Learning OpenCV: Computer Vision with the OpenCV Library

As a computer instructor and researcher in biometrics and pattern recognition, I welcome this treatise on OpenCV. Don't even consider opening the pages unless you are familiar with C, its use of structs, pointers, callback functions and the like. You may also be put off by the various mathematical discussions of various advanced computer vision algorithms that have been developed over the last two decades. OpenCV is an open-source collaborative work. It's partially supported by the Intel corporation, through their quest for advanced algorithms that might be included in its computer chips. Many low-level tools needed for video and image processing are now provided in advanced Intel microprocessors. The theme of OpenCV is audacious, yet achievable -- that of providing high-quality, high-performance software tools for the many computer vision algorithms that have been published over the years. That has largely been achieved through the clever use of low-level pointer-based tools, accompanied by complete C source code for everything down to the raw processor instructions. Other good news is that the system provides an easy portal to advanced Intel hardware support, boosting performance to the highest possible level. One can also port OpenCV-based code to Linux, other Unix and Mac platforms -- it is not restricted to Windows. I've had some trouble with Windows XP, but the image and camera grabbing functions work well under Windows Vista. I've also been able to exploit the OpenCV tools under Windows MFC to support Windows-based applications. This O'Reilly book provides the background support that you will need to download the OpenCV system from the internet, configure your development environment and start exploring the magic that its tools can provide. Perhaps you can also contribute to the effort in the way of reporting bugs and providing tool extensions. I should point out that most of the OpenCV documentation is also available free through the internet. If you like your docmentation scattered around through numerous HTML links, help yourself. I prefer a clear written dialog and an index to follow the underlying logic of all the functions and their variations described in the book.

Despite all the evolution that OpenCV has gone through these last five years, and all the available on-line documentation and newer books that have been published, this is still the most useful and helpful guide. No other book covers the breadth and depth of OpenCV like this one does. The writing style is a bit too casual sometimes. I have been a tiny bit annoyed by the authors' breezy treatment of some important details that I'm struggling with. Nevertheless, there just isn't a better alternative, or anything even close. I guess I should be grateful that the alternative isn't the case: excessive, impenetrable formality! Again, this is still the best OpenCV reference available right now. About a year ago Amazon listed the second edition of this book for pre-order. Months went by, and they eventually canceled it. What's up with that?

This book is excellent at exposing the reader to the various methods available in OpenCV and showing via code examples how to use each one. The author also gives you the website where you can look at the actual source code of each method shown. This is helpful since, for example, if you want to know exactly how the code is going about calculating the Fundamental Matrix, it is difficult to determine this by reading the book alone. This book would be most useful to someone who already has a fundamental understanding of computer vision and image processing and wants to see how OpenCV will make their programming tasks easier. It does this by coding up well known algorithms into reliable pieces of code that you can use to accomplish more complex tasks. Do not come to this book if you are seeking to learn computer vision. You will only be confused as the author does not offer enough detail to teach you the mathematical foundations. However, I don't think that was his intention at all. Instead it is part user manual, part basic computer vision tutorial and overview, and part idea book. Each chapter is supplemented with excellent and interesting programming exercises that test your knowledge of what has been presented in a practical setting. For a good basic understanding of computer vision try Computer Vision . To understand the algorithmic underpinnings of 3D computer vision try Introductory Techniques for 3-D Computer Vision . However, before you read either of these you must read Digital Image Processing (3rd Edition) , since image processing concepts are fundamental to understanding computer vision tasks. In fact, the two disciplines overlap in many spots. The sad truth of the matter is that no one book will teach you what you need to know to be an effective image scientist. However, this book on OpenCV is essential reading on applying the theory via programming in an effective manner. Highly recommended.

Although I'm new to OpenCV and am only a few chapters into the book I already can tell that Using OpenCV is very well written and makes a fantastic source of information for the OpenCV project. Details are given as well as sample code that clearly explain the nuances of using this library. The authors make it clear that they intend this text to be used to teach/learn about using OpenCV and do a great job of covering the basics before moving on to more advanced topics. Be aware you will need to be knowledgeable about the C language and need a decent math background. The former because OpenCV is written in C and the later because computer vision processing is math intensive and while OpenCV has man routines to handle the details you still need an understanding of the basic math involve to properly utilize them.

This explains things a bit better than the online tutorials I've found but is written for the pre-3.0-C++ world so all the function names and usages are slightly different than you might find in the wild these days.

This is a fantastic book that contains a lot of basic information that I really need for the work I do. It is written with a straight forward and easy to read style and covers both basic image processing like smoothing and averaging as well as more advanced topics like Kalman filters. What I find particularly appealing about the book is its low level approach. What I mean by that is it tends to give examples and explanations in terms of basic C structures and simple C code. I realize that this style of coding will not appeal to everyone so if you want to use a higher level approach (e.g. C++, python etc.) you may want to look at alternatives (python libraries for OpenCV are available). On the other hand if your someone who likes to get under the hood and see how things work this is an excellent book and I recommend it.

This is a superb book about an important and powerful piece of public software. English is my native language, and I am certain it will not be for all readers, but for me it is hard to imagine doing a better job than this book. Most books I own are OK to pretty good ( and I own a lot! ); this book vastly outstrips that standard. It reads as if the authors have a huge amount of expertise, take the trouble to explain not only the concepts but the relative places of those concepts in the firmament of ideas, and would really like to help you personally to learn and use those ideas. I suspect it reads like that because those things are true. OpenCV is huge, therefore explaining it is a contribution all of us should salute. I think I'd summarize it with two brief phrases: Wow. Thank you!

This book is an excellent book. There is a 2nd edition coming out in 2014 so please get that, instead of this one. That being said, its a very very good book.

This is a great book, providing an excellent introduction in OpenCV. The balance between theory and practical examples is very well chosen. The book could serve equally newcomers and experienced readers. There are a few things that you might need looking up in some cases, but the important thing is, that with this book you can start using OpenCV efficiently easily and fast.

Un testo e dettagliato per avvicinarsi al mondo delle Open_CV. Ricco di esempi da poter applicare i primi esempi di applicazioni.

A very good beginners guide to OpenCV. Example are appropriate and support the text well.

Mon livre de chevet lors de mes études en traitement d'image. En plus de donner des indications claires sur la librairie OpenCV, il propose des exercices pratiques (dont on peut télécharger le code) et des explications claires. Je vais encore aujourd'hui régulièrement le consulter, même sans utiliser OpenCV pour y trouver des explications simples sur les bases du traitement d'image. A recommander.

Whether you want to use the OpenCV library in your projects, or just want a good introduction to computer vision, this book is your best bet. It's simple, well written, and fairly comprehensive. I would argue that you would be better off purchasing this book over any theoretical computer vision text if your goal is an introduction to the field. For example: the explanation of the Kalman filter in this text is far more intelligible than any I've seen elsewhere. It's pretty remarkable - you will have a better understanding of the Kalman filter if you read this text (which documents a computer vision library) than if you read a paper on it! The reason for this is that by necessity there is a strong practical bias in this book, so that the authors can't just throw a wishy-washy formula on the page and hand wave their way around the details. That nuts and bolts level explanation is absolutely essential if you want to get anywhere - whether you're goal is to appy computer vision, or to develop novel algorithms. Without reservation, I will say that this is the best computer vision book in my library. So in summary, you have to buy this book. You have to buy now. Did you buy it yet?