Hi everybody! I’m new to the world of MTmini, and I’ve got a few questions that are probably pretty basic, but I feel like I’m missing something.

Question 1: How big does the box need to be? Is there a certain height that works best?

Question 2: When I place my hand on the paper and plexiglass I’ve taped together, I don’t just see the tips of my fingers, I see the whole hand. What am I doing wrong, lighting-wise?

I’m using a Microsoft Lifecam VX3000 on Windows 7, if that helps. I’d like to get it to work on Snow Leopard, but the camera isn’t agreeing with my computer there.

Thanks for any advice you guys can give!

Thanks for this!  What a great introduction to the technology.  Now time to start playing with real DI and FTIR!

Sparked,

As far as #2 goes, sounds like you have a directional light source, such as a lamp.  This causes your hand to cast a shadow on the paper.  I too noticed this effect when I was doing the project (it was night with just one lamp shining directly on the paper as a light source).  If you have light sources from multiple angles, or a very even but bright light source (like the sun shining off a white wall and making the whole room glow) this effect should be minimized because then your hand will not cause a large shadow, just your fingertips touching the paper.  Hope this helps, good luck with your project! 

Nathan

Sparked - 21 January 2010 08:16 PM

Hi everybody! I’m new to the world of MTmini, and I’ve got a few questions that are probably pretty basic, but I feel like I’m missing something.

Question 1: How big does the box need to be? Is there a certain height that works best?

Question 2: When I place my hand on the paper and plexiglass I’ve taped together, I don’t just see the tips of my fingers, I see the whole hand. What am I doing wrong, lighting-wise?

I’m using a Microsoft Lifecam VX3000 on Windows 7, if that helps. I’d like to get it to work on Snow Leopard, but the camera isn’t agreeing with my computer there.

Thanks for any advice you guys can give!

I have tried on a mac but hasnt worked when it comes to use an additional cam by usb. It always go to the isight 1. Any idea on how to work that out?
Regards!

Try to manually change the camera...open up the config.xml and change deviceID to 1 or 2 and see if that helps.

Thanks Seth. I Have try as you suggested but didnt work.
I modified the Xml file in several ocasions but wasnt able to change the default camera (iSight) or to browse to the next device connected through usb drive.
If you have any other idea on how could I make the shift for the additional camera on a Mac I’d appreciate it. Thanks!