hey mates,
was in hong kong for a business meeting and naturally i passed by the ever-reliable pda shops for accessories. and true enough; i was able to get the xda2 backpack and a couple of flash cards. but what's even better is this little handy accessory i picked up called the pda-torch. not only does it act as a small flashlight; it also acts as a "flash" for the xda's camera. the bulb emits a rather strong white light which enhances the resolution when taking pictures in not-so-well lighted places. tried it already and objects taken in part-dark places come up quite well.
the torch swivels around via the rotating connector. the connector can be separated; thus the torch can be easily removed or clamped on. it doesn't fall of or anything; you have to pull it off with a little effort.
cheers
robson
another pic for the xda2 torch
another pic with the torch light on.
cheers
robson
This is stunning!
But, when taking a picture, does it really 'flash', or does it act like a 'camera lamp'?
hey mate,
to turn on the light you twist the end and it clicks into position; keeping the torch on. twisting it further makes it "flash"...but you would have to get into the rhythm of timing your finger to press on the camera the same time when you need the flash. sort of like...and a 1 and a 2 and 3 "click"...oops no flash with that...so i'll try again.... what i do is keep the lamp on when taking pics. it's rather bright but it doesn't really blind someone who's on the receiving end...sort of like looking directly into a fluorescent bulb. and the beam is wide enough to illuminate quite a lot; the parcel says something like a "hallogen" bulb used. it runs on it's own set of batteries so that takes care of any issues about sucking out the xda's juice.
cheers
robson
Hmm, runs on own batteries, need to time your button press with flash... this isn't an XDA accessory, this is a torch with a clip.
Now, a real camera flash accessory would be trully useful - the XDA's (and most other camera phones) camera quality in low lighting is dreadful. A little XDA powered flash add on that sticks in the expansion port and links to the camera application to provide a true flash would be neat.
hey mate,
i agree; the torch is not specifically designed for the xda2...however the parcel did say that aside from being used as a torch it can also be used as an aid for pda-cameras. the pic showed the torch attached to an ipaq with the flash card camera accessory.
i DID hear from this chap in hong kong that there is a plan to come up with an sd-card type of "flash-bulb" accessory for the xda2...sort of like the xda1's camera accessory which goes into the sd-slot (but a flash this time). that's something to cheer about i should say
robson
Is it available online or do I need to visit Hong Kong?
don't think it's available yet, mate....but then again once it comes out it should be availble in most, if not all, internet-based shops like expansy. you live in malaysia so it's still within asia. i'm like 3 hours away (thailand) but i do make frequent trips...keep you posted then on the availability
Related
I have the XDA Exec (for 1 day), seems like a good bit of kit, but I haven't been out of the house with it yet, so it will be interesting what living with the beast, in an inside jacket pocket will be like!!
I need to find out if the problem I'm having with the front camera brightness is just my unit or a common problem, I can adjust the brightness for the back 1.3 mega pixel camera jus fine, but the adjusting the brightness for the front camera has absolutely no effect, and all the images are very dark?
Is this normal, or should I be hot footing to my nearest o2 shop for a replacement?
Nope, its normal. I have handled quite alot of 3G phones (as you can see from my sig) and currently have about 10 atm (althought they are all really really bad, but still classics). Nearly all of the 3G phones with second cameras are really dark. The phone makers like nokia, sony ericsson or HTC in this case, dont acually put alot of consideration into the front cameras. As the network only runs video calls at 64kbps (on most 3G networks) then there isnt any need for more than a VGA camera really. They concentrate mostly on the back camera, as this is what people will use most.
Besides, the front camera has to be really small (otherwise it would look stupid sticking out of the front of the phone) so they dont really bother with it. Video calling hasnt really taken off properly yet and for most people, its an extra gimmick that they wont use. But your not alone. Nearly all phones with a internal camera are terible quality, excluding rotating cameras, as they would be the same as the back (as its the same camera).
Hope this answers all of your questions.
Front camera, brightness controls don't work.
Thanks for the reply. Just to clarify, if I select the front camera for a video call, there is a brightness control on the screen. But sliding the control up and down actually makes no effect on the image whatsoever, I guess I would aspect to see some sort of change, no matter how small, but this doesn't appear to work.
If I select the back camera, then there are a range of controls, including contrast and brightness. The brightness control does work here.
Just need to find out if anyone is able to get some sort of brightness improvement on their front camera, i.e mine is faulty, or if this slider has no effect on the xda exec.
Also side point, the front camera on the Nokia n70 3g phone is very good, for any one that is interested.
Hm dont acually have any experience with the N70 as its a fairly new phone, but on my 6680, the front camera is reasonable, but nothing to shout about.
Yes its the same on mine, it does nothing. Maybe it changes on the peoples you are calling screen?
Well, I think there's something wrong with your devices. The brightness setting on the video-calling camera definitely makes a difference to the picture on my JasJar.
It isn't the biggest change in the world, but there's definitely a visible difference in the brightness.
(By the way, I don't have a "slider", just five buttons to tap on to vary the brightness, that's not where the confusion is, is it??)
Front camera brightness
I just changed my handset for another xda exec, as I tested the new unit in the store, on the general camera mode, which does indeed have brightness levels 1-5 as sub69 says, and this does have a small but noticable difference.
However, on getting the phone home and actally trying a video call, which has a different brightness contol on screen (showing 5 values from black to white) on a vertical slding scale... I notice this control makes little or no difference to the picture.. which leaves me back where I started, plus I think my signal is weaker than on the last unit!!!
Oh well, I'll see how I get on
Hhm yes I have also got a slider. I think it might be somthing to do with the Exec, as you are on e jasjar. It will probably be rectified in the next ROM update, whenever that may be!
I just bought a new Logitech mouse with tons of customizable buttons on it, and it got me thinking...what if you could use your PPC as a mouse for your PC? That would be the ultimate in customizability!! Think of it...not only would you have a bunch of hard buttons to play with, but you could also have a customized screen for whichever app has the focus on your PC!
I am nowhere near advanced enough to do this, nor do I know if it's even possible...just throwing it out there as an idea for whoever wants to take up the challenge. I figure it could work on most devices because the camera and flash LED are on the opposite side from the screen and buttons, and BT could be the wireless link. Heck, for that amount of customizability in a mouse I'd even settle for a wired USB version :wink:.
Well enough fantasizing for today...
you're talking about using the camera as the optical sensor?
you'd need it on a special mouse mat that emits light of some kind, and I doubt the feedback would be quick enough.
and i wouldn't fancy pushing my expensive xda around on the desk like a mouse.
Right, I was thinking of the camera as the optical sensor, and the flash LED as the light source. I have a XV6700/Apache, and when I turn on the camera and the flash and set it down on my desk, the screen isn't completely dark because the camera isn't flush against the surface...there's still enough space for light from the LED to reach the lens. Obviously this would vary from device to device...but even in cases where it's completely dark, you could put the "mouse" on top of a few mm of clear plastic or plexiglas to give the LED enough room to bounce the light over. Actually, this option might be desirable as it would address your concern about pushing your device around and getting scratches on it.
In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, using plastic/plexiglas might be better for battery life too. Instead of having the flash stay on all the time, the "mouse" could use the ambient room light to detect initial movement, which in turn would trigger a "wake event" for the flash, and then obviously the flash could be timed to turn off after so many seconds of being idle.
I know speed would likely be an issue as far as feedback goes. Sure, it wouldn't be as quick as my new Logitech laser mouse, but in video mode the camera (at least on the Apache) can go up to 19 fps...so perhaps it would be doable. Obviously you're not going to use Photoshop or play Quake with the thing . I was just thinking added convenience for everyday usage.
well all optical mice i've used have gon crazy on shiny surfaces
their cams are even made directly for this purpos
so i would think using the pda as a mouse would mean it would go even more crazy on a shiny surface
try search i recall posts about this in the past
Issues
light souce: prolong usage of you flash is bad. The life span of the flash may be different for different devices, but I'm pretty sure HTC doesn't give you a nice LED flash to be used for more than 30 seconds per usage. There are reports of 'dying' flash after using it as flashlight.
camera (major issue): phone camera is a fix lense camera (there are a few new Nokia/Sony model that arent). Such camera is not able to take clear picture of close distance object. Try taking a picture of something at a range of 3 inches , at best possible light condition. You won't get a decent picture. Even high tech digital camera is not able to take any picture of any object that is in range of less than 3 inches (even with Macro e.g. the flower, mode on). You can't do much 'mous-ing' with blur images.
It is a good idea though.
just an idea, but what about just using it as a touch pad??
dahquim
Very expensive mouse :lol:
Just get an optical RF mouse.. so much cheaper..
Come to think of it, better get a bluetooth mouse that you can use with both your PC and PPC!
Hmm, I don't know. I just imagined a Universal used as a mouse. Not a pretty picture.
Any way, as for the touch pad idea, it's fairly easy to implement, but it doesn't have the resolution to handle even blow average PC screen which is 800x600 pixels.
hanmin said:
Even high tech digital camera is not able to take any picture of any object that is in range of less than 3 inches (even with Macro e.g. the flower, mode on). You can't do much 'mous-ing' with blur images.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so let's say you have a clear glass desk and you attach a board underneath it at a distance of 3 inches so it can focus... j/k
levenum said:
as for the touch pad idea, it's fairly easy to implement, but it doesn't have the resolution to handle even blow average PC screen which is 800x600 pixels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think dahquim meant "touch pad" to mean "tablet PC" or a remote touch-screen clone of your PC monitor (you can do that with LogMeIn). I think he meant simply losing the "mouse" functionality and keeping the ability to have the device's screen display "soft buttons" that could execute commands and that would change depending on whichever app has the focus on your PC. That would somewhat relieve one of having to remember different keyboard shortcuts for each different PC app you use. Same idea as the Optimus Keyboard but on a smaller scale.
touchpad.. ?
Touchpad idea is nice - it could work just like touchpads on laptop; ie. moving finger on mobile device screen causes mouse cursor to move on PC screen, tapping mobile device screen causes mouse click.... who'll implement this ? ;-)
hanmin said:
Issues
light souce: prolong usage of you flash is bad. The life span of the flash may be different for different devices, but I'm pretty sure HTC doesn't give you a nice LED flash to be used for more than 30 seconds per usage. There are reports of 'dying' flash after using it as flashlight.
camera (major issue): phone camera is a fix lense camera (there are a few new Nokia/Sony model that arent). Such camera is not able to take clear picture of close distance object. Try taking a picture of something at a range of 3 inches , at best possible light condition. You won't get a decent picture. Even high tech digital camera is not able to take any picture of any object that is in range of less than 3 inches (even with Macro e.g. the flower, mode on). You can't do much 'mous-ing' with blur images.
It is a good idea though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hanmin was right pointing these issues. i'll add some more, from a developer's point of view:
-so you want to have this as a wireless device: think of the power consumption: on one hand you need the camera to be on, with the led, and also a wireless connection for transmitting the data like BT or WiFi.. The baterry wont last long
-even if we cant get the camera to focus at nearly 1-2mm, we could still detect movement of some kind (so the idea would work..in a way or another :roll: ). but please note: there are tens of types of devices, you cant get to make the trick for all.
-it wouldnt be very precise: did you even tried to create an icon? you need to tap over the right pixel, do you think it will work with this?
-ok so you're a fanatic gamer : poor device and poor you, on one hand you'll ruing the device, on the other you'll go nuts because... : slow reaction times, low accuracy...
I see that you've thought about the idea of creating a touchpad out of the pocketpcs. I worked on such a project once. It was indeed interesting. The only problem was that: (issues again)
-the screen is not so sensitive to finger pressure as a touchpad is
-you'll mostly have to use the stilus
But at least this approach is functional.
Regards,
Radu
Yes was thinking more the "set of buttons on [email protected] that let you do quick and easy thinkgs to whatever program your using.
For example, how about being able to switch virtual desktops or having a list of programs on the ppc screen that you switch between... a la Alt-Tab??
just ideas, but of course would be completely customisable (macro buttons)
dahquim
Looks like this guy got the concept up and running on his Nokia...
http://www.pyrofersprojects.com/nokiamouse.php
I published the HTC Accelerometer SDK a while ago, and have been spending some time off and on trying to find out how to get access to the Nav API. No luck there yet, but I did figure out how to access the light sensor.
The updated API and source is available at:
http://www.koushikdutta.com/2008/07/htc-light-sensor-sdk.html
Koush
can you give us compiled exe?
where are the lightsensor? is it the front/back cam?
how often will auto light adjust update?
alltime? once per power on switch? once per minute?
when the autolight is not set, and it will be done by frontcam, we can safe cams energy, by switching off automatic backlighht adjust. cameras are needing a lot of power.
can anybody confirm that?
WooooWWW this keeps getting better!
Thanks HTC
Please.. Somebody will make a "really" adjustable light settings util with this SDK.. I want to set min backlit level to lower for totaly dark enviroments... because default one is too much than required..
Sorry for my poor English..
Sure, I'll make a utility to do that. Give me a bit though, I'm coding up the Nav sensor SDK right now.
feature request
disable light sensor when call is in progress.
enable light sensor back after call was terminated.
sensor option
Thank you,
I have noticed on the new Bang & Ollefson and another new highend phone [not iphone] they are set so that when the display is away from the air is is visable...against ear off......thus...
when you are looking at the display it is visable
when phone is covered by ear...display is off
take phone away from ear....display comes back on
back to ear display goes off....etc...
This is a fantastic feature and has a wow factor as a sales tool.
2395 said:
Thank you,
I have noticed on the new Bang & Ollefson and another new highend phone [not iphone] they are set so that when the display is away from the air is is visable...against ear off......thus...
when you are looking at the display it is visable
when phone is covered by ear...display is off
take phone away from ear....display comes back on
back to ear display goes off....etc...
This is a fantastic feature and has a wow factor as a sales tool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly happen what i saw a few days ago..
iGo2008 running, a phone call received and i'm noticed display on & off with light sensor working !!!! I'm looked at the display it is visible (...from 10-15cm distance from my ear..) , when phone is covered my ear...display is off... I'm tried over and over again... still worked at the end of conversation... But when i'm closed iGO2008 and tried again... Not happen again...
Any ideas ???
2395 said:
Thank you,
I have noticed on the new Bang & Ollefson and another new highend phone [not iphone] they are set so that when the display is away from the air is is visable...against ear off......thus...
when you are looking at the display it is visable
when phone is covered by ear...display is off
take phone away from ear....display comes back on
back to ear display goes off....etc...
This is a fantastic feature and has a wow factor as a sales tool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice work Koush - and I completely agree with the above quote. I'm surprised HTC didn't have this already included, having to press a button to wake the display is kind of stupid since it gets turned off by the light sensor
2395 said:
Thank you,
I have noticed on the new Bang & Ollefson and another new highend phone [not iphone] they are set so that when the display is away from the air is is visable...against ear off......thus...
when you are looking at the display it is visable
when phone is covered by ear...display is off
take phone away from ear....display comes back on
back to ear display goes off....etc...
This is a fantastic feature and has a wow factor as a sales tool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hands down thatll be one of the coolest tweaks!
DOMin8or said:
where are the lightsensor? is it the front/back cam?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Light sensor is just left of the front face phone speaker (inside the speaker recess).
2395 said:
when you are looking at the display it is visable
when phone is covered by ear...display is off
take phone away from ear....display comes back on
back to ear display goes off....etc...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This happens with the iPhone too.
It's exactly what we need to make the Diamond much better. I don't want the backlight on during a call as its a waste of battery - but I hate having to push the power button during a call if I need to enter a number or change to speakerphone etc.
How could HTC have missed out such a simple feature? Hopefully this is something that can easily be coded in? Fingers crossed
tnacar said:
Please.. Somebody will make a "really" adjustable light settings util with this SDK.. I want to set min backlit level to lower for totaly dark enviroments... because default one is too much than required..
Sorry for my poor English..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any news here? I'd appreciate a tool or tweak to define minimal backlight level for myself because of the same reason.
somebody got ahead regarding the customization of automatic backlight changing with this api?
regards
this would be great if someone with programming skills looked into it!!! ie not me!
You don't have to press power button while on call to enable the backlight. Pressing the middle button (circle) will enable backlight and wont do anything with the call
wcg-tom said:
Any news here? I'd appreciate a tool or tweak to define minimal backlight level for myself because of the same reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i may have confused you!
this is the app i would like! reading ebooks in the dark is far too glaringly bright!
sad maybe but i do this alot
bugeyes said:
i may have confused you!
this is the app i would like! reading ebooks in the dark is far too glaringly bright!
sad maybe but i do this alot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
confused?
no. i've exact the same problem
not reading ebooks, but just using my diamond in the dark sometimes...
now iam confusing you my previous post was aimed at the post by Haobe!
Hi! On another forum I was told, that the Touch HD has the LED for signaling missed calls/sms/e-mail etc. built into the power button. Does somebody have any pictures or a video of this in action? Just curious how this looks. Thanks!
Hi all,
I too would like to know this... and I also noticed that www.gsmarena.com says it has video out functionality???? But this feature is not listed on htc.com
Did anyone hear anything about this???
The guy of the frensh video on youtube was live on yahoo a few days after the release of the video.
While he was showing the device it looked to me that the on/off button was blinking or emitting light. At the time i didn't know what it was, but reading your msg i think this must be the LED signal.
So yes, it has a LED signal in the on/off button
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=431850
check out this forum thread for the TV out stuff... at the moment it is unlikely that the phone will have this feature, like Raphael, because Raphael was the only one with the required USB connection... Videos show that no such port is on the Blackstone... still hoping though.
The DPad showing the status was a good thing as I got it in the cradle all the time. Having such function on the power button makes it harder to see, but cool nonetheless.
Wish they did it Blackberry style - placing a single very bright LED near the speaker hole on the front... Subtle yet rarely overlooked.
This is just a very vague idea, but wouldn't it be possible to build an external flash controlled via the headphone jack?
There are several cheap flashes on the market, and almost all can be triggered manually. Whenever you take a picture, the phone simluates that shutter sound of a real DSLR camera.
I'm not big with electronics or even soldering, but shouldn't it be possible to build a device that uses that sudden change of voltage on the headphone jack (the "sound signal" is nothing else than a change of voltage) to trigger an external flash?
Sounds good, but there are so many parameters for syncing a flash device which make it very difficult (I think)...
The phone makes the sound by the looks of it after it has taken the picture, the flash needs to be before the photo is takes so for the method you're thinking a custom app would be needed to make a sound before/as the picture is taken.
I'm no real whiz when it comes to electronics but outputting a sound/signal from the audio jack and have it picked up by some device designed to trigger a flash shouldn't be too complex (more than complex enough for myself ) The problem is going to lie in the program itself. To do it you're going to have to have a camera program load and play a sound and almost instantaneously take a picture. There can not be ANY lag or allowance for latency in this or the flash will be out of time with the snapshot. If the phone is in the middle of doing something else while a photo is taken (background apps or something) then this might delay the loading of the audio file and put the flash out of sync with the snapshot.
just my 2 cents
Perhaps the sync doesn't have to be perfect. If you set a large shutter time (if that is possible at al) the flash would only have to be somewhere between start and stop.
An interesting idea, but if you are going to carry around a DSLR type camera flash, then you might as well carry a small compact camera with a built in flash because size wise there wont be much of a difference. Or if you are thinking of a small LED light to simulate the LED flash of a camera phone, then get something like this turn it on, point and take the picture. I have a dual LED key chain light that I have used once or twice as a flash for the camera (all manual of course).
true but a long shutter time means more chance of blurring the image if it's not held steady
The device wouldn't need to be large, just big enough to hold a battery or 2 (most LEDs require 3v the super bright ones a bit more) and the circuitry to receive the signal and turn the LED on. Unless you can work out a way to power it off the USB port or run a wire inside and run from the battery, then the device wouldn't be bulky or anything.
since you'd need a special app anyway you could just do everything via the usb port then
SgtMoo said:
true but a long shutter time means more chance of blurring the image if it's not held steady
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really if the Flash is a real 'flash' and not just a led turning on and of.
this sounds interresting for all flashless devices, i´d suggest to build a camera app thet supports this and gives a signal to trigger the flash. also you could just build the device and suggest support for it to other camera app developers.
can't the usb port of the SGS give out +5V? If yes one can simply attach a led+resistor to the usb port, and you've got flash.
Moved thread to general discussion section