FS: New 1080P USB microscope for easy SMT soldering

[Shock]

What are the specs of the lens/mount you sell? Do you have a datasheet?
e.g. back/focal length, aperture, angle of view, distortion

[diyinhk]

What are the specs of the lens/mount you sell? Do you have a datasheet?
e.g. back/focal length, aperture, angle of view, distortion

back/focal length, aperture, angle of view is related to the sensor size, sensor light sensitivity, sensor CRA etc.
number is only useful when compare between similar things to a reference.
angle of view is also useless in this thing,
The magnifying ratio is optimized and fixed to suitable for most popular smd size, object size 31x17mm to monitor 1920*1080 pixel. The working distance is also fixed at the great 15cm

You are welcome compare the quality in the capture video sample to distortion from other microscope at similar lighting condition(four 5mm led lighting at 15cm), similar magnifying ratio(31*17mm to 1920*1080pixel) and similar frame rate(30fps)

capture video from 1080p lifecam studio
http://www.diyinhk.com/support/cam1080a.mp4
The first video demonstrate the motion quality of the microscope, it's capture at the great 15cm working distance and with only four 5mm cree led for lighting. Most usb camera only capable of static quality, when the object is moving, serious motion blur will happen and it is not good for real time smt soldering.

http://www.diyinhk.com/support/cam1080b.mp4
The second video demonstrate the depth of field of the microscope, the PCB is 45 degree to the table. The XMOS chip is 10x10mm, using triangle formula the DOF is >10mm which is unbeliveable huge for this kind of device

[quanttrom]

A scope is shipped to eevblog, third party review should be more comprehensive

Thank you! Waiting for an unbiased professional review !

[Shock]

You are welcome compare the quality in the capture video sample to distortion from other microscope at similar lighting condition(four 5mm led lighting at 15cm), similar magnifying ratio(31*17mm to 1920*1080pixel) and similar frame rate(30fps)

No thanks, I was just after the specs of the lens, as this is the piece I'm looking at buying.  Back/focal length, aperture, angle of view, distortion (of the lens).
It mentions you are using a high quality lens, I thought you might have these specs available.

[electronic_eel]

The magnifying ratio is optimized and fixed to suitable for most popular smd size, object size 31x17mm to monitor 1920*1080 pixel. The working distance is also fixed at the great 15cm

Is the working distance and magnifcation ratio fixed by your lens design or is it possible to modify it by screwing the lens in or out?

I'd prefer less magnification and more working distance, e.g. 60mm wide field of view.

Can you do that with your lens mod kit or do you need a different lens for that?

You wrote about a CS mount which would give more lens options. Do you have a link to a store selling such mount adapters? Or do you sell these yourself? I couldn't find that in your shop.

[matkar]

Hi diyinhk!
Very nice solution indeed! I watched your videos and I have some questions for you.
What is the lag time for this camera. I know it's a camera property but I still can't find any reference. I guess it depends on FPS. Having this info would be nice.
How disturbing is lagging when soldering?
Or is this camera good for inspection only?
Is lens made of glass or plastic?
In the beginning of the thread you mention a pretty interesting discount in case of higher number of interested. Can you inform us if this offer still stands and under what conditions? I'd be interested in modification kit if the price was reduced to a certain amount but you have to say what is viable to you.

[diyinhk]

the working distance 15cm and magnifcation ratio 31mm(1920 pixel) x 17mm(1080 pixel) is fixed and optimized for viewing smd size and doing realtime smt soldering.  The finished device is sealed with threadlock glue everywhere for maximum stability and it is impossible to disassemble and modification again. If different working distance and magnifcation ratio is needed, deeper modification with the CS lens mounting is the best way to go. Many famous manufacturer also has cs lens line up http://www.ricoh.com/fa_security/lens/

The magnifying ratio is optimized and fixed to suitable for most popular smd size, object size 31x17mm to monitor 1920*1080 pixel. The working distance is also fixed at the great 15cm

Is the working distance and magnifcation ratio fixed by your lens design or is it possible to modify it by screwing the lens in or out?

I'd prefer less magnification and more working distance, e.g. 60mm wide field of view.

Can you do that with your lens mod kit or do you need a different lens for that?

You wrote about a CS mount which would give more lens options. Do you have a link to a store selling such mount adapters? Or do you sell these yourself? I couldn't find that in your shop.

[diyinhk]

Thank you for your interest!
The lag time is the same as microsoft top of line 1080p lifecam studio if the sensor receive the same amount of light,
The device is designed for real time smt soldering, the lag time is not noticeable with only the built-in four 5mm led lighting at 15cm working distance. Computer with fast cpu(Quad Core+) and fast display card(Nvidia GTX 590+) is needed and Monitor with 2560*1440+ resolution(Dell U2711) is recommended for watching 1080p video using virtualdub in realtime. The video is 1920*1080 pixel, Windows task bar and the Virtualdub application menu requires additional pixel space to display. A fast harddisk is also needed if capturing at 1080p resolution video is needed. The video will have serious lag if the computer is not fast enough to play 1080p video in real time from the usb 2.0 port. It's like playing Blu-ray Disc in the previous generation computer which do play DVD well.
I have also try many cheap usb cam from ebay, low resolution, serious lagging, serious blur in corner, super short 1-3cm working distance, and they are good toy for kids inspection. This device is not designed for the same class.

Hi diyinhk!
Very nice solution indeed! I watched your videos and I have some questions for you.
What is the lag time for this camera. I know it's a camera property but I still can't find any reference. I guess it depends on FPS. Having this info would be nice.
How disturbing is lagging when soldering?
Or is this camera good for inspection only?
Is lens made of glass or plastic?
In the beginning of the thread you mention a pretty interesting discount in case of higher number of interested. Can you inform us if this offer still stands and under what conditions? I'd be interested in modification kit if the price was reduced to a certain amount but you have to say what is viable to you.

[mrflibble]

What are the specs of the lens/mount you sell? Do you have a datasheet?
e.g. back/focal length, aperture, angle of view, distortion

back/focal length, aperture, angle of view is related to the sensor size, sensor light sensitivity, sensor CRA etc.
number is only useful when compare between similar things to a reference.

You are entirely right of course. Luckily the needed parameters are known since it's based on a known microsoft lifecam. So if you can quote the number then we are fully capable of worrying about the sense versus nonsense of such things. So could you please tell us the back/focal length, aperture, angle of view that is related to the known sensor size, known sensor light sensitivity and known sensor CRA? Thanks.

[jusanother]

After first spotting this product on one of Dave's vids I decided to give it a try. First I lurked on eBay to scoop a LifeCam Studio at the right price and then I intended to retro fit the lens myself.

So my LifeCam Studio arrived today and I have to say I am unimpressed with the frame rate and lag. It is running on an Intel 3.3Ghz quad core machine and I will add at no point does it max the CPU out but it will not give me 30fps at 1080p. I can get 20fps max. It will give 30fps @ 720p, however when using Virtualdub you can see the frame rate drop as the amount of movement in the picture increases. Wave your hand and you get 15fps or less, honestly what is the point of a high frame rate if nothing is moving, may as well be a photograph! I really thought the 100 pound Microsoft webcam would be the "solid" part of this product. It could be my machine I guess but it's a fairly clean, up to date, and un-abused install of Win7. Webcam itself has latest firmware.

Only point worth mentioning is DIYINHK suggests (on his website) selecting the MJPEG compression in the cameras "Capture Pin" dialog. I have no such option in the dialog.

So moving on I wondered if DIYINHK would care to tell me what distance apart the mounting holes on his lens are ?

I have the idea to try it on this camera this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141100642453
datasheet here http://www.securitycamera2000.com/download/CMQ2356X_Manual.pdf

Cam.

EDIT. This guy http://web.archive.org/web/20121228183133/http://ghonis2.ho8.com/lifecam/lifecam3.html mentioned earlier in this thread suggested removing the Microsoft LifeCam software would speed things up. While removing it did enable the MJPEG option it didn't speed things up.

Also tried AMCAP instead of VirtualDub, 2fps ish slower if anything.

Also noticed that just simply holding (not moving) your hand in front of the camera very badly effects the frame rate. Still unimpressed.

[sleemanj]

I really thought the 100 pound Microsoft webcam would be the "solid" part of this product.

I don't know what the specs of the lifecam are, but are you getting enough light on the subject?  Try some more lighting on the subject and see if it makes a difference.

[jusanother]

Good thinking, dark image, longer shutter, slower fps. Indeed more light does help but it only serves to limit the reduction in fps due to image darkness. It hasn't elevated my max fps. Worth nothing however that turning "Auto Exposure" off gives an almost steady frame rate and seems to reduce lag (could just be me wrt the lag), but still no 30fps @ 1080p. Certainly getting better however and you may have just saved it from going back on eBay, thanks !

Never the less if the OP is reading I would still like to see some mounting dimensions for the lens.

Cam.

[PlainName]

simply holding (not moving) your hand in front of the camera very badly effects the frame rate

Interesting, and not what I would have expected. If it is compressed data coming up from the sensor (which I think it has to be to get decent speed out of USB2) then smaller movement would affect things less. Thus waggling the whole camera may show a hefty degradation, but just your soldering iron tip and tweezers moving might be OK.

If your static hand is having an effect, then maybe it is causing the picture to change in some way. Perhaps your skin tone is affecting the brightness, or the position is causing the autofocus to wobble and create lots of (very small) image changes.

[jusanother]

Interesting, and not what I would have expected. If it is compressed data coming up from the sensor......

Exactly and that's what confused me, but sleemanj spotted what is happening, the camera is lengthening the shutter period to keep the image bright when you put your dark hand in front of the lens. This then causes the slower frame rate, more motion blur etc. Switch off auto exposure and use plenty of light and the camera is much nicer to use.

Cam.

[EEVblog]

Just shot my review of this. It worked well.

[jusanother]

Just pulled the pin and ordered the lens conversion, looks like I need more light ! Good review.

[PlainName]

Just pulled the pin and ordered the lens conversion, looks like I need more light ! Good review.

Allow me to remind you that I have a Lifecam plus conversion for sale:

FS (UK) Lifecam HD microscope hack

 

[jusanother]

Bollox too late, I'd would of had that to, but literally just ordered the conversion !

[jusanother]

Here are the dimensions of the lens for others wishing to fit it to a different camera. Apologies for the hand drawn sketch All dimensions in millimetres.

[Shock]

So that looks like a M12x0.5 18mm mount?

[jlmoon]

If what he says is right, It is indeed a great hack !

I would like to see a video of someone using it, the working distance, the whole setup. Essentially a review before I go and spend $50 on the lens.

He's a budding-hacking-manufacturing company start up,
Maybe he will send out a free sample!   

[jlmoon]

There is nothing cannot be no right it's just a replacement of the lens in the microsoft top of line 1080p lifecam studio. The quality is depend on the lens and lifecam. Any lens can be installed on the lifecam, there are even people install the canon EF 24-70mm to a webcam, but it's indeed too big for daily use. Hope eveybody can have fun with it.

took the idea right out of my head, was wondering what it would be like to mount my Nikon 105 / 2.8 macro lens in front of that life-cam.  Interesting concept, might have to have a bigger Bunsen Burner or Titration stand to hold it all..