Linux webcams for dummies

[Tod Merley]

On 4/2/07, Michael A Peters <mpeters at mac.com> wrote:
> I've not purchased any hardware and I will not be doing this until next
> year. I want to start looking into what is needed now though.
>
> I breed reptiles as a hobby, right now just various subspecies of the
> Common Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula) and the California Alligator
> Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata)
>
> Next year if it is possible I would like to set up a webcam to show
> incubation and hatching of a clutch of eggs. I'd like to do it using
> Linux technology - as I'm not buying a mac and I'm not paying for vista.
>
> For most of the incubation, there is no action - so a still image
> refreshing once an hour would be more than sufficient. As it gets closer
> to hatch time, though, it should refresh a lot more often. I don't know
> if a streaming video codec should be used that time or what. Kingsnake
> eggs usually take several days to hatch. The snake makes a couple slits
> in the egg and then rests with its nose sticking out for sometimes two
> to three days before it decided to venture out of the egg while it
> finishes absorbing the yolk.
>
> Alligator lizards sometimes do that, sometimes they burst their egg open
> and are out within a minute. So an alligator lizard egg incubation
> webcam would definitely need to have a very fast refresh to catch the
> action.
>
> Any suggestions on what type of hardware and software would be needed to
> do this with Fedora?
>
> Preferably I would want a script set to just automatically switch from
> the once an hour refresh to the more frequent refresh when it gets near
> hatching time. Also it would be nice to have a text layer automatically
> added that shows the days since clutch deposited.
>
> Resolution of webcam hardware is also an issue. kingsnake eggs are often
> the size of a ping pong ball, sometimes elongated and a bit bigger.
> Alligator lizard eggs are about the size of lemon drop.
>
> What kind of bandwidth is needed, can theora be used, and are there
> theora plugins for quicktime and windows media?
>
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Hi Michael A Peters!

Just some thoughts.

I have actually had pretty good luck getting "closeups" using reading
glasses.  This was with a digital camera that focused from about 3
feet to infinity.  The more "diopters" of positive correction the more
this focus range changed.  At about +3.5 I believe I remember focus
from about 11 to 25 inches.  It made the birdies I was capturing look
pretty good.

I would tend to, if possible, have the recorder capturing "all the
time" but throwing away those frames that do not show change (say, for
fifteen frames if at fifteen frames per second).

Please let us know what you come up with.

Looking forward to the show!

Tod