Wednesday, June 24th, 2015 Posted by Jim Thacker

Science.D.Visions ships 3DEqualizer 4 Release 4


New features in in 3DEqualizer4 Release 4. The latest update to the high-end matchmover, released officially last week, also introduces new monthly rental options aimed at freelancers and smaller studios.

Science.D.Visions has released 3DEqualizer4 Release 4, the latest update to its high-end matchmoving software, and introduced a range of new rental options aimed at freelancers and smaller studios.

The new pricing options replace the lower-priced Foundation and Advanced editions introduced in Release 3.

Used by leading VFX facilities worldwide
One of the earliest commercial matchmoving tools, 3DEqualizer received a technical Academy Award in 2002. Science.D.Visions now notes that “the world’s top ten VFX production houses rely on 3DEqualizer4”.

Recent movies on which it has been used include Avengers: Age of Ultron, Mad Max: Fury Road and Interstellar.

Improved network calculation, expanded set of Python commands
Available in beta since last year, the main feature in Release 4 is a new infrastructure for distributing calculation jobs across a local area network, speeding up parameter optimisation by “up to 100 times”.

According to the Science.D.Visions dev blog, the system “(more or less) automatically makes use of the spare CPU time of your colleagues’ machines” to capitalise on a studio’s maximum available computing capaciy.

Other new features include a new dynamic distortion mode that allows users to drive distortion in relation to focal length and focus distance at the same time.

In addition, each point group can contain an unlimited number of distance constraints, enabling users to “squeeze the last possible bit of information even out of low-parallax shots”.

There are also now over 100 new Python commands, including options for creating new 3D UIs, reading metadata from OpenEXR files, and creating new ultra-customisable ‘artificial’ adjustment parameters.

Pricing and availability
3DEqualizer4 Release 4 is available now for 64-bit Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. A permanent floating licence costs $4,999 – down on previous releases, since Science.D.Visions has standardised its US and Euro pricing.

In addition, there are new monthly, three-monthly and annual rental options, which start at $149/month.

The old Foundation and Advanced editions – that is, previous releases of the software, repriced to €499 and €1,999 – are no longer available in Science.D.Visions’ store, but you can upgrade to Release 4 for $2,999.

Read more about the new features in 3DEqualizer4 Release 4 on Science.D.Visions’ dev blog