OT Digital camera mod

You buy a wireless web-cam. Look at this one:

Linksys as an example. Just google "internet IP webcam" or "wireless internet webcam"

Using a wired computer on a wireless router is definitely not a sin. That's why they have all those RJ plugs on them.

ONLY ground ONE end.

Perhaps, but there are other companies that sell the SAME stuff for more money. ANd their software works pretty good. And their software works with other cameras too.

Good software is also available with a lot of webcams. As well as some REALLY high priced junk sold by many security CCTV distributors.

Could not find such an option in menu or manual ;(

My remote only has ONE button, to take the picture ;(

I have an external power supply, but the camera goes to sleep and retracts the lens in a couple of minutes anyway.

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

I've been googling and I find it hard to believe those webcams will transmit 1000' when there is no clear line of sight. I have rarely seen 'long distance' mentioned in conjunction with 700' line of sight. Transmission distances are not mentioned and experience causes me to doubt they would go half the distance. Who has hard data on actual transmission distances in the field?

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

Actually it is *not* a digital SLR. Note the wording from the auction:

====================================================================== You're viewing an Olympus C-2500L

I used this camera Until I could afford the Expensive Lenses and Body of ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ more expensive DSLR.

It is an excellent reliable camera that gives you some of the control of ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ an SLR Camera without all the associated costs. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ======================================================================

So -- it may do what is needed here -- but it is not (and does not claim to be) a DSLR. Two physical differences:

1) A SLR (digital or non) has a moving mirror which redirects the image to the viewfinder. From the location of the viewfinder eyepiece, I don't think that this is the case here.

I *think* that what it has is an internal display in the viewfinder, which could slow it down as much as using the external display.

2) A SLR has interchangeable lenses. This one has only a fixed zoom lens.

O.K. Just don't call it a DSLR. :-)

It is not really clear what he wants this for -- though it sounds like he needs an anti theft camera.

Enjoy, DoN.

Been there, done that, and still needed a $1000 video isolation transformer.

The wired remotes on the Nikon DSLRs which have such have a two-stage button. Push it half way and the camera wakes up and autofocuses. Push it fully and the camera takes the picture.

My original D70 only has IR wireless remote -- with the sensor facing out towards the subject -- the idea being that you'll use it to put yourself in the picture. :-) The D70s (also now obsolete, and thus fairly cheap) has provisions for a wired remote as well.

[ ... ]

For the length of wires which you are talking about, the odds are that it will zap the electronics of the camera. For that -- actually -- the best bet would be the IR remote for the Nikons. Just route a pair of wires out to operate an IR LED mounted facing the front of the camera. No wiring into the camera's body. But -- there is the problem that the camera will only stay in a mode receptive to the IR remote for a short time, I believe. Yep -- diving into the menus shows that 15 minutes of readiness is all that is available for the wireless (IR) remote. But you could wire up an optically isolated set of remote contacts to a wired remote socket for a long wire routing to protect against voltages which could zap the camera's electronics.

Does it have a half-pressed state to wake up and focus the camera before reaching full actuation to actually take the picture?

Now -- *that* is something which you won't experience in a DSLR. The lenses are (usually) the same as used on the film cameras, and

*can't* retract into the camera body. There is no room in there. ;-) But -- it also means that you can select a non Autofocus lens with no zoom but the right focal length to give the coverage you want, and that is two things which won't reset on you. :-) Of course, some of the cameras (like the D70) won't do auto exposure unless there is a chip in the lens. But you could pick up an old 50mm lens with AF and no zoom. (Note that on most DSLRs you will want a slightly wider lens than you would on film -- because the sensor is smaller than the full frame 35mm film, so a given lens focal length has less coverage -- but more "reach". So -- bear this in mind when selecting the right lens.

Enjoy, DoN.

nick hull fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@dialupusa.usenetserver.com:

1 sec of trigger.

Nick, I had "neighbor visitors" for a long time, who thought my barn was an attractive meeting place. Things got messed with, and occasionally taken. (especially the beer; damn!)

I set up an inexpensive Wally-World video camera, and a junked-out old desktop PC. I run the freeware "HSSVSS", which monitors up to two channels of video (up to 8 in the purchased version), and saves still frames upon motion detection.

It has been _perfect_ for me. It will monitor as long as I want, and save up all motion frames for future review, with an option to re-cycle the frames after a certain amount of storage has been used. It will also e-mail me whenever there's an event, and allow me to review the frames or watch the real-time video remotely (as from my business, 10 miles away).

The whole rig (discounting the old PC, which cost, essentially, nothing) came in at $119, including software, cabling, camera, and video-to-USB interface.

After a quick advertising around the community concerning the fact that I had 24-hour surveillance, and we've not had another visit, except for the errant deer who wanders into the shot now and again.

LLoyd

Yes, I need an anti-theft, anti-trespasser driveway gate camera and the Olympus C-2500L seems to be real close to what I need. I want to fix the focus, I know what the distance will be (about 30'). I do not need interchangeable lenses, the camera will be set up outdoors 24/365 and it looks like I can power it externally and trigger it by IR and set the aperture manually and let it set the speed to light conditions. I will not use a flash on the camera (too far) but might want a remote flash closer to the subject. Floodlights might be available.

Since I will principally aim the tripod mounted camera by trial & error I don't even have to have a viewfinder

I would appreciate feedback from readers who have this or similar cameras as to the suitability. My requirements are;

• Can be powered from an external AC source and set to never shut down. OK if I have to modify the battery compartment for AC connection.

• Can be remotely triggered and sets the speed for correct exposure

• Digital, uses a chip I can remove and read with a card reader on my computer

• I would LIKE a fast response between triggering and picture taking, i,e, no 5 second warm-up. If I use a remote flash it will be powered up either 24 hrs or during darkness. I do not want a viewfinder or moving lenses to slow the response time, I need to snap the pix within 1 sec of trigger.

Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated. I would rather do this with a camera rather than a video link if possible - I don't need real time but do need a compact easy to review output; I'd normally review the output every week or 2.

nick

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

Cat5 is cheap, and I've sent video 1500' over it using an $8 pair of baluns

Twist 3 wires together for each power leg, and use a higher voltage supply to account for the voltage drop.

If you're willing to reconsider the still image solution, this game camera controller board

signals a camera pretty quickly. First picture delay depends on how long it takes the camera to boot up, perhaps 4 seconds total on mine. Subsequent shots are nearly instantaneous since the camera is already on. I'm using 6 AAs to power the board, and swapping those out once a month. 2 Ds for the camera, replaced every couple weeks since it takes as many as 400 shots a day, lots of them with flash. Doesn't have to be fancy, photo of mine here Game cam shots (mostly) here and here Wayne

On Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:24:54 -0600, with neither quill nor qualm, nick hull quickly quoth:

Couldn't you use a good video camera with telephoto lens mounted on the hill between you so you could use wired video for the gate. I was thinking that it might not work well during rainy or foggy nights, but a closer camera might not, either. Light the area.

Alternatively, use RF vidcam and set up a repeater on the hill.

Vidcams are always on and software for the recorder can work with motion sensors.

If it's that far between reviews, perhaps a wildlife cam is in order. Build a secure metal enclosure for it.

Just remember that if things are happening at your gate, a single flash picture won't tell you the whole story where a short run video would. Only you can weigh the advantages. G'luck.

Too much woods in the way

Sounds possible, I'm studying it

I have one, am building a thicker metal enclosure; the first one got broken into and stolen. I would also like to be able to take pictures on signals, not just warm bodies.

Video can be nice but still cameras have much better resolution. Maybe some day I can afford both, for now digital cameras seem easier and cheaper.

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

See

The viewfinder does indeed view optically thru the lens. When I press the shutter I can hear the mirror slap within if I put my ear right on the camera. It's a quiet "tic tic", and the viewfinder goes momentarily dark when that happens.

There is no electronic viewfinding function on this digital camera because the image sensor is obscured by the mirror when viewfinding. This camera gets considerably better battery life than most digital cameras because it need not ever use the LCD display to take photos.

SLR literally means "single lens reflex". Many SLR's do indeed have interchangable lenses, but that is not a condition for being an SLR.

Yes. It can be set to never shut down, and you can supply 5 to 5.2 VDC to the battery contacts within. There is no external power connector.

Yes

Yes. It uses either SmartMemory (now obsolete) or CF (still available). USB readers are readily available for about $25. SanDisk is one, available at BestBuy. The camera itself has an RS-232 serial port that is abysmally slow. This is probably the last digicam that didn't have USB. I always use the card reader.

Shootin' out the back door, about half a second or a bit less from full press to click -- no half-press to focus and meter exposure. Might be quicker if set to manual (preset) exposure and focus, this was in full auto mode. The camera has contacts in the "hot shoe" for external flash, and the built-in flash is actually pretty good. 20 or

30 feet, no problem. It can be supressed, just don't deploy it! The available (on EBay) FL-40 external flash is excellent and quite powerful.

"Film speed" to ISO400 is an available setting. The images get a bit noisier but it works well in low-light situations. I've taken photos with a flashlight and by moonlight with this camera.

Make that a regulated supply, pls. Probably goes without sayin' but ...

I haven't measured it, but I'd guess it could take at least half an amp at times. I'd allow for an amp. An LM7805 regulator chip would provide the regulation for under a buck. Email if you want more info.

CORRECTION! (I finally found my manual) There is a jack for external power, and an AC adapter was sold separately. The camera does not power down automatically when the external supply is used.

Now the bad news: while the camera responds quickly to the shutter button, there is a 2 second delay when actuated by the IR remote. I don't see a way around that, other than to operate the shutter button mechanically with a small solenoid.

You need an inexpensive DVR with motion sensing. Everfocus, panasonic and others make them.

sells them. Tab to Digital Recorders.

[ ... ]

O.K. So it has the mirror -- but most would not call this an SLR. Instead they would call it a "ZLR" (zoom lens reflex).

O.K. ZLR.

Agreed that that is one of the major killers of battery life.

The closest to that which I have ever had was the Zeiss Contaflex -- which had only the front element of the lens interchangeable, because it had a between-the-lens leaf shutter. The Kodak Retina had the leaf shutter, but just behind the interchangeable lens. The medium format SLRs like the Hasselblad have interchangeable lenses with shutters included in each lens -- the expensive way to go.

Normally -- the major benefit of the reflex design is to allow focusing and accurate framing with interchangeable lenses. No parallax problems, unlike with a rangefinder -- or with a TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) such as the Rolliflex.

Even the earliest SLR which I have known of -- the Graphflex -- had interchangeable lenses (just as the Speed and Crown Graphics had, mostly for 4x5 film. The Graphflex was far from the most convenient camera to use -- but it did get around the parallax problem at least.

If you go into newsgroups such as rec.photo.digital.slr-systems, you will have to work to find anyone who would be willing to call a ZLR a SLR.

Enjoy, DoN.