Re: Seeing what the camera is 'seeing'

[P3D Larry Berlin <lberlin@xxxxxxxxx>]

Further information helpful to those who may wish to shoot stereo pics over
the sides of high places and get an idea ahead of time what the scene really is.

A trip to the nearby store, mentioned briefly in my post about lasers,
provided information on a system I might consider for such a photo mission.

They had a small digital color camera that outputs a video signal which
could be plugged directly into a small portable TV set. It was small and
light weight. It comes provided with a swivel stand that you may not want to
use. Ideally you design an assembly bracket of some kind so that it
piggybacks your stereo camera without danger of dropping either one. Then
you pack along a 12 VDC battery pack to run both the camera and the TV set.

Some of the smaller TV sets could be carried on your wrist and allow you to
watch the scene the camera sees in real-time. I'm sure the lenses are
different so you won't see the same framing or scale but you can map out the
relationship under test conditions so you have an accurate idea of what's
happening.

The camera was $189.95. I don't know the price of small TV's but they aren't
too outrageous.They need to have a direct *video-IN*. You could tape some
batteries together for a temporary arrangement or buy a nice commercial
power pack depending on your needs. Then look for high vantage points... 
Unless you are a sky-diver!!! Then you skip all this and simply take your
camera along with you. (not recommended near structures;-)

I would figure out some kind of safety strap to insure against any
fumble-fingeredness... ; -)

Larry Berlin

Email: lberlin@xxxxxxxxx
http://www.sonic.net/~lberlin/
http://3dzine.simplenet.com/


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