Just asking....when I go full screen with some of your guys videos on the pencam..it is pretty good quality.....how do you guys do that..mine is pretty bad..Or is it always like that...Is there a secret I am missing?.....thanks

if u have a massive resolution (like above 1024x786 or whatever the 1024x is) it wont look as good fullscreen as say, a 640x480 or typical 800x600. I know because my friends monitor runs at a huge 1600x1200 and the videos that are huge on my 800x600 are tiny on his computer. Maybe?

GForce

So how do I fix the problem...I am not a computer wiz so is it the way I saved it or the picture on the computer??? thanks Oh and HOw do I fix it??

There really is no "fix" for this clarity problem, as it is a resolution/chip material problem. The video mode of the Pencam uses a lo-resolution setting so that the data is manageable and small. The only way to get more resolution is to use a bigger chip. Most video cameras (digital/analog/other) use a 640 or 700 by whatever chip, with megapixel digitals still being way expensive (and heavy, and big)

stick with stills out of the Aiptek, for the money it is unbeatable

I don't care for my Aiptek. My pictures aren't very clear and it isn't a resolution problem. I think it is a poor quality lens and cheap workmanship. Of course I relize it is a $75 camera(or whatever). It seems like a hit or miss deal. Some people have some really nice pictures, but I(and some others) can't get a good shot. The other day I took 10 shots in the bright sunlight on the ground of my neighborhood. I even messed with the focus and when I got them on my computer, they just didn't look good. Very grainy, jagged edges on straight objects like a flag pole.
I think ome people got beter ones than others. Poor me

MIKE

Mike,

Sorry to hear of your woes. Have you tried the focusing trick using the Live Video mode?

You do need to remove the front cover of the camera to do this but it isn't that difficult a job. One screw located behind the battery compartment cover and gentle rocking of the case will release it from the center frame.

Connect up your camera via the USB cable and set the Mega Manager from "DSC" to "Live" mode. Aim the camera at an object greater than 20' and adjust the lens to achieve a sharp image.

Once you've got it re-focused, be careful not to rotate the lens while re-integrating the front cover back onto the camera. Oh and make sure the external focusing ring is still on the 'infinity' location (full CW when viewed from the front).

Regards,
Roger

As far as the original subject of the thread, I don't think there is much that can be done except move to a live-video system like a BlackWidow or wait for technology to catch up with our expectations.

I don't care for my Aiptek. My pictures aren't very clear and it isn't a resolution problem. I think it is a poor quality lens and cheap workmanship. Of course I relize it is a $75 camera(or whatever). It seems like a hit or miss deal. Some people have some really nice pictures, but I(and some others) can't get a good shot. I think ome people got beter ones than others. Poor me

First off, perhaps it's silly to mention it, but the infinite focus setting is the opposite of what you might expect - or at at least what I expected. I returned my first Mini 1.3 back to Circuit City because didn't read the instructions and assumed the short and long range focus setting incorrectly. I had it on short-range focus rather than infinite by accident and my pictures looked appallingly bad. If yours look truly awful, look at the diagram and make sure that you have the focus set correctly.

Second, even when you set it correctly then the factory focus seems hit or miss to me in that they don't seem to ship with the optimal setting. I would try correcting the focus manually by taking off the cover while it's plugged in in live mode, and dialling the focus while looking at the image. When it looks clearest in live mode, put the cover back on and take some shots. It took me a couple of times to get the focus dead-on the way that I like it.

As one possible tip, set the dial such that the best infinite focus in live mode is in the center of the dial after you put the cover back on and then use pencil marks on the outside of the dial and a notes on a piece of paper to adjust the focus carefully while taking real 1.3MP shots of the horizon on a bright day. Then look at your notes and choose the best one by choosing something thin, small and distant in the image (I use a lamppost that's about 1/2 a mile away) and zooming in close in a photo editor and having all of the photos up side-by-side zoomed in on this small object. Once I found the best setting I hit the camera dial with a glue gun and made sure that the dial will never move again (I have another digital camera for my other shots, so the Pencam is stictly for aerial photos).

If you have seen my photos in the threads, you will see that they have steadily gotten better looking with time. My first one looks pretty grainy. With time they have gotten better as I have carefully played with the focus. It takes patience - and admittedly it shouldn't be necessary if Aiptek were doing their jobs better - but in my case it made a noticeable difference.

To see my example, compare the photos in this thread:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...threadid=70996
to the ones in my most recent one here:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...threadid=76074

Edit: Ack! You beat me to it, Moose!

Well. my whining, rant of a post has turned educational
I am excited that there may be hope yet.
To quote Ned Flanders' father "I've tried nuthin' and I'm all out of ideas, man".
Too bad it is dark out and usually is by the time I get home. That is the worst thing about winter: not he snow or the cold, but the short days.

Thanks,

MIKE

Mike I was in the same boat as you5 months ago, but not one to quit I ripped my camera apart to find what the matter was. Take a look at the difference.

This first shot is pre readjusting the focus...

And here is after ward. I ended up adjusting it one more time and see below. Take a close look at the windows in the distance.

Here is my first sortie...pre refocus.

Now heres the same seen a month later after I had some practice and readjusting focus. This is the same street just taken a little more accuratley.

hope this helps you. This is what this forum was intended for.

Kirby

Great news! I have a question about focus. THere is that ring around the lens that you can twist for close upo or far away shots. If thast is the focus, what do you do when you take the cover off?

Thanks,

MIKE

Mike;
Very simple to do, but you need to be careful. There is one screw under the battery door hinge that needs to be removed. Set the focus ring on the outside to infinity before removing the cover. Also be careful not to let the shutter release button pop loose. The focus ring on the out side press fits over the internal lens ring. Be VERY careful to keep your orientation. Once the cover is removed all you do is turn the lens the same direction you turned it to get to inifinity, I believe it is clockwise. It does not very freely so it wont move on its own when you remove the cover. VERY IMPORTANT!!! the adjustment is VERY small. start with no MORE than 1/8th of an inch turn. take a test shot and check it, then readjust if required. If you want to post a photo before and after we would appreciate it. If you post a pix before you try it, I might be able to tell you how far to turn it as a starting reference. Maybe save you a step. Make sure your test shots are during bright daylight conditions.

Took me 2 disassemblies, but the results speak for themselves.

Hope this helps. If you have another digital camera, you should shoot some photos as you go to help others out. Maybe we should make a FAQ on this subject. What do you think Guys?

Kirby

I'll bump this thread, as it's the one I found when searching for focus information for my 1.3 SD. Haven't taken a single photo and already lost the alignment between the focus ring and the focusing element inside the camera.

I [hope I] didn't turn the inner ring so far as to go one whole turn away from the useable range. I noticed that there is a flat area on the inner ring splines, and there looks to be a glimmer of silvery ink on the barrel threads below.

Assuming that the assembly process MUST have a way of getting the focus reasonably close without an exhaustive trial-and-error session for every single camera, I removed the external ring from the front case. There are bevels to snap this ring in place at the infinity setting, so I reassembled the case, then set the mark on the inner focusing element to match the pointer on the external adjustment ring before snapping it into place.

It's late, I haven't installed any of the software yet, and I don't have the energy to pursue this further, but I'll see how close I've gotten it tomorrow. Of course if I really did manage to turn the inner ring a whole rotation, it will be a bit of extra work. I'll try and confirm this first with the video mode.

The design may have varied from the original (non-SD) pencam, or from one production run to another, so YMMV.

Without E-zone, I probalby wouldn't have a very good focus. Of course, without Ezone, I never would have gotten into digital aerials in the first place.

Karl