twain, digital camera as web cam, again

I know people have asked this before, but I haven't seen a satisfactory
answer.

What do I need to do, what kind of camera do I have to buy, to use it as a
web cam? I need to take portrait photos, still pictures (I don't need
movies), directly into the computer where I can handle them with software
that acts through TWAIN.

An actual webcam works fine in this manner, but the picture quality is just
too low. I need better resolution, focus, color, etc. Not super-duper, but
definitely better than I can get with a standard webcam.

I've seen ID photo cameras for sale, but they are expensive and come with
lot of specialty software that I have no use for. A $100 digicam would be
great, if only it came with a TWAIN driver.

Any suggestions?

"Paul Pedersen" wrote in message
...
I know people have asked this before, but I haven't seen a satisfactory
answer.

What do I need to do, what kind of camera do I have to buy, to use it as a
web cam? I need to take portrait photos, still pictures (I don't need
movies), directly into the computer where I can handle them with software
that acts through TWAIN.

An actual webcam works fine in this manner, but the picture quality is
just too low. I need better resolution, focus, color, etc. Not
super-duper, but definitely better than I can get with a standard webcam.

I've seen ID photo cameras for sale, but they are expensive and come with
lot of specialty software that I have no use for. A $100 digicam would be
great, if only it came with a TWAIN driver.

You can connect any compact digital camera to a PC and see on screen what
the camera has on its LCD. Likewise the same for a DSLR that has live view.

S.

Paul Pedersen wrote:
I know people have asked this before, but I haven't seen a
satisfactory answer.

What do I need to do, what kind of camera do I have to buy, to use it
as a web cam? I need to take portrait photos, still pictures (I don't
need movies), directly into the computer where I can handle them with
software that acts through TWAIN.

An actual webcam works fine in this manner, but the picture quality
is just too low. I need better resolution, focus, color, etc. Not
super-duper, but definitely better than I can get with a standard
webcam.
I've seen ID photo cameras for sale, but they are expensive and come
with lot of specialty software that I have no use for. A $100 digicam
would be great, if only it came with a TWAIN driver.

Any suggestions?

I use camcorders for all my web cams. I get older ones at fee markets for
around $50.00 each. Less if you buy more than one. Some even have remote
control with zoom and still photo abilities. Much better quality than any
web cam on the market no matter how much you spend. I have about 10 old Sony
handy cams that all work perfect complete with chargers and accessories. You
can attach external lenses and filters if you like making them far better
than the limited web cams.

"Steven" wrote in message
...
"Paul Pedersen" wrote in message
...
I know people have asked this before, but I haven't seen a satisfactory
answer.

What do I need to do, what kind of camera do I have to buy, to use it as
a web cam? I need to take portrait photos, still pictures (I don't need
movies), directly into the computer where I can handle them with software
that acts through TWAIN.

An actual webcam works fine in this manner, but the picture quality is
just too low. I need better resolution, focus, color, etc. Not
super-duper, but definitely better than I can get with a standard webcam.

I've seen ID photo cameras for sale, but they are expensive and come with
lot of specialty software that I have no use for. A $100 digicam would be
great, if only it came with a TWAIN driver.

You can connect any compact digital camera to a PC and see on screen what
the camera has on its LCD. Likewise the same for a DSLR that has live
view.

S.

I do not believe that is the case.

I have here a Casio EX-Z55, a Samsung L73, and a Kodak Easyshare. If there's
a way to make that happen with any of those cameras, please tell me what it
is.

Paul:

There's a feature in Paint Shop Pro that might
be what you're looking for. The following is from
the v7 help file:

--------------------
3 Use the Single Exposure Operations panel to view and work with individual
images:

· Click the left and right arrows below the preview box to scroll through the
images. Each picture's exposure number, time and date of creation, and preview
appear. (The preview appears only if you downloaded the thumbnails.)

· If you want to take a picture and see it immediately, position the camera,
click Take Picture, and then click Get Preview.

· If you chose not to download the thumbnails and now want to see a preview of
the selected image, click Get Preview.

· Click Delete to delete the image from the camera.

· Click Open in PSP to open the image in the Paint Shop Pro workspace.

· Click Save to Disk to save the image on your hard disk without opening it.
----------------------

In particular the "If you want to take a picture..." bullet point
sounds promising.

I have no use for this function so can't speak to
how well it works.


"Paul Pedersen" wrote in message
. ..

"Steven" wrote in message
...
"Paul Pedersen" wrote in message
...
I know people have asked this before, but I haven't seen a satisfactory
answer.

What do I need to do, what kind of camera do I have to buy, to use it as
a web cam? I need to take portrait photos, still pictures (I don't need
movies), directly into the computer where I can handle them with software
that acts through TWAIN.

An actual webcam works fine in this manner, but the picture quality is
just too low. I need better resolution, focus, color, etc. Not
super-duper, but definitely better than I can get with a standard webcam.

I've seen ID photo cameras for sale, but they are expensive and come with
lot of specialty software that I have no use for. A $100 digicam would be
great, if only it came with a TWAIN driver.

You can connect any compact digital camera to a PC and see on screen what
the camera has on its LCD. Likewise the same for a DSLR that has live
view.

S.

I do not believe that is the case.

I have here a Casio EX-Z55, a Samsung L73, and a Kodak Easyshare. If there's
a way to make that happen with any of those cameras, please tell me what it
is.

Thanks, but I think that just isn't going to work without a twain driver for
the camera, and for some reason, those seem to be common only for webcams,
and maybe movie cameras.



"V Green" wrote in message
...
Paul:

There's a feature in Paint Shop Pro that might
be what you're looking for. The following is from
the v7 help file:

--------------------
3 Use the Single Exposure Operations panel to view and work with
individual
images:

· Click the left and right arrows below the preview box to scroll through
the
images. Each picture's exposure number, time and date of creation, and
preview
appear. (The preview appears only if you downloaded the thumbnails.)

· If you want to take a picture and see it immediately, position the
camera,
click Take Picture, and then click Get Preview.

· If you chose not to download the thumbnails and now want to see a
preview of
the selected image, click Get Preview.

· Click Delete to delete the image from the camera.

· Click Open in PSP to open the image in the Paint Shop Pro workspace.

· Click Save to Disk to save the image on your hard disk without opening
it.
----------------------

In particular the "If you want to take a picture..." bullet point
sounds promising.

I have no use for this function so can't speak to
how well it works.


"Paul Pedersen" wrote in message
. ..

"Steven" wrote in message
...
"Paul Pedersen" wrote in message
...
I know people have asked this before, but I haven't seen a satisfactory
answer.

What do I need to do, what kind of camera do I have to buy, to use it
as
a web cam? I need to take portrait photos, still pictures (I don't
need
movies), directly into the computer where I can handle them with
software
that acts through TWAIN.

An actual webcam works fine in this manner, but the picture quality is
just too low. I need better resolution, focus, color, etc. Not
super-duper, but definitely better than I can get with a standard
webcam.

I've seen ID photo cameras for sale, but they are expensive and come
with
lot of specialty software that I have no use for. A $100 digicam would
be
great, if only it came with a TWAIN driver.

You can connect any compact digital camera to a PC and see on screen
what
the camera has on its LCD. Likewise the same for a DSLR that has live
view.

S.

I do not believe that is the case.

I have here a Casio EX-Z55, a Samsung L73, and a Kodak Easyshare. If
there's
a way to make that happen with any of those cameras, please tell me what
it
is.

Paul:

I had a quick look at the Corel FAQ's for PSP and
they seem to imply that a lot of cameras come with
TWAIN drivers.

Are you sure that none of yours do? I mean, REALLY,
REALLY (as in looked all over and double-checked the
CD that came with the camera) sure?

You might benefit from browsing the FAQ on your own:

http://support.corel.com/scripts/rig...er/std_alp.php

If this is important to you, I guess you should consider
buying a cam that you KNOW has TWAIN support and
stop banging your head against the wall trying to get your
current collection to work.

"Paul Pedersen" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks, but I think that just isn't going to work without a twain driver for
the camera, and for some reason, those seem to be common only for webcams,
and maybe movie cameras.



"V Green" wrote in message
...
Paul:

There's a feature in Paint Shop Pro that might
be what you're looking for. The following is from
the v7 help file:

--------------------
3 Use the Single Exposure Operations panel to view and work with
individual
images:

· Click the left and right arrows below the preview box to scroll through
the
images. Each picture's exposure number, time and date of creation, and
preview
appear. (The preview appears only if you downloaded the thumbnails.)

· If you want to take a picture and see it immediately, position the
camera,
click Take Picture, and then click Get Preview.

· If you chose not to download the thumbnails and now want to see a
preview of
the selected image, click Get Preview.

· Click Delete to delete the image from the camera.

· Click Open in PSP to open the image in the Paint Shop Pro workspace.

· Click Save to Disk to save the image on your hard disk without opening
it.
----------------------

In particular the "If you want to take a picture..." bullet point
sounds promising.

I have no use for this function so can't speak to
how well it works.


"Paul Pedersen" wrote in message
. ..

"Steven" wrote in message
...
"Paul Pedersen" wrote in message
...
I know people have asked this before, but I haven't seen a satisfactory
answer.

What do I need to do, what kind of camera do I have to buy, to use it
as
a web cam? I need to take portrait photos, still pictures (I don't
need
movies), directly into the computer where I can handle them with
software
that acts through TWAIN.

An actual webcam works fine in this manner, but the picture quality is
just too low. I need better resolution, focus, color, etc. Not
super-duper, but definitely better than I can get with a standard
webcam.

I've seen ID photo cameras for sale, but they are expensive and come
with
lot of specialty software that I have no use for. A $100 digicam would
be
great, if only it came with a TWAIN driver.

You can connect any compact digital camera to a PC and see on screen
what
the camera has on its LCD. Likewise the same for a DSLR that has live
view.

S.

I do not believe that is the case.

I have here a Casio EX-Z55, a Samsung L73, and a Kodak Easyshare. If
there's
a way to make that happen with any of those cameras, please tell me what
it
is.

"V Green" wrote in message
...
Paul:

There's a feature in Paint Shop Pro that might
be what you're looking for. The following is from
the v7 help file:

--------------------
3 Use the Single Exposure Operations panel to view and work with
individual
images:

· Click the left and right arrows below the preview box to scroll
through
the
images. Each picture's exposure number, time and date of creation, and
preview
appear. (The preview appears only if you downloaded the thumbnails.)

· If you want to take a picture and see it immediately, position the
camera,
click Take Picture, and then click Get Preview.

· If you chose not to download the thumbnails and now want to see a
preview of
the selected image, click Get Preview.

· Click Delete to delete the image from the camera.

· Click Open in PSP to open the image in the Paint Shop Pro workspace.

· Click Save to Disk to save the image on your hard disk without
opening
it.
----------------------

In particular the "If you want to take a picture..." bullet point
sounds promising.

I have no use for this function so can't speak to
how well it works.


"Paul Pedersen" wrote in message
. ..

"Steven" wrote in message
...
"Paul Pedersen" wrote in message
...
I know people have asked this before, but I haven't seen a
satisfactory
answer.

What do I need to do, what kind of camera do I have to buy, to use
it
as
a web cam? I need to take portrait photos, still pictures (I don't
need
movies), directly into the computer where I can handle them with
software
that acts through TWAIN.

An actual webcam works fine in this manner, but the picture quality
is
just too low. I need better resolution, focus, color, etc. Not
super-duper, but definitely better than I can get with a standard
webcam.

I've seen ID photo cameras for sale, but they are expensive and
come
with
lot of specialty software that I have no use for. A $100 digicam
would
be
great, if only it came with a TWAIN driver.

You can connect any compact digital camera to a PC and see on screen
what
the camera has on its LCD. Likewise the same for a DSLR that has
live
view.

S.

I do not believe that is the case.

I have here a Casio EX-Z55, a Samsung L73, and a Kodak Easyshare. If
there's
a way to make that happen with any of those cameras, please tell me
what

What software came with the cameras? My old Canon, Fuji and Olympus cameras
came with software and leads that allowed the cameras to be attached to the
PC and thus operate the cameras from the PC. Have you looked at all the
software that came bundled?

Are you sure that none of yours do? I mean, REALLY,
REALLY (as in looked all over and double-checked the
CD that came with the camera) sure?

Maybe I'm going blind, but I sure don't see that for the Casio or the
Samsung. (I sold the Kodak.) Not on their web sites either.


If this is important to you, I guess you should consider
buying a cam that you KNOW has TWAIN support and
stop banging your head against the wall trying to get your
current collection to work.

I agree with you there. But it seems that not many cameras come with a twain
driver these days, and the ones that do don't seem to advertise the fact
much.

Plus, I don't like the idea of shelling out another $100+ for a camera that
does supposedly have twain support, only to find out that it's non-standard
and won't work with my software for some reason. Things like that happen.

The irony is, a $30 webcam works great, except for the crappy photo quality.

Do you know of any webcams that can take good pictures? I've seen "5
megapixel" webcams on EBay for around $20, but if they take decent pictures,
I'd be shocked.

What software came with the cameras? My old Canon, Fuji and Olympus
cameras
came with software and leads that allowed the cameras to be attached to
the PC and thus operate the cameras from the PC. Have you looked at all
the software that came bundled?

It seems to me that older cameras often came with twain software, but there
doesn't seem to have been much demand for it, because it's far less common
now.

I thought about buying one of those older cameras, but it's probably not
such a great idea to put a driver designed for Windows 98 onto XP or Vista.