Cab Ride camera equipment help, please


LesterL

Well-Known Member
I see on utube a cab ride on scale model trains. I'm in HO gauge and need to know exactly what equipment I need to do this. Brand name(s) of the equipment would be very helpful.
Lester in GA
 
Hi Lester,
I cant help with a mfgr name but this recording is from a key FOB recording unit, the BAY has hundreds of them. It is just astouding what technologies are out there, kinda scary really. I did this in a couple hours was a great time. I was told right away that a GIF for the cab front view would be better, but I dont even know what a GIF is nor how to apply it to a video LOL.
Hop this helps.

 
Unless you are trying to get the authenticity of the hood being in the view, which I doubt any of those cameras have the focus needed, then mounting on an extra weighted flat car, pushed in front is going to get clarity. I have thought too that if having sprung trucks would help eliminate jumping from any bumps or joins. Replace the supplied springs with Kadee coupler springs and experiment with either 2 instead of the 3 each side those types usually come with. You might even get down to just the center one for the softness of ride required.
 
Unless you are trying to get the authenticity of the hood being in the view, which I doubt any of those cameras have the focus needed, then mounting on an extra weighted flat car, pushed in front is going to get clarity. I have thought too that if having sprung trucks would help eliminate jumping from any bumps or joins. Replace the supplied springs with Kadee coupler springs and experiment with either 2 instead of the 3 each side those types usually come with. You might even get down to just the center one for the softness of ride required.
In the case of the videos I shot, sprung trucks made the car more unstable, and on a couple of curved areas tipped over. Of course, it would probably have helped if the superelevation hadn’t reminded me of turn 3 at Daytona, but still...
 
There are lots of mini security cameras out there that just take an micro SD card and have built in lipo batterys. For long time the RC guys used RunCams for non real time youtube videos .

I think toot is probably right the best way is to build a custom "camera car" , either with a custom made flat or possibly a dummy locomotive . To get the most stable image the camera needs to be as far away from the bolsters as possible. The truck needs to have preferable long ballanced wheel base like a dummy SD 40 with the center axles removed , or 4 wheel passenger trucks.

A camera sitting on top of car truck that has a 1/16 bump , will experience a 1/16 " vertical displacement , but the same camera sitting in the middle will only experience a 1/32" . The longer car makes camera placement less sensitive .



To get the hood in focus and the track you would need a fairly large f stop to get good depth of field ( in th 35mm days F22 ) most digital cameras are only F 2- F4 ? so I would use the long camera car and shoot at high resolution thru a GP or SD cab and hood mounted at the far end and then crop the sides .

The problem is sharp curves , if the curves are too sharp you have to use a shorter camera car , or do something more elaborate .
 
I threw some extra parts together and came up with this camera car. I just put some Velcro on top of the car to keep the key fob camera on. It has KD sprung trucks w metal wheels. I think I will try some plastic trucks w plastic wheels and see how that works.
DSC00774.JPG


DSC00775.JPG


DSC00777.JPG
 
Is that a cast metal chassis? One of the heaviest of those is a Genesis F45 or the slightly longer FP45, most of the Life Like Protos are heavy too. Plastic wheels pick up crud and get bumpy, so wouldn't advise those.
 
Is that a cast metal chassis? One of the heaviest of those is a Genesis F45 or the slightly longer FP45, most of the Life Like Protos are heavy too. Plastic wheels pick up crud and get bumpy, so wouldn't advise those.
It is just pieces of a broken shell glued to a piece of wood, I used a Cannon cab front glued in place, a 40ft boxcar frame and some KD couplers and wheels. It really was made from junk, I never throw anything away it seems.
 
It is just pieces of a broken shell glued to a piece of wood, I used a Cannon cab front glued in place, a 40ft boxcar frame and some KD couplers and wheels. It really was made from junk, I never throw anything away it seems.
Yeah, I'm like that. "Hmmm, that might come in handy and if I throw it away I'll have to go and buy another one and it might not be as good as this. I'll just put it over there, I'll remember where I put it."
 
Yeah, I'm like that. "Hmmm, that might come in handy and if I throw it away I'll have to go and buy another one and it might not be as good as this. I'll just put it over there, I'll remember where I put it."

I know I need one of those , I cant remember what for , but I know I need it for something . Better buy it now and put it on shelf somewhere.
It will probably be as good as the last one , and cost 3 times as much. You just wont remember where you put it either , at least not till after you find the first one.
 
I have a 1 inch square Polaroid Cube. It can take stills or video. It uses a micro SD card and recharges through a USB connection. It also has a magnetic disc on the bottom. I mount it on a flat car. It has very good quality video.
 



Back
Top