FreeTrack Forum

Hi Guys,

I have a really old webcam made by kodak it's the DVC325. I think it's about ten years old but it's said to still be a very good cam. They just released new drivers last year for vista and xp. Here are the specs:

640x480 at 30fps (Just read that in the manual, I always thought it was 320x240)

Tilt range of 75 degrees (I don't think this FOV, more like how much it can be tilted on it's stand provided)

I have tried using it in free track but I don't get good tracking, very jerky movement in a bright room or dark room. I am using it with the trackir 4 pro track clip.

Do I have to remove the ir filter on the web cam? If I do remove it can I place it back in again and will the cam function as normal?

here are the detailed specs

Image sensor 640(H) x 480(V) pixels, progressive scan color CCD
Sensor resolution 640(H) x 480(V) 24-bit color, 16.7 million colors
Picture resolution Stills: 640 x 480 pixels (24-bit color)
Video image resolution 30 fps @ QCIF (176 x 144)
20-25 fps @ CIF (352 x 288)
8 fps @ VGA (640 x 480)
Video compression proprietary compression in the hardware
File formats 8 bit raw data to output to the computer
Video = AVI or MPEG, Audio = WAV,
Image = BMP, JPG, TIF, FPX, PCX, or PNG formats
that are supported through the bundled software
applications
Video stream format YUV 4:2:0
White balance Automatic
Exposure automatic, EV7-EV12
Minimum illumination 200 lux
Signal-to-Noise ratio 40 dB at 200 lux
Optics Lens Manual focus
Electronic shutter Variable speed 1/15, and between 1/30-1/500 second
Lens focal length 4.6 mm; f/2.3
Focus range 4 inches to infinity
Field of view 50 degrees diagonal
ISO equivalent 125
Interface Computer interface and
cable
a USB 3m cable with a series A connector included
Power the USB interface supplies the power
Power consumption capture = <500 mA @ 5V
standby = <500 mA @ 5V
Physical
items
Height x Width x Depth 82 mm x 52 mm x 110 mm (3.2 in. x 2.1 in. x 4.5 in.)
Weight (with the base) 207 g, 7.3 oz.
Tripod mount located on a detachable base, using a standard
tripod socket
Detachable base for hand-held camera operation, within the
cable length
Laptop mount the camera can be attached to a detachable laptop
mount
Operating
temperatures
Temperature 40o to 104o F (4.4o to 40o C)
Others Audio supports simultaneous audio and video capture by
means of the audio-enabled Windows system
Certifications UL, cUL, FCC Class B, ICES - 003 Class B,
CE, VCCI, C-Tick
Warranty 1 year

Please please help me get this working, many thanks in advance

Try it in a dark room and see if it works then.

There's a few guides to removing IR filters on the website. Its different in every cam but you should be able to do it with a bit of patience.

Its also worth putting a piece of photographic negative film over the lens. It filters out visible wavelength light while letting IR pass through.

Many thanks for your reply

I have already tried it in a dark room and it doesn't work well, the tracking of the skull is erratic.

If I remove the ir filter can I place it back in again and will the web cam function as normal?

removing the ir filter voids the warranty right?

are you saying I should try first the piece of negative film over the lens before I remove the ir filter?

Many thanks in advance

The negative film will just help block out non-IR light so the IR LEDs can be identified more easily. It will cut out quite a lot of the non-IR light sources the webcam will pick up otherwise.

But if the darkened room didn't help then the negative film probably won't either without removing the IR filter first since there shouldn't have been any non-IR light in there.

Removing the filter will require you to take the cam apart. So yeah, it'll void the warranty - not that a 10 year old webcam would still be under warrenty anyway

Depending on how its built you may or may not be able to replace it. It will definately be inconvenient replacing it every time if you want to use the webcam for regular purposes.

If you're worried about it or want to use the webcam for things other than freetrack, I'd suggest checking out the IR filter removal guides on the websites and buying one of the webcams there is a guide for. You should be able to find one of them for $10 or so and it might make it a hell of a lot easier (speaking from experience).

Hello,

Check if the autoexposure is well disabled, it may cause your erratic tracking.

Also check both hardware and software faqs , it may answer some questions you could have.

Rémy

Many thanks for the help Remy

I just did a stupid thing, I had no idea but I left my trackir 4 pro track clip in my USB port for about 15 hours straight! Is that bad for the device to get that much continuous power? I hope I have not damaged it. Is it best to remove it from the USB port after every time you use it?

too much continous power could damage the 3 LED's right?

Sorry for all the questions

Hello,

Don't have to excuse yourself for asking questions, it's the forum purpose

I don't think you have damaged your track clip, it's build to be use quite often so I guess it was not a problem. By the way, next time think of unplug it but I don't think you'll damage it if you don't.

Rémy