I've tried the FireFly under Linux. It worked well. I don't remember if I tried it with PD/Gem but should be fine. I used Coriander http://damien.douxchamps.net/ieee1394/coriander/ to create a videoloopback device for V4L use. jim
On Mon, 2009-05-11 at 23:02 -0700, Jaime Oliver wrote: > Hi, > > I am about to buy one of these FireflyMV's. It's 350$ with shipping to > california. > > Has anyone actually tried them? > > There is a new version with usb2.0, do any of you think it would be > easier than 1394 to get these working under linux? > > best, > > J > > On Fri, Mar 6, 2009 at 10:06 AM, Martin Schied <[email protected]> wrote: > > hey all, > > > > Jaime Oliver schrieb: > >> mmh, I don't really know about lengths. I think there is a limit to > >> how long your firewire cable should be. I usually work with analog > >> cameras in linux where cables can be long ad I capture with a pci card. > >> > >> I think a cheap option that I've seen working well with macs is the > >> unibrain fire-i: > >> http://www.unibrain.com/Products/VisionImg/Fire_i_DC.htm > >> > >> you can buy lenses and chain them, not more than 30fps though, > >> > >> J > > lengths between firewire 400 devices is usually 4.5m, but you can daisy > > chain them up to 16 times giving you 72 metres. it's not very > > recommendable to make long chains, as every plug may be a "weak point" > > in your chain. firewire 800 can have longer cables, but i don't know... > > > > Jack schrieb: > >> Thanx for the reply. The models are too big for me. I need a smaller > >> camera (something like a cube) because the installation must be > >> discreet. Have you something else to suggest ? > >> Chris : what do you think about Sony driver ? I can't use a PCI card > >> because i will work with a macmini. > >> ++ > > > > as manufacturer of small firewire cameras there's also "point grey". I > > don't know exactly about cost, and didn't try them on my own but they > > often were recommended by people doing tracking, also being said they > > were affordable, especially the "firefly mv" which delivers > > 60...@640x480 and even higher frame rates at lower resolutions. > > > > that's what they say about macintosh (seems to work): > > http://www.ptgrey.com/support/kb/index.asp?a=4&q=173 > > > > i also made tests with usb webcams (only on linux and windows), some > > with usable results but most of them are crap. to be usable they should > > support "real" usb2.0 for high frame rates at full sensor resolution > > (usually 640x480), without compression and have ccd sensors for better > > quality and light sensitivity. (finding out usb version and other > > technical stuff can be real pain from manufacruerer sites, usually > > you'll have to try them). > > image quality was always worse than cheap video cameras - but as an > > advantage they were not interlaced like usual consumer video cameras. > > cable lengths can be extended by usb hubs or "repeater" cables several > > times, but that's also the "many-connectors - many errors" thing > > > > @Jack: what exactly will your tracking method be based on? natural > > features? colors? markers? with some luck a cheap usb webcam could be > > good enough and also really small. (yeah, i'm a fan of using cheap > > consumer producs and having trouble with them - be warned) > > > > cheers, > > Martin > > > > _______________________________________________ > > [email protected] mailing list > > UNSUBSCRIBE and account-management -> > > http://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list > > > > > _______________________________________________ [email protected] mailing list UNSUBSCRIBE and account-management -> http://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list
