FreeTrack Forum

staylo @ 09/09/2007 - 23h34 a dit:

VIMICRO 301 - Cheapest webcam around?



COST
-As low as £6 GBP (9EUR) including P&P on eBay

PERFORMANCE
-28fps @ 320x240 on manual exposure setting 1 (minimum)
-Very good field of view - enough to allow for a lot of horizontal translation.
-RGB24 only.

MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED
-No IR filter is fitted, so just need to add a photo negative. Lens easily removed (screw fit) to attach negative on inside of lens if desired.

ISSUES
-Adjusting camera settings in Freetrack causes Freetrack to freeze on my PC. Adjusting camera settings in packaged application 'Amcap' works perfectly (done once per boot, takes 5 seconds!)

OTHER NOTES
-Has 6x IR LEDs fitted, but they only seem to trigger in low light. I think you'd need a high exposure setting (= low framerate) to use them for a passive setup (reflective tape) though - probably unworkable.

TEST RESULTS:

Tested with setup: 3 LED Clip (SFH485P LEDs @ ~ 80mA)

Tested in Orbiter, Aces High 2, Condor Soaring Simulator. With exposure set to minimum there is no detectable lag, no stuttering* and all movements are tracked extremely smoothly and reliably.

*Orbiter required setting to 'Low' priority to prevent stuttering, but I think this is related to the program & not the camera.

SETTINGS (for use with bright LEDs):

First time:
-------------
Run 'AMCAP' (Included with webcam software) and click Options -> Video Capture Filter.

Set settings as in this image

Click 'Save' (top right button) and close AMCAP. Then start Freetrack

Every other time (after reboot):
-------------
Run 'AMCAP' (Included with webcam software) and click Options -> Video Capture Filter.

Click 'Restore' - settings should automatically be the same as above.
Close AMCAP, start Freetrack.

cool find, for those hwo have got a web cam allready.

MAN i love this software.

DIY
Deee Ieeee Why -this is why  

I've search for Vimicro 301 on ebay and didn't fund it. For this reason I buy an IR webcam similar but auto exposure is always on. Do you know where I can buy an cheap IR webcam with auto exposure off?

Hello, I know this is old, but I am having trouble as I have this camera and for some reason it crashes the software like the OP says. I cannot change the filter settings either in the AMCAP settings. Any help for a newbie would be great!!
thanks
fred