Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 60

Well, never say never....

But I doubt it. I've only had it happen in a couple pictures, all of which were taken within a few minutes (say, five).

Since then, I've had a picture of a friend who was walking away come out with the Palm Size and Full Size extremely different. (I'll post 'em if anybody's interested.)

So the only question is where does the distortion in full size take place? I guess if it's in the PC conduit, maybe.. but I doubt it.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: dynamic!
Posts: 189

I enjoyed that "Ghost in the Machine" notion. I went numb when my friend was (and is still) facing me on the viewer but the perspective (actually a following frame) is rotated 90 degrees on the PC.
Then I remembered that Bram Stoker's Dracula wasn't real either.. phew!

On an unrelated note, I agree with Miradu.. What happened to the smilies? I liked the first ones that were animated and multi-coloured.

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Concord, CA, USA
Posts: 6

I definitely have a circular distortion on pictures from my Eyemodule2. Everything seems to have a circular grain to it and any objects near the left or right borders are curved. I posted an example at:
http://www.oei.st/03_05.jpg

Those items are straight in real life...really. The curve is not as pronounced when viewed on the Visor, which makes me think the Eye2 software may compensate for it.

Can somebody else try taking a full-size picture with a straight object near the outer edge of the picture to see if this is a problem with all Eyemodule2s? Maybe I got a lemon.

Here's a very clearly distorted picture. Check out the power pole in the background!

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Concord, CA, USA
Posts: 6

Duh. I forgot to put in the last URL.
http://www.oei.st/MeNMon.jpg

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Oakland, CA USA
Posts: 61

a primer on motion artifacts....

That last image (the two people with the power pole in the background) looks like a perfect example of motion artifacts--which are different than motion blurs.
A motion blur happens when there is significant motion relative to the exposure time, and every pixel (or film grain) gets light from different objects in the same exposure.
A motion artifact is something that often happens with digital cameras. The pixels are not read all at once--they are scanned usually left to right, top to bottom. Motion artifacts happen when the motion is not enough to cause motion blurs between neighboring pixels, but there is enough difference in time between when the top line of pixels was scanned to the bottom line of the image that the entire image will look slanted (but in focus).

Because the eyemodule takes the handheld preview image one frame before taking the full-size image, if you're not patient and move the camera before the image is fully taken, you may end up with motion artifacts in the full size image.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Concord, CA, USA
Posts: 6

Jenesis, I think you're right about the picture of the couple, there is much more distortion on that picture than on any others. The image doesn't look distorted on the Visor, but I read that EyeMod2 takes 2 pictures when Full Size is selected. I probably moved the camera after the beep.

Now there's still the curving on this picture.
http://www.oei.st/03_05.jpg
I can see this curving even when looking at the live picture on the visor.

Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 2

I think the curvature is just distortion from the optics...

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Posts: 33

Lens Curvature

I agree. I think the curvature you get at the edge of the frame is only natural. You get it with most 35mm cameras, as well - that's why "make your own panorama" attempts don't work (i.e. taking several pictures in a circle and taping them end-to-end; things are bent around the middle and don't line up).

I actually saw more roundness in the photos coming out of the original eyemodule than in the eyemodule 2, though I'm not sure why. I doubt either has a fish-eye lens, but they won't be producing "flat/square" images either.

I'm not sure about the eerie stretchy stuff seen in the previously linked photo, but I do think a lot of the "weird behavior" people are finding with the eyemodule 2 comes from the "two pictures" method it uses for image captures. If you instinctively snap your wrist up after pressing the button (assuming the picture's taken when you hear the click), you'll definitely get a perfect image on your Visor (the instant preview image) and a blurry/stretched one when you download it (the actual image).

I wonder if it would help if the process were reversed - that the slower, larger "actual image" be captured before the preview image is shown on screen? It would make the "capturing" time longer, but then again, folks might give it that extra half-second to nab it before moving their hands...

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Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 134

The Solution

jenesis is right on the money.

IDEO sent me a EyeModule2 to test...and I just couldn't figure out why the damn image was so goofy and distorted. Plus when you read their instructions...it isn't really clear what you have to do...

To get clear, distortion free images you MUST...line up the shot...press the button and wait...while it says capturing image...when it beeps for the last time you got it (there is that first beep when you depress the button to take the shot).

I tested this out extensively and that was the problem. With the old Eyemodule we all were so use to pushing the button and it was instantly captured...we could depress and move...not with this camera.

By the way...since I have figured it out...I have taken some really nice shots with this thing. Also...a quick tip...I've been doing Photoshop since there was such a thing...if you have a few pixels in your images due to low light...a small 1 pixel blur usually clears it up without too much loss of image quality. Most image editing programs should let you do this...and it works like magic.

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Registered: Jan 2001
Location: New York
Posts: 16

EM2 Distortion

I bought my EM2 over the weekend and have taken different shots in different situations.
When I transferred them to my PC this morning, I got the distortion mentioned in this thread.
I doubt it has anything to do with not keeping the Visor still because the distortion is the same
odd one where the bottom of the picture is stretched and in my case mirrored. But it looks perfectly
fined on my Visor (Prism).
The shot was taken from the drivers seat of my car (while at a red light). On my Visor the picture
looks fine, you can see the car, the license plate, part of my dash and wiper. Downsized it also looks
fine.

How can I post them here for all to view.

Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 134

I don't know what your distortion is...but I have run across what you decribe when there is movement. When I keep the E2 perfectly still...I have no problems...when I move it even slightly I get the distortion on both the PC or Mac...even though it looks fine on the screen. Since I started keeping it very still...I have taken about 100-200 images...and no distortion.

I am writing an article right now about the E2...and I have some example photos...I took 40 for the article...and all of them turned out. IKeep trying to stay still and practice doing it. Push the button...and don't move until it says Save Image.

Keep us updated.

Alan

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 21

Thanks to jenesis for tracking down the fact that there are two pictures taken every time: the preview picture and the real picture. I was dumbfounded when I transfered a picture of my aquarium to my PC and found that my fish has moved slightly from the picture on the HandSpring!

There is a bug associated with that mechanism though. When photographing a very dark or bright scene (or in my case, a brightly lit aquarium against a dark background), you can use the exposure adjustment at the top left corner of the screen (Normal/Brighten/Darken). However, this only affects the preview picture. You can adjust the exposure to get a perfect picture on the HandSpring, but the picture transferred over to the PC is all white or black still.

I hope there is a solution to this that doesn't require me to send back my Eyemodule2.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Enumclaw, Wa
Posts: 268

And I thought the EM2 was perfect!

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Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 134

It has been for me...like I said...as soon as I started being still when taking the image...no problems.

I am doing an article about the E2 this week yet...and I haven't had any problems in the past week...on either a PC or Mac.

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Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 134

quote:

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Originally posted by hgn
There is a bug associated with that mechanism though. When photographing a very dark or bright scene (or in my case, a brightly lit aquarium against a dark background), you can use the exposure adjustment at the top left corner of the screen (Normal/Brighten/Darken). However, this only affects the preview picture. You can adjust the exposure to get a perfect picture on the HandSpring, but the picture transferred over to the PC is all white or black still.

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 21

Okay, this is what happened on mine. I was trying to photograph my aquarium, which is brightly lit against a black background. As I was composing the shot, the tank appeared as just a white rectangle in a black background (because the black background fooled the EyeModule autoexposure, which tried to set an average exposure for the entire picture--so the lighted portion, which is the tank, became all washed out). So I used the exposure control and chose "Darken". The image then appeared perfect on my Visor Prism screen. I took a shot, and the frozen image on the Prism looked perfect. Actually I took a number of shots, two of which had the "Darken" exposure control selected (the others didn't need it because I zoomed in--by coming closer--and the EyeModule's autoexposure control was able to correctly set the exposure). All of them appeared perfect on the Prism. However, when I transfered them to my PC, the two that had the exposure adjusted appeared just as if the exposure hadn't been adjusted, that is, just white rectangles on a black background!

Would you know how to transfer the preview pictures over to the PC? If so, I could post both versions for you to see.

You can see the type of pictures I was trying to take at my aquarium site: http://www.geocities.com/nguyenhg/ (no, these particular pictures weren't taken with the EyeModule2).

Can you repeat this experiment (using a lighted object against a black background, in a darkened room)?

Hoa

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 21

Okay, I repeated the same procedure myself, and did not get the same result! It worked fine this time. I double checked my previous results and found no mistake. Same file names (date/time) on both the Visor and the PC, but different images (one right, one just white on black). I'll have to mark this down as an intermittent (hopefully one-time) bug.

I did find an unrelated problem though. You can rename two EyeModule2 images to the same name, but only one would come over the conduit. This can be a potentially confusing situation. (This does not apply to the above problem--I did not rename those images.)

Hoa

Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 134

Well I am glad to hear it is working. I am not surprised about the name issue...the same with most computers, can't name two jpg files the same name in the same directory...whether Mac or PC. Makes sense the Palm would follow suit...but glad to know...would hate to make the same mistake.

Look for my article next week...Tuesday I think...will have my Eye shots...some tips I have picked up...etc. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what you can get.

Alan

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I saw that everyone else had a signature and I felt left out, so here is mine.

Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 134

One more thing...

On Tuesday I'll show you how to make a telephoto lens for the Eye2.

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 152

Cool!

quote:

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Originally posted by agraham999
One more thing...

On Tuesday I'll show you how to make a telephoto lens for the Eye2.

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