mobius webcam software

[Remus]

i just ordered a mobius, should arrive next few days, can anyone recommend webcam software to use in order to angle it correctly inside the car via laptop?

 

[jokiin]

they're easy enough to align without seeing the video, no software needed though if you want to use it in webcam mode you can do that quite easily already

 

[lyu0001]

You can download android app to adjust the view field.

 

[russ331]

...can anyone recommend webcam software to use in order to angle it correctly inside the car via laptop?

See... http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=31936381&postcount=15793

 

[Remus]

thanks guys

 

[DangerDane]

I used the android app and a UTG cable between my Galaxy S5 and the mobius cam to get it pointing in the right direction

 

[dash riposki]

They're not that hard to aim 'seat of the pants'. Just check some video from it, and adjust a bit. I try to keep some indication of the front of my vehicle in the frame. (for highway stuff)
You'll also want to check the video occasionally since you'd be surprised that tiny bug splat in the wrong place can screw things up, dangling wires you didn't notice, etc.

 

[jokiin]

Even cams with screen I still don't look at the display when setting them up

 

[DangerDane]

My problem is that it gets rotated around between so many vehicles that I drive that I can't "fly by the seat of my pants" and actually prefer to just preview it from my android phone. I did notice a caveat though. When watching for the actual "footage" angle you need to make sure that the webcam settings mimic that of your videomode in regards to FOV. Otherwise you will get a skewed result.

 

[dash riposki]

Danger? Which lens? More problematic with a wide angle lens.
I forget since I primarily use the standard lens mobius, but have the wide angle, also.

 

[DangerDane]

I have mine with the C lens since its the newest revision. I would have preferred the B lens FOV instead but not much I can do about that

 

[Dashmellow]

I tend to be fussy about aiming my Mobius cameras in my vehicle. It pays off in many ways such as avoiding too much sky in the image, thereby improving exposure, providing a level horizon and giving me equal coverage on both sides of my vehicle, especially in the rear as I drive a truck and want equal coverage on either side of the bed.

To aim, I use the supplied wiring harness, a small battery powered 7 inch LCD TV and an external battery bank (because the cameras have capacitors) Works great and worth the trouble.

 

[Dashmellow]

I have mine with the C lens since its the newest revision. I would have preferred the B lens FOV instead but not much I can do about that

Set the C lens FOV to "narrow" in the mSetup GUI and it will more closely mimic the FOV of the B lens set to "wide".

 

[Bungus]

I find that setting Mobius to aim low, showing more road and less sky increases dash reflections on my cars. Maybe not so much on trucks. I have settled to aim mine more horizontal and use my home made polarizing filter. Work satisfactory. Have to remember to remove at night though.

 

[Dashmellow]

I find that setting Mobius to aim low, showing more road and less sky increases dash reflections on my cars. Maybe not so much on trucks. I have settled to aim mine more horizontal and use my home made polarizing filter. Work satisfactory. Have to remember to remove at night though.

It's not really a question of truck vs car. Every vehicle has a different rake angle and curvature to its windshield as well as a different color, texture, angles and curves on its dashboard. Recently, while my truck was in the shop having its yearly safety inspection I wandered around the dealership's lot looking at all the vehicles for sale. They had mostly Fords and Toyotas along with some different brands of used cars which together represented almost every type of motor vehicle from tiny economy cars, to full sized sedans, to SUV and min vans, all the way up to commercial dump trucks and utility vans. With the eye and experience of a dash cam user thinking about reflections I marveled at just how many different types of windshields there are on vehicles today from the steeply sloped and dramatically curved ones on sports cars to the almost vertical, nearly flat ones on the commercial trucks. I found myself imagining what it might be like to mount a dash cam in each of the vehicles I was looking at. Dealing with windshield reflections is certainly a different challenge with every vehicle.

I gave up on CPLs because I found there were too many drawbacks (for me) and for the life of me I could never remember to remove them at night. In my Toyota Tacoma I'd never previously had that much of an issue with reflections partly because it has a dark charcoal gray highly textured dashboard and my other cams like the Mobius were mounted a bit away from the glass but now that I've got an SG9965GC on my front windscreen with the lens right up against the glass the reflection problem is basically proving itself to be intolerable and so I am shopping for a dash mat.

 

[Dashmellow]

i just ordered a mobius, should arrive next few days, can anyone recommend webcam software to use in order to angle it correctly inside the car via laptop?

So anyway, back on topic here, if you should happen to have a Mac laptop you can easily use the Mobius as a web cam using the Quicktime Player software that comes with your computer. Connect the Mobius to your computer via USB. Then in Quicktime Player select "New Movie Recording" in the "File" drop-down menu. A new recording window will launch with an image from the iSight camera built into your computer. Now click the shutter button (front-most) on your Mobius. If you now click the small white triangle in the video control panel within the recording window you will see the Mobius as a new camera selection option. After you select the Mobius the iSight window will close and then reopen with a very clear looking 16:9 - 720P resolution window of what your Mobius is seeing.

 

[Bungus]

Wonder if manufacturers consider this in their design.
I've been pretty lucky that my filter work good. My camera is installed on the rear view mirror stem and I see it everytime I look at the mirror. Alternative will be dashmat/cover which is another expense and may not look good austhetically.

 

[Dashmellow]

Wonder if manufacturers consider this in their design.
I've been pretty lucky that my filter work good. My camera is installed on the rear view mirror stem and I see it everytime I look at the mirror. Alternative will be dashmat/cover which is another expense and may not look good austhetically.

Beyond a certain level of functionality, I doubt it. I've had a few dash cam mounts that barely worked at the angles I've needed in my different installations and some of them won't twist left or right laterally either. And you're right about a dashmat being an additional expense. A basic one is at least 40 dollars USD minimum plus shipping and of course much more for a higher end model, so with a SG9665GC for example it's like adding an additional 20-30% or more to the cost of the camera. You're right about the aesthetics too which is why I keep procrastinating about buying one.