The recent article by Don Ball on building the HO camera car was reaaly interesting. I'm told the camera he used is either not made now or very hard to find. My minimal search found none.
Another modeler commented he used a GoPro. It seems to be out of my reach right now.
I saw something on TV and at WallyWorld called a CopCam. It's $40 and very small and is self-contained. Has anyone seen these or tried to use one for our purposes? The size, weight and price all seem to be right but who knows.
Anyone tried one?
Thanks,
oldline1
I bought one maybe two years ago just to play with. I have two other cameras that are better than this little one.
IMG_7956 by Edmund, on Flickr
It is a toy, basically. Controls are awkward, image is OK but not great. On a limited budget it might be good for some limited layout use.
Here is a screen capture of the video taken by the camera:
cube_cam1 by Edmund, on Flickr
For its size it does an OK job. I bought it from Amazon, not the TV con-artists. I bought it two years ago when the price was $16.
https://tinyurl.com/y9psea74
Good Luck, Ed
Thanks, Ed, I appreciate the info.
That's certainly small enough and priced right. The image is ok to me. Maybe not as clear as some I've seen on youtube but for the price I think it's more than adequate.
Thanks, Mel.
Sounds like a fairly hi-tech camera car way beyond my talents.
Sorry about the break in and theft. Makes you long for more intense punishments for the low life folks that make it a habit.
To create a "loco view" video on our club layout, I just put my small camera sideways on a flatcar, and pushed it along with my hand.
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
Like Mel, I tried several cameras as the technology shrunk their respective sizes. I have a nice Sony Handicam that takes fantastic video and it "just" barely fits on a flat car.
Then I got this Contour Roam "Sport" camera. Along the lines of a GoPro but maybe a bit smaller. It also takes very good HD video and as you see, the size is just right to sit in a well car. That's a piece of foam under the camera and a chunk of tungsten for ballast:
IMG_2456 by Edmund, on Flickr
The Contour camera has a very wide field or view. OK for some things but I would have liked more of a "normal" view.
This was shot with the Contour Roam camera over four years ago:
I don't have a photo of it handy but I have a fourth camera that is quite ideal. I also use it for my dashcam on my car. Called a Mobius Action Cam.
https://tinyurl.com/y77ggnsw
I bought it exactly four years ago and mostly it sits on the dash of my truck through 100° temps to -20°F temps. Still works like a champ. Recording time with a 32 meg card in it is somewhere near 100 hours of video. The size is perfect for model RR use, too. C&O Fan here used to have some discussions about it. Haven't heard from him in a while (TerryInTexas?)
While Mel desires panning and live view, these features aren't anything I would need. If I want a side view I simply angle the camera, make another lap and edit the results in Adobe Premiere.
A fun aspect of the hobby, for sure.
Cheers, Ed
I tried using my GoPro camera on a flatcar but the camera is a little too wide for HO scale. It bumps into oncoming trains and also into scenery and buildings which are close to the track. It works ok sitting at an angle for 'out of the side window' shots.
Go big or go home I always say!
I used this little baby to film Unstoppable II.
An epic where once again Captain Kirk returns to the past and engages a steam locomotive to chase down a runaway train with two escaping Klingons on board.
I just grabbed a $30.00 cheapo drone at Costco before Christmas to put in the kids Christmas stocking. (every kid needs at least one toy at Christmas) We have been flying it all over the house using the camera on it hooked up to the I-Phones. Super good picture from it. The only complaint is the lens fogs up when you fly it into the bathroom when Meryl is in the shower. I will be harvesting the camera for the layout once the drone passes its best before date.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
BATMANThe only complaint is the lens fogs up when you fly it into the bathroom when Meryl is in the shower.
Um, In the long run, Brent, that might be a good thing
My first camera was like the one Ed showed in the second post of the thread. I exprimented by putting a pinhole lens on it, which sort of worked better. Then I thought I could imporve on that - and I didn't. I bought another, but was also getting into drones some, so went a different route by acquiring a DVR diversity receiver (in this case an Eachines LCD5820D). This lets you record wirelessly while viewing the imagery live. To feed it, I acquired a comparably small camera/transmitter, powered it, and mounted it on a HOn3 Blackstone flatcar.
Here's a couple video's I've made on it. Oh yeah, turn your sound down before you hit play. I haven't yet figured out a mic for it, so all you get for a soundtrack is some nasty white noise.
Cascade Extension, Part I; Silverton To Black Cat Junction from Mike Lehman on Vimeo.
Cascade Extension, Part II: Black Cat Junction To Snowden from Mike Lehman on Vimeo.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Brent, those curtains don't do much for the layout.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I have one of the iCar kits from MinuteMan. Only I no longer have the iPhone 4 it was designed for, so now it's kind of useless. And as they made the phone bigger, this isn;t really possible any more. But it did work well when I used it. I still have to edit and upload the video from when a piece of wood in a grade crossing caught part of the car and dumped it all in a river on the layout. It's only been 6 years, I do still have all the raw footage. This one is a captioned trip around the RCT&HS Modular as it was 6 years ago. There are some new sections added since, making it even bigger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL8uLUodLFQ&t=1s
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Years ago, I installed a camera in the front of a subway car. I put the powered car at the other end of the train and ran the train by pushing rather than pulling. These are the old Life-Like cars, now made by Walthers.
The camera is one of the old ones that transmits an RF signal directly rather than recording it for later playback. So, I can watch in real time. I bought a DCC power supply for it, which also fits in the subway car, so I never need direct access to the car or the camera.
My original intention was to use the camera as the "motorman" in the cab. Fine, but it's just a short loop, and mostly I just let it run unattended. I made a couple of videos, but other than that, I don't use the camera at all.
My point is that the camera is a gimmick. It's a toy, kind of neat, but not something I would invest a lot of time or money on.
Does anyone actually use a camera car routinely, either while running trains or for things like inspections? we
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasleyMy point is that the camera is a gimmick. It's a toy, kind of neat, but not something I would invest a lot of time or money on.
Thats the way I see it too. Kind of a gimmick, neat toy for a temporary jolly.
Good question.
The icar things seems to be good for layout tours; I enjoyed watching Rob's tour.
MisterBeasleyDoes anyone actually use a camera car routinely, either while running trains or for things like inspections? we Add
I bought mine originally specifically for inspection use. Lost the nose door on my PA and hoped I could find it. Never did, but at least I was satisfied I'd done everything I could. I've used it for other. inspections, too. I have more hidden track than I should, but it's often where it's close to other, visible track or my many liftouts where conflicts and intrusions might occur and need resolved where it really shines.
Depending on quality, and whether you want to view the picture live on a phone/tablet or record on microd SD, there are lots of options. Moebius makes a decent camera: Moebius
Then there are the cheapo spy cameras: Spy Cam or https://www.amazon.com/808-Keychain-Camera-HD-Products/dp/B019EJ78NE
The video tends to be in .avi format, so it isn't particularly good, but if you want to inspect your layout and check for problems they may work. I've never used one on a layout, though, but maybe I'll give it a try.
Gary
garya Depending on quality, and whether you want to view the picture live on a phone/tablet or record on microd SD, there are lots of options. Moebius makes a decent camera: Moebius
Rich
Alton Junction
Mel.
Please don't sweat the cataract surgery too much. I had mine done. both eyes a week apart, and it was nothing. Wound up not even needing glasses afterwards. Had a wonderful surgeon and talked to her all the way through the operations. The worst art was all the eye drops and such before the surgery.
Hope all goes well for you in February and are back on track for more work on the rails. Take care. do what the Doc. says and God bless you.
God's Best & Happy Rails to You!
Bing (RIPRR The Route of the Buzzards)
The future: Dead Rail Society
Our LHS owner told me a good one, maybe bad, depends on your point of view. He was following a train around his layout and flew into the tunnel. Bad news was it didn't fly out. Now it needs rebuilding. I never would have even thought of doing that. Kind of like the roach motel, they check in but never check out.
bing&kathy Mel. Please don't sweat the cataract surgery too much. I had mine done. both eyes a week apart, and it was nothing. Wound up not even needing glasses afterwards. Had a wonderful surgeon and talked to her all the way through the operations. The worst art was all the eye drops and such before the surgery. Hope all goes well for you in February and are back on track for more work on the rails. Take care. do what the Doc. says and God bless you.