These are the main feature changes between Dragonframe versions, in reverse order (newest to oldest). For specific bug fixes and minor updates, see the release notes on the downloads page.
Downloads

Dragonframe 2024.05

• Basic color management via OCIO, for converting sRGB source to monitor color profiles.
  • Open Preferences|Color Management.
  • Assign monitor color profiles.
• Live view magnification views each get their own grid
• Added sort options in Cinematography Test and References areas
• Added camera notes pop-out window
• Arc – Added group lock to lock entire group of axes.
• Arc – See and change indexed exposure assignments directly.
• Arc – Added ‘Extend Curves’ option to extrapolate past last keyframe.
• Added ‘burst mode’ for some cameras.
  • Open Preferences | Hot Keys and assign a key for Shoot Burst.
  • Works with most Canon, Sony, Olympus and Nikon cameras.
  • Nikon cameras require you to set the burst count in Camera Settings.
  • Other cameras fire while you hold the hot key, and stop when you release it.
  • You can only have one active exposure, and any moco or DMX changes will be ignored while bursting.
• Capture blackout can now be set on a per-screen basis.
• The reference movie player can decode and render 10-bit color movies. Set in Preferences|Playback.
• The reference movie player can switch to a solid color block on a per-exposure basis. Right-click in the player and choose “Configure Exposure Mattes…”

Dragonframe 2024.01

• Improved hot key toggling of guide layers:
  • In Preferences | Hot Keys, assign keys to “Guide Group #1 Toggle”, “Guide Group #2 Toggle”, etc.
  • Right-click on layers to assign a group number. You can assign a group number to media layers, drawings, composition guides, and audio track reads.
  • The group number appears next to the icon of each layer.
  • Pressing the assigned hot key toggles all active layers that belong to that group number.
• New ‘dmc-lite’ Arduino real-time motion control sketch, for Giga R1 and Portenta H7.
  In [Dragonframe Installation]/Resources/Arc Motion Control/dmc
• Playback performance improvements.
• NDI Input: Direct NDI input integration. Add source through Scene|Cameras|IP Cameras screen.
• Option to lock NDI/Blackmagic/Syphon/Spout live view output to specific camera.
• DMX Generate Effect: Auto-generate flicker, pulsing, or static. Right-click on channel and choose “Generate Effect”.
• Arc: Added jogpad mode that uses jogpad keys but stays in main Arc workspace.

Dragonframe 5.2

• Added Leica SL / SL2 / SL2-s support.
• Added Sony ZV-E1 support.
• Axis groups: organize your motion control axes into groups. Add a group via the Arc hamburger menu, then drag channels into it.
• Frame Tags: Add colored tags to captured frames in the timeline or x-sheet. Right-click on the timeline (or control-click on macOS) and apply a tag from the contextual menu. (In the X-Sheet, add a ‘TAG’ column to see tags.) The tags move with the frames as you edit. You can use this to mark frames for some post-production reason, or as a way to quickly show/hide sets of frames.
• Improvements for blocking/rehearsal animation: step by tag and auto-tag first frame in multi-shoot.
• Option to add an exposure as a reference layer. This allows you to play back composited layers as you shoot a take.
• Audio track reading HUD in animation workspace can be popped out into separate window.
• Hardware acceleration for jpeg video assist images–on macOS Apple Silicon machines and Windows with Intel graphics.
• When a reference layer file cannot be found, the program now keeps the layer instead of removing it. It shows a missing symbol, and you can replace the media via a right-click (or control-click) on the layer.
• Bumped maximum camera count from four to eight.
• Added more zoom levels for animation workspace: 225%, 250%, etc.
• Improved anamorphic de-squeeze support. Anamorphic setting has moved to Scene|Cameras.
• Option to add exposure as a media layer.
• Individual drawing layer export/import.
• Major DMX UI performance improvements with many channels.
• Movie export ‘all exposures’ now works with multiple cameras.
• Alternate composition guides can be assigned a color, to more easily distinguish them.

Dragonframe 5.1

• Added Contour Shuttle integration
• Added support for Z-CAM cameras
• Added support for SIGMA fp and fp L cameras
• Ani: Added hardware acceleration on macOS and Windows for media layer playback
• Ani: Option to pin media players, so they stay up when switching exposures
• Ani: Hot key to toggle bash light in Animation workspace
• Ani: Hot keys to toggle grid layers
• Ani: Added “camera as media layer”
• Ani: Sharper hi-res proxies for playback
• Arc: Improved UI performance
• Arc: Move test / real-time playback for indexed positions
• Arc: Real-time looping and ping-pong playback
• Arc: Option to automatically start/stop movie recording with real-time playback
• Arc: Determine if move can be accomplished by virtual rig
• Arc: Reorient move to current position
• Arc: Output OSC both real and virtual motor positions
• DMX: Supports up to four DMX ‘universes’ of 512 channels each
• DMX: Improved UI performance with many channels
• DMX: Added gel chooser for ARRI fixtures with gel lists
• Audio: Restore track order when loading scene
• Audio: Export lip sync movie
• Added NDI video output, which can be used in Unreal Engine
• Added heif/heic image support
• Use x264 mp4 output for better results, and consistent support across all platforms
• X-Sheet: Option to pop out into separate window
• X-Sheet: Added multiple options to drawing tools

Dragonframe 5.0

General

• Support for Apple M1 Silicon (ARM64)
• Multiple camera support (up to four) – for additional hi-res capture or video assist
• Separate Drawing Layers and References for each magnification view or alternative video assist
• “Making-of” capture integrated into the animation process
• Support for fractional display scaling on Windows and Linux (125%, 150%, etc)
• Recover from conform failure
• Emojis in drawing layer text, notes
• Support Monogram Creative Console (Palette Gear) for various tasks
• Added a time estimate for long shoot multiple and move tests
• Added a composite movie export option
• Added a reverse export option
• Added a multiple-frame auto toggle
• Added keypad focus control in animation workspace
• Added ‘Past Takes’ reference layer to make it easier to refer to previous takes
• Drawing tool increment editor ticks can now show during animation or playback
• Reference movie player can go full screen

Camera Support

• Support for Android and iOS devices over WiFi via DF Tether 2.0
• Support for Intel RealSense depth cameras
• Improved RED support with capture over WiFi now possible

DMX

• Lighting Fixtures
• Graph mode to program with curves
• Program triggers (logic out and relay) via timeline
• Load test shots at full size
• Full DMX export/import
• Added search bar to more easily find lights
• Added ‘thread’ to visually tie badges to area in image

Motion Control

• Added “aim point” (with virtuals)
• Autodesk FBX import/export of camera (with virtuals)
• Safe move browser
• Programmable, repeatable focus with Canon FPM camera+lens combos
  (FPM is ‘focus point memory’, and is part of a newer version of the stop motion firmware.
  You must purchase a camera with this firmware, or get your camera upgraded, in order to use this feature.)
• Programmable shutter speed
• Go motion can be enabled/disabled per exposure
• Record axis animation, for set or prop movers
• Couple two motor outputs (zDMC only)
• Output motor positions via OSC
• Move tests can be shot in reverse (for speedier turnaround)

Audio

• Added “replace audio file” option

Integrations

• Custom script actions can be assigned to hotkeys and called from Dragonframe
• OSC scripting can now have multiple calls for one action

Dragonframe 4.2

• Increased maximum allowed video assist size to 1920 wide. (Video assist resolution is usually limited by camera.)
• Support for Canon EOS stop motion firmware features
• New take/exposure/frame notes stored in metadata text file for passing on to post-production
• Reference images can now be popped out into separate window
• New alternate composition guide layers, for framing for multiple deliveries
• New movie record tool in Cinematography workspace makes it more clear which settings will be used when camera is set to record video
• New motion control adjustment layer to apply subtle adjustments to moves
• New motion control “time warp” feature to stretch or compress final move over time
• New DMX keyframe table view
• Support for simple arithmetic in many Arc and DMX fields
• Support for 4K webcams and Elgato Cam Link 4K

Dragonframe 4.1

• New “Notepad” for keeping track of scene notes.
• Up to eight “punch-in” positions of live view magnification.
• Focus check support for Sony A7III and A7RIII.
• Support for ARRI direct ARRIRAW capture.
• Support for RED DSMC2 direct R3D capture.
• Support for Pentax KP, K-1, K-1 Mark II, 645Z.
• Support for Canon EOS M50, T7/1500D/2000D and 3000D/ 4000D.
• Support for 3rd-party DMX hardware: ENTTEC DMX Pro and Art-Net protocol.
• New gamepad controller integration for programming motion control.
• New 3D mouse support for motion control.
• More virtualized axis configurations for motion control.
• Motion control capture in reverse.

Dragonframe 4.0

• New “Guide Layers” makes it easy to set up composition guides, reference layers and drawings.
• Multiple reference layers with separate opacity, chromakeying and masking.
• Integrated reference video player with animation time sync.
• Timeline pre-roll area for setting up lead-in clip.
• Multiple drawing layers with separate opacity.
• Improved live view magnification tools.
• New focus check tool within Animation workspace.
• New color palette (swatch) sampling and comparison.
• New color checking tools.
• High-resolution image comparison tools (A/B).
• Movie recording and playback for supported cameras.
• Import multiple audio clips.
• Custom DMX light profiles.

Dragonframe 3.7

• Numerous OpenGL improvements.
• Improved support for macOS 10.13 (High Sierra).
• Improved Blackmagic Design connectivity.
• Fixed histogram blue/green channels.

Dragonframe 3.6

• Many stability improvements
• Added Blackmagic Production Camera 4K (at 4K resolution)
• Added image sequence import

Dragonframe 3.5

Overview

Dragonframe 3.5 is a complete rewrite of the software in C++, replacing the Java version we have supported up until now. Overall it provides improved performance with better resource (RAM/CPU) usage.

Important Changes

• We have dropped support for OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard).
• We have dropped support for Canon PowerShot and Olympus cameras.

New Features and Improvements

• Faster loading of your project-frames are no longer loaded into RAM.
• No memory bar to constrain playback. You can play entire sequence of frames.
• Faster Live View rate (up to 30 FPS with Canon) with lower CPU usage.
• Improved Nikon and Canon connectivity.
• Major rework of frame hiding.
• Handles more audio file formats (wav, aac, aif, mp3).
• Retina (HI-DPI) assets on Mac.
• Mac Lion and Mountain Lion fullscreen support.
• Better line-up layer performance (no waiting for frames to load in).
• Simplified movie export options, with support for mp4 (H.264/ AAC) and Windows movie types (.avi).
• QuickTime not required on Windows.
• Webcam focus control (some Logitech models) with Arc programmability.
• Blackmagic capture device direct integration.
• Support for new camera models:
  • Canon EOS 100D / EOS Digital Rebel SL1 / EOS Kiss X7
  • Canon EOS 700D / EOS Digital Rebel T5i / EOS Kiss X7i
  • Nikon D5200
  • Nikon D7100
• Support for DMC-16 and real-time motion control.
• Motion control “move-shoot” mode and ability to send moco to different frames while animating.

Dragonframe 3.0

Tabbed Workspaces

Navigate through multiple Dragonframe workspaces within one window, or detach a workspace for dual monitor support.

Docked X-Sheet

Dock the highly configurable X-Sheet within the Animation workspace for easy viewing.

Vector-Based Drawing Tools

Draw lines, ticks, shapes and free form. Then select drawing objects to scale or rotate them. Use the increment editor to visualize movement along a path over time.

Lipsync

Import a face set library and create a perfect track reading in our revamped audio workspace.

Visual Timeline

View thumbnails and edit your sequence directly in the new timeline, which is part of the Animation workspace. You can quickly pull holds to adjust timing for pop-through tests.

DMX

Improved keyframe editing and visualization in Dragonframe 3. Create custom lighting programs per exposure.

Arc Motion Control

Set up multiples axes, jog motors, set keyframes and run move tests. Currently interfaces with the IOTA Controller and Arduino boards.

Video Assist Levels

Adjust video assist levels to compensate for low-light situations.