Camera & monitor for fun

[swinks]

Here is an idea for those with a games room to host a comp or party or both:

vid1900 from pinside - went to Michigan Pinball Expo this weekend.

"Stern also brought AC/DC, hooked it up to an external speaker and had 2 cameras on it.
Camera one was trained on the playfield, and camera 2 was trained on the player's face!
Both were then played back on a 42" monitor above the game for everyone to see. It was funny to watch people biting their lip, throwing their heads back, wiping away tears..."

"It was a cheap JVC HD camera - nothing special at all.

Main thing is to have enough counterweight on the back side of the boom
stand to offset the weight of the camera."

[Caveoftreasures]

the easiest way to achieve this for home use if you dont have a decent video camera, is to go for a webcam (but good quality)

The problem with colour cameras, is that most on the market are not designed for low light and perform not so well when lights are turned off.
Thats where u need to find a camera which has a low lux rating, and a high TVL rating.(Lux is the allowable light the camera will work in, and the TVL is basically the quality of picture lines or clarity of camera output to a viewable screen) BUT you will still have to use some background lighting, or the camera will revert to a black/white view due to very low light.

For general lighting, u shld be able to find a decent webcam which has a O.00 LUX and look for something 450TVL or up to 650TVL. 650 preferrably.
You can view/plug the webcam into your computer, and then share easily. OR muck around with a video camera and do the same thing. The only problem will be mounting, but a tri-pod affixed to the top of the headbox will be a option for those willing to go to the hassle.

If anyone makes the effort, share the video on the forum if u can.

[millsy]

I have only a SD handycam the kids bought me a couple of years ago, have beed mucking around shooting video with a home made tripod.
Question is : Cant afford a HD hanycam at present - How about a HD webcam ? Lot cheaper but will it give a better video than the SD handycam, Whats the minimum PC specs & can it be saved easily for example posting on youtube.
Here is an example I did with the SD handycam

will the HD webcam produce a better quality video ?

[swinks]

Great vid, thanks for sharing.

[Caveoftreasures]

I have only a SD handycam the kids bought me a couple of years ago, have beed mucking around shooting video with a home made tripod.
Question is : Cant afford a HD hanycam at present - How about a HD webcam ? Lot cheaper but will it give a better video than the SD handycam, Whats the minimum PC specs & can it be saved easily for example posting on youtube.
Here is an example I did with the SD handycam

will the HD webcam produce a better quality video ?

yes, cause HD is HD. Best to wait n buy n save for a decent video camera, rather than paying half as much and getting less results.
everything will look washed out (colour not very vibrant) unless u have some extra lighting in the room. Lack of lighting will show up the men from the boys so to speak with any colour camera. Low light is the enemy of colour cameras unless you buy a nice top quality camera. Only go for a video camera, not a handycam or a camcorder, must be a HD VIDEO camera. Big difference in performance.

U can try a top end webcam, but you will have to buy the best and really look at the specs on the box etc, to sort out the cheapys compared to a true HD webcam.  

[goodolddays]

Here is an example I did with the SD handycam

will the HD webcam produce a better quality video ?

Thanks for the Vid Kev. Your Bazaar looks great . Those kickers really kick 

Will have to get a zipper flipper game one day