Camera "hail Mary"

Fri Mar 19, 2021

I decided the camera feature will be just incredibly useful and eventually indispensable.

But I don't wanna go fuzzy and have to upgrade later. But LB 8MP cameras look to be out of stock right now (understandable with current supply chain issues). Since they look pretty much like a laptop camera implemented to work (also not a complaint, all these cameras are pretty much the same thing, plus what they sell looks to be tiny, which is a plus), I figured most generic USB cameras ought to function. My fallacy-prone brain assumed that if 8MP is better, then this 13MP one I found might even improve on that.

As a bonus, the included mount looks like it could be snugged up pretty tight and a simple mounting plate added to the base for easy, rigid mounting. Could add a little dollop of glue here & there for good measure. We'll see.

I pulled the trigger so I hope it works. I think it should. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089QFXDNK

I did the math as per what I could find, but the math says the recommended distance per focal length is way off from what I have heard works in my typical 700x500 import machine. Folks seem to recommend a 140° lens for these machines but the math says that would be for a height of around 15" or so, but my height is more like 25" or so (door opened). I printed that file showing different angles and held it up to where the camera will mount and it appears that less than 90° fits my table better. So I'm confused by the numbers being batted around. But I feel fairly confident that a more acute angle is what I need. I could find them in 70° and then the one linked above at 100° FOVs. 70° is definitely too narrow, but I'm thinking that 100° will be just about right once it's cropped.

Anyways, by the time I purchased an "official" camera and a mount (could make my own, but meh), the cost is comparable but I'll hopefully get a bonus increased resolution at 13MP.

It should be here middle of the week. I'll report back if & how it works out.

Wed Mar 24, 2021

Camera arrived today. It works fine.
I might want to figure out how to focus it better maybe, but image seems good.
Calibration went smooth after I finally figured out the honeycomb bed needs to be covered with some sheet of something - the honeycomb confuses the calibration.

Of note is the fact that the housing is heavy duty - it's aluminum I guess. I expected it to just be plastic, so that was a nice touch.
I used my laser to cut out a simple mounting plate (50x20mm with two 3mm holes spaced at 25mm and centered on the plate) just so the VHB had a better surface to stick to. The VHB tape seems to hold it fine. It's nice & stable.

Did a couple test burns to check accuracy and it's good.

Anyways, just wanted to report back.

Thu Mar 25, 2021

Nice - thank you for the update

Sun Mar 28, 2021

Thanks, Vinito - I’ll make a note of this.

I like being able to give people options other than just ours, particularly for those outside the US who might have high shipping and import taxes on top of our camera markup, so it’s good to hear that it works!

Sun Mar 28, 2021

Glad to offer my limited experience on this. I wish I had more experience so I could offer a comparison. All I can say for sure is that this one was plug & play with my computer and Lightburn recognized it automatically with zero problems. Also the lens and alignment calibrations went fine.

I did have to fiddle with lighting to get the lens calibration to successfully capture, but I would guess that's the case with any and all cameras, i.e. if you have sucky lighting like I do, it's a little more work.