On the surface at first the the xbox360 cam looks great and works well in an MT scenario, it by far has the best IR sensitive CCD chip on borad, and performs extremely well in MT scenarios when used at 320×240 resolution, you can easily achieve 50+ fps. However where the camera lacks is in its 640×480 resolution range it barely does 17fps, usually it satys between 11~15fps and with that the cpu usage also skyrockets.

On the other hand the SPC 900nc is an amazing camera for its price it performs at its stated specs that is 640×480 at 30fps, but dont be fooled into thinking that the camera actually does 60 or 90fps; anything greater than 30fps is achieved through interpolation, and in an MT scenario this is pretty useless.

In comparison of the 2 the spc900nc isnt as sensitive to IR as the xbox 360 vision cam, but can get the job done nicely. Where it lacks in IR sensitivity it makes up in FPS.

All in all the both cameras are awesome, with the vision camera being just $10 on ebay it cant really be beat for prototyping purposes, and if you only plan to use the cam only at 320×240 then then this camera cant be beat, it does 50+fps without interpollation, and has amazing IR sensitivity, what more do you want really? right? However if you want to use the camera at higher resolution than this, than this camera really isnt designed for it, and as a result isnt well suited for MT applications, it just cant give you the required fps needed. In that case the philips spc900nc would be the better choice.

This is my 2 cents worth of review/comparison of the two, im sure there are ppl out there that have their own opinion on the cameras, this is just mine.

Recently i purchased a wideangle (120degree viewing angle) lens for the xbox360 vision cam… from an ebay store the lens came well packed and was delivered to me in 5 days.

At first looks the lens looks perfect, it fits snugly into the xbox360 vision cam holder and is able to focus the picture perfectly. but on closer inspection, as you will see that he holder is not perfectly centered to the ccd chip on the on the camera pcb, as a result the 2 top corners are not fully visible.

Saying that, the lens is quite good. the and viewing angle is excellent… with slight modification to the holder, this lens could work perfectly. From the test i’ve done i concluded that the viewing angle of th original lens is approx +-30deg.

Note: The below shots were taken at a distance of 1.5m~2m

Wideangle lens

Original lens

For the past few weeks i’ve been doing my research into multitouch, and the various types of cameras used by people over at NUIGroup.com, as their IR sensors. I narrowed my choice to 2 the Phillips SPC900-NC and the Xbox360 Live Vision Camera. By seeing a few tests Daddyoli did and and the recommendation of the Xbox360 Vision Cam given to me by both Daddyoli and Fairlane. I went with the Xbox360 Live Vision Camera.

Xbox360 Live Vision Camera

I purchased it for just over $13CAD from an excellent seller at ebay. For $13 the camera proved to be well worth the money. And the IR filter was easily removed. Below are the steps i performed to get the camera to work in an FTIR setup. (Basically its the removal of the IR Filter).

Alrity:

First you begin by unscrewing the focus lens, at one point its going to become a little stiff thats because there is internal limiter to how far the focus lens can turn (you can see it in the picture its the little white plastic nub). Use moderate amount of force and keep turning to unfasten the the focus lens. You will notice with the focus lens is completely unfastened, it will not remove from the housing but it will dangle there. Next use a flat blade screw driver and gently pry open the plastic casing. Being very careful as not to slip, and hurt your self.

(BE WARNED IF THE SCREW DRIVER SLIPS AND DIGS INTO YOUR HAND AS IT DID MINE I WILL NOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE)

Casing pried open

Next unscrew the 2 screws holding the PCB and focus lens holder to the plastic Casing.

After removing the 2 screws flip the PCB over and remove another 2 screws which hold the PCB and the black focus lens mount together. After which with in the black mount a greenish glass filter is attached, you can easily pry that out with a utility knife and or screw driver.

IR Filter

Currently my prototype is using 2 photo negatives As an IR pass filter (only allows IR light to pass blocks all visible light). but for my final project i intend to use one of the specific IR band pass filters i bought from an excellent seller at ebay. I bought a 10mm 880BP7 filter and a 25mm 879BP12 filter. The seller doesn’t have these filters listed, you have to request them. Each filter was around $18 plus $5 shipping.

880BP7

879BP12

Just in the past couple of days Jmccd over at NUIGroup forums created an excellent pdf on how to modify an Xbox360 Live Vision Camera. It can be found here.