16 MP?

[rob]

So the plywood that I use in the US is actually 18mm (because it comes from outside the US!). 18mm is a perfect size to use with the CAD files.

As for metric versions of the parts, I have a list here for metric equivalents to the Imperial parts.

[bonesgeorge]

Oh, well! Thank you for the clarification, and all the links, they're really useful! Though, while the original plywood in the plans turns out to be 18, our own, already bought one turns out to be 19! :'D So ridicilious... Anyway, we got a firm hold on the problem, so no worries...

So the plywood that I use in the US is actually 18mm (because it comes from outside the US!). 18mm is a perfect size to use with the CAD files.

As for metric versions of the parts, I have a list here for metric equivalents to the Imperial parts.

[Heelgrasper]

Not long ago I bought a Canon PowerShot A810 and having used a little for book scanning I figured I might as well give a little feedback.

Back in the days when this topic was created Daniel defined some needs for a camera. I'll quote them with the comments for the A810 in bold.

Must haves.
1. Good-enough optics/sensor. (this is a moving target but it leaves out webcams/etc) Decent. Optics seem to me like Canon standard in this pricerange (5x zoom). As always the sensor noise increases when the ISO is set higher
2. A 1/4 20 tripod mount hole. Yes
3. Manual settings. Some: P-setting where EV, ISO and White Balance can be manually set. Exposure and focus lock is also available

Nice to haves:
4. Remote triggering with no hacks. No
5. DC power input. (Marcos outlined some hacks for this) Yes but pricy. Cheap hardware hack (not on the camera) should be possible
6. PTP support. (is occasionally implemented in CHDK) No
7. Cheap. Yes. Seems US prices are just under $110

So far it's working as expected for me but of course you sholdn't expect wonders in this price range. I'm including a sample shot of a book page. It's scaled down so I have included a part from the original image to show details. It was shot with ISO 200, f/5, 1/50 s, EV +1 and a focal length of 15 mm (3x zoom). The light is uneven because of my setup so that can't be blamed on the camera.

[spomwii]

Hi Heelgrasper,

Thank you for your feedback on the A810. I am looking for a new camera for my scanner and I know very little about photographing in general. I am looking for a lowcost camera to use with the hackerspace scanner. I dont have that scanner now but I am thinking about buing it when Rob is ready to sell again.
I have a scanner today but it is a much simpler scanner that I use for comic book scanning http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1313343/1309887790427.jpg
If I can get the scanner from Rob I will use it for both book and comic book scanning. I guess you dont have any experience with comic book scanning but I wonder if you think the A810 could be used? I want to use the mechanical trigger so I also wonder if the camera is fast enough? How quick can you push the button again after taking a picture?

Tommy

[Heelgrasper]

I guess you dont have any experience with comic book scanning but I wonder if you think the A810 could be used?

I see no reason it couldn't be used but there might be other just as good options. I bought the A810 because I was going to scan some large books (40x30 cm, 16x12 inches) so I need as many MP as I could get. For comic books I should think that 12 MP is enough, maybe even just 10 MP.

For the fun of it I took a single shot test shot from a comic. The settings were ISO 200, f/5, 1/30 s, EV +1 and focal lenght 16 mm. The light was part daylight so the light is not quite as uneven here. As before, first a down scaled version, then a part of the original photo.

IMG_0676-downscaled.jpg (183.14 KiB) Viewed 1324 times

I want to use the mechanical trigger so I also wonder if the camera is fast enough? How quick can you push the button again after taking a picture?

I made a simple test where I disabled showing the photo after the shot, locked the focus and exposure and then put a stop watch at 20 seconds and fired as many shots as I could. I got 8 shots, equal to 2.5 seconds per shot. Even if it gets a bit slower it should be able to do a shot every 3rd second or 40 pages a minute if you have a scanner with two cameras. I haven't tried the hackerspace scanner but I should think that you normally won't go faster than that.

[spomwii]

Thank you very much! I belive this camera will do it for me. I can get it for a ok price here in Norway so I think I will go for this. Thanks.

[TomHorsley]

any more news on high mp p&s cameras?

The newly announced, but not available till maybe April Polaroid SC1630 (16MP android camera) I posted a note about a few days ago is apparently going to be about $300 from the rumors I've found on the web. I also got an email back from them when I asked saying that they definitely intend to provide android developers full access to control the camera. The only problem with it seems to be that you can't get one yet .

And now virtually all mention of the SC1630 has disappeared from the polaroid.com website. I guess I have to wait for the rumored Samsung android camera now .

[dpc]

This might interest some folks. The Raspberry Pi guys are working on a 14MP camera module for their devices. More here: http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewt ... =43&t=6120

[waldemar]

Heelgrasper and all others with information -

I have the Canon Powershot A810 cameras, trying to use them with Scan Manager and being frustrated in that desire (will also post in the Scan Manager thread). Has anyone worked out a good workflow with this unit? Got mine for $70 each, 2 power supplies for about $15 each, so good in terms of price, but hoping for something more than mechanical triggering.

Thanks!