Monday, April 18, 2016

A true vision for the future


Yes folks... at long last, the future is finally HERE!!!

After much testing, searching, testing, etc., I have the camera which should let me do those Google Hangout classes!  It seemed like none of the cameras I had could work in the way that was necessary, and that has been very frustrating.

In yet another search for something that could work, I discovered this.  I believe it is an older camera, but the flexible neck reminded me of the portable LED lights that I love so much, and use all the time.


This image shows the real key, and that is the focus mechanism, built right into the lens.

By turning it, I can focus on a tiny miniature just inches away.  The other cameras I have tried had a big problem with that.  The flexible neck meant that I could put it in any position needed.


In just seconds, I was doing this!

We were shocked at the clarity, and the way it stayed with the focus, even when I moved it around.  The angle was perfect, because I could continue to use my magnifier light as normal... just like I was painting!


This means that it's not only possible to do the Hangout Classes, but host the occasional "Hobby night", where I paint something from a specific range, or create bases, terrain, etc., and people can sit in and watch, chat, etc as I work.  "Wappellious TV" is here!!


I purposely tried out the smallest figure that I could find to see how it would look.  Again, I was truly amazed.  I'm hoping to do some initial hangouts next week to learn how things look for people on the other end of the line.


We are also researching Patreon, which will probably be the method we use to deal with some of the hangout classes.  More news on that will come once we have a better handle on it.

I do believe that the setup exists to do one on one classes and small group seminars now, which would make things a bit easier!  This is potentially a great tool for live appearances as well, such as Marcon coming up in May.

I should be able to hook this thing up to a larger screen by HDMI, bluetooth, or some mechanism, thereby making it much easier for a room full of people to see what I'm doing!

That was always a difficult, if not impossible, task in my live classes.

My apologies for how long this search took, but I guess all those false leads and failed tests will yield something much better in the end!


12 comments:

  1. Any chance of a YouTube channel?

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    1. For the time being, I am trying to arrange more of a hangout environment, and do the classes online. If I can find a true "video" camera version of this, then recording fun stuff for YouTube would be in the cards!

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    2. How do we pay for the classes?

      Also, where did you buy your magnifying lamp? Looks sweet!

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    3. Whoops! I suppose that link to the magnifying light should have been a reply to this. :)

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  2. It's on Amazon, among other places...
    http://www.amazon.com/V-LIGHT-Energy-Efficient-Magnifier-3-Diopter-VSL40203SC/dp/B00UV41MDO?ie=UTF8&colid=1HFRMXTBNIA3O&coliid=IBFU41QB7XTFW&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl

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  3. Cathy, you're awesome! A friend bought one of your minis on Ebay recently and we love it!

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    1. Glad you liked it! We always hope that people can have lots of fun with them in their games :-)

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  4. Great stuff James! Being in the UK it's very hard to get some insight into your side of the pond painting :) Love your stuff and would love to know how to get into the hangouts.

    Cheers

    Craig

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    1. Many thanks! You can write me on Facebook if you want to keep up to date on the hangouts. I am trying to set up a special area for those, with the correct figures to make them more informative and interesting!

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  5. Thanks for the review on this James, I've been looking at doing some video tutorials as well and was wondering if this could record in HD (hard to tell from Amazon's description)?

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    1. Since this is not a video camera per se, I am not sure. My purpose for this guy is to use at my live demos, etc., and for google hangouts. It might be possible though to use it as an HD camera...

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