PS3 camera, 180FPS video for less than $10

ohnoitsaninja

The ps3 eye toy has been available for unbelievably low pricing for years now ($7 USD).

For many tasks, high FPS video is very useful, and 30fps webcams simply will not due. Also critical to high frame rate cameras, it has a global shutter. It's too good to be true, because like most things, it is.

Once upon a time this camera worked with processing. Now the only way I can get it to work with processing is on a very specific old version of processing 1.5.1 shown here http://thomasdiewald.com/processing/libraries/diewald_PS3/

I'd really like to get this working on processing 3. I've searched extensively for cameras with similar capability and it doesn't exist outside the world of industry/scientific cameras starting at 100x the price.

It seems most of the hard work is already done inside of CLEyeMulticam.dll , and only the java side of things needs to be updated, in diewald_fluid.jar

The CLEye website which claims to sell an SDK with processing examples hasn't worked for years and attempts to contact them have not been returned.

koogs

i have one of these and i'm sure i've used it in processing without any dirvers. this is using linux (mint 13 / 18)

koogs

Capture.list() reports the following (video0 is the inbuilt camera)

name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=60
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=50
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=40
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=30
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=15
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=187
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=150
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=137
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=125
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=100
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=75
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=60
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=50
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=37
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=30
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=60
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=50
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=40
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=30
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=15
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=187
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=150
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=137
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=125
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=100
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=75
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=60
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=50
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=37
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=30
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=60
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=50
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=40
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=30
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=15
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=187
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=150
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=137
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=125
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=100
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=75
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=60
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=50
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=37
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=30
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=60
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=50
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=40
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=30
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=15
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=187
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=150
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=137
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=125
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=100
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=75
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=60
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=50
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=37
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=30
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=60
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=50
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=40
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=30
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=15
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=187
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=150
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=137
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=125
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=100
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=75
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=60
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=50
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=37
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=30

which is a lot of repetition, i wonder why

name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=30 - OK
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=37 - OK
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=50 - OK
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=60 - OK
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=75 - NO
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=100 - OK
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=125 - NO
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=137 - NO
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=150 - NO
name=/dev/video1,size=320x240,fps=187 - NO

name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=15 - OK
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=30 - OK
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=40 - OK
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=50 - OK
name=/dev/video1,size=640x480,fps=60 - OK

i think the sdk may give you control over the leds and switching resolution on the fly. SDK also does 5 colour modes, perhaps that's why the duplication above. processing doesn't appear to let you choose between them

    if (key == '1') color_mode = COLOR_MODE.COLOR_PROCESSED;
    if (key == '2') color_mode = COLOR_MODE.MONO_PROCESSED;
    if (key == '3') color_mode = COLOR_MODE.COLOR_RAW;
    if (key == '4') color_mode = COLOR_MODE.MONO_RAW;
    if (key == '5') color_mode = COLOR_MODE.BAYER_RAW;

um, a quick test shows that

video = new Capture(this, 320, 240, "/dev/video1"); // WORKS

but

video = new Capture(this, 320, 240, "/dev/video1", 187); // FAILS    

i've updated the above list to show what works and what doesn't (here at least)

ohnoitsaninja

If it's working for you with processing 3 in linux then I'll install linux just for that purpose, but for what it's worth I am attempting to get it working on windows 7 x64

koogs

yeah, it's just part of v4l on linux, usb webcam, nothing special.

the forum on the CL site seems to still be active, mostly people who have lost their drivers and can't get a new one. and korean spam. the last driver update was 2012/13.

this for windows 10 says that the drivers are pretty standard. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-3023460/ps3-camera-windows.html

i also found links to sites with the windows driver for download. google 'ps3 camera windows free' for instance, watch the youtube video. the usual warnings about downloading random software form the internet apply.

there's port of the linux version to windows, which is free and open source, doesn't say which version though.

https://github.com/inspirit/PS3EYEDriver

and this

http://wiki.ipisoft.com/IPi_Recorder which is a suite of video tools that, i think, includes a usb driver (possibly the PS3EYEDriver above)

koogs

this thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/hoggit/comments/3u4fax/sony_playstation_eye_camera_driver_for_windows_7/ - points out that the last free driver (before it went paid-for) is widely available BUT CHECK THE SIGNATURE because infected versions exist.

ohnoitsaninja

I dug up this thread, seems like others ran into the same issue.

https://forum.processing.org/one/topic/does-ps3eye-work-within-processing.html

They were not able to figure it out. I have the drivers you linked, but it doesn't set up the camera to work like a normal webcam in windows, seems to require special treatment.

koogs

the cl eye toy (tool?) that that archive.org exe installs works with my ps3 camera and vista installation, was pretty straightforward. i don't have processing installed on my windows partition so i couldn't try that but...

ohnoitsaninja

Yes the CL tool works. I can get the video to work in their tool on win7x64 and processing 1.5, but not processing 3 or 2 or even newer versions of 1.