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Video camera for trains

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Posted by BATMAN on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 1:28 PM

Also a big Welcome from me Walkera.

This was one of our more fun threads and it was nice to revisit it.

Brent

"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."

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Posted by "JaBear" on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 6:21 AM

richhotrain

mobilman44

Do you realize you replied to a post almost a year old?

 

Laugh

Awwww Gee Guys go easy Big Smile
walkera, Welcome to the forums.
 
Cheers, the Bear.

"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."

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Posted by richhotrain on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 6:12 AM

mobilman44

Do you realize you replied to a post almost a year old?

 

Laugh

Alton Junction

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Posted by mobilman44 on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 6:10 AM

Do you realize you replied to a post almost a year old?

 

ENJOY  !

 

Mobilman44

 

Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central 

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Posted by walkera on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 1:32 AM

yeah!,I saw that,too.the camera is veryfunctional,I think I will buy one if i can afford it.

________________________

Walkera RC Helicopter

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Posted by Santa Fe all the way! on Monday, September 3, 2012 10:15 PM
I forgot to mention, it was filmed with a dice cam, mounted on a flatcar at the trailing end of another train. Turn down the sound if you dont like the music :-) Sadly, this layout is no longer in operation as Iron Horse Trains in Washington, MO has recently gone out of business.
Come on CMW, make a '41-'46 Chevy school bus!
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Posted by Santa Fe all the way! on Monday, September 3, 2012 10:07 PM
Hi folks, theres a kinda neat video of my Athearn Genesis F3 AB units pulling a bunch of cars around the Iron Horse Trains layout on Youtube. Could some nice person post a link for me, I only have my old phone for internet access and cant get it to link the vid. Thanks
Come on CMW, make a '41-'46 Chevy school bus!
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Posted by ChadLRyan on Monday, September 3, 2012 11:09 AM

Here is the video produced on the JVC. It gave the Autofocus a little challenge & I may look into that, but otherwise pertty good. The camera was set to widest angle, or least zoom, & had image stabilization turned on. Other than that it did not have an custom settings.

watch?v=g3CPcelq0A

Chad L Ryan
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Posted by ChadLRyan on Monday, September 3, 2012 6:12 AM

Here is the Setup for the JVC Everio V500 video test run. It's placed on a modified Mantua 40 Foot Flat, that had the original truck mounting holes plugged, drilled, tapped & threaded for 2-26, & then a set of Kadee #500 Spring Bettendorf Trucks attached. I also used the standard RP25 0.110" wheels on both camera cars, as even 0.088" lurch through the switches I've tried them on. The camera weight does not move the sprung trucks, but does load, or rather, equalize them nicely, & should be interesting as it rolls through the frogs (another experiment, as the DICE truck is rigid).  Kadee Boxes with 158 Scale Whisker couplers installed, were super glued in after some strip fill stock on the original casting, one coupler had it drop trip shank 'hose' removed (test coupler, replaced later) to not interfere with the FP7's Plow area, due to it's short shank front coupler. The coupler box mounting may need to be revisited, as they sit just a little low from centerline, even after a little cleanup carving, they will also get drilled, tapped, & secured later. As you may notice, this car also had its sides Milled down for another custom project, which will involve new scratchbuilt side plates. I used it because it was handy, & sized best for the camera. Another thought is that a low side Gon with an end cut out would also make a nice 'captive' car & hold the camera better than low-tack double stick tape. So far in tests, although a little top heavy, it seems to ride the rails well, but I do see some coupler bounce at times.

Chad L Ryan
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Posted by ChadLRyan on Monday, September 3, 2012 12:57 AM

Bad or Concerning News    Better News & Correction!

Initial response from the manufacturer, says the camera unit cannot be operated without the View Finder LED Panel Open, which in our case Will Not Work.

I will be working more with them, but it looks like it may not be able to take Car Rides as hoped.

________________________________

UPDATE:  We there may be a way!
Customer Service answered my question exactly, as in what I asked.
Being new to AV, & with the included Manual not really going into Operation, reading the digital Manual & some testing has let me learn that you can flip the ViewFinder Counter Clockwise & then Close it with the LCD outward & it WILL continue to function. -Probably Video Cam 101, but new to me. Ha hah..
So, we will do a test at the same timeline as the DICE video was made, so we can have an accurate comparison.

My apologizes for any confusion, but I'm getting there!  

Chad L Ryan
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Posted by ChadLRyan on Sunday, September 2, 2012 11:06 AM

Well, although it is very, UNsensational, here are two videos I made over the weekend.

I have not car mounted the JVC V500 as we have one challenge, it is set to power off when the LED ViewFinder is in the closed position.  I have written up a plea to their support & when they come back to business hours, we may know more, & hopefully move on.
So I made a baseline video with the Dice, & an informational goof off video with the JVC.
The JVC video was down-converted from 1920x1080 but otherwise unedited, the Dice video is raw as it came off the camera.  Sorry for the idiosyncrasies of my efforts, but it was fun..

watch?v=XVsJuOVWYRs&feature=vmdshb

watch?v=4CdUqpGVSQ&feature=plcp

Thanks,

Chad L Ryan
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Posted by ChadLRyan on Friday, August 31, 2012 7:50 PM

Reviving an Older Thread

I will be trying out a new addition sometime soon.
This is a JVC Everio GZ-V500, & with it's features & specs, I thought it would make a great all around camera & really neat Train Cam. It is a little tall on this Ath flat, but I hope to build a custom car for it.
Now all I need is a LAYOUT!!!!!   (and a fast/large SD card, -not included).

Chad L Ryan
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Posted by Mark Watson on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 5:34 PM

Eric97123

What kind of Helicopter did you use?  I got a Blade MQX quadrotor to fly the dice around, I was hoping to get some aerial views of trains but I crashed the dice hard, so I guess I will need to order another one and see if I can tinker with this one and try to revive it. 

Use as an aerial railcam was also my intention for getting the RC Helicopter.  I got the Syma S033g on sale at xheli for about 60.  Overall I'm very impressed.  It's very easy to fly, however the tx/rx often cuts out for just a fraction of a second, which effectively causes the Heli to lose control every time.  My average flight time is about 15-20 seconds from lift off to loss of signal and crash.  :(

I've done some modifications that have improved the tx/rx some what (shortened the drop out time from about one second to about a half or third second), but I'm still cautions to push the limits since my only fly spot is so heavily populated (note the busy street and apartment buildings surrounding the park).

 

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Posted by Stourbridge Lion on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 4:19 PM

Mark, remind me not to go flying with you... Laugh

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Posted by Eric97123 on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 8:12 AM

Medina1128

  

 

Can you switch the IR feature off? I haven't seen purple trees and blue bushes since college, but that's another story. Dead

One post on here talks about how to take the dice apart and kill the IR lights, another got an IR filter that works super good and most of us just go with the black tape over the light. 

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Posted by Eric97123 on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 8:10 AM

Mark Watson

This one's not a model video, but I hope everyone will let it slide.  First two shots of CalTrain and a few shots while mounted on my new RC Helicopter (Bought specifically for use with the DiceCam).

'); // -->

Also, I should be receiving my next batch of test prints from Shapeways this week, including an N scale Pickle Car, Flat Cars with Stagecoach loads, and the improved Ventilated Boxcar.  You can expect more videos upon arrival. :D

What kind of Helicopter did you use?  I got a Blade MQX quadrotor to fly the dice around, I was hoping to get some aerial views of trains but I crashed the dice hard, so I guess I will need to order another one and see if I can tinker with this one and try to revive it. 

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Posted by Medina1128 on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 6:25 AM

Eric97123

I got mine today as well. Here is a small test video. Does a good job other than the IR/ night camera part makes the trees look a strange shade in lower light.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyyMKT95X2U

 

Can you switch the IR feature off? I haven't seen purple trees and blue bushes since college, but that's another story. Dead

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Posted by Medina1128 on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 6:18 AM

hornblower

Why couldn't affordable technology like this exist when I was still racing?!?!?!?

There STILL isn't much technology  available for a Conestoga wagon.. <ducking> Black Eye

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Posted by Mark Watson on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 4:11 AM

This one's not a model video, but I hope everyone will let it slide.  First two shots of CalTrain and a few shots while mounted on my new RC Helicopter (Bought specifically for use with the DiceCam).

watch?v=wUuznPyyV8Q

Also, I should be receiving my next batch of test prints from Shapeways this week, including an N scale Pickle Car, Flat Cars with Stagecoach loads, and the improved Ventilated Boxcar.  You can expect more videos upon arrival. :D

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Posted by cudaken on Monday, April 9, 2012 9:44 PM

 Tom, what a concept! Color Silent Movies! Boy, if they had color back in the days Talkies would have never caught on! Smile, Wink & Grin Now all you need is a Pipe Organ in the back ground playing the theme song to Raiders Of The Lost Ark! Yes 

 Beautiful Layout Tom! Bow

        Ken

I hate Rust

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Posted by Eric97123 on Monday, April 9, 2012 7:22 PM

My dice died, I am sure it had nothing to do with crashing my quadrotor on the neighbors roof and having the dice falling three stories to the ground

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Posted by twhite on Monday, April 9, 2012 5:34 PM

Well, thought I'd bump this thread back a little:  I'm one of those stubborn people who, though having given up on the Dice for 'on-board' filming, decided to see how it would work just as a regular video camera, a-la Mark Watson.  So I tried a couple today on the layout with the garage door open and every bit of light I could turn on in the garage.  It seems to work better for me just as a regular video camera, at least the focus is a little better when I convert the files to MP4 (AVI is just too way too blurry).

Anyway, here's a couple of videos of my oldest Akane Yellowstone hauling a 22-car reefer train up and over Yuba Summit.  The first is just below the Sierra Buttes on the 2% ascending grade, the next is the 'other side' of the Summit on an easier 1.5% descending grade. 

Sorry, no sound, my 15 year old Maxx-Traxx system is back at QSI for repairs, LOL!

Anyway, for what it's worth, here's the Dice in action again.

http://youtu.be/xGV0l3BMtqE

http://youtu.be/e9WTGj5raJA

 

Tom

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Posted by ChadLRyan on Friday, April 6, 2012 2:17 PM

I did a reshoot in daylight & it is a significant improvement, also added a little more 'wedge' to the camera.
So far I think it is all improving, & honestly, it is kinda fun!
Here is the 'wedged' camera as seen in the following video.. Yeah the CCD had to be soldered 'not so pretty square' on the board...

Here is the new somewhat better lit video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRjsgMV8EcU&feature=youtu.be

 

Chad L Ryan
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Posted by ChadLRyan on Friday, April 6, 2012 4:30 AM

I tested another setup on the 'Truckee'   -I placed a steel block on it for a platform, & it helped! The weight is massive, & the height is perfect.  I still have to tweak the angle!
I also made changes to the switch ladder & some of the participants.
Even got chased by a PO'd GEVO, it took the #4 turnouts very well in both directions!!!

 

Even though this was a test run, it was good, besides the bad lighting in the middle of the night & being all burple toned!  I will shoot another in daylight!
Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD2hg-oAM7c&feature=youtu.be

Chad L Ryan
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Posted by Mark Watson on Wednesday, April 4, 2012 7:00 PM

There's actually two types of this effect. 

One is "Write lag", as described by Richard above.  It occurs when the medium you are "writing" to is not able to keep up with the speed at which the info is coming in.  Usually this will only happen periodically, several seconds apart.  The cheap microSD card shipped with the DiceCam definitely experiences this lag.

The other type, which is more stop-motion like is when there is a frame rate mismatch as a result of improper conversion.  The video from the DiceCam is recorded at 30fps.  Unfortunately, this is not the only standard frame rate, the other being 24fps.  If video from the DiceCam is recorded at 30fps, then converted improperly to 24fps, we'll see a subtle jump in the video once every second. Likewise, a video recorded at 24fps, improperly converted to 30 will see a subtle pause once every second.

Unfortunately, the way video is converted is usually beyond the user control in most of the "off the shelf" video editing programs.  A good program will let you specify an order for dropping/adding frames so that they don't all happen at once.  But the best solution is to know the frame rate of your recording device, and export any edits accordingly. :)

 

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Posted by narrow gauge nuclear on Wednesday, April 4, 2012 12:02 PM

This stop motion effect can occur in real high priced cameras as well.  It is due to slow memory or memory pagenation or block setups from within the memory stick or card, itself.

In this little cheap camera, it could also be the result of a slow processor or video A to D conversion. I assume that most all here bought the little memory card offered by the camera sales point, Heli.com.

It is a fact of life for this little camera.  However if one goes out and finds a very fast micro simm card, the problem might go away.  This is the limit of what the user can do.

I have run into this serious issue on my $400.00 video camera.  By purchasing the cheaper "San Disk" manufacturer card I have a jerk or stop motion in the recorded material about every 20 seconds or so.  If I buy Sony or any other card, the problem goes away.

Richard

Richard

If I can't fix it, I can fix it so it can't be fixed

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Posted by twhite on Wednesday, April 4, 2012 11:25 AM

bigpianoguy

A little shakiness is easily dismissed; but why do all the vids appear to be done in stop-motion filming? Is that from the camera?

I sometimes get an effect like that if I'm downloading without enough power to the camera.

The battery on the Dice is only good for about 15 minutes until it needs re-charging because of the LED's eating up power.  Could be that the stop-motion is caused from the battery getting low.  I know that when I was using my Dice, it spent more time on the re-charger than it did on the layout, LOL!

Tom

 

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Posted by bigpianoguy on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 6:01 PM

A little shakiness is easily dismissed; but why do all the vids appear to be done in stop-motion filming? Is that from the camera?

I sometimes get an effect like that if I'm downloading without enough power to the camera.

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