Lifecam

  • Thread starter Thread starter John Ciccone
  • Start date Start date
J

John Ciccone

Can anyone point me to info describing the amount of panning and tilting one
can do with the Lifecams?

Thanks.
 
Bob said:
I think you will find that it's all done "digitally", and there is no
true panning or tilting.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Lifecams+specs
Click to expand...

There are camera products that implement such features mechanically.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/MY/EN,CRID=2204,CONTENTID=10628

One limitation of that Orbit device, is depending on the video settings
being used, the motors are disabled due to USB power limitations. So
that is a potential issue with the mechanical method.

The digital pan, tilt, zoom, relies on selecting an area smaller than
the total size of the sensor. If the sensor is 1280x1024 and the video
being captured is 640x480, you could select only a section of the
sensor, and move the (x,y) offset of that selected area. That
would implement a digital pan and tilt. But once you ask the device,
to deliver all the pixels available (1280x1024), then there'd be
no room to implement pan and tilt.

If you knew the "field of view" of the digital PTZ webcam, then
you'd know its amount of panning and tilting. The (x,y) offset can
propel the digital pan and tilt, anywhere in the field of view of
the lens.

So digital pan and tilt, is at the expense of potential capture
resolution. While mechanical pan and tilt, has a limited slew rate,
and depending on how stupidly it is constructed, may have power
issues or limited mechanical lifetime. You'd think they could have
added a power brick, to fix the power limitation.

Another option, would be to purchase a nice fixed webcam design
(maybe with a zoom lens on it), and then purchase a pan/tilt deck
to drive it. But you'd still need some kind of software for the
pan/tilt mechanical device, if you wanted face tracking.

Not a very good example of a mechanical pan/tilt. An indoor one
wouldn't need to be so chunky.
http://www.supercircuits.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=4119

This is an example of a state of the art camera. Not a webcam, but
for surveillance. 360 degree scanning. 400 degree/sec pan (i.e. it
can swing around in 1/2 second, to look at the other side of the
room). Optical zoom 30x, and 10x more digital zoom, for up to 300x
total zoom. (Optical zoom doesn't compromise capture resolution.)
Image stabilization (method unstated). 0.04 lux nighttime sensitivity
(switches to black and white mode). Only $2800. A bargain.

http://www.amasecurity.com/Panasonic_PTZ_Camera_WV_CW964_p/wv-cw964.htm

Paul
 
Correct, but not on the "Lifecams"
There are camera products that implement such features mechanically.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/MY/EN,CRID=2204,CONTENTID=10628


One limitation of that Orbit device, is depending on the video settings
being used, the motors are disabled due to USB power limitations. So
that is a potential issue with the mechanical method.

The digital pan, tilt, zoom, relies on selecting an area smaller than
the total size of the sensor. If the sensor is 1280x1024 and the video
being captured is 640x480, you could select only a section of the
sensor, and move the (x,y) offset of that selected area. That
would implement a digital pan and tilt. But once you ask the device,
to deliver all the pixels available (1280x1024), then there'd be
no room to implement pan and tilt.

If you knew the "field of view" of the digital PTZ webcam, then
you'd know its amount of panning and tilting. The (x,y) offset can
propel the digital pan and tilt, anywhere in the field of view of
the lens.

So digital pan and tilt, is at the expense of potential capture
resolution. While mechanical pan and tilt, has a limited slew rate,
and depending on how stupidly it is constructed, may have power
issues or limited mechanical lifetime. You'd think they could have
added a power brick, to fix the power limitation.

Another option, would be to purchase a nice fixed webcam design
(maybe with a zoom lens on it), and then purchase a pan/tilt deck
to drive it. But you'd still need some kind of software for the
pan/tilt mechanical device, if you wanted face tracking.

Not a very good example of a mechanical pan/tilt. An indoor one
wouldn't need to be so chunky.
http://www.supercircuits.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=4119

This is an example of a state of the art camera. Not a webcam, but
for surveillance. 360 degree scanning. 400 degree/sec pan (i.e. it
can swing around in 1/2 second, to look at the other side of the
room). Optical zoom 30x, and 10x more digital zoom, for up to 300x
total zoom. (Optical zoom doesn't compromise capture resolution.)
Image stabilization (method unstated). 0.04 lux nighttime sensitivity
(switches to black and white mode). Only $2800. A bargain.

http://www.amasecurity.com/Panasonic_PTZ_Camera_WV_CW964_p/wv-cw964.htm

Paul
Click to expand...
 
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