I am confused by your use of terms, [Lens flare - Wikipedia]
It seems yes a shroud can help reduce lens flare.
From your comment I am getting the sense that you don’t understand what the spreadsheet is help users calculate.
Perhaps try it first before posting about a flaw that might not exist.
Not lens flare; field of view flare. I gave a very specific example in the OP.
Edit -
Here’s a another example. The camera face itself is only about 2.5inches square. If you point it to the house across the street, do you see only a 2.5 inch square of their window? Of course not. The view gets wider and taller.
Now fashion a shroud with 2.5 inches square at BOTH ends. Your view would be blocked.
Hello People and @Ipil60R34s.
I am responding to your posts #60 and #62.
You are correct that if you or a camera is viewing the world through a narrow tube say 1 meter (about 39")long and about 63mm x 63mm square, you will only see a very small part of the world. The spreadsheet I provided a link to puts out a pattern when folded results in a square tube shield whose average length will not exceed 33mm (about 1.25"). So, when looking through this short tube, what will you see? A lot! Yes, the longer edges of the square tube will block some of the field of view. But not too much. The three pictures below are images taken of and through a square tube shield:
The next picture is interesting because it was taken without the square tube but held in the same orientation as if was connected to the tube.
Like you, I thought maybe this was the end of the road for a better shield. One with less obstruction. The new design is called the Kite Shield. This is a work in progress and so far I am pleased with it. Below are photos of the early build.
These three photos are of rough tape assembly:
The next three pictures depict how effective this design is:
Sheet 1 of the spreadsheet that I linked in post #59 is a nice pattern calculating tool, sheet 2 provides pattern layout tips, sheet 3 covers a simple way to get the two angles needed for spreadsheet input, and the last sheet shows the effectiveness of glare blocking.
Victor Maletic.
Victor Maletic: Thanks for doing the math/experimentation.
I think I have the same goals as everyone else… to get a window mounted V3 Cam… at an angle… and without any (or minimal) reflection… and to be able to use the V3 spotlight in order to get color pictures at night.
I like the window mount sold by Wyze due to its easy installation. I hate that it can’t be mounted at an angle. I haven’t bought any of the equipment yet, but from what I’ve read, the Wyze window mount can be used with the spotlight, Although from looking at the pictures of the items, it looks to me like the top of the window mount would block the spotlight. CAN ANYONE CONFIRM 100% AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE WYZE SPOTLIGHT WORKS WITH THE WYZE WINDOW MOUNT?
I’m absolutely loving your solution, (assuming that I can use the spotlight.)
Using tape is ok… as long as it can support the weight of the camera and the cord… and as long as the tape doesn’t leave a permanent residue on the window. If you use masking tape, you will NEVER be able to remove the tape residue when you want to remove the camera. Perhaps blue painter’s tape???
I’M ASSUMING THAT YOUR SETUP WILL NOT ALLOW FOR THE SPOTLIGHT. CAN YOU COME UP WITH A WAY TO USE THE SPOTLIGHT SO THAT YOU CAN GET COLOR IMAGES IN THE DARK? Perhaps a hybrid box/kite. Box for the top surface so that the spotlight isn’t blocked, and then kite for the other 3 sides???
You would have to tightly seal off the area between the camera and the spotlight, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Another solution might be to mount the spotlight separately a few inches above the camera. Would that work?
Again thanks for all of your efforts!!!
Lastly, any idea when your kite prototype will be finished and you can “publish” the new spreadsheet?
Per the following article, maybe the tape residue isn’t a problem:
https://gocleanerslondon.co.uk/blog/how-to-clean-tape-residue-off-windows-glass/
If the tape residue isn’t a problem, then I would tape the cardboard very tightly to the window so that no light can enter in the cardboard area. Also, I could use all the tape I want, so it should support the weight of the camera and the power cable (and the spotlight.)
Here’s how I mounted a V3 at an angle inside a window. It’s admittedly a low-brow approach compared to Victor’s but I’m satisfied with it.
I went to an art shop and spotted a balsa wood cube, 2.5 inches on a side, and open at one end. I mounted the V3 tilted down inside the cube. I roughly estimated the tilt angle but it turned out to be nearly correct.
The cube already had an opening at the top so I didn’t even have to drill hole for the cable.
The trick is mount the cube as flush to the glass as possible to minimize light leakage.
Call me stupid, but could I get a picture? I’m not entirely following. Wouldn’t it work to put the camera square at the entrance of the cube, and then slice the other end of the cube to go flush against the window? Saw through the cube all at once with a saw, don’t cut one side at a time. You will get a clean cut.
Also, What holds your camera up? I would like to mount it against the window behind my blinds. Did you tape the box to the window? Did you need a tripod (that definitely won’t work for me.)
5 posts were split to a new topic: Do I need CamPlus if I have an SD card in the camera?
A post was split to a new topic: Current promotions?
Hello, HowardYehti and Others.
Insofar as how the spotlight mounts check out holocron earlier post #25 #27. I think a spotlight further away from the camera is better. Probably taped to the window so it doesn’t add its weight to the camera holder/glare shield.
The only things I know that damages glass are rocks and hydrofluoric acid. The acid will eat away at glass. It is kept in plastic bottles now. In the old days it was glass bottles lined with wax. The link listed further down in your post has a lot of ways to remove tape residue. They left out VO5 and probably others.
Your fourth paragraph, starting with all caps, and the fifth one is answered above. I agree with you that there should be some distance between the spotlight and the camera.
I am continuing work on the kite spreadsheet. It is relatively easy to work out the kite angles using the projective geometry I learned in high school some 60 years ago. Translating it to a spreadsheet is much more difficult for me. The spreadsheet, when done, will work like the one for the square shield.
I am also working on a simplified 3D version a glare shield, similar to holocron’s in post No. 21.
This is just a camera-straight-ahead version for now. The later versions contemplated will have fixed arbitrary horizontal and vertical aim angles such as 20° and 20° or 25° and 25°. These angles are often encountered. The advantage of mono fixed aim angles is that a 90° rotation of the glare shield on the window will preserve the vertical aim while changing the horizontal angle to the opposite-hand one. So, One print can be left or right aimed.
Below is a link to the straight-ahead version.
Square 3D Printed Shield.stl
This version of the 3D printed glare shield requires that the camera’s magnetic base be removed.
Base removal has a couple of advantages: The system weighs less, It looks more elegant, no landing gear hanging down, and the camera can be easily removed and replaced from the shield’s 20mm support shelf. I would suggest supporting the power cord with tape or equivalent separate from the shield.
Victor Maletic.
Hello, Howard Yehti and Others.
Yes, you are right about the cube. the larger the greater field of view. But of course the bigger, hunkier, and heavier the unit. To get the maximum effect of the larger box the camera should be fitted tight to one of the box’s corners, and a compound cut made diagonally through the box. See the picture below:
My post 37 above shows a wood box fitted around the camera, then the camera’s top left corner was marked on the box, removed from the box, and then the box was cut off the table saw in a similar setup as shown in the picture above. Here as in the cardboard version a top corner of the camera will touch the window. Which top camera corner touches the window depends on whether the camera is aiming left or right.
Victor Maletic.
Hello @Ipil60R34s, Yehti and Others.
Yesterday there were posts about adapting boxes to make a camera holder/glare shield and how they may be sawed at an angle to provide sideways and downward camera aims.
I modified my spreadsheet in post No. 59 above to provide a layout cutting pattern for Sq Tube Large Glare Shield. The spreadsheet is functional but not complete. Editing out non-relevant references. The pictures below show progress to date:
Start the fit-up around the camera as it needs to fit inside the square sleeve. At this stage, it is taped up at the sleeve corners.
The spreadsheet should be completed soon.
Victor Maletic.
Hello, People.
On July 25th, post No. 72, I presented a preliminary spreadsheet to calculate coordinate values to layout an “Sq Large Tube Glare Shield” pattern.
below is the link to the completed spreadsheet:
Sq Large Tube Glare Shield.xlsx
In addition to the coordinate calculation from simple input. There are other sheets that:
Show how to mark, cut assemble, and glue the shield
A simple method to look through the window and obtain aim angles.
Effectiveness of the glare shield.
Points for Export - How I have to set up points for export.
Till later.
Victor Maletic.
Hello, @jwt and Others.
I am replying to post #37 regarding a camera aim capture device. The described method requires a camera with a live view and may also require working at height on ladders. Not always immediately available.
Below are described two paint-stick methods.
The first is the outside method with a pair of large paint sticks. No overhead work is needed, See the four pictures below.
The next method uses smaller paint sticks and it is suited for aiming cameras that will be looking through windows. See the next six pictures.
Victor Maletic.
My personal observation regarding camera tilt angles when mounted behind a double pane window. If angled too much and pointed east or west, the bright east horizon in the early morning (or the bright west horizon in the late afternoon) causes multiple reflections between the panes that results in a blurry view.
Hello, Ipil60R34s.
l am curious, does the most blur occur when the camera is aimed 10 to 20 deg from straight ahead? Would you post some pictures of your typical cases?
Victor.
Sorry I didn’t take a pic. I was so disappointed with the results (3 different windows) that I ripped the mounts off and scaled back the angles, from about 15° to about 5° from the horizontal.
Hello People.
Here is a thought about post 76 from @Ipil60R34s concerning unwanted extra reflections thru multiple pane windows.
Place a flat shield in the shape of a rectangle-ish donut on the outside glass pane. The camera on the inside pane would be aiming through the donut hole.
The exact shape of the donut hole can be mapped directly to the exterior window pane with a dry marker. While in the Wyze Live View trace the edge of the camera’s field of view on the window’s surface.
Masking material would be applied around and up to the edge of the donut hole. The amount to be determined is by the successive expansion of the surrounding shield. In other words, making the donut incrementally wider.
Maybe worth a try?
Victor Maletic
I hope you’re correct and I hope it works. There’s a grazing angle at which more light is reflected than gets through the glass surface. And the presence of the double pane makes the situation worse.
have to tell you, these are garbage. The fit is so tight that my camera has bounced out and fallen onto the floor at least 50 times. They can loosen the tolerance to make it a better fit. Even after a few days, the fit still eventually force the camera out. ( a little more time in R & D next time please )
