Laser video feed

[Norman Ravis]

Hey everyone! I have recently started a laser etching company. I do custom beer mugs, wine glasses, all kinds of goodies. I travel around to shows, state fairs and such and make people custom glasses right there on the spot. My problem is everyone wants to watch it.. of course. Which causes people to crowd me and bump the laser. I am thinking of installing a small webcam inside the laser and mounting a screen in the booth so people can watch it be done while waiting, or walking by. My problem is I don't know what would be the best FPS camera to get. I am seeing webcams that are around 90 but I don't know if that would be enough. I have also seen small spycams but not sure about the quality of them. I don't want to spend time and money to just get a blurry flash that you can't make out. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

[Rodne Gold]

I wouldnt install inside , the lens will get gunky ... install on a bracket or a tripod pointed to the lid...
No idea of what type to buy tho..

[Khalid Nazim]

Buy one the GoPro Cameras. They are fantastic cameras, very sturdy, have a lot of mounting options and are well priced.

[Dan Hintz]

$75 web camera... puts full-motion high-def video on whatever size screen you want. Done.

[Doug Griffith]

one of these:
https://www.adafruit.com/products/613

plus an NTSC display

[Jim Koepke]

Norman,

Welcome to the Creek. Your profile doesn't show your location. You may live near another member who has equipment they would be willing to let you test drive for your need.

Another thought is if you live in an urban area you might be able to find a camera vendor who would be happy to have you come in with your equipment and try different cameras to see what meets your needs.

Maybe you will have to make a cup or two for the store and let them keep a video.

jtk

[Daniel Wolanski]

I put a webcam inside the machine. I had to build a little holder out of ply to hold magnetic clasps you find at the hardware (cabinet door magnetic clasps) The only problem is you need a wide angle web cam.

Solution:I bought a 120 degree wide angle webcam off of Amazon and couldn't be happier.

I cut a lot of things that generate smoke and it hasn't really effected the quality of video. I guess you could clean it when you clean the laser lenses if you wanted. I have my laser operator minimize the window while working on the computer so he doesn't have to sit there and just watch the video. He can work on other computer things while the video is going in a minimized window.

Here's what I bought on Amazon Genius 120-degree Ultra Wide Angle Full HD Conference Webcam(WideCam F100)

[Norman Ravis]

Thanks for all the ideas guys! I have a hell of an exhaust system two 435 cfm fans so hopefully the smoke shouldn't build up enough to hurt the lens... at least not enough I can't clean off. I thought about mounting outside of the laser looking in, but I would either have to mount too high away to be out of my way and clear the door, or mount on the door, which would cause a horribly shaky nauseating shot every time i open it. My other thing is, I really want to be able to do a live feed, not running threw my computer, I just don't want to have any chance of anything slowing down or worrying about any other background programs running, seeing that I run corel, google chrome (with tons of different windows always open), and my laser program already. Is it possible to run a webcam without a computer?

[Myk Rian]

Use a network cam.
Or, HF has a color cam that connects to the A/V inputs on a TV.
Has an 80 foot cable. http://www.harborfreight.com/weatherproof-color-security-camera-with-night-vision-95914.html

[Bill Cunningham]

How about a little sign that says "If you bump the laser and ruin the job you bought it"