Takevu

Film with your best camera and see yourself live on a second phone.

Live

The good camera is on the back, and you cannot see yourself.

Maker's note

I made it for my wife. She wanted to buy a piece of hardware so she could see her framing while filming herself. But the old phone sitting at home could do exactly that job — and more.

Because the problem is this: the good camera is on the back, and you cannot see yourself while you use it. Turn to the front camera and you give up the quality. Takevu turns a second phone into a live monitor: you film with the best lens and watch your framing, your focus and your expression on the other screen.

Things the hardware would not have done went in as well: recording, zoom, exposure and focus from the monitor, a teleprompter read right beside the lens, zebra and focus peaking. The picture never leaves the two devices, and no internet is needed.

What it does

How it works

One phone films, the other shows. Scan a QR code once and they are paired. No internet needed: the same Wi-Fi, direct Wi-Fi or a USB cable — over the cable the monitor even charges the filming phone. About 60 ms of latency over Wi-Fi.

Two ways to shoot

The Takevu camera: record with the rear camera and drive it from the monitor — recording, zoom, exposure, ISO, shutter, focus, white balance, AE/AWB lock and a timer. Recording continues with the filming phone's screen off.

Or any camera app: mirror the phone's screen, so the app you like shows on the monitor too.

Built-in teleprompter

Read your script on the monitor, right beside the lens. Line-by-line scrolling at an adjustable speed and size, with a mirror mode for a beam splitter.

Monitoring tools

Zebra, focus peaking, histogram, rule-of-thirds grid and safe area: drawn on the monitor, never burned into your video.

Your data

No account, no ads, no analytics. Picture, sound and commands travel only between the two devices.

Details

Platform: Android, two phones
Link: Wi-Fi, direct Wi-Fi or USB
Latency: ~60 ms over Wi-Fi
Tools: Zebra, focus peaking, histogram, teleprompter
Internet: Not required
Languages: 20

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