Taking pictures with the Nexio.As soon as I got my Nexio I started looking for a CF card camera, after checking a bunch it apeared that the best image quality would come from the Lifeview FlyCAM-CF 1.3M camera. Particularly this camera stands out with a 1.3 megapixel resolution compared to the other cards on the market which most sport a 0.3 megapixel resolution. Practically this means printing accetatable 4x6 inch pictures on my inkjet printer. The Camera comes with a suite of software which workswell on a PocketPC but not on the Nexio, you need a capture application and this is delivered by Frank Weseloh in Germany. Frank have written a cool little application which will allow you to capture images to the Nexio. This application makes up for most of the cameras short commings with some elegant solutions. Such as having a option for using the smalest output from the camera for the live preview, while capturing the best resoultion, this creates a fast screen refresh. (if you want to preview your images from the max image option, be prepared to wait for the re-draw. The software also have typical camera software options, such as manual shutter speed, Auto Exposure lock, and color balance. In the latest version Frank have added a review feature, after taking the picture you see the resulting image and can choose to either save or trash the captured image. When using the FlyCAM-CF it quickly becomes clear that this is NOT a professional digital camera, it is more accuractely what you can get for $120 which will stuff into a compact flash slot. Misunderstand me right, it does a great job, but it takes some getting used to. The camera is defined by being a progressive scan chip camera, which means that instead of capturing the entire image it scans across the chip. This means that regardless what shutterspeed you are using, the camera need to be hold still while capturing to prevent funny bend lines. Second you will discover that when photographing at the max resolution, the nexio refreshes rather slugishly. The camera is not for party pictures. but it is great for capturing pictures for the contact database, and I find it works great for documentation work, capturing a quick image for e-mail or attachment to a report. If you take pictures at work and need to save them with notes, this is the camera for you and your Nexio. My Bettas was kind enough to stand still for a sample shot. click on the fish tank picture to see a full resolution picture from the FlyCam 1.3 meg. Frank have added a significant improvement to the way the capture software handles the raw-image file.
The picture to the right is the new software solution. you will notice the stepped pixels around the eye on the left puppy.
Here is a 200% enlargement of the images so you can tell the difference, to the left is the old image file and to the right is the result of the new way of processing the raw output from the FlyCam 1.3 |
CEcam 2.05 Outdoors
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