Dragonframe taking a very long time to export

[Alain Boisvert]

Hello,
Has anyone encountered this problem?
On export DF is taking a very very long time.

Thanks,

 

[Magshifter]

Did you ever manage to figure this out?
I noticed the thread was created quite a while ago, so I’m genuinely curious what the actual cause was in your case. But just in case the issue is still relevant, I’ve put together a few things that usually make Dragonframe exports painfully slow.

From what I’ve seen, the bottleneck is usually one of these:

1. Very large source files (RAW or high-res JPGs)
If DF has to process huge RAW files for every single frame, export times can skyrocket.
A quick test is to shoot a few frames in JPG and try exporting those — if it’s faster, that’s the reason.
2. Deflicker turned on
This one slows things down massively.
When deflicker is enabled, DF runs additional passes over the entire sequence, which can make the export crawl. Turning it off temporarily is a good way to check if it’s the culprit.
3. Heavy timeline: multiple takes or lots of layers
If the project includes:
– many takes,
– drawn layers,
– reference videos,
– or camera-move keyframes,
Dragonframe needs to combine all of that during export, which adds time.
4. Slow drive or low free space
If your frames or export location are on an HDD, or your SSD is nearly full, DF slows down dramatically.
Moving the project to a fast SSD often solves this instantly.
5. Slow codec for export
Codecs like H.264 / H.265 can be very slow on older CPUs.
Exporting to a simple image sequence (PNG/JPG) is a good test — if that’s quick, then the codec is the issue, not DF.

Hope something here helps track it down.
And seriously, if you did solve it back then, it would be great to know what the fix was — it might save someone else a lot of time.

 

[Alain Boisvert]

Hello.
I suspected an external SSD. I tested on export. When I export on desktop it was very quick.
I ended up exporting on DT and copying to SSD.
Copying was also quick.
Thanks for your comment.

 

[Magshifter]

Hello.
I suspected an external SSD. I tested on export. When I export on desktop it was very quick.
I ended up exporting on DT and copying to SSD.
Copying was also quick.
Thanks for your comment.

Alain BoisvertGreat! I'm glad the issue got sorted!