VisorCentral.com - eye module uses?

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VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Springboard Modules (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=10)
-- eye module uses? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=5349)

Posted by Winchell on 04-19-2000 09:28 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by VTL:
1. The picture quality is so-so. The resolution is low and the pictures tend to be a bit grainy and blurry. However, I'm not sure if that is a hardware problem or more an issue with how I'm using it. You need to look down on the Visor screen to frame the shot, and it may be as simple as my not holding the unit steady enough.

Well, that should be easy enough to test.
Place it on a table and take a snapshot of something.

Posted by Rob on 04-22-2000 04:57 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by pk:
The resolution in Homer's link is disappointing give that the picture was taken only 5in from the object. You can't even read what type of battery it is. I was hoping to use it whiteboard snaps but now I'm not so sure. I'm VERY disappointed.

I've put up a few pictures taken with the eyemodule, including one of a whiteboard. You actually can get decent shots of whiteboard content, but you have to have good lighting and find an appropriate distance -- you probably won't get good results if you try to take a single picture of the entire whiteboard. I was able to get OK results by taking a shot of about 1/4 of the whiteboard (about a 20" x 12" portion of the whiteboard)

See the pix at http://users2.50megs.com/robcheng/eyemodule/index.html

Posted by tvt on 04-23-2000 04:16 AM:

Here was my first "use".

After deciding to not walk to Powell's on Hawthorne in Portland, it started to briefly rain annoyingly large drops.
On the way back to the apt. we saw a nice little rainbow, and so I geeked and pulled out my Visor and took a snapshot.
www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~tvt/rainbow.jpg

This is one of the reasons why i got an EM (EyeModule)... to take impromtu snapshots...

------------------
Tony Tran
[email protected]
BVDx

Posted by LanMan on 04-24-2000 04:49 PM:

Cool rainbow pic tvt. Isn't that Norman Bates house in the forground?

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Posted by LanMan on 04-24-2000 04:51 PM:

Thanks for the pics Rob. I was trying to determine if I could use whiteboard pics myself. Looks like it might be doable.

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<><

Posted by vflopez on 04-26-2000 07:56 PM:

I've found that the key to using the eyemodule is having lots of light. The day after I got it we had some friends visiting and I put their four-year-old next to a lamp and snapped her picture. I then synced my Visor and e-mailed them the color photograph - all in a couple of minutes.

Posted by burningyen on 04-26-2000 08:46 PM:

Anybody have any idea whether a hack could be created that could increase the picture quality by using less compression or increasing the resolution or some other means? It would be nice to have the ability to take a single high-quality shot if the need arises.

Posted by jenesis on 04-26-2000 10:55 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by burningyen:
Anybody have any idea whether a hack could be created that could increase the picture quality by using less compression or increasing the resolution or some other means? It would be nice to have the ability to take a single high-quality shot if the need arises.

There is no compression of the images on the visor (although you have to zoom to see the full 320x240 resolution on the visor screen), and the .jpg compression is the least possible--the picture quality is limited by the sensor resolution and optics.

Posted by LisaG on 04-27-2000 03:34 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by pk:
The resolution in Homer's link is disappointing give that the picture was taken only 5in from the object. You can't even read what type of battery it is. I was hoping to use it whiteboard snaps but now I'm not so sure. I'm VERY disappointed.

pk, don't be disappointed based on the 5" battery shots. The user's guide says that the minimum focal distance is 18"...it's therefore to be expected that a shot from 5" away would be blurry. When I saw the review I wondered why the reviewer criticized the focus of the eyemodule when she didn't respect the focal distance of the lens(perhaps her pre-production version didn't include the minimum focal distance for the module?).

At any rate, even an expensive lens on a "real" camera would turn in a blurry result on film if the subject were closer than the minimum focal distance for the lens.

Posted by homer on 04-27-2000 05:11 AM:

Jenesis:

You say that there is no compression of the image on the handspring, but then you say it is a JPG image...when does it become a JPG image...AFTER you donwload it to your computer?

That doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

I too assumed that the bluriness was caused by exsessive JPG compression.

Posted by jeckard on 04-27-2000 05:17 PM:

I teach technology for educators and plan on developing a class for the palm. A great use for school administrators would be the ability to document students in "the act", smoking, skipping class etc. Parents often never believe their little angels ever do any wrong. Well now you can have proof.

Another great use would be for visual learners or special needs students. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Posted by jenesis on 04-27-2000 11:07 PM:

That is true. The conduit does the jpg conversion. Images are stored on the visor as raw data/bitmap sort of form.

quote:
Originally posted by homer:
Jenesis:

You say that there is no compression of the image on the handspring, but then you say it is a JPG image...when does it become a JPG image...AFTER you donwload it to your computer?

That doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

I too assumed that the bluriness was caused by exsessive JPG compression.

Posted by pubwvj on 04-27-2000 11:48 PM:

Someone suggested a Springboard extension cable to make taking pictures easier. Shielding, signal timing and bus length make make that problematic. Instead, a fiber optic cable ahead of the lense might be much more practical as well as cheaper.

Posted by pubwvj on 04-28-2000 12:48 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by burningyen: Anybody have any idea whether a hack could be created that could increase the picture quality by using less compression or increasing the resolution or some other means?

Well, as with all photography, start with the best conditions that you can such as good light balance and strong light without any burnt out areas of too intense light that the imaging chip may not be able to handle. Starting with ideal is always the best way to get good pictures.

Next, remember the limitations of your film/image sensor, viewer, lenses & other equipment. What is your minimum and maximum focal distance? Remember that yellow on white might not be easily distinquished, espeically if viewed on a 4bit greyscale LCD screen. Be aware that most digital cameras do not handle extremes of contrast in the same image very well. e.g., a white shirt on a bright sunny day or under bright lights may wash out.

Also, stabilize the camera if at all possible using a tripod or by leaning it against a wall, etc. As a last resort try and tripod yourself (2 legs plus your back against something for those of you humans

). A stable image is a happy image... and a lot less blurry.

Remember the resolution. With film you deal with grain size. With digital we deal with pixels. 160x120 or 320x240 is NOT a very big image nor does it carry much information (e.g., not many pixels). How far you are from your subject is going to be very important. If you want to take a picture of a diagram on a white board or paper (Hi, James B.) then you will need to get close enough to resolve enough image information. Fortunately there is a view finder but remember the issues of unfriendly colors, poor lighting, etc. On the other hand, for emailing a pic to Grandma, taking a snapshot to carry around in your electronic wallet or posting one on the web the pixel limits are quite reasonable.

Lastly, don't just point and shoot. Compose. Think. Ponder your shot. Look at what is behind or in front of your subjects. Get a good one, or two, or three, and throw out the junk. This is the power of digital cameras. Use it. Cull, cull, cull. You only have so much memory. A little thought can make a big difference in the final quality of the image. e.g., don't aim into the sun! All too many of the pictures people take are at odd angles, have telephone poles growing out of their heads or the like. Make ya' mudda prowd!!!

Once you've done everything you can to TAKE the best possible photo, you can enhance it in the computer. MOST digital images need sharpening/unsharpen mask, contrast/brightness adjustment, leveling, color adjustment, despeckling, lint picking (Dust & Scratches in Photoshop), etc to look their best. Some of this could be build into the EyeModule. I took the photo at: http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~tvt/rainbow.jpg and did the above to it and changing it from looking pretty blurry and ugly (no offense meant to the photographer) as a raw image to looking okay. Sure, it doesn't look like a professional photo on KodaChrome or even with a Nikon950 but it looks about 300% better than it did straight out of the EyeModule. Retouching can make a big difference and is worth learning.

If you're interested in more about digital cameras and an article I did on them, checkout http://www.flashweb.com for details. I hope to be adding a review of the EyeModule as well. Signin on the mailing list to be notified up updates (the only use of that list).

Frankly, from what I've seen so far they've done a very impressive job with the product and this could well be one of the "Hot Ticket" items that will make the Visor a must have.

My personal Wish list (before actually using one) for the EyeModule or similar products? Hmm... well, higher resolution of course, the above tools for what I do in Photoshop (these are small images so even a Visor has the power to do it), the Macintosh Conduit and lastly a Smartcard slot that would let me but in upto 32MB of memory (or what ever the max gets to be) so I can store images there, use the card like the 8MB memory pack, etc.

Posted by jenesis on 04-28-2000 01:08 AM:

Great photo-taking suggestions--thanks!

Some comments specifically on the eyemodule:
The "speed" depends on ambient lighting, so it is much more important to hold the camera steady in low light to get a clear image.

Also, for people that don't have graphics programs as nifty as photoshop, the MediaCenter viewer that comes with the eyemodule (and is free from PictureWorks) has some very simple but effective enhancement tools like brightness, saturation, contrast, and sharpness.

Posted by burningyen on 04-28-2000 08:35 PM:

I don't know about Windows users, but for Mac users (heh heh, I'm so biased) Corel is giving away CorelDraw 8 LE, which comes with photo-retouching software. It's incredibly powerful for a freeware product. Do a search at www.versiontracker.com for "Corel".

Posted by Gameboy70 on 04-28-2000 09:39 PM:

Windows users without access to Photoshop can use a port of The Gimp, a Photoshop-like program renowned in the Linux universe. While the author claims the Windows port isn't quite ready for end users, I've had no problems with it -- especially since it's free.

Posted by Barbara on 04-30-2000 12:01 AM:

My eyemodule should arrive on Monday. I'll be using it to snap pictures of my two year old to email to my parents & sister. I may also snap some pictures of new employees or parties at work to put on the intranet I maintain for our firm.

And maybe I'll take some pictures of stuff to sell on ebay. . . we'll see if I find the time!

Barbara

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