Trixology
Weather => Weather Hardware/Measurement => Topic started by: wurzelmac on February 12, 2013, 05:15:35 PM
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Hello to all Weather-Photographers!
After buying and installing a new Vantage Pro2 (see this (http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=617.0) thread) I fulfilled another long wished dream: a "handmade" webcam! :)
Therefore I bought a used Canon PowerShot G5 via eBay, a junction box and a three-wired electrical cord to get power into the box. The result you can see in the attached photos. :D So the Camera gets the power direct via the cord and a charging device, and is controlled via USB. The photos were taken with gphoto2 (http://www.gphoto.org), the text overlays were done with ImageMagick (http://www.imagemagick.org/script/index.php). gphoto2 and ImageMagick are controlled by an applescript and a shell script running in terminal. Both scripts are done by my son Simon - congratulations to him! Here is a list of cameras (http://www.gphoto.org/doc/remote/) that are remotely controllable via gphoto2.
(http://www.unterwurzacher.at/downloads/cam_neu/IMG_0073.jpg)
(http://www.unterwurzacher.at/downloads/cam_neu/IMG_0076.jpg)
(http://www.unterwurzacher.at/downloads/cam_neu/IMG_0078.jpg)
(http://www.unterwurzacher.at/downloads/cam_neu/IMG_0079.jpg)
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Great job Reinhard
may have give complete details on how it is all done
[cheers1]
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[cheers1] Looks well done, do you have a heater in the housing for really cold nights? I'll be interested in looking at any dark sky images you get from it.
My cam is showing it's age, it's been running for a little over 4 years now, generic video cam but very low light. It's lost nearly all color image capabilities now and there is a large loss of detail happening from the original image taken by EvoCam and after the text is added by WC. It's in free mode at the moment, so I get to move it anywhere I want till March, then it's back to cloud watching.
Doc
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Hi Reinhard and WeatherCat fans,
Hmm, I was wondering what you were doing with this gphoto2 software. This is a really neat way to get much better picture quality than the cheapy webcams you can get from companies like Logitech. I'm not sure I want to go this route, but it is tempting!
Very cool!! 8)
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
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may have give complete details on how it is all done
Hi Randall, if I get the time and my english is good enough, I will try to give more details. :)
Looks well done, do you have a heater in the housing for really cold nights? I'll be interested in looking at any dark sky images you get from it.
Hi Doc, no heater in the housing - this nights we have outdoor temperatures below -10?C and no problem occurred so far. The charging device gets very warm. Hopefully this is enough heating! :) I will take a look at the night-shots and provide you with a photo, if it is good enough. I will provide daily movies (http://wetter.unterwurzacher.at/daily_movie.html) on my website, too (photo taken every 5 minutes from 0:00 to 24:00).
Hmm, I was wondering what you were doing with this gphoto2 software.
Hi Edouard, gphoto2 is a software that can only be accessed via Terminal. gphoto2 is the program that captures the pictures, so without this tool I will be unable to access the camera. :) But, as said yesterday, those scripts are all done by my son. I am not so familiar with this stuff. :-[ ??? ;D
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Hi Reinhard
Thanks for the reply
and so did you not like the Logitec Web cam I think thats what you use to use thats what I been looking at
thanks
[cheers1]
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Hi Randall,
I did like the Logitech Vision Pro very much for about nearly 4 years, but I want to go a step further. :) The Logitech offers a 2 Megapixel sensor with 1600x1200 picture size maximum. The Canon offers 5 Megapixel at maximum size of 2592x1944.
Cheers,
Reinhard
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Hi Reinhard and WeatherCat fans,
I suspect most of us will stick to a USB webcam for the most popular of reasons - laziness!! :-[
However, if you've got an old camera that could be used for this, it could save you a few bucks and certainly compact cameras have better focus and other features. So I would expect a few others will follow in your footsteps Reinhard. So thanks for sharing!! [tup]
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
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Nice job (as always) Reinhard - guess I'll have to add support for resolutions higher than 1600*1200 now [lol2] How big are the images you get out of it?
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At the moment I take pictures with 2592x1944 resolution - but I plan to upgrade to a Powershot G7, then they will be 3.648 x 2.736 [woohoo]. The G7 does have a much more ISO range... Oh well, it's never enough 8) ;D
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Hi Reinhard,
We emailed last year about using a Powershot as webcam. I have the A40, which I think will work. Have you written any more about using gphoto2 etc for this? I am a bit afraid of getting in over my computer-ability head. I have a great alpine view here and would like to improve my webcam, although my logitech is doing pretty well.
Hope all is well, Irving
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Hello Irving,
no, I have not written anything - sorry for that. I really will take some time and write down some basic instructions (yes - very basic instructions) to get a remote photo camera running on a Mac using gphoto.
So far all fine here, hope the same for you!
Cheers,
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Hello Irving,
again me. Here I found a good, detailed set of instructions to get your DSLR running on your Mac:
http://photolifetoys.blogspot.co.at/2012/08/control-your-camera-with-gphoto2-via.html
Hope this sheds some light into this business. :)
Cheers,
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Hi Reinhard,
This blog on gphoto you cited seems very useful. It offers a gphoto timelapse app that I downloaded and tried but it did not work, only gave a message that I am attaching. I am afraid though that figuring this out will take too much of your time. Probably this whole thing is over my programming head too. A shame since I have the camera and a good view.
Irving
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Hello Irving,
can you sent me the script, please? I'll take a look!
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Reinhard,
At the moment I don't know how to find the script you asked for. This is the small script I get when trying to run gphoto_timelapse
killall PTPCamera
gphoto2 --capture-image-and-download --interval 60 --frames 10
Here are three maybe useful links: program gphoto_timelapse, general description from gphoto on controlling cameras and one showing how to program for my camera Powershot A40
http://cl.ly/390o1D260d0O download gphoto_timelapse. this was the app I tried
http://gphoto.org/doc/remote/ Doc :: Remote controlling cameras
http://www.moreno.marzolla.name/software/linux-time-lapse/
This is specific to powershot a40
Have you set up your cameras for timelapse or do you control them differently?
Irving
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OK Ivring,
can't get this script to work here, either. Seems to be an AppleScript, not a bash script - so no idea, sorry. But try this (I assume that gphoto2 is installed correctly on your machine):
? Connect your Camera via USB to your Mac
? Open the Terminal, or if already open, a new Terminal window
? Type or copy&paste: killall PTPCamera
? Type or copy&paste: gphoto2 --list-ports (if this shows your Cam, youre good!)
? Type or copy&paste: gphoto2 --summary (shows a summary of your Cam)
? Type or copy&paste: gphoto2 --capture-image (takes a picture and stores it on your Cam)
? Type or copy&paste: gphoto2 --capture-image-and-download (takes a picture and stores it on your Mac)
If you are able to get this far, it is on you to determine all possibilities of gphoto2. For example you want let to take you Cam a picture every 15 min:
? Create a folder in your home directory
? Name it Camera
? Copy this code into a new txt-file and save it as camera.sh into the just created folder.
#!/bin/bash
while true; do # everything that is written between do and done loops infinitely
gphoto2 --capture-image-and-download --force-overwrite # takes a photo, downloads it to the Mac and overwrites the existing one
sleep 20 # waiting 20 seconds
done
? Execute the script using the Terminal:
? Type cd Camera and hit enter (cd = Change Directory, note that the commands are case sensitive)
? Type ./camera.sh and hit enter (look at the attached screenshot)
This small script creates a loop that takes a photo every 20 seconds. If you want to change the time between the photos are taken, change the number of seconds. If you want to abort the script hit ctrl+c into the Terminal or quit Terminal.
Enjoy!
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Hi Reinhard,
I have downloaded gphoto and see a large number of files in a libgphoto2 folder. Not sure how to run it or use them.
I then plugged in camera and turned it on to auto.
Then tried pasting into terminal the first two scripts you sent, each followed by enter but got only these messages.
Last login: Tue Jun 14 09:08:45 on ttys000
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ killall PTPCamera
No matching processes belonging to you were found
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ gphoto2 --list-ports
-bash: gphoto2: command not found
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$
So I wonder if gphoto is active just sitting in my download folder.
Also have I set the camera ok?
Have I used the terminal correctly, pasting in each followed by enter?
Thanks, Irving
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Hi Reinhard,
Me again. With a couple questions.
Is it possible to fix the zoom using gphoto or on camera? I want to get closer to my mountains.
What is max cable length for USB?
Are you downloading webcams to WG? Did not see them?
Would like to have a URL for my webcam separate from WG but dont have a website separate from WC and WG. Any ideas?
Attached is a photo from my Logitech Pro 9000 using Evocam.
Irving
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Hi,
first of all you need to install gphoto2 - seems like it sleeps in your downloads-folder. Move it to the trash and use Homebrew to install it. Just follow the instructions on their website ( http://brew.sh/ ) to install Homebrew. When this is finished, you can install gphoto2 and all that is needed via one single terminal command: brew install gphoto2
When this is done, we will move to the further steps.
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Nice photo Irving. I can see why you want to improve the quality of the camera: the view is stunning.
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Great view! (http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/u666/xAirbusDriver/thumbup_zpsfgqhxlem.gif) Are those 'hills' on your property?
USB is a specialized method of connecting devices to a computer. It is not designed for networking, like Ethernet. However, some extensions to its normal maximum distance of 5m by using <hubs (http://superuser.com/questions/64744/maximum-length-of-a-usb-cable)>. Here are some recommendations fro the different versions of USB from <a company (http://www.yourcablestore.com/USB-Cable-Length-Limitations-And-How-To-Break-Them_ep_42-1.html)> happy to sell you the cables. ;)
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Hi Reinhard,
I have used homebrew to install gphoto2. Would be happy to follow your next instructions.
Regarding USB extensions, I am using a 5m repeater cable with another 5 m normal cable and the Logitech pro 9000 works ok. Think I will order another 10m repeater cable from China and hope that it also works. Costs only about 7. I see a used powershot A40 on ebay for about 10. They have 2mp, which should be all one needs for a good webcam. I have one A40 now.
Attached is my present webcam photo. It would look better if I could just get the mountains (from base at 1000m to 2000m) and sky. I think I saw zooming script for the A40.
Irving
==> Summary
🍺 /usr/local/Cellar/readline/6.3.8: 46 files, 2M
==> Installing gphoto2
==> Downloading https://homebrew.bintray.com/bottles/gphoto2-2.5.10.mavericks.bo
######################################################################## 100.0%
==> Pouring gphoto2-2.5.10.mavericks.bottle.tar.gz
🍺 /usr/local/Cellar/gphoto2/2.5.10: 11 files, 177.4K
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$
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Irving, happy to hear your installation of gphoto was successful. Now try the commands I posted earlier (13. June 18:46). To see what is possible with gphoto, go to the reference page of it: http://www.gphoto.org/doc/
Good luck!
:)
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Reinhard,
Quite successful. Took 2 photos. Where should the camera folder be? Photos ended up in iphoto library. Maybe did not wait the 20 sec. There was an error that showed up so I repeated with a new terminal.
Have to play with it a bit now after taking garbage away. ha ha
I would think others would like to try. Powershot A40 cameras are very cheap.
Very encouraging. Thanks. Irving
Last login: Wed Jun 15 13:42:37 on ttys001
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ killall PTPCamera
No matching processes belonging to you were found
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ gphoto2 --list-ports
Devices found: 6
Path Description
--------------------------------------------------------------
ptpip: PTP/IP Connection
serial: Serial Port Device
usb:006,005 Universal Serial Bus
usb:036,006 Universal Serial Bus
usb:006,003 Universal Serial Bus
usb:036,003 Universal Serial Bus
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ gphoto2 --summary
*** Error ***
An error occurred in the io-library ('Could not claim the USB device'): Could not claim interface 0 (No such file or directory). Make sure no other program (MacOS PTPCamera service) or kernel module (such as sdc2xx, stv680, spca50x) is using the device and you have read/write access to the device.
*** Error (-53: 'Could not claim the USB device') ***
For debugging messages, please use the --debug option.
Debugging messages may help finding a solution to your problem.
If you intend to send any error or debug messages to the gphoto
developer mailing list <gphoto-devel@lists.sourceforge.net>, please run
gphoto2 as follows:
env LANG=C gphoto2 --debug --debug-logfile=my-logfile.txt --summary
Please make sure there is sufficient quoting around the arguments.
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ gphoto2 --summary
Detected a 'Canon:PowerShot A40'.
Camera summary:
Camera identification:
Model: Canon:PowerShot A40
Owner:
Power status: on battery (power OK)
Flash disk information:
Drive D:
125'034 bytes total
115'844 bytes available
Time: 2016-06-15 13:47:48 (host time +0 seconds)
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ gphoto2 --capture-image
*** Error ***
An error occurred in the io-library ('Could not claim the USB device'): Could not claim interface 0 (No such file or directory). Make sure no other program (MacOS PTPCamera service) or kernel module (such as sdc2xx, stv680, spca50x) is using the device and you have read/write access to the device.
ERROR: Could not capture image.
ERROR: Could not capture.
*** Error (-53: 'Could not claim the USB device') ***
For debugging messages, please use the --debug option.
Debugging messages may help finding a solution to your problem.
If you intend to send any error or debug messages to the gphoto
developer mailing list <gphoto-devel@lists.sourceforge.net>, please run
gphoto2 as follows:
env LANG=C gphoto2 --debug --debug-logfile=my-logfile.txt --capture-image
Please make sure there is sufficient quoting around the arguments.
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ gphoto2 --capture-image-and-download
Detected a 'Canon:PowerShot A40'.
New file is in location /DCIM/100CANON/IMG_0025.JPG on the camera
File IMG_0025.JPG exists. Overwrite? [y|n] y
Saving file as IMG_0025.JPG
Deleting file /DCIM/100CANON/IMG_0025.JPG on the camera
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$
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Reinhard,
I realize that my camera powershot A40 is not listed with known control features by gphoto2 . This may explain error messages and the frequent moving of lens in and out. I have found a A510 for little money and may buy it. It has 3.2 mp. Can one see the difference between camera quality and mp size on the computer screen? I also have a son who is not bad at computing, so I may enlist him in this project. More and more rain here at 900m, N side of Alps.
Irving
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Hi Reinhard,
Want to give you an update.
I made good progress with gphoto2 but I see limitations with my hardware.
I am not able to get the signal over 10m usb cable like I can with my Logitech webcam (2 mp). I will get another 10m active usb cable from China, about $7, and try it out.
My A40 (2mp) camera seems ok, except with each command the lens goes in and out about 10 times. Don't know how to prevent this. But I have bought a used A510, 3.2mp, camera for 8? and will see how that is.
My main goal is to be able to zoom on my mountains and I will try to rig a lens system with my Logitech 9000, which has been working faithfully for a few years. It has 2mp with a good lens and I am very satisfied with the picture. I think I will buy a used one for 20? from ebay to experiment with.
So my direction seems now to be trying to get a zoom lens system on the Logitech. I will also continue to fool around with the gphoto2 programming and see if I can zoom the camera.
My cable problems could be solved with a dedicated Macmini like you have.
Again now some thunder over the mountains, at least no rain today and warm weather expected by Wed. The Rhine is very high and the Bodensee is over its banks. The south side of the Alps (Lugano) got about 18cm of rain overnight. Locally here on the north side no problem.
Hope all is well, Irving
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If I remember correctly, 10m is the limit for USB (not sure is any version has different maximums). But many suggest that distance can be dramatically improved by using powered hubs. I would suggest using shorter cables and two powered hubs. The main problem (unlike PoE) is the extremely low DC voltages with USB. Thus the requirement of powered hubs. These will act as power-boosting relay stations.
Different devices can operate on higher or lower voltages. Some can get along with simply detecting voltage or none. I suspect your camera will need much more than that simple 'signal'. Powered hubs will create another problem, of course; access to an 'mains' outlet.
So, shorter cables will mean less voltage drop with the powered hubs acting as signal boosters so that the voltage reaching the camera will be as high as possible. (http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/u666/xAirbusDriver/thumbup_zpsfgqhxlem.gif)
As for the cycling of the lens, it sounds similar to what many cameras do when shut down and/or started up. I might be helpful to know if there is a setting to control any automatic 'sleep' mode for the camera. It could also be an automatic focusing behavior that might be set to manual. :)
Thanks for your perseverance and please keep us up-to-date on your progress! [cheers1]
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Hello Irving,
glad you got it running! To see what gphoto2 is able to do with your camera type into terminal the following command:
gphoto2 --list-config
The output should list all possible variables that you can use to control your cam. For example with a G5 or G10 I can set the zoom-level between 0 and 5, if I recall correct. It is set to level x with a command like this:
gphoto2 --set-config-value /main/capturesettings/zoom=x
But, as said previous, look at this document (http://www.gphoto.org/doc/remote/) to see what cam is supported and what features are supported. This document gives an overview (http://www.gphoto.org/doc/manual/ref-gphoto2-cli.html#cli-examples) on how gphoto works and what all is possible.
Looking forward to see a website of your live cam and your weather station! :)
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Hi Reinhard,
Thanks for the tip on the zoom. I made the list-config a few days ago and got this.
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ gphoto2 --list-config
Detected a 'Canon:PowerShot A40'.
/main/settings/ownername
/main/settings/capturesizeclass
/main/settings/iso
/main/settings/shootingmode
/main/settings/shutterspeed
/main/settings/zoom
/main/settings/aperture
/main/settings/exposurecompensation
/main/settings/imageformat
/main/settings/focusmode
/main/settings/flashmode
/main/settings/beep
/main/actions/syncdatetime
/main/status/model
/main/status/datetime
/main/status/firmwareversion
/main/status/driver
/main/Driver/list_all_files
Then I tried to set the zoom with
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ gphoto2 --set-config zoom=2 --capture-image-and-download
Got this error comment
*** Error ***
The passed value 2.000000 is not within the expected range 0.000000 - 0.000000.
New file is in location /DCIM/100CANON/IMG_0028.JPG on the camera
File IMG_0028.JPG exists. Overwrite? [y|n]
So maybe my zoom is not controllable on the A40. I will get a A510 next week and try. Interestingly I was not able to repeat the gphoto2 --list-config. Maybe I need the killall PTPCamera command more often.
I found 2 interesting blogs on gphoto2.
http://www.moreno.marzolla.name/software/linux-time-lapse/
http://blog.dcclark.net/2009/05/how-to-gphoto-primer.html
I emailed with Moreno Marzolla a few times. He is a prof. of computer science in Italy.
I want to experiment with using a small 2.5x telescope in front of my logitech 9000. This has been a fantastic webcam for me, running day and night for more than 6 years. I am bidding on another at Ebay for about 20?.
Irving
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Irving,
there is an error in your command:
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ gphoto2 --set-config zoom=2 --capture-image-and-download
Try this instead:
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ gphoto2 --set-config-value /main/settings/zoom=2 --capture-image-and-download
Cheers,
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Reinhard,
Something irregular happens with my camera. Your suggestion I used and first it gave a simple error. Using it a second time gave a downloaded photo and the zoom between 0 and 0 message. Also the gphoto2 --list-config now only gives an error, whereas before it listed the variables. I will wait until I get the A510 before doing any more gphoto2ing.
Thanks, Irving
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Hi Reinhard,
Would like to report major success in my effort to copy your webcam technology. [bounce]
I bought a PowerShot A510 3.2 mp for 8? from Ebay Kleinanzeigen. Tested it with your scripts. The list-config gives
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ gphoto2 --list-config
/main/actions/focuslock
/main/actions/opcode
/main/settings/datetime
/main/settings/ownername
etc
Using the command
gphoto2 --set-config zoom=3 --capture-image-and-download
I was able to change manually zoom= 0 through 8 and save the photos.
I tested the camera with the long cable to my Logitech but it did not work. It is 10m but only 5m is powered. I am getting a 10m shielded powered usb cable from China soon.
Next to do is to test some more complex scripts, like the one you sent.
Also I will want to think of some external power, 3.15V, to the camera.
Hopefully all will work out.
Irving
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Nice to hear!
[tup]
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Hi Reinhard,
My new old Canon A510 gives a 3.2mp image and good gphoto2 control.
With the below command which includes time interval (I), zoom setting and also the filename overwritten each time, I am able to do most of what I want.
gphoto2 --set-config zoom=5 -I 20 --capture-image-and-download --force-overwrite --filename webcamtest3.jpg
For some reason it will continue indefinitely, which is good, and thus provide a photo for frequent uploading to WC. I would think setting for every 10 min, or 600s, would be enough. I need to get a long USB cable and AC power. Do you use a normal power attachment for your cameras?
Hope all is well, Irving
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Hi Reinhard,
Some more on gphoto2. I think it would be easy for anyone to follow a recipe for using a better camera and zoomable camera instead of a webcam video. Here is part of a recipe I would recommend for the Powershot 510, which can be bought used for $20. Attached are three photos taken with this camera at 3 zoom positions, which show the advantage of zooming in a weather webcam.
Remaining for me to check out is the use of a powered 10m USB cable and a power source for the camera.
Irving
In this test I turned on the camera with auto and playback positions.
I found it is necessary to let the camera take a photo before it will recognise the zoom. So I use the killall PTPCamera command twice and then the
full command: gphoto2 --set-config zoom=5 -I 300 --capture-image-and-download --force-overwrite --filename webcamtest4.jpg
I let it take 2 photos without zooming then stop it by closing the terminal window. The camera remains on with the lens out. I then choose a new terminal window and inserted the full command again. The camera will then adjust the zoom, here to 5, and take photos every 300 seconds in this example. Each photo is overwritten and saved as webcamtest4.jpg in the home directory. During this time the camera window remains dark and the lens remains in the zoomed position.
Here is the terminal window log of the operation for the first 4 photos with zoom=5, Interval=300, overwriting the file and saving as webcamtest4.jpg
Irving-Dunns-iMac:~ irvingdunn$ gphoto2 --set-config zoom=5 -I 300 --capture-image-and-download --force-overwrite --filename webcamtest4.jpg
Time-lapse mode enabled (interval: 300s).
Capturing frame #1...
New file is in location /store_00010001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_0018.JPG on the camera
Saving file as webcamtest4.jpg
Deleting file /store_00010001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_0018.JPG on the camera
Waiting for next capture slot 294 seconds...
Capturing frame #2...
New file is in location /store_00010001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_0018.JPG on the camera
Saving file as webcamtest4.jpg
Deleting file /store_00010001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_0018.JPG on the camera
Waiting for next capture slot 295 seconds...
Capturing frame #3...
New file is in location /store_00010001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_0018.JPG on the camera
Saving file as webcamtest4.jpg
Deleting file /store_00010001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_0018.JPG on the camera
Waiting for next capture slot 295 seconds...
Capturing frame #4...
New file is in location /store_00010001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_0018.JPG on the camera
Saving file as webcamtest4.jpg
Deleting file /store_00010001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_0018.JPG on the camera
Waiting for next capture slot 294 seconds...
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Hello Irving,
VERY cool pictures!!! Glad you got it. [bounce]
I think it would be easy for anyone to follow a recipe for using a better camera and zoomable camera instead of a webcam video.
YESSS - signed.
:)
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Dear Irving, Reinhard, and WeatherCat scenery lovers,
I think it would be easy for anyone to follow a recipe for using a better camera and zoomable camera instead of a webcam video.
Honestly, I've never had much interest in upgrading my webcam because . . . there really isn't anything very beautiful to point it at. However, in your case - I understand! [bounce]
Thanks for sharing the beautiful images!
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
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But, Edouard you could possibly discover the mystery about where those Salamanders are coming from? Salamandridae trackers want to know!
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Hi Reinhard,
I have mounted my Powershot 510 camera in a little plastic kitchen box with a plexiglass window, as I did my Logitech. Now with the help of gphoto2 it is merrily taking 3x zoom photos every 600s and storing on my iMac with the same name. I am sending them to WC and on to WG and Wcloud. The originals are very sharp but WC is doing something to them that makes them fuzzy. I wonder if I need to format them somehow. Have you had this problem?
Looks like a bit of dry weather coming.
Irving
http://www.magpie-hill.com/
https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=ICANTONO2
https://app.weathercloud.net/d0841365846#profile
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What format (jpeg/jpg/tiff/tif/etc.), pixel and dimensions does the camera/gphoto2 produce? All those images appear to be quite small. I'm capturing jpg images 1,280 x 720 pixels. It's also important to have all the apps that are editing the images to be using the same height to width ratio. In my example;1,280 x 720 could be changed to 620 x 360 or 320 x 180. But you can usually get by with odd number divisors; 853 x 480, for example. You can always reduce the size of an image but rarely increase it without creating problems (jaggies).
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My images now are 2048x1536 JPEG, 914KB. WC reduces them to 150KB because this is the max for WU. I guess there is also a size limit. The attached image is 145KB and 10x7.5cm. It still looks ok. This was reduced with Preview. But I am not sure I am able to do this reduction automatically. I have to see what the camera can do.
Irving
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Greetings Reinhold and All,
As I wrote earlier I got my Powershot A510, 3.2MP, connected with gphoto2. The command I use is simply
gphoto2 --set-config zoom=3 -I 600 --capture-image-and-download --force-overwrite --filename pwrwebcam4.jpg
This sets the zoom to 3, takes a shot every 600sec and replaces and stores it with the filename pwrwebcam4.jpg. This allows me to set this on WC, which sends it to my Simple Web at www.magpie-hill.com.
I noticed I was getting fuzzy results with some image tests with WC. After many emails with Stu he figured out that this was because I was doing these tests with Preview, which was set to 180 dpi. WC expects 72 dpi (normal screen resolution) and this was causing an incompatibility. So he and I found that sending the original camera image is best. My camera images are now set at about 400KB and WC squeezes them down to about 80KB.
My long USB cable problem is solved with one of 10m from China. I need now to get a power source for my camera, as batteries do not last long. I have ordered one but wonder if it will stand up to 24h running. Reinhold, what are you using for your cameras? If anyone is interested I think that I and Reinhold can give you guidance as how to setup a cheap used camera for this webcam purpose.
Irving
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The photo resolution and size are great, Irving. This is an interesting thread. Thanks to Reinhard and you for sharing.
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Irving,
glad you done it with your Canon A510.
Some regards to the size of the webcam photo:
I do not use WeatherCat for uploading the pictures of my webcam - they upload themselves to my webspace (all done via terminal script) and once they are there, I link them into my website.
By the way, I do not know if WeatherUnderground is picking up this photos. Their service is bad (in my opinion), so I do not care about them.
Cheers,
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Hi All
Inspired by Reinhard I have followed the idea of using a normal camera as a webcam. Reinhard told me how to get started with the software gphoto2 and a supported camera. Since it is basically very easy and not expensive I thought my experiences would be useful to someone who has a particularly good view for his webcam. So here is sort of a step by step procedure.
1. Camera, Canon Powershot A510 or other compatible camera. See a list here. http://www.gphoto.org/proj/libgphoto2/support.php I had trouble with my powershot A30 so I bought a used A510 on Ebay for about $20.
2. USB cable (powered) to reach from computer to location, Maybe about 15 m.
3. Buy 110-240V adapter for Canon camera DC 3.15V supply; mine is called ACK-800. Batteries last only a few hours. I do not yet know how long my adapter, costing about $15, will last.
4. Mount camera in protected box or inside a window. I am using a small plastic refrigerator box with a window cut out and plexiglas glued in. ThisNz is mounted on the house on a covered balcony.
5. Download and install gphoto2: This is done by first installing Homebrew ( http://brew.sh/ ). Then on the Mac Terminal use the command
brew install gphoto2
6. Program the camera with gphoto2 in the Mac Terminal to zoom, take photo at intervals in sec., overwrite and store as a desired file name. My program involves only two commands as follows:
First run this command twice
killall PTPCamera
You should see the response ?No matching processes?were found?. Then copy and paste and run this below command in the Terminal. Make sure you get the entire line copied.
gphoto2 --set-config zoom=3 -I 600 --capture-image-and-download --force-overwrite --filename webcamcanon.jpg
This sets the zoom as desired to 3, the interval between taking shots of 600 sec and stores the image with a desired name, here webcamcanon.jpg. The image taking will continue until stopped by closing the Terminal window. Failure of the power (batteries or adapter) to the camera will cause the program to fail. Experiment with different zoom values(1-9), Interval values (I can be any value in seconds). Complex programs can be written with gphoto2 to control cameras but I found by Internet searching that these two will accomplish what I want to do. If there are problems the Terminal will go wild. If so then close the Terminal window and choose a new window. Start over and run the two commands.
Using the images with Weathercat:
1. Set path on Mac to the image file name with Preferences in WeatherCat on Webcam.
2. Using Simple Web Preferences with WeatherCat, setup a webpage with Text and test locally.
3. I am paying about $5 per month for a provider to host my Simple Webcam website: www.magpie-hill.com
4. Using WeatherCat you can send the image to Wunderground (preferences>online>Wunderground PWS).
5. From WG or your own website the image URL can be given to webcam hosts, such as Lookr. Other weather hosts can be used such as WeatherCloud for your PWS data and webcam image.
Note Evocam software is not needed here since it is useful only with a video webcam. The Canon camera here is taking only still images.
The system had been running for about 15h and taken 6 photos per hour, but about at about noon today it quit working. So I turned the camera off and on and started a new Terminal window. It runs fine now at 3 pm. Hard to say how stable the whole thing is. Attached is my webcam.
Thanks for reading, Irving
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Irving:
Thank you so much for taking the time to document this for us. With a view like you have, it is no wonder you want a high quality webcam. Keep us informed as you have some extended runtime with this setup.
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[tup]
Very cool description - and a great view. :)
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Dear Irving, Blick, Reinhard, and WeatherCat beautiful scenery fans,
Inspired by Reinhard I have followed the idea of using a normal camera as a webcam.
Thanks for the explanation but you forgot the most important part of how you did it!
[wink] . . . . You need to explain to me how to turn the dried grass and beaten up pine trees in front of our house into some beautiful scenery like you have on your webcam! . . . . [lol2]
Seriously, thanks for taking the time to provide the clear explanation. Perhaps I'll pursue this someday, but alas, I just don't have much of an incentive!
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
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Hi Reinhard,
Do your cameras ever get frozen up, say every few days? My Canon A510 seems not so accept instructions until I turn it on and off and then redo the one-line program with the Terminal. Maybe memory gets full after a few days. I am shooting, deleting and saving every 10 min. Other than that all is working fine. Nice weather here now north of the Alps. See attached. Thanks again for your help in getting me started with gphoto2.
Regards, Irving
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I think you are on target with the "Memory" idea.
I am shooting, deleting and saving every 10 min.
Are you sure you are deleting from the camera's memory? If so, I'm not sure how the memory could be filling.
Does the camera have a separate memory card? Is it new? If it is removable, do you have a card reader to see what it shows of an "erased/deleted" card? This kind of memory does not last forever. There are varying numbers of recording/erasing actions for each cell. That's the reason SSDs usually have 'leveling' functions to try to use all cells rather than always starting at fixed addresses.
BTW, the images you have shown show their size as "594.11 KB". However, mathematically, they are 3,145,728 bytes. Perhaps that's the final size of the JPEG manipulations? However, if the actual image, in the camera, is that large, you may be filling the memory much faster than you think. OTOH, math beyond adding and subtracting was not my outstanding skill! [blush] [rolleyes2] [banghead] [lol]
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Thanks Xair,
Maybe, as you suggest, I am not deleting from the camera memory. Guess I don't know how to program that anyway. Works ok for a few days and the on-off with camera and reprogramming with the Terminal is just a few minute's work. Guess I will leave it as is.
Regards, Irving
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Hello Irving,
I have had this problem with my G10 sometimes, but *only* every since and then (sometimes within days, sometimes within weeks). I do not think it has to do with the cam memory but I am not sure. All I can say is that this never happened with my old G5 and also never with the EOS1100d.
By the way, this command will remove all jpg's in your cam memory (if there are some):
rm *.jpgLet it run immediately before
capture-image-and-download
Cheers,
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Reinhard,
Thanks for the camera tips. I am almost afraid to push my luck. Amazing that I got it running at all. Actually for me resetting is no problem.
Is there a directory here on WC for the webcams?
How do you get your banner under your signature (name)?
Thanks and regards, Irving
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Irving,
I let WeatherCat create the banner and upload it via Custom Web to my webspace. Once it is present there I can link it to everywhere I want, for example to this forum as signature underneath my name. I do not know how to handle this with Simple Web, sorry. If you use the Banner Generator, where do you find your Banner on your Mac? If the file is being generated and stored somewhere on your Mac you have to upload it onto your webspace somehow. This automated upload is done by Custom Web here on my side.
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Hi Reinhard,
My Canon webcam still shuts down every few days. I think I have discovered that I do not need to turn the camera on and off. It seems enough to unplug the USB feed at the computer and then to reenter the Terminal lines. I am very happy with the photo, zoomed with a 2 factor.
Irving
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Hi All,
As I reported a year ago, Reinhard (see "Homemade webcam" from wurzelmac) instructed me how to use a normal camera as webcam, employing the software gphoto2. This gives a much clearer and nicer photo than you could get with most webcam cameras. Based on my one year experience, I would like to update my procedure as follows:
1. Camera, Canon Powershot A510 or other compatible camera. See a list here. http://www.gphoto.org/proj/libgphoto2/support.php (http://www.gphoto.org/proj/libgphoto2/support.php) I bought a used A510 on Ebay for about $20.
2. USB cable (powered) to reach from computer to camera location. Mine is 10 m, two cables coupled together, reaching from camera to computer. This might be about the maximum possible length.
3. The ACK-800, 3.15V DC power supply for the Canon camera, which cost about $15 from China, has never failed over 1 year continuous duty.
4. For the camera mount. I am using a small plastic refrigerator box with a window cut out and plexiglas hot-glued in. This is located outside the house on a covered balcony.
5. Following Reinhard's instructions for gphoto2, I first installed Homebrew ( http://brew.sh/ ). Then on the Mac Terminal used the command
brew install gphoto2
6. My gphoto2 programming ability is very limited, but I managed with some guidance from the Internet to write gphoto2 instructions, which are entered in the Mac Terminal. Thus the camera will zoom, take photos at desired intervals in sec., overwrite and store as a desired file name. These instructions involve only two command lines as follows:
With the camera turned on, first run this command twice
killall PTPCamera
After the second time you should get the response ?No matching processes were found?.
Then copy and paste and run in the Terminal this command line shown below. Make sure you get the entire line copied.
gphoto2 --set-config zoom=3 -I 60 --capture-image-and-download --force-overwrite --filename webcamcanon.jpg
This sets the zoom as desired to 3, the interval between taking shots of 60 sec and stores the image with a desired filename, here webcamcanon.jpg. The last image is deleted by the "force-overwrite" The image-taking will continue until stopped by closing the Terminal window.
At first, often the zoom will not be found, causing a non-zoomed photo to be taken. If I want to zoom, I need to close the Terminal window, open a new one and enter the command line again.
Here is the gphoto2 reply I get in the Terminal window after each photo:
Waiting for next capture slot 55 seconds...
Capturing frame #276...
New file is in location /store_00010001/DCIM/900CANON/IMG_0029.JPG on the camera
Saving file as webcamcanon.jpg
Deleting file /store_00010001/DCIM/900CANON/IMG_0029.JPG on the camera
Waiting for next capture slot 55 seconds...
Capturing frame #277...
You can experiment with different zoom values(1 to 9). The interval values I can be any value in seconds. Complex programs can be written with gphoto2 to control the camera but these above commands accomplish what I want to do. Additional ideas can be obtained from the references below. I am attaching 2 photos, unzoomed and zoom=2
If the photo file is selected, the resulting photos appear in Preview, and the new one is seen by clicking on the last one.
Failure and restarting procedure:
On my system with the long 10m USB cord or 2 shorter cords put together, failure may occur every day or so. This is indicated by the message PTP I/O Error , and the picture-taking and downloading then fails. If this happens I then close the Terminal window or force-quit Terminal. Then I disconnect the camera USB at the computer for a few seconds, restart Terminal and choose a new window. Start over by running the two commands. This procedure will take less than a minute.
It can happen that the camera might turn itself off. This occurred recently when I shut down my computer because of an approaching thunderstorm.
When restarting, I noticed that when I entered the first "killall PTPCamera" that I got the reply ?No matching processes were found?. Normally this comes only after the second "killall PTPCamera" command. I simply went outside and pressed the camera's on-off button. Then I started the procedure with the terminal window again and all was well. Recently I had to turn the camera on a second time and repeat the procedure. After every restart remember to go to Weathercat and reset the Webcam Local File, as explained below.
Images can be saved individually and as 1-hour videos with Weathercat as follows:
Set path to the image file name with Preferences>Webcam. On my iMac these are located at Users>Irvingdunn>Library>Application Support>WeatherCatMedia>Movies and Pictures. If you have a disruption in the image-taking, after restarting make sure that you check to see that Weathercat is saving the images. This is done by clicking on Show Video Preview on the Webcam page. If the current image is not shown then you have to reset the Set Path.
I sometimes use iMovie to make longer videos from the individual jpg photos saved by WC. WC saves one hour .mov videos which can be imported directly into iMovie. The normal speed can be decreased or increased by a factor of 8. The .mov files can also be imported into QuickTime Player by simply dragging them in one by one to create a large .mov video for the day. This can be uploaded to YouTube. You can see a recent unzoomed result here.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRgRhpaY0sE&feature=youtu.be
As always when taking WC-saved images, there is a reduced resolution caused by the WC compression.
Using your webcam image online:
Setup a Simple Web weather webpage in the Preferences of WeatherCat.
I am paying about $5 per month to a provider for hosting my Simple Webcam website: www.magpie-hill.com
WeatherCat can send your image to Wunderground (preferences>online>Wunderground PWS) and to other weather sites (>additional services).
From Wunderground or your own website the image URL can be given to webcam hosts, such as Lookr.
I hope some of this is useful.
Irving
Some useful links on using gphoto2
https://www.linux.com/news/controlling-your-camera-your-computer-gphoto
http://www.moreno.marzolla.name/software/linux-time-lapse/
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Digital_Cameras
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Irving:
Thank you very much for taking the time to document your procedures. The photos are stunning, not only because of where you live, but the improved quality of photo using a better camera is quite remarkable. Well done, mate.
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Thanks Irving for taking the time to document your setup! [tup]
I wish I had the time to take on something like this!
Cheers, Edouard
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Hello Irving,
very nice work, thanks for sharing! [tup]
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Just want to share:
Replaced my two "old" Canon EOS 1100d with a Canon 1300d in a very new housing: Possible is 360? horizontally view and 180? vertically view. Really cool device. (Not for sale - unique...)
(https://wetter.unterwurzacher.at/bilder/webcam/IMG_1891.JPG)
(https://wetter.unterwurzacher.at/bilder/webcam/IMG_1892.JPG)
(https://wetter.unterwurzacher.at/bilder/webcam/IMG_1901.JPG)
(https://wetter.unterwurzacher.at/bilder/webcam/IMG_1939.JPG)
The movie in an extra tab: https://wetter.unterwurzacher.at/bilder/webcam/webcam_new.mp4
Enjoy.
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Dear Reinhard and WeatherCat cinematographers,
Replaced my two "old" Canon EOS 1100d with a Canon 1300d in a very new housing: Possible is 360? horizontally view and 180? vertically view. Really cool device. (Not for sale - unique...)
Okay, it looks really cool 8) but how did you do that? ???
I see a circuit board, but what is on that circuit board? You don't show us how the motors are installed. Please do provide us with some more juicy details! [bounce]
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
P.S. I might have been inpatient, but I couldn't get the video to work on my browser. It worked great after downloading it and viewing it with QuickTime player.
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?.mov? is the abandoned Apple video format. Safari (nor most other major browsers or apps) no longer supports it. WC doesn?t use it anymore either, thankfully! ThU5:-)
As for how/what this homemade camera mount does, I?ll have to view the images full screen on my 27? iMac before I can make any sense of the huge images. [rolleyes2] The actual camera looks suspiciously professional. [lol]
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?.mov? is the abandoned Apple video format. Safari (nor most other major browsers or apps) no longer supports it.
xair, you are right. I converted it into mp4. Why the hell is Apple using mov for capturing videos on iPhone?
Please do provide us with some more juicy details!
I will see what I can do the next few days... ;)
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Hi Reinhard
Very clever to organize your camera installation as a school project. Ha ha
My gphoto connection stops every now and then. It usually will not run more than half a day. Easy to start it up again though.
Regards, Irving
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Thanks for sharing, Reinhard and Son Engineering, Inc! cmu:-)
Amazing work for a unique and very capable setup! I can only assume that this is a family of engineers! ;D Obviously the camera is higher resolution than any "web cam" we might purchase, but the working model looks very weather-proof. I assume the neighbors are not too uncomfortable? [lol]
Would be interesting to see the control system. Is it software-based or do you have electro-mechanical controls in the house? Does it have some automatic features like 'time-lapse' panorama or a system to avoid directly pointing at the Sun?
Why the hell is Apple using mov for capturing videos on iPhone?
I suppose because they have quite a bit of experience with it? And it kind of keeps it "in the family". But, as you've seen, it's not very user-friendly for sharing with non-Apple devices.
Technically, I think ".mov" is simply a "container" for the ".mp4" video format. As you've found, it is usually possible to simply change those three characters and view the video in more generic viewers. As with many Apple methods (remember file Type and Creator codes, ADB connections and even Thunderbolt and Lightning), the "major players" adopted other I/O schemes (serial and USB). There may be things ".mov" can store/record that other video containers cannot, but it's codec is probably proprietary so only Apple can use it for free.
BTW, I did not need to do anything other than double-click the link for the video. [tup]
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Another excellent one-of-a-kind product! Thanks for sharing this very cool improvement on what was already an excellent weather camera.
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Xair: Thanks for your kind words and for saving ourselves the trouble of finding a name for our company. [cheers1]
The system is controlled by a Raspbian Pi that is controlled via ethernet and terminal commands. A far, far, far future option is a web interface to access the webcam-system via webbrowser. ::)
Blick: Thanks for your kind words, much appreciated! [tup]
Edouard: The motor for vertical movement is built into the housing (fourth picture very left aside the cam you can see the timing belt), horizontal movement is realized outside the housing - first picture the thing behind the housing. :)
idunn: As we do have a 'little' experience with 'homemade' webcam we thought it is a good idea to do the final engineer examination by choosing a project something like this. ;D
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Ok, now that I've watched the video, I have some questions.
- What is your neighbour digging up across the street and where is he taking the soil?
- What is that structure that appears in the upper left corner when you zoom out around 1:10? It looks like a dam but it has too many openings in it.
- I know the camera housing is waterproof but how are you keeping it heated during the winter?
- Were you just standing on a ladder when you took the iPhone video? It looks like you are way high in the air. Was it safe?
Your new camera kit is amazing!
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It looks like a dam but it has too many openings in it.
It does have water coming out of it. If you look just to the right of the parked vehicles, I think you can see some of the water flow. It reminds me of a scaled down version of the lakes, canals, pipes, tunnels, and pumps in southern California to get water from the Colorado River (http://www.capradio.org/articles/2013/10/07/californias-water-supply-a-700-mile-journey/), across the desert and to the thirsty souls in LA! It could just be excess/overflow water from a lake on the other side of those hills.
On second review, the "water flow" may be nothing more than 'flickering pixels' on what is probably a fence on the far side of the road... However, there may still be water in an underground system that supplies the community. Perhaps that digging is part of the water infrastructure? 8)
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Dear Reinhard, X-Air, Irving, Blick, and WeatherCat webcam designers,
The system is controlled by a Raspbian Pi that is controlled via ethernet and terminal commands.
Okay, that's what I was curious about. There are a number of computer boards available nowadays. They are also used to control accessories on model railroads (believe it or not.)
Edouard: The motor for vertical movement is built into the housing (fourth picture very left aside the cam you can see the timing belt), horizontal movement is realized outside the housing - first picture the thing behind the housing. :)
Thanks for the pointers. Now I see them. So you bought a housing that was already equipped with motors for this sort of motion? If so where did you find this housing?
Thanks again for sharing! [tup]
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
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Blick:
1. I really don't know, but i think they are digging for gold. 8)
2. The structure is a security structure, in german called "Muren- und Lawinenbrecher" - translated to english something like mudflow and avalanche crusher? It should stop a possible avalanche or a mudflow before it hits the town. I have done a short drone video (https://www.unterwurzacher.at/galerie/Galerie_2019/11_Brecher/) about this building.
3. It is not heated at the moment. We will see how it works in the coming winter and then act... [cold]
4. I took the video with my drone - and yes, it was a little bit windy. ;)
Xair:
See the answer #2 above. (I really do not think that the digging has to do with it, see answer #1 [biggrin] )
Edouard:
The housing is only a commercially available junction box, waterproof and metal. All other things inside the housing were bought separately - or honestly the other way round: First we looked after the insides and then we bought the housing that was big / small enough to keep them inside. Many other things outside the housing are custom-built from a good friend that has an own turn-mill center.
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Muren- und Lawinenbrecher, built in 2014? Looks like it should do the job! Hope you never have to find out! At least your video confirms there is a a stream, probably much of the year.
I am amazed at how stable your drone is. Not in the structure video but in your newer camera shots. Even when close to the roof and the camera mount, it looked like it was more steady than hand-held!!
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Dear Reinhard, X-Air, and WeatherCat faithful,
. . . .
The housing is only a commercially available junction box, waterproof and metal. All other things inside the housing were bought separately - or honestly the other way round: First we looked after the insides and then we bought the housing that was big / small enough to keep them inside. Many other things outside the housing are custom-built from a good friend that has an own turn-mill center.
WOW! So there is a lot more to the construction of this camera housing that you have shown us thus far. If you are up to it, I would certainly like to know more like where you got the motors and how they got installed into the housing. It is just my curiosity though, so don't bother if it is a lot of trouble.
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
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I have done a short drone video (https://www.unterwurzacher.at/galerie/Galerie_2019/11_Brecher/) about this building.
Nice video, and an added bonus was some perspective on your town. Thank you.