Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The CB-and-Q in Wyoming V5

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 9
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 template Next
  • #31
    Welcome back Mark.
    Layout looks fantastic.
    BTW, don't know if you noticed or not, but you can embed youtube videos directly to the forum now.

    Comment

    • #32
      Thanks Rob, Rick.

      No, I didn't know that, Rick. Let's try that out right now...

      I just uploaded the latest episode of Building Casper yesterday - Episode 7, major construction of the engine terminal:

      Comment

      • #33
        I just posted my latest layout update video on YouTube.

        Comment

        • #34
          I enjoyed your video update, Mark. Well done.

          George
          The sky is not my limit, it's my playground.

          Comment

          • #35
            Looks like you got the hang of posting the videos.
            Glad the roundhouse was completed.

            Comment

            • #36
              Thanks George, Rick!

              A few days ago I bought a DJI Osmo Pocket 2 camera to use to film cab ride videos. I've been experimenting with it since then, and wanted to get feedback on its suitability for the task.

              Pros of the camera:
              • Lens sits about six HO scale feet above the ties
              • Gimbal-stabilized image (accounts for the relatively high cost of the camera) means no distracting wobble as the train moves along (even over switches!)
              Cons of the camera:
              • Relatively shallow depth of focus
              I've done some testing and posted a few YouTube videos of the results. Here they are, in order of posting:




              I'm really on the fence about keeping the camera. I have about ten days to return it. So, what's your opinion? Does the restricted depth of focus make this camera a non-starter in your opinion? Please comment either here or on the videos themselves.

              Thanks in advance!

              Comment

              • jbvb
                #36.1
                jbvb commented
                09-10-2021, 07:39 PM
                Editing a comment
                It seems to be about as good quality as the old camera I built the depressed center camera car around in Spring 2020. I think the fixed focus at 120 or 160 feet is better than autofocus; the latter will always see the track in front.
            • #37
              I returned the Pocket 2 to the retailer - it just didn't do the job. It was also expensive. So I bought the first Osmo Pocket model for about $150 less. It has marginally better specs - aperture 2.0 instead of 1.8, and a slightly narrower field of view - so I thought it might be somewhat better as a cab ride camera.

              Here's the video tests of that unit, with a side-by-side comparison to the footage I shot with the Pocket 2.

              I think it is marginally better than the Pocket 2 in this application - slightly deeper depth of focus at ~120 scale feet, and the narrower field of view makes a noticeable difference with "lean-in" on cars on adjacent tracks (I never even noticed that on the Pocket 2 until I did the side-by-side, but after seeing the comparison, now I can't not see the lean-in with the 2).

              Comment

              • #38
                I agree with you, Pocket 1 definitely better.
                I would keep DOF at 80-120.

                Comment

                • #39
                  "Cornfield corner," near Hudson on the layout, is coming along...
                  Click image for larger version Name: 2021-09-23-Cornfield-Corner-3-After-Grass-scaled.jpg Views: 107 Size: 132.0 KB ID: 965174

                  Comment

                  • #40
                    Very realistic.
                    Blends in real well with the background.

                    Comment

                    • #41
                      Looks terrific. What a great job you did!

                      Mike
                      _________________________________________________

                      Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. James Baldwin

                      Comment

                      • #42
                        Your cornfield corner looks great.

                        George
                        The sky is not my limit, it's my playground.

                        Comment

                        • #43
                          Thanks Rick, Michael, George!

                          Comment

                          • #44
                            Back in April I bought a new BLI Consolidation in CNW livery. It seems to be behaving a bit erratically. It comes to a screeching halt unexpectedly, then goes through a brief start up routine (including briefly illuminating the cab interior) an resumes moving. It seems to be related to very brief interruptions in power, but the unit has some sort of keep-alive, because when I turn off layout power the sound continues for a good 15-20 seconds.
                            Other locos have no problems navigating the same track, and with power pickup on six wheels on each side (all drivers, and alternate tender trucks), neither should the Consolidation.
                            Here's a very short video of what this thing is doing:

                            Tomorrow (Tuesday) I'm going to call BLI tech support and see if they have any insights.

                            Comment

                            • #45
                              Maybe a momentary short or open circuit somewhere in the mechanism? Some time back I suggested the old "run it with the lights out and look for a spark" trick in another forum thread and it actually found the problem...
                              James

                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 template Next
                              Working...
                              X