# Can it be done? Monitor digicam display from PC in realtime.



## jjromano99 (May 10, 2006)

Hi everyone, I'm a noob here at TPF, and have got a pretty difficult problem in hand, and I'm looking for opinion from anyone who might be able to help me.

We are developing a special table for digitalizing publications such as newspapers and magazines. The idea is to mount a digicam in an semi-fixed arm, and take picturs of the publications from a distance of about 30 - 50 cms (12 - 20 inches). We have not yet opted for a particular digicam, with good macro perfomance, but one of the main issues here is: *We intend to have the preview of the photo, for focusing and framing, straight from the PC, via the USB or other cable. *Is there a particular digital camera that has this feature? In following post I'll be asking more question about the problems I'll be facing, with lighting and reflection, but at this particular time, I'm trying to solve this very first issue.

Thanks in advance to anyone shedding a light into my problem.

Greetings from Córdoba, Argentina!

JJ

P.S. Feel free to ask for further clarification is something's not clear enough.


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## zedin (May 10, 2006)

Other then a point and shoot the only camera I know of that MIGHT be able to is the new Olympus (I think it is olympus) that has the first real-time lcd preview for a digital slr.  Most other digital slrs cannot have a real time preview since there is no light hitting the sensor due to the mirror reflecting light up into the eyepiece prism.


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## jjromano99 (May 10, 2006)

Thanks for your reply zedin. The idea is to view in the PC the same as what the LCD is showing in the camera. Not sure if that's possible, or if a particular o special software / hardware hack is necessary.

I'm hoping someone has had experience with doing this, or knowing how (if) it can be done.


Cheers!


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## bigfatbadger (May 10, 2006)

I'm pretty sure that zedin's right in that it couldn't be done with a DSLR (apart from the Oly) but you might be able to do it with a compact camera.

Although, I'm afraid I don't actually know if you can!


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## duncanp (May 10, 2006)

i think canon do a remote capture on some their camera which would give you want u want...


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## jjromano99 (May 10, 2006)

duncanp said:
			
		

> i think canon do a remote capture on some their camera which would give you want u want...



Thanks duncanp! Any ideas on which model? I'm trying to contact a specialized sales rep here in Argentina, but it has been difficult to do so.

@bigfatbadger, the idea is in fact to use a compact digital cam, not a DSLR, mainly due to cost issues. Thanks for replying!


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## Jeff Canes (May 10, 2006)

What&#8217;s your budget? Have you look into large format flatbed scanners? If you really want to use a camera then you need a copy stand and lighting setup. Along with a good camera and lens. And do not for get the print. The bottom lines is this will not work without the right equipment and it will not be cheap.


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## jjromano99 (May 10, 2006)

Jeff Canes said:
			
		

> Whats your budget? Have you look into large format flatbed scanners? If you really want to use a camera then you need a copy stand and lighting setup. Along with a good camera and lens. And do not for get the print. The bottom lines this that this will not work without the right equipment and it will not be cheap.



Thanks Jeff for your input, our budget is at the monent around 500 USD. The idea is to be able to scan entire newspapers in little time, faster than regular flatbed scanners. We are experimenting here, it's not an easy tasks, but it's quite challenging. We have some ideas for the copy stand, lighting and reflection is going to be a tricky issue as well, I might come back to you guys later in the process for feedback and comments. This looks like a very nice community, and I'm greatfull for all the replies.


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## Jeff Canes (May 10, 2006)

&#8220;real time preview&#8221; I have only seen this option on MF digital cameras and that's out of your budget. Maybe look into some type of still video system and recorder. That would be a lot quicker. The quality will not be as good. And still like out of your budget.


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## jjromano99 (May 11, 2006)

Thanks you Jeff for your reply, I probably wasn't explaining myself very well. Someone in another forum suggested that I could use the feature found on the Canon 300D cam, which lets you take pictures straight to the PC, via a provided software. That would be the perfect feature for me, since that's what I intend to do. As I said, sorry for not being clear enough.

Is anyone familiar with this feature? Does anybody know about any other cameras, from Canon or other company, that can do this?

Thanks in advance for all your feedback. Cheers!


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## Big Mike (May 11, 2006)

Just about every point & shoot (non-DSLR) digital camera has real time preview on the LCD.  I don't know about viewing that on a monitor though.

I have seen some cheap digicams advertised with "web-cam" feature which might work.  Don't remember the brand or model but you should be able to Google some leads.  I'm sure some of them can do this.

Have you looked into digital video cameras?  I think that a lot of them can snap a still photo with the push of a button...and they could probably be viewed real-time on a monitor or TV set.


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## bigfatbadger (May 20, 2006)

You've probably gone now, but you might want to look at this, or something similar:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0605/06052001breezeremote.asp


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## jjromano99 (May 20, 2006)

bigfatbadger said:
			
		

> You've probably gone now, but you might want to look at this, or something similar:
> 
> http://www.dpreview.com/news/0605/06052001breezeremote.asp


Thanks bigfatbadger! I'm not gone btw , that's exactly what I'm after, I'm trying to find now, if this software, or any similar one, can control a less pricey camera, such as a compact, so as to try not to expand my budget a lot. And also, cause a smaller camera will be easier to handle with the mobile arm we are planning on mounting the cam on. 

Thanks again for the reply, I'll keep looking, and if anyone nows about a compact cam that can be control like these beautiful DSLR, please let me know!

JJ

EDIT: Silly me, I have just noticed that in the link to Breeze Systems there is a nice piece of software called  PSRemote that can control many PowerShot models...it looks like I should head that way and start testing it.

Here's a list of the supported PowerShot models:



			
				Breeze System's website said:
			
		

> *PowerShot cameras supported*
> 
> PSRemote has been designed to teach itself the settings of PowerShot                  cameras when it is connected to them. This usually enables the                  existing program to support new Canon PowerShot cameras without modification.                  The PowerShot models listed in the table below are known to work with PSRemote:
> 
> ...


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