JMThomas

I'm sure this isn't new, but I've zero experience in choosing camera equipment. I can program PCs and build hardware interfaces, but again almost no nuts and bolts experience with CCTV. I expect that what I learned a couple of decades ago in my Electrical Engineer classes is moot. I want to hang (mount) a camera 15+ inches above a 15" square target. Items up to 4 inches in height are set on the target for examination. The camera/lens is externally controlled for zoom, say 2x to 16x. Everything else (white balance, gain, focus, etc.) is done auto-magically in the camera. The goal is image magnification, not image processing. Think of a telephone book or newspaper on the target, and a vision impaired user watching the monitor. The camera output destination doesn't matter to me. I don't care if I display the image on a PC monitor or on a TV (NTSC). Finding a KISS (almost) plug it all together solution would be outstanding luck! Adding a computer with PCI card and software doesn't bother me; I'm good at integrating parts to work together. I have seen cameras with control connections (and control buttons) on the back side. Here are two examples: Am I getting warm, or should I be looking for something very different? I can build an external box near the camera with buttons for the user. I can connect a serial control interface (Pelco-d?) to a computer and program a driver. And of course, I'd like to do it cheap, say under $200 for the camera. I can solder PC boards and write software and do metal work in my garage. Questions... 1. How am I for the physical dimensions? Would shrinking the target help? Am I asking for too much depth of field, or zoom? Will a 60 watt bulb provide good enough illumination? Just what are reasonable expectations for cheap reliable equipment? 2. How much resolution is needed to comfortably read small (8 point type? phone book white pages?) text at 1.5x or 2x magnification? Say I start with an image at 8x with a NTSC signal on a 19" monitor, and then iteratively reduce the magnification. How close to 1x should I expect to get before the picture quality is no longer comfortably readable for a normal sighted person? How about a signal degraded by adding a RF modulator? Would choosing a different signal (S-video, Y-Pb-Pr) be a reasonable option? 3. Are there cameras that drive computer monitors, e.g. VGA, 800x600, 1024x768? 4. Should I be looking for an integrated lens/camera, or to buy a basic camera and add a motorized lens (that will need some software to control it)? 5. Do I need to go the commercial CCTV route, or might high end "web cams" have sufficient resolution, auto focus and zoom range? Thanks for your time. Just point me at some good info, and I can learn!