VisorCentral.com - Eyemodule2 Available!

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VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Springboard Modules (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=10)
-- Eyemodule2 Available! (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=11762)

Posted by bkbk on 02-14-2001 04:36 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by davidi
I am amaze that my wife's Casio E-105 has had a camera attachment since 1999 and is has full 180 lens movement. When I heard the rumors about the Eye Module #2 I tought they would exceed what is out in the market. So for now I will keep waiting.

Please, POST SOME PHOTOS.
The word is that the $399 (orig; $299 now, right?) CF attachment (ALSO w/no on-board memory, right?) produced CRAP photos for all that cash. They use Casio's proprietary CMF format for the videos. The "full 180 lens movement" is almost useless because it's OBVIOUSLY A CAMERA, while the EM1 & EM2 are much more unobtrusive. The weak CF card connector (& "genius-level" 180 lens) ENSURE it's MUCH easier to SNAP IT if you accidentally brush up against something w/it (though I have no anecdotal evidence this has occured, and/or w/any freq.).
I chose the HSVD over any E-xxx / PktPC BECAUSE it had a camera SB for only $149. (True, not the quality I'dve desired -- though that seems largely remedied, for only $50 more. And BOTH work with ALL HS devices.)
And, have you heard, the HSVD itself is only $250. And it's got about 9,900 more apps than any E-xxx / PktPC -- which all work faster than every any E-xxx / PktPC, except the iPaq, which has its own slew of problems, AND NO CAMERA.

And, finally, the idiots at Casio seem to have ensured MANY SUBSEQUENT E-xxx models are INCOMPATIBLE w/the camera! Can you say: "Stupid, Casio!"

Please, take your any E-xxx / PktPC bravado over to a any E-xxx / PktPC site, and don't rain on our parade ... as you can now see, WE'VE ALL GOT UMBRELLAS YOU CAN'T PENETRATE.

Posted by bkbk on 02-14-2001 04:40 PM:

Re: Update to review

quote:
Originally posted by Jason4321
I suppose if you had a utility for renaming databse files it'd be possible to back up multiple copies. Anyone have such a utility?

Hey, thanks again for the quick & detailed research. (On such a "hot new topic" like this, I doubt anyone is "worried about the length of your posts.") Any chance for some posted pix?

Anyway, yeah, I think some of the new CF SB file-mover-type solutions allow you to re-name either dbs or sub-dirs -- but I'm not 100% sure. Is anyone else?

Posted by Usonian on 02-14-2001 05:17 PM:

Re: Update to review

quote:
Originally posted by Jason4321
I suppose if you had a utility for renaming databse files it'd be possible to back up multiple copies. Anyone have such a utility?

I found a great one called 'Filez'. It's freeware, and I think I got it at Tucows.com. An interesting thing, though - even after renaming the eyemoduleDB PDB file, the eyemodule app still recognized it as the correct place to store its images. Shouldn't be an issue if you're renaming
your eyemodule DBs just to move them onto a CF card, though; you'll need to pull the Matchbook drive out of the slot to put the Eyemodule back in anyway, and the Eyemodule software should create new DB's with the standard names automatically.

-Andy

__________________
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Posted by Rob on 02-14-2001 05:55 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by bkbk
Can't you re-name the db?
Or make sub-dirs?

One way I can think of to do this is to use a CF module and the file mover software from Kopsis to create multiple directories on the CF module. I *think* then each time you filled up your visor with photos, you could move the database(s) into different directories on the CF module. Then when you got back to your computer, you would have to go through the tedious process of moving each database back to the visor and hotsyncing it to get it back to your desktop.

I suppose if EyeMail works with the eyemod2 databases, then you could also mail the images to your desktop and delete them from your visor to free up room for more pix...

Posted by phrenic on 02-14-2001 06:08 PM:

EM2 & Matchbook Drive CF Adapter

Wow,
I just saw the sample photos (EM2)on the updated EyeModule site and they look considerably better than the images from EM1. But I do still see a storage problem like many of you have already pointed out.

-What Im wondering is : can I use the MatchBookDrive CompactFlash adapter to store these images after I have taken them and removed the EM2 module. Can't I just D/L them to a blank CF card while on the road ?
-Does anyone know how close up the new EM2 will focus ? Maybe 5-6 inches or is it more like 5-6 feet ?
-My reason for the inquiry is that I am a 4th year medical student and would like to use the EM2 next month in Villahermosa , Tabasco, Mexico.
Im leaving for Mexico in 4 weeks for a humanitarian medical aid mission and would like to document our travels , and treatments with the EM2. It would be a perfect device for documenting medical pathology, rashes you can't describe, surgical anatomy in the OR, or wounds throughout the healing process.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
All the best ,
EA

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Posted by Jason4321 on 02-14-2001 06:15 PM:

Specs

I believe it's 18" to infinity. I'm sure it's documented on their website, too.

As I work with medical images, I agree that'd be a nice option. Probably not the type of images IDEO intended, but still useful to someone. Now if I could only find a DICOM viewer for the Visor...

Jason

Posted by thesmith on 02-15-2001 03:43 AM:

eyemodule 2 is Awesome!!!!!

Wow what a difference!?I got the original"blind" eyemodule and it was the worst pos I ever used and returned it 2 days later..So being a sucker for punishment I ordered the eyemodule 2 nextday air from palmgear. I got it today it's awesome way way better pics and mini movies so so cool it works great with my prism.This company has won my respect they fixed all the major bugs and redesigned the module with a slight tilt(much easier pic taking),A lens cover,3 setting Iris control, Great working software and a real nice hard case with room for a standard springboard and the eyemodule(can't wait for a matchbook drive).Now I am in Visor heaven with a Visor Prism, Minijam, magellan gps, Eyemodule 2, 2 8mb springboards, innogear 2v, backup module,tiger woods sb........ (now I just need a Visor briefcase) WOW I am a walking billboard for the Handspring Visor. HAWKINS FOR PRESIDENT 2005

DAN

Posted by Fat_Man on 02-15-2001 05:00 AM:

Re: eyemodule 2 is Awesome!!!!!

quote:
Originally posted by thesmith
HAWKINS FOR PRESIDENT 2005

DAN

You mean 2004?

__________________
Fat's

Posted by bkbk on 02-15-2001 05:19 AM:

Just a quick defense of the "mem. req." of EM2 being "too huge" ... it's been CUT, people.

EM1's largest color size photos were 187k!
EM2's largest color size photos are 130k!

So it's actually more understandable NOW that the dec. was made not to include on-board mem. (uh, except for that mini-movie thing...) than it was back at EM1, when the cheap CF solutions that exist now did not.

Still, I hope at EM3 ...

Posted by george_vc on 02-15-2001 05:28 AM:

So I guess since it's still the same color depth, but greater capture resolution, the images as displayed on the prism would be the same as the EM 1. Right ? But the 640 x 480 on the puter would be great.

Posted by eyebrowse on 02-15-2001 08:48 AM:

Memory requirements?

So bkbk, you're saying the largest original eyemodule color image - even though it's just "Palm size" (320 x 240) - took more space than the largest eyemodule 2 image (640 x 480 in JPG format)? That is significant, if true.

Seems like the first wave of eyemodule 2 units are arriving, and the initial reviews are pretty good! There's a lot to hope for with eyemodule 3 but the steps beyond the original unit might in fact be more significant than they look on paper.

I sense my mind trying very hard to not rationalize taking the plunge...

I'd love to see more "real world" pics, if y'all can share them. (I've only a handful in the gallery so far.) Again, if you e-mail 'em I can post 'em for you!

__________________
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<td valign="top"><font size="2">Ryan Kawailani Ozawa<hr size="1" color="#ff0000"><b>eye</b>browse > eyemodule gallery & users' group<br><a href="http://lightfantastic.org/eye" target="_blank">http://lightfantastic.org/eye</a></font></td></tr></table>

Posted by u-key on 02-15-2001 11:22 AM:

size

I want to see the movie mode! somebody show me!

but one thing I was wondering. Why e2 get bigger than the original? I know those extra stuff made it bigger, but like look at what Sony does, for example, they came up with something, next step is same thing and more features, and next step is same thing in reduced size... only time they make it bigger is selling it for less $$.
well, being Japanese I tend to think smaller is better, and that was the reason for buying e1. hope they can come up with e3 with;
1. size even smaller than e1
2. some kind of memory solution
3. better CCD unit for low light
(no need for flush then)
4. and low price!
there are so many "toy cam" in Japanese market right now, with almost same spec, for about $50 to $100. I think they will be here in the State soon (some of them are already out), and although they don't have the same features like Visor+eyemodule, they look kind a cool. 'cos they are small! Hope e3 is much better product, and until then, I just stay with my little e1.

u-key

Posted by thesmith on 02-15-2001 01:33 PM:

2004

yes we will count the chads in 2004 and the president will take office in 2005

LOL
Dan

Posted by lennonhead on 02-15-2001 02:14 PM:

What about transferring the images to the CF card and then using a CF card reader connected to your computer to transfer them? Why would you have to move them back to the Visor and Hotsync each series?

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Posted by bkbk on 02-15-2001 02:39 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by lennonhead
What about transferring the images to the CF card and then using a CF card reader connected to your computer to transfer them? Why would you have to move them back to the Visor and Hotsync each series?

I would think that, of course you could do this, but I think most people were thinking of working w/the HW & SW they either presently have or was kind of directly linked to the EM. On the one hand, CF expansion w/the EM is now kind of a necessity (esp. for mini-movies -- man, I just got them to run for the 1st time off IDEO's Web page [had probs. @ home -- and that Apple QuickTime Website is "such a dream to navigate," y'know?] ... they are TOO CUTE; that EM2 site is now a marketer's dream -- it should help them sell a BOATLOAD), while a card reader, even at $29 and even w/the increased speed you'd enjoy ... well, might just be making its way up the ladder to "necessity," come to think of it. Esp. w/the mm's.

As you might guess, I just bounced all over the EM2 resources I could quickly do so, and didn't readily find that 130K figure for the large images -- I even went (quickly) through the doc. for EM2. (Yet ANOTHER great piece of marketing "nail-on-the-head" work. These guys all should be really proud of how they spent the last year, even if they didn't "meet each & every one of our X-mas wishes.")

Something ELSE caught my eye -- which I CAN'T BELIEVE IS TRUE, IF IT IS:
(From the FAQ page.)
==========
How does the eyemodule2 affect battery life?

You can take hundreds and hundreds of images on a single charge of batteries. You can expect a minimum of 1-2 hours of continuous use in capture mode. Viewing your images does not drain your batteries any more than normal Visor operation.
==========

Could someone PLEASE verify this?
EM1 (which I have right now on my HSVD -- and shows up at 143K for the app; so that's another 40k YOU CAN JUST GO BANNANAS WITH ... sort of) can just FRY my AAA's in SECONDS FLAT if I'm foolish enough to say something like: "Hold it, let me just take a minute or 2 to really frame this shot really well."
Well, you get the idea.

If they were able to pull a power-mgmt. miracle as it appears from the FAQ, I predict at least 72 billion of these sold by the end of the week...

Posted by Rob on 02-15-2001 04:08 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by lennonhead
What about transferring the images to the CF card and then using a CF card reader connected to your computer to transfer them? Why would you have to move them back to the Visor and Hotsync each series?

Hmm...well, according to an earlier post, the photos are all stored in a single database. During a hotsync, the eyemodule conduit typically parses that database and converts/extracts the individual JPEG images. While I'm sure that you could use a CF card reader to move the .pdf photo database directly to your desktop, what would you use to extract the JPEGs from the database? Does IDEO provide such a tool on their install CD?

Posted by Ash on 02-15-2001 04:45 PM:

There are some third party tools that can do this. I think there's a Perl script and a Python script that can extract the contents of the eyemodule .pdb files into image files.

Posted by bkbk on 02-17-2001 02:13 PM:

Okay, buds -- the "real" stats.
Why is "real" in quotes? ... because I'm not 100% sure.
The GOOD NEWS is I was "wrong" about the FULL SIZE EM2 images being 130k ... it looks like they're ONLY 115K!!!
Hip, hip, hooray!
But ... where am I getting this data?
P.15 of the on-line .PDF file at EM2.COM.
You can see the little specs in the little screenshot.
The "bad news" (in quotes because I'm not 100% sure; hey, it takes a lot to be johnny-on-the-spot, eh?) is if you check the rest of the site (esp. the SAMPLES page), many seem a whole lot larger (like 200k, or something -- but, hey, that's only 13k more than EM1's "full-sized" crappy-snappies, eh?), so ... because I'm not 100% sure.
Well, y'know what I mean.

But another good tid-bit of "because I'm not 100% sure" verification is on the following page (the real specs page) ... it looks pretty rock-steady & absolute that the EM2 is using 16 SCALES OF GRAY, no matter what Visor model it's plugged into.
Maybe I'm just "reading what I want into it," so feel free to check it yourself.
But, man, I really can't see myself NOT buying this module at this point ... it's only a matter of time ...
(What time does CompUSA open up today, eh?)
Hope this was useful.
(Eh ... because I'm not 100% sure, y'know.)

Posted by cmiller on 02-17-2001 07:25 PM:

Outrageous file size for movies

quote:
Originally posted by Jason4321
Well, the 5-sec movie takes 1.1 MB. You can turn off the 5 sec time limit in Prefs, so longer movies are possible. The CD installs Quicktime, and the movie was converted to quicktime format during a hotsync.

That's still huge. On their site, the files are around 3 megs for a silly 5 sec movie. And they're TINY as far as resolution.

I've seen 200k Mpeg movies that were between 10-15 seconds. Apple quicktime is, in my mind a TERRIBLE compression format to use. Come on people, investigate the technology before you release a product that uses crappy compression. Oh, and don't get me started on the HUGE size of the JPEG files. a 640x480 jpeg should be under 50k with the right compression that is still visably acceptable.

__________________
CJ Miller
Handspring Visor Prism
Palm III

Posted by lennonhead on 02-17-2001 08:15 PM:

Excuse me, before you bash something know what you are talking about. If you bothered to download those movies and checked their info out you would see that they weren't compressed at all. Quicktime can use a variety of codecs, but the movies posted on the site did not use any compression. I assume this was to show people exactly how the movies would look once transferred to your computer.

After the transfer you can compress them any way you like. You could even make them into MPEG movies if that's what floats your boat, however, MPEG movies are not easy to convert into other formats which is presumably why the E2 does not use it as its native format.

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