of the day today, which means it should be availble for download early next week! I'll let you know when it's done!
1/8/2013
Breakthrough reached?
After literally days of banging my head against a wall trying to come up with a good solution to the feezing issue, a random crazy idea popped into my head late last night that was just dumb and brilliant enough to work. Turns out it worked. I just took 16 pics in a row even changing the aspect ratio every few shots. Then it died, but nothing too horrible. It's fixable.
Here's a little bit of Q & A to get you caught up:
Q: Why does the app freeze?
A: The function Microsoft gives its developers to save a picture to the camera roll is extremely buggy and prone to blowing up (and it also doesn't even have a doc page on MSDN yet!). Seriously. I know, it's lame to point the finger at someone else, but in this case it's the truth.
Q: Why did you ship a buggy app?
A: During development, the only device we had available for testing was an HTC 8X. Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 APIs are supposed to run consistently across all Windows Phone 8 devices, and since the app runs fine on an HTC 8X, we published the version that's out now. Unfortunately, there was no way of knowing nor predicting that there'd be so many issues with the other Windows Phone 8 devices. We are working really really REALLY hard to fix it!
Q: Why does the app run better on an HTC 8X than my Lumia 920? Doesn't the 920 have the better camera?
A: We suspect it's because the HTC 8X has a dedicated imaging chip, which offloads some of the image processing from the main CPU. Again, this is only what we suspect.
In any case, we are doing our best to get the most fluid user experience across ALL Windows Phone 8 devices! More information on that later today...
Q: Ok, so...when can we expect this update?
A: We are working day and night to come up with the best solution possible to the freezing problem without compromising the user experience. If all goes well with this potential breakthough, the update could be finished by Wednesday...ish... which means it'll be available for download sometime early next week!
Q: The app icon is ugly.
A: That's not a question! Haha but seriously is it really that bad? Ok, we will make a new one. We do listen to your feedback! :) Just...need to fix bugs first!
- - -
Thank you so much everyone for your patience!
1/7/2013
It's looking a bit better now... but we still have a lot of testing to do.
In other news, we are happy to report that there will be a few new features coming with the update! We can't say what they are yet though, we need to be sure they all work 100% with the bug fixes.
1/6/2013
Still working on those freeze issues... but there may be good news to report soon.
1/6/2013
SOMEWHAT OKAY NEWS EVERYONE! The freeze issue is mostly fixed now, still trying to see what else can be impoved. It seems like they're caused by taxing the solid state storage a little too much - I think I may be hitting a wall with the amount of file I/O these devices can handle.
1/5/2013
GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!
We now have manual focus working on the Lumia 920!! (and it should work on other Nokia devices as well).
Now time to tackle those freezing issues...
1/5/2013
*** We got a 920! ***
And are sacrificing our precious weekend to fix those bugs! Thank you so much for your patience!
1/5/2013
If you are having any problems with the app, please contact us at support@riseupgames.com, tell us which device you are using, what the issues are, and how to replicate them. We are doing our best to fix any and all bugs reported! Thank you!
1/4/2013
Attention Nokia Lumia owners
We are aware of the following issues:
- Manual focus doesn't work
- App freezes on occasion under various circumstances