Hi all,
I like the videos that show layouts from the engineer’s view. The radio cameras seem to suffer from interference so I was thinking there must be a small self contained camera the I could put on a flar car. It would need to be fairly small to fit under bridges and tunnels yet provide a good quality video. What have you used or recommend?
I have a Contour 1080hd on order and believe it will sit nicely on a depressed flat car and be able to clear bridges and tunnels. I’ll have results in about a week or two.
Fergie
I have one of the small cameras with a radio transmitter. You’re right - it does suffer from interference problems, and dropouts from blockage by benchwork and scenery. You can alleviate this somewhat by careful placement of the receiver. I went on a layout tour a couple of years back, and the owner had purchased a better receving antenna from Radio $hack and mounted it on the ceiling above the layout. His reception was excellent, far better than what I get with the out-of-the-box system.
This is my own train video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ5OvZtI-QU&feature=channel
To make this, I did multiple runs through the entire subway system, in both directions, and I also staged a few “scripted” scenes with passing trains. I did multiple “takes” of these, too. I started with about 30-40 minutes of raw footage, and edited it down (using Microsoft’s Movie Maker, which came free with XP) to only 3 minutes. I spent a lot of time eliminating bad frames, one at a time, to get around the signal transmission issues. You can remove a frame or two without really affecting the final video very much, so a perfect image, while easier to work with, is not essential to making a presentable video.
I got one of those ‘spy’ cameras from E-bay for about $20; it takes a memory chip that’s extra and will set you back another $20. The picture quality is pretty good, but there’s a time-stamp at the bottom which apparently can’t be turned off. i was able to overcome this with my video editor by stretching the image.http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/themes/trc/utility/http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l490/bigpianoguy/th_TwiceAround_0001.jpg[/IMG]:550:0]
OK, that didn’t work; let’s try a link to my Photobucket video:
http://s1120.photobucket.com/albums/l490/bigpianoguy/?action=view¤t=TwiceAround_0001.mp4
Any spy or nanny cam that broadcasts a signal thru radio waves will have interference because the engine as it rolls along causes it as the wheels loose contact with the rails. To get a clear video you must use a camcorder. You can however use video editing to clear up the video for the nanny cam. BTW a nanny cam is cheaper then a “Spy Cam”.
On a side note, It sure as hell gives you a unique view of your railroad as the engineer. If done well you get the feel of riding the rails.
Before you get yer knickers in a knot, this ‘spy cam’ doesn’t broadcast, but rather stores the recording on a memory chip, which can then be downloaded into your computer. So there’s no interference fields. Now, it’s about two inches high, so I haven’t found a way of mounting it inside the cab. What I’ve done instead is create a video ‘mask’ that I can superimpose over a video shot from the front of the train.
The shot you see in my video is taken from the camera mounted on a flatcar being pushed ahead of the engine. Future projects will include smoke & steam co-ordinated with the soundtrack.
Got the camera in the mail yesterday and due to clearance issues with “low” overpasses (Larger Steam Engines just squeak under it) I will have to make a “Special” cradle car but it is do-able. Camaera can hold a 16 G card
I picked up a mini camera at the local hobby store about the size of a pack of gum and was a little surprised how well it works given the small size and low cost. Here’s the link:
http://www.hobbyworks.com/default.cfm/Content/default.cfm?content=fullproduct&hs=Home&ID=499694
Here are a few of the videos I made using the camera that I posted on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/LanceMindheim
Lance
Visit Miami’s Downtown Spur at www.lancemindheim.com
I have one of the Micro-Mark cameras, and I haven’t had any issues with mine. I don’t use it a lot, so by unplugging the 9V battery when not in use, it lasts a long time.
Since those two pics were taken, I’ve bent the antenna down so that it clears an overpass that is temporarily over the tracks at one location.
Kevin
You need a MUVI micro camcorder that utilizes a micro sd card. Amazon sells them for about $55 dollares. I’ve got one and it works muy bien.
IMHO the best camera for the job is the Go Pro camera. It does HD and gives a great picture.
That looks like a skydiving camera. A little big for the trains don’t you think?
Whoa! How cool is that! I gotta get me one of those…
That is very cool Lance. Your Notch 8 video clearly shows the level of detail that you work into your layout. It seems like a good way to check that. The camera is neat too because you don’t have to worry about interference or size of the camera. Thanks.
Hey Tim,
Somewhat related to the initial question is sound. There’s an outfit called Soundogs http://www.sounddogs.com/ that has some inexpensive and crystal clear sound bites you can purchase. If I were to do the Notch 8 video again I would have initiated the sound of the prime mover revving up earlier so you could have that delay between wind up and the loco. actually moving.
Glad to see you are getting settled in down south.
Lance
I would take a look at spy cameras if you want to stay away from radio transmitting. Some have tiny cameras that you could mount to the front of the locomotive, with a wire going to the storage device. You won’t be able to see it in real time unless you do radio transmitting. There are also small keychain cameras that my work also. If you check on youtube for spy cams and model trains, you’ll be able to see what the quality of the video is.
Problem with the Go-Pro is it’s too wide and will take out tunnel portals etc. I looked at the go Pro and decided to with the Contour.
Thanks everyone for your help,
Lots of interesting answers.
I didn’t want radio or to be able to watch it as it happened so the Hobby Works camera looks like what I want and only $44. Wow! I hope they do mail order.
cheers
You are correct, it would be too wide for tunnels however in many cases the width probably wouldn’t be an issue. I wouldn’t spend my money on anything that doesn’t at least do 16:9 format and HD.