OT reversing cameras.
 

Colin Stamp wrote:
Hi all,

Sorry about the blatant OT post, but I'm sure a load of TV type people
will know all about video cameras...

I'm upgrading the stereo in my new pride-and-joy Mondeo to one of
those fancy double-din navigation thingies. The car has nasty privacy
glass which makes it a real pain to reverse after dark, so I thought
I'd hack a hole in the back bumper and bodge in a reversing camera.
Gaffer tape will no-doubt play a vital role in the installation.

Anyway, the question is, which camera do I get? The aim is to have the
ability to get a reasonable view by the reversing lights alone, so I
guess low-light performance is going to be the main requirement.

A quick Google suggests that CCD cameras have better low-light
performance that CMOS, though the specs quoted for individual cameras
don't seem to tally with that. "Lux" values seem to range from 0.01 to
1 regardless of the sensor type. A lot of the cameras have IR LEDs, so
you don't get a "lux" value at-all for those. Of course, no range or
beam pattern info is given for the IR illumination.

So, would a CMOS camera do, or do I need a CCD one? Do I even need to
go to one of the more specialist black-and-white low-light cameras?
Are the "lux" values meaningful at-all? Are a few IR LEDs anything
like enough to light up a wide-angle camera's field of view
effectively?

And I thought buying the camera would be the easy bit...

Cheers,

Colin.

And if Colin doesn't mind me asking a similar question......

My Nissan Maxima QX came with a factory-fitted sat-nav system, with an LCD
colour monitor that pops up out of the dashboard. I prefer to use my TomTom
as I can load up my own POIs etc., so I'm wondering if anyone has tried
adapting the LCD monitor of a factory-fitted sat-nav to use with a camera
instead? How did you go about it?

Cheers,

Fred

OT reversing cameras.
 

"Fred" [email protected] wrote in message
...


My Nissan Maxima QX came with a factory-fitted sat-nav system, with an LCD
colour monitor that pops up out of the dashboard. I prefer to use my
TomTom as I can load up my own POIs etc., so I'm wondering if anyone has
tried adapting the LCD monitor of a factory-fitted sat-nav to use with a
camera instead? How did you go about it?

My Nissan does have the rear camera, the console does have a SatNav button.
I've not got the SatNav but was an extra I could have had. The next model
up did have it as standard.
So I guess the neccesary connections might well be there.
--
Regards,
David

Please reply to News Group

OT reversing cameras.
 

David wrote:
"Fred" [email protected] wrote in message
...


My Nissan Maxima QX came with a factory-fitted sat-nav system, with
an LCD colour monitor that pops up out of the dashboard. I prefer to
use my TomTom as I can load up my own POIs etc., so I'm wondering if
anyone has tried adapting the LCD monitor of a factory-fitted
sat-nav to use with a camera instead? How did you go about it?

My Nissan does have the rear camera, the console does have a SatNav
button. I've not got the SatNav but was an extra I could have had. The
next model up did have it as standard.
So I guess the neccesary connections might well be there.

Please reply to News Group

Ah, brilliant. Thanks David

OT reversing cameras.
 

"R. Mark Clayton" wrote in message
...
Over ten years ago I bought a little black and white camera for my PC.

Low resolution (but adequate for reversing), wide angle and small.

The software automatically adjusted white balance, and I made the
surprising discovery that it would produce a daylight type image of the
completely dark garden opposite. Within a few seconds it would clearly
show details that I could not see after minutes of dark adaptation.

It's very unusual for a monochrome camera to adjust white balance.

Bill

OT reversing cameras.
 

On Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:14:29 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

Plain ol' reversing sensors are much more use.

The car already has sensors front and back, and they're much more
useful than I thought they would be. I'd still find it comforting to
be able to see where I'm going though. There's also the worrying
number of back bumpers I see around sporting both sensors and dents.

Cheers,

Colin.

--
Threre's a spam-trap on my return address, just in case you hadn't noticed...

OT reversing cameras.
 

On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 10:03:50 -0000, "David"
wrote:



"Colin Stamp" wrote in message
.. .
Hi all,

Sorry about the blatant OT post, but I'm sure a load of TV type people
will know all about video cameras...

Have you driven a car with a rear view camera picture?

No. I've never had one, nor felt like it'd be worth fitting one,
before getting my current car.

My Nissan has the feature as standard I just can't get used to it and do not
look at it, just use my mirrors. It may well be me but you might consider
if an aid to you before going a head particulary as you going to put holes
in your car.

Could be, but since it seems like I won't need a particularly
expensive camera, I might get one to play with.

Cheers,

Colin.


--
Threre's a spam-trap on my return address, just in case you hadn't noticed...

OT reversing cameras.
 

On Sun, 7 Dec 2008 11:58:01 -0000, "R. Mark Clayton"
wrote:

Over ten years ago I bought a little black and white camera for my PC.

Low resolution (but adequate for reversing), wide angle and small.

The software automatically adjusted white balance, and I made the surprising
discovery that it would produce a daylight type image of the completely dark
garden opposite. Within a few seconds it would clearly show details that I
could not see after minutes of dark adaptation.

That's interesting. One thought I had was to try to find a very
sensitive camera and fit that looking down from inside the back window
at the top. It'd certainly make fitting a lot easier if it could see
through the crummy privacy glass. Maybe that's a real possibility
then.

Cheers,

Colin.

--
Threre's a spam-trap on my return address, just in case you hadn't noticed...

OT reversing cameras.
 

On Sat, 6 Dec 2008 22:49:14 -0000, "Bill Wright"
wrote:


"Colin Stamp" wrote in message
.. .
Hi all,

Sorry about the blatant OT post,

We like OT, because on-topic can be boring.

Anyway, reversing cameras. A few unconnected thoughts, based not on
hypothesis but experience.

Don't be tempted by monochrome. Low light yes, but colour is far better for
aiding perception when looking at a small screen. Monochrome is just
confusing. I don't know how colourblind people drive, other than badly (wait
for the letters written in green ink, although how would they know which ink
they are using?). Low light colour bullets are sensitive enough.

Good news. That improves the choice of cameras no-end.

If possible mount the camera so the view includes the back of the vehicle.
This makes it very much easier to figure out what you're looking at, how far
away it is, etc.

Don't put the camera on the bumper. You are creating big blind spots at the
rear corners of the vehicle, plus a false sense of security. Crunch.

I'll have to have a play around to find he best place to put it and
get the best compromise. I don't think there is a position that will
give no blind spots at-all. I guess the closest thing to looking
through the back window would be to mount it above the window. I'll
have to have a think about whether I can do it without it looking too
much of a bodge.


You either need to have a camera or monitor that mirrors the image, or, in
the view is significantly downwards, mount the camera upside down. Believe
it or not this looks totally natural on the monitor, like an aerial view.

If you use a bullet cam you will be amazed at how long it stays clean (and
doesn't get rained up) if it is recessed an inch and is looking downwards. I
know you have contraints with a car as to which way it looks though.

IR is a bit crap really. Fixed focus bullets always look blurred, and it's
hard not to get hot spots. And of course no colour.

Ah, I'd wondered if that might be the case. They look a bit too good
to be true - particularly the cheaper ones.


Reversing lights tend to give hotspots and areas of murky darkness. Try it,
then add a couple of 12V LED arrays in the back window or wherever (one time
we actually put them inside the reversing lamp glass!), possibly with
diffusers made by sanding the glass front (if there is one).

Sounds like some good fiddling opportunities there then.


http://www.misumi.com.tw/ac.htm seems to be accurate for view angles, but
don't forget many monitors overscan a bit. Be aware that some cams are 1/4"
and some are 1/3" and the difference in view angle is really significant.
Needless to say the very wide angle cams give a picture that's horribly
distorted.

That's a useful link. I haven't come across anything like that yet.


Sorry if some of this is 'grandmother sucking eggs' or irrelevant to your
purpose.

Not at all. It's all totally relevant to me and my egg-sucking skills
could always do with improvement.

Cheers,

Colin.

--
Threre's a spam-trap on my return address, just in case you hadn't noticed...

OT reversing cameras.
 

Bill Wright wrote:


"R. Mark Clayton" wrote in message
...
Over ten years ago I bought a little black and white camera for my PC.

Low resolution (but adequate for reversing), wide angle and small.

The software automatically adjusted white balance, and I made the
surprising discovery that it would produce a daylight type image of the
completely dark garden opposite. Within a few seconds it would clearly
show details that I could not see after minutes of dark adaptation.

It's very unusual for a monochrome camera to adjust white balance.

Yeah. White balance affects the colour making orange tungsten and
blue daylight appear as neutral. I think Mark must mean his camera
software adjusts the exposure automagically to be able to see black
cats in coal holes as well as white cats in snowdrifts. ;-)
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

OT reversing cameras.
 

"Fred" [email protected] wrote in message
...
David wrote:
"Fred" [email protected] wrote in message
...


My Nissan Maxima QX came with a factory-fitted sat-nav system, with
an LCD colour monitor that pops up out of the dashboard. I prefer to
use my TomTom as I can load up my own POIs etc., so I'm wondering if
anyone has tried adapting the LCD monitor of a factory-fitted
sat-nav to use with a camera instead? How did you go about it?

My Nissan does have the rear camera, the console does have a SatNav
button. I've not got the SatNav but was an extra I could have had. The
next model up did have it as standard.
So I guess the neccesary connections might well be there.

Please reply to News Group

Ah, brilliant. Thanks David
Have a look through http://www.civinfo.com/forum several people have posted
about fitting cameras with instructions and pictures, and also using the
satnav lcd as a monitor