Category Archives: Misc

Breeze software for 360 booths

A quick note about using Breeze with 360 booths.

Truth is you don’t need a special app to run a 360 booth. You need a great photo booth app with video capture, slow motion, video FX and a way to start the session ….. like Breeze.

We recommend using Breeze Booth (iPad+iPhone) for 360 booths with an iPhone running 2022 iPhone SE, iPhone 14 or iPhone 13.

Use the high quality rear camera to shoot your videos, and either share them directly from Breeze Booth, or from a Windows tablet running Breeze Kiosk.

Video FX & Built in AI background removal

Use Breeze Booth for iPad’s powerful AI background removal and video effects.

  • locally processed AI background removal or blurring, with live view 
  • awesome slow motion
  • fabulous video FX

Find more examples of video effects here

Breeze for iPad Auto Start

Auto Start detects when a 360 degree spinner starts spinning – automatically starts the countdown and captures the video.

Auto Start detects when a 360 degree spinner starts spinning, automatically starts the countdown and captures the video (Breeze Booth for iPad 3.3)

Sharing your videos

Videos can be shared directly from Booth (iPad+ iPhone), or a sharing station running Breeze Kiosk.

To share from the iPhone screen set up email and/or SMS sharing as standard for the app.
To share from Kiosk use a local network to wirelessly connect the iPhone to a Windows tablet running Breeze Kiosk.

Connecting the app with Kiosk

To connect the iPhone and Kiosk tablet together you need to set up a local network.

  • Switch on Personal Hotspot on the iPhone, and Allow Others to join. This creates a your network ( no wifi or mobile signal needed) Set a Wi-Fi password in the iPhone to prevent others accessing the network
  • Alternatively set up your network with a MiFi or 4G modem router. These can provide a local wi-fi network as well as connecting to a mobile data network

Breeze Kiosk is fully customizable Windows app for guests to display, print and share photos, videos and GIFs from your event.

* Kiosk https://www.breezesys.com/solutions/breeze-kiosk/ is a separate Purchase.

Have a great week,

Sue

© Breeze Systems 2023

 

Choosing a computer for your Windows photo booth

My all time favorite comment in the Breeze Facebook group began

Anything with more processing power than a potato can generally run Breeze.

It’s absolutely true that you can run a stills Breeze photo booth on a low powered computer, although we don’t support the King Edward or Yukon Gold.

The same poster added

 …I’m not doing gifs or videos, just photo layouts and prints.

Which was a sensible caveat. Before choosing your computer, think how it will be used.

Videos, burst GIFs, photos with filters, background removal and other effects run much better on a more powerful machine.

Probably not the best power source for a video booth

We have added a new page to the website Choosing a computer for your photo booth.

This page replaces one of our most popular blog posts and includes advice about hardware requirements for processing videos quickly. This is  probably the most demanding task for a photo booth computer.

Have a great weekend,

Sue

© Breeze Systems 2022

 

Which camera is best for my photo booth?

We are often asked which camera is best for a photo booth. Canon cameras have very good live view quality, an important attribute for photo booths. The models below are not the only cameras you can use. Many older Canon DSLR cameras work very well. You can find a button linking to a list of the cameras you can use with Breeze DLSR Remote Pro here.

At the time of writing* (September 2021) we believe the ultimate photo booth cameras are ….. the mirrorless Canon  EOS M50 Mark II and EOS M50 . For photo booth use there is no practical difference bewtween the two.

The standard kit lens ( EF-M 15-45mm STM ) has a flexible 15-45 mm zoom. For a super slim booth, try the EF-M 22mm STM lens

Best: Canon EOS M50 Mark II and EOS M50

Update: February 2019 Canon have released firmware version 1.0.2 for the M50 which fixes the issues with triggering external flash. The new firmware can be downloaded fromCanon’s UK site 

A big thank you to Caroline Winata of Giggle and Riot Funbooth  for sharing this example of slow motion video (EOS M50 with DSLR Remote Pro 3.10)

  • 120FPS Slow motion video with no additional processing
  •  Similar performance to the Canon EOS 200D/Rebel SL2 including Canon’s excellent dual pixel auto focus in live view.
  • Suitable for video with external microphone socket.
  • Compact, slim and light; the M50 will fit in a smaller housing than Canon’s DSLR cameras.

July 2018 This post has been updated to include cameras supported in DSLR Remote Pro 3.11.2 ie the  Canon EOS 1500D (aka Canon EOS 2000D/Rebel T7/EOS Kiss X90) and Canon EOS 3000D (aka Canon EOS 4000D).

The photo below shows the different sizes of the EOS M50, EOS 200D/Rebel SL2 and new EOS 2000D/1500D/Rebel T7:

Photos of Canon EOS M50, 200D and 2000D with kit and pancake style lenses
[top to bottom] EOS M50 with EF-M 22mm STM lens, EOS M50 with standard kit lens EF-M 15-45mm STM , EOS 200D/Rebel SL2 with 24mm pancake lens, EOS 2000D/1500D/Rebel T7with 18-55mm kit lens

Disadvantages

  • Access for external power is underneath the camera instead of at the side.
Photo of Canon EOS M50 showing power cable attached to base of camera
The external power cord connection for the M50 is on the camera base
  • Update February 2019

Canon have released firmware version 1.0.2 for the M50 which fixes the issues with triggering external flash. The new firmware can be downloaded from the Canon UK site (There was a bug in the original firmware of the Canon EOS M50 which meant that triggering an external flash or studio strobe via the hotshoe could be unreliable. We reported this bug to Canon, who have fixed it.)

Good for video: 200D/Rebel SL2, 850D/Rebel T8i/Kiss X 10i

These cameras do everything the M50 can do except slow motion video. They are larger and heavier than the M50.

  • Excellent auto focus in live view
  • Suitable for video & have an external microphone socket

Budget: 1300D/T6

Good for still photos and boomerang and slideshow animated GIFs. Slightly higher resolution live view than 200D or 800D.

Disadvantages

  • No external microphone socket so not a good choice for video including sound.
  • Power zoom is not supported.
  • Old model becoming difficult to source new
  • Autofocus less reliable

Canon 2000D/1500D/Rebel T7

(Updated 25 February 2020)

The 2000D/T7 is an update of the popular Canon EOS 1300D/Rebel T6 with a higher resolution 24 mega pixel sensor. Unfortunately Canon initially removed the center contact on the hotshoe. This means early versions of this camera cannot trigger most external flashes or studio strobes so is not recommended for photo booth use.

Tuesday 25th February. Canon announced at Photo Booth Expo that the EOS Rebel T7/2000D camera has been  updated to add a center contact (X sync) on the hotshoe, making this a great budget choice for photo booth users. More details.

Canon EOS 4000D/3000D

Similar to the Canon EOS 1300D/Rebel T6 with the same 18 mega pixel sensor but cheaper build quality (plastic lens mount, fewer buttons, no remote release socket and no cable access for external power). This camera has no center contact on the hotshoe. This means the camera cannot trigger most external flashes or studio strobes so is not recommended for photo booth use.

Web cameras & iPad booths

This post does not cover booths powered by web cameras or the built-in cameras provided with iPads, laptops and tablets. Breeze Booth (iPad + iPhone) uses either the device’s built in camera or Canon EOS DSLR cameras, some mirrorless and PowerShot models. Breeze Webcam Photobooth software will run a booth with either a webcam or built in camera in a Windows 11, 10 or 8 PC or laptop.

*This post has been updated in November 2021.  As new cameras are introduced this post will inevitably become outdated.

© Breeze Systems 2021