Looxcie camera experiments on the C&W

[mark dance]

Hi everyone...inspired by the recent excellent videos posted on the Sand Patch (Layout Engineering reports: Topic: CSX Keystone subdivision), I went and got myself a Looxcie camera.  After two weeks of messing with bad memory cards, faulty desktop software settings and, last but definitely not least, my inexperience with my wife's iPad I got the system up and running yesterday.  Many, many thx to excellent the Looxcie support team.

The photo below shows the sled I made up for it to push it around the layout.  The bottom of the sled rides on the top of N scale rails which lowers the center of gravity, reduces wobble and allows the device to fit inside an NMRA standard gauge profile. 



It works pretty well.  Here are a couple of videos taken with it should you be interested.  I plan to use the camera primarily to insert interesting cab shots into more standard model videos of the  layout. 

thx for looking!

md

[spookshow]

What a stunning layout. I am completely speechless! 

Cheers,
-Mark

[mark dance]

  thank you Mark...couldn't find a "blush" smiley

[Pesto]

Wonderful!  I particularly liked the view inside the snow shed.

[Scottl]

It is quite remarkable to see the layout this way and your camera deployment was nice and clear and steady.  Bravo!

[GaryHinshaw]

Really nice depth of field and lighting on this Mark (and it goes w/o saying that the layout is superb - but it should still be said!)  I found it really easy to imagine I was riding a real train over Farron.   

BTW, was that sequence shot in multiple takes?  It looked like the camera was situated over the left rail in some shots (conductor's view), and more centred in others.  Also, was the platform actually touching the rails?  If so, was that for stability?

Look forward to seeing more!
-gfh

[kelticsylk]

While the video is cool, the awesome thing is the fact that the layout is so well done everywhere. These videos can reveal all the stuff that isn't right. I far as I saw there aren't any. What a marvel, especially the snow.

I am convinced that all of us should build some kind of inspection car equipped with camera so we can check on trackwork and scenery. It'll highlight all the unseen things that detract from our layouts. You got me looking for a wireless camera that will fit in my Sperry car.

[mark dance]

BTW, was that sequence shot in multiple takes?  It looked like the camera was situated over the left rail in some shots (conductor's view), and more centred in others.  Also, was the platform actually touching the rails?  If so, was that for stability?

Look forward to seeing more!
-gfh

Good eye Gary, yes there were 3 takes making up the long shot.  I edited them together after equipment, or more commonly operator, error caused some issue with the shot.  The Looxcie is also unsecured in its sled so it may have moved as well during the shoot...I wasn't paying much attention to this.  I'm thinking I will load WiThrottle on the iPad as well to simplify control of everything so the camera video and the throttle are all in one place.

And yes the bottom of the sled is actually sliding on the rails.  Originally I just wanted the thinnest connection between the two trucks and planned to use the compression of the camera sandwiched between the trucks to hold the thin plastic in tension.  While this worked mechanically, the rocking of the camera around its' bolster pins tied with the high center of mass of the camera was not only nauseating but also unreliable and the camera would flip over.  So I just lowered the car so the sled was riding on both rails and the trucks are simply used to guide the sled through the curves...I use 2-3 locos to push it along.

And now its already to ride around Tehachapi any time you want!

See you at Trains!

md

[jnevis]

OK, I guess I can't participate here anymore, I can't even compare
Great idea and even better layout.

[ljudice]

Spectacular....   Those snow scenes gave me chills!!!!   

[GaryHinshaw]

And now its already to ride around Tehachapi any time you want!

See you at Trains!

md

Oh, you know I want!  But I think I need at least one square inch of scenery before I can justify it.   

Been working on my clinic talk this week.  See you there!

[mark dance]

OK, I chopped the middle third out of the larger video and rendered it at 1080.  The previous posting was at 480p.  It has now been posted to Youtube and will allow you to select 1080 HD output by clicking on the "gear" and selecting "1080" in the bottom right corner of the Youtube pane. 

The video shows from Slide Bridge to Farron Summit on CP's Boundary subdivision circa 1970.

Hope you like it!

md

[Smike]

Stunning!  Thanks for sharing Mark. So cool to see these scenes from that perspective.

[rochsub]

1080p is just awesome.  I am impressed with the depth of field of the camera.  I saw that the Looxie HD comes with a clip to wear on a ball cap.  Would be cool to wear it during an op session so we can see what you see during the session.

[dnhouston]

Wow!  I've always loved your scenery, but seen from this viewpoint it looks even better.