Okay, I need help. Im a programmer by trade and Im a little outside my wheelhouse here. My digital camera experience is limited to the cool little camera I got for Christmas and never use.
Im trying to set up a system to attach a camera to a computer. But thats not all! I want to be able to see/focus/aim the camera with the computer. So, just like you can see what youre aiming at on the little LCD screen on the back of a camera (which I now know you cant do with a Nikon D200 apparently) I want to be able to see that on my computer via an app I write. Preferably web based (HTML, JAVA script, VB script) Im also going to need to control the camera to move up and down and left and right a little Then, snap a picture and store it on the PC. After that, Im going to try and do all sorts of wonderful things with it, sending it hither and yon programmatically to databases and servers. Its gonna be awesome!
What I need to know about is the hardware. What I currently have is a Nikon D200, which I can attach via USB cable and control with the Nikon Capture 4.4 software. But, I cant see the image on the computer before I take the picture. Its a shoot and hope kinda deal right now. Plus, like I said, I want to be able to put some sort of control in a program so I can centralize the images/controls/commands in one screen. Id prefer HTML, but should be able to do it in VB as well.
Now, can I do this with a good digital camera and USB cable? (I may have access to other digital cameras. I need to check with the camera people) Or, Ive seen some references to video cameras and video capture cards. Do I need to do that? Id like to find a way to use the camera since Id imagine it would offer a better picture quality. But, if I CANT us a digital camera, what would I need video camera wise?
I truly appreciate whatever help you can provide. The more complete the answer (and the smaller the words) the better until I can get my head around the concept.
Thanks in advance.
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I can get my hands on professional level stuff if neccessary. This is for work, so they're paying. (I just have to keep it reasonable.) So, if I can't do it with a digital camera, and I go with the webcam, which would be better for a high quality frame grab? A high quality webcam or internet camera? (Apparently, there's a difference?)
I'm not sure I know the difference between a web-cam and internet-camera. Perhaps its just marketing hype?
My experience with webcams is that the image quality is pretty bad - although perhaps there are some better ones on the market.
There are a number of cameras marketed to the security industry which would give you IP based imaging. Some support PTZ as well. I can't tell you what the cost would be. Most of the ones I've seen have a built in web-server (with security) and have some API or Control available to help integrate into your application.
you might want to look for this camera to see if it will do what you want
panasonic wv-nm100
as I recall, it can be mounted upside-down (ie.. ceiling mount) or on a platform of some sort. Its certainly not the highest quality camera, but its pretty inexpensive for a PTZ camera (as I recall, it doesn't actually do an optical zoon, but has a digital zoom feature). Without knowing exactly what you're trying to do, it might work well for your application.
Here is another option that may be better suited to your pupose.
http://item.express.ebay.c
or
http://www.globalcam.net/i
They all look pretty good. I imagine that I won't need anything better then 6 MP! But they don't appear to have pan/tilt controls. They say you can zoom in via the application they give you, but all it has, that I can see, is the face tracking software. I'm basically sticking this on a pole and putting people in front of it to take their picture. I need to be able to move it if they're too tall or vertically challenged. Do these do that somehow?
You could also just buy a ptz motor unit http://www.matco.com/pan-t
but this again isn't really a great solution and is not software based.
Another option....
http://www.axis.com/files/
Ok this is going to look like a lot to swallow but its a take on the same them from a different angle perhaps...
I am a stop motion animator and capture hi-res stills in sequence but also need to see the 'live' image for reference in animating. As you have realised DSLRs are not the best option because unlike a digital compact the shutter is closed until you take the shot (see point 5 for existing workarounds). My workflow/setup is more or less as follows:
1) I use a canon powershot or similar, a pc laptop, stop motion pro (this is good software - cheaper alternatives exist), the canon remote capture software and a DAC (D.igital A.nalogue C.onverter ) made by 'Dazzle'.
2) The Powershot is connected to laptop with two cables: (a) a standard USB, and (b) a cable from the cameras 'video out' socket that goes to the DAC. The DAC is then connected to the laptop via another USB cable.
3) 'Connection (b)' is 'live' and outputting to stopmotionpro for reference. It is maximum resolution is PAL SD 720x576 and is pretty pixelated quality in my opinion because it is coming from the LCD video out of the camera and also going throught the DAC converter. In theory you could just grab frames with this in stopmotionpro and export as .avi etc. but then you aren't taking full advantage of the cameras resolution and quality. So...
4)...'Connection (a)' is wired to the canon software and when you grab it takes a full resolution image with any settings (focus/aperture/exposure etc) you have set for the camera (i.e. this allows you to take frames at up to the maximum resolution and quality of your digital camera which will invariably be MUCH better quality than any webcam solution. The canon software captures frames to a specified folder and numbers them in sequence.
5) There are options to take advantage of your DSLRs superior specs and lense by mounting a webcam ('spycam') that peeks through the DSLR viewfinder for your reference image. You would then go ahead and take the high res version with the capture software as before. BUT there are numerous technical issues to be accounted for here that its not quite worth going into just now (e.g mounting the 'spycam' image flicker etc). I have posted two images of how the setup looks incase your not quite with me.
As for controlling the movement etc...youre looking at specialist motorised tripod mounts etc I suspect but perhaps thats another story. =o)
Apologies for the length but hopefully theres something of use amongst that lot!?
If PTZ is essentail and you want to go down the route I detailed there are definitely powered tripod heads (/adaptors) around; but they can be expensive.
Heres a cheaper one from Bescor (that you could perhaps do some modifying to control with your PC)
http://www.bhphotovideo.co
and a review:
http://www.21best.com/21_b
Thanks anyway. I may be getting closer anyway. I found this logitech camera that may do exactly what I need. PTZ and all
http://www.logitech.com/in
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by: CMYScottPosted on 2008-03-20 at 08:31:28ID: 21172532
On a digicam side - what you need is a camera that is supported with an API - not many around, but there are a few - off the top of my head I don't know if Nikon does. Usually the API's only support professional level products, not the consumer oriented cameras most of us have.
Another option would be a web-cam. Depending on the quality you desire, this would be easier and I believe some web-cams now have PTZ functionality (pan, tilt, zoom).