Mirrorless DSLR for bookscanning

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bgalbrecht1
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Re: Mirrorless DSLR for bookscanning

Post by bgalbrecht1 »

I don't think the D3300 is a mirrorless camera. I was hoping for some discussion of mirrorless cameras in the $300-$500 range, which I think is near the bottom of the mirrorless new camera price range. The books I will be scanning are mostly paperback or 6x98x10 inch hardcovers, and I am also wondering if the difference between 20 and 24 megapixel matters for that size books.
ossi5110at
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Re: Mirrorless DSLR for bookscanning

Post by ossi5110at »

Thank you for your reply. I know that my D3300 are not Mirrorless. I wanted to add just the link for the software here and give you an idea of how my workflow is. I also have chosen these cameras to go for A3 scanning of some of my art-books.

kind regards
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... experimenting with Nikon D3000 atm.
ilmarmors
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Re: Mirrorless DSLR for bookscanning

Post by ilmarmors »

Anybody has any experience with Sony QX1 as Bookscanner cameras? I am looking at possibility to use them as dedicated cameras for DIY Bookscanner with reasonable quality, reasonable price and fully controllable via documented API.

Product page with comparison with other cameras in QX series: http://www.sony.net/Products/di/en-us/p ... tentsTop=1

Although QX1 got bad reviews, but negative points that gives bad review (no screen, no grip on body, WI-FI adds delay) doesn't really apply for DIY Bookscanner use-case. QX series was meant as add-on camera for smartphone.

On paper it looks suitable for good quality camera for bookscanner, but how it is in real life?
  • APS-C type (23.2 x 15.4 mm) "Exmor" APS HD CMOS sensor, aspect ratio 3:2
  • [Effective] Approx. 20.1 megapixels (3632 x 5456, allows 300dpi on A3 or 11.7 x 16.5 = 3510 x 4950 pix @ 300 dpi)
  • RAW support
  • Documented Camera Remote API for full control with JSON-RPC calls via network (Wi-FI Direct)
    https://developer.sony.com/develop/cameras/
  • QX1 has Sony E-mount lenses
QX1 kit with SEL-P1650 (E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS E-mount Power Zoom Lens) in Amazon.de costs around 390-450 EUR, just body around 270-290 EUR.

There are cheaper QX models, but they lack RAW support, has smaller size 1.0 or 1/2.3 type sensors (still 18-20 Mpx), built in or Sony G lens. I don't consider good options for dedicated Bookscanner cameras.
Let me know, if you are interested to get F608ZZ, anti-reflective glass, QLV-1 MR16 GX5.3 socket holders or other Archivist components in Europe.
duerig
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Re: Mirrorless DSLR for bookscanning

Post by duerig »

The Sony headless cameras look very interesting, as well as the similar Olympus one that has just been released. The only disadvantage is that you will be treading new ground. The one potentially serious issue is whether the existing software/libraries support two cameras at once. Please report back on how it goes. I want to get my hands on a J4 or one of these headless cameras at some point for my own experimentation as well.

Mirrorless DSLRs and their headless peers look like the best way forward unless somebody comes up with a good way of plugging high-res cellphone camera modules into a computer. :-)

-D
ilmarmors
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Re: Mirrorless DSLR for bookscanning

Post by ilmarmors »

I bought Sony QX1 and tinkered with it a little bit. Open APIs is way to go. I want to do what I want with camera without any hacks. Simple JSON-RPC calls are very easy to implement. Here are my preliminary finding and conclusions for using Sony QX1 for Book Scanner:
  • Without memory card inserted you can get only 2M (postview) images out of camera
  • When you insert USB cable to charge camera, it looks like it goes into media mode (even if it is just charger, not computer) and you can't take any pictures. Maybe this behavior can be disabled somehow, if not - only way to run it for long time without hassle is buying AC Adapter AC-PW20 (80-110$)
  • Connection Wi-Fi speed is 72 Mbps or 9 MBps. I connected from Mac that has Wi-Fi a/b/g/n.
  • When still quality is set to RAW+JPEG, then camera returns only link to JPEG image, but you can get raw image by replacing JPG extension with ARW.
  • Worst finding for me - it looks like you can download images from camera with very low speed - 12 seconds for 20MB ARW file, it is just 1.6 MB/s. JPG is smaller and transfer faster, but it will still be > 2 seconds in Fine mode. I tested reading from memory card when I put it computer - memory card speed was as stated by SanDisk - up to 48MB/s, ARW file was copied in < 0.5 second.
  • Camera doesn't have mirror, that usually wears out first when used heavily, but there is still shutter - when taking photo some moving mechanical thing covers sensor. Not sure how durable is this shutter.
  • I have tested only Wi-Fi direct mode. In direct mode this camera always has IP 192.168.122.1. It might complicate connecting to multiple cameras. Although there is Multi Connection Wi-Fi mode, which I haven't tested yet. If that is meant to connect to Wi-Fi network, I haven't seen way to set conection parameter, although I haven't looked hard yet.
Haven't done tests with manual focus and other settings yet. But unfortunately it already looks like I can't use it for scanning in raw format without additional AC adapter, refactoring of workflow due to slow file download speed.

If somebody has some additional finding, corrections or suggestions, please, tell us.
Let me know, if you are interested to get F608ZZ, anti-reflective glass, QLV-1 MR16 GX5.3 socket holders or other Archivist components in Europe.
duerig
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Re: Mirrorless DSLR for bookscanning

Post by duerig »

Thanks for following up on this. The transfer time for a JPEG seems like it would be speedy enough. It takes me at least four seconds to turn the page, so if half of that time is spend transferring the image it should be fine. But definitely too slow for the RAW image.

Between the cost of the camera and an extra couple of hundred dollars for an AC adapter, it looks like this is quite pricey in any case. Maybe in a generation or two, the tech will mature and the price will come down.

I really agree that we need a camera without any hacks. Something designed to be controlled by a computer in the first place. The biggest problem with our current solutions is that they are so fragile. There are so many ways a user can screw up when setting things up. And even if they do the right thing, there still might be a mysterious error because focus lock works subtly differently on model Foo than on model Bar or somesuch. We need robust camera control that just works.

-D
ilmarmors
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Re: Mirrorless DSLR for bookscanning

Post by ilmarmors »

If you want to use AC adapter for QX1 (or any model that is compatible with Sony AC-PW20 adapter) there are cheaper 3rd party alternatives, starting from 20$ - search for "Sony NEX DC coupler". For example, http://www.amazon.com/s/?field-keywords ... oupler+nex

Or search ebay.com for AC-PW20. There even some guys that claim to sell genuine Sony adapters starting from 35$ and shipping from China :)

Of course, there is question about quality of those 3rd party adapters. See discussion on dpreview - http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3674751
Let me know, if you are interested to get F608ZZ, anti-reflective glass, QLV-1 MR16 GX5.3 socket holders or other Archivist components in Europe.
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Re: Mirrorless DSLR for bookscanning

Post by dnwst »

Anyone that has experience using the Canon mirrorless range of cameras for book scanning? E.g. the Canon EOS M3 or the M10. I'm looking to raise some funds to get DSLRs and mirrorless seems to have a lot going for it.

I'm currently looking at the Canon EOS M3 and the Nikon 1 J4 or J5 (although the J5 does not seem to be supported by gPhoto yet).

When looking at DSLRs big picture, is there any reason to choose Canon over Nikon or vice versa when it comes to book scanning?
nafraf
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Re: Mirrorless DSLR for bookscanning

Post by nafraf »

Canon EOS M10 and EOS M3 are built on the P&S codebase, then it is possible to port CHDK for them. Probably, in the future, those models can be supported by spreads, TwoCamControl and Pi Scan.
rmkrshn
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Re: Mirrorless DSLR for bookscanning

Post by rmkrshn »

Canon EOS M10 and EOS M3 can now be controlled by DSLR Controller app. from Chainfire.
plaese go through - http://drkrishi.com/dslr-controller-review/
no need to wait for CHDK development for these.
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