Microscope Camera Techniques

[Alantb]

Originally Posted by charlieb

You need to convert the PC into a TV, via the use of a capture card/device, such as the EasyCAP USB 2.0 Audio & Video Capture Adapter and the same cable you use to connect the camera to the TV.

Yes, well I have now got that and tried that and the software doesn't like - won't recognise - the camera. I think it is expecting a video-camera or the driver is the wrong one. Camera to PC works OK from the 'normal' slot. More research on the Arc-soft site needed I think.
Alan

[charlieb]

How are you attaching the camera to the USB device?

It won't require any extra drivers - it should just work, the method used is decades old (...) and isn't confused by modern technology, drivers etc.

It works in the same way as your TV - from the camera video out socket (should be a headphone style socket) via a headphone style plug to two coloured phono plugs. These then plug into the similarly coloured phono sockets attached to the USB device.

[flaxton]

Originally Posted by charlieb

How are you attaching the camera to the USB device?

It won't require any extra drivers - it should just work, the method used is decades old (...) and isn't confused by modern technology, drivers etc.

It works in the same way as your TV - from the camera video out socket (should be a headphone style socket) via a headphone style plug to two coloured phono plugs. These then plug into the similarly coloured phono sockets attached to the USB device.

I'm with you Alan. If I plug in my canon camera all I get is the option to import photos there is no option to capture "live" photos, in fact the camera lens will not even open when connected to the computer. I did find a section in the software supplied with the microscope camera for other inputs and selected the Canon unfortunately that gave me access to the photos already on the camera not "live" photos
Mal

[charlieb]

Originally Posted by flaxton

If I plug in my canon camera all I get is the option to import photos there is no option to capture "live" photos

You need to plug it in via the video out socket - not the socket used to connect it to the computer to download the photos. What this does is use the TV/PC monitor in place of the LCD screen on the back of the camera - nothing more, nothing less.

[Alantb]

Originally Posted by charlieb

You need to plug it in via the video out socket - not the socket used to connect it to the computer to download the photos. What this does is use the TV/PC monitor in place of the LCD screen on the back of the camera - nothing more, nothing less.

Yep. That's what this EzCap gadget does; I plug it into the video output and away it should go. But it dont. I can download still pictures with it but it doesn't recognise the camera in 'video' mode ..... there is minimal help with the thing, it assumes (I Think) a video camera, which shouldn't bother it. But I will research another driver before I chuck it in the bin.

Incidentally I tried with a Lumix camera and got the same effect as Mal - the safety screen wouldn't open. More when I have more time.

Thanks Charlie for your interest.
Alan

[Lancashire Lad]

Hi Alan, I don't have the EzCap gadget, or other means of interfacing my camera's video out, to the PC, so I can't try this out - but have you tried switching the camera itself to video mode? Perhaps it only sends the video signal out when it is in video mode?

Might be worth a try.

Although, If this is the case, and does allow you to view in video mode, it would be problematical, as you would have to keep switching back to stills mode to take a pic, and possibly wouldn't be able to immediately check the quality of that pic, without reverting to the USB memory card download lead?

EDIT - Sorry Alan, I misread your post, It looks like you have already tried it with the camera in video mode.

Regards
Mike.

[charlieb]

What happens when you plug the video out lead into the camera? On some the LCD screen will go blank to indicate the output has been redirected.

Have you tried plugging the camera in then turning it on?

The source of the signal should be irrelevant (be it a digital camera, video camera, video recorder, dvd player, games console etc. etc.)

The video out function (just a socket) on the camera is different to the video capture function - the video out function redirects what you see on the LCD screen to TV, monitor etc, the video capture function, well, captures video

[Alantb]

Charlie, I know that the video output from the camera works because when connected it shows pictures on the TV, dynamically or otherwise, according to the way I put the switches.
What seems to be 'wrong' is that the PC doesn't see the output because it is expecting a different sort of signal or to interact with a camera, whereas I am asking it to perform the 'simple' task of turning the PC into a TV receiver. I've tried the setup with another camera and had the same result, which makes me think that I have a fundamental misconception in the way this video capture function is intended to work.
More later
Cheers, Alan

[charlieb]

Originally Posted by Alantb

What seems to be 'wrong' is that the PC doesn't see the output because it is expecting a different sort of signal or to interact with a camera, whereas I am asking it to perform the 'simple' task of turning the PC into a TV receiver

That is what the EasyCAP device is for - interpreting the signal and sending it to the PC.

How are using the PC side of things? Are you using the included software? If so, do you get any errors or messages?

[Alantb]

I'm using the appropriate software for the EzCAP but think I have the wrong device here. I tried using the Windows Media prog on my desktop - which is more modern than the laptop - and now I got the camera to communicate but only in video mode, that is, it wanted to record the camera input as an mpeg file.
It's a matter of technical terms ..... I now discover that what I want is for the PC/camera combination to operate in 'live view' mode - which is what I should have been looking for but not knowing the right words I asked for the wrong thing. Doh..
There are gadgets and software which should enable this, so I'll pop down to Maplins and see what they've got. Which is what Charlie suggested in the first place ..........

Watch this space.
Alan