Camera for a Boss LS 1420?

[Kismet (Lindsay Leaf)]

Hello, I have tried figuring out which camera that I need for my Boss 1420 but cannot seem to grasp which would work. I tried to reach out to Boss and they replied that I needed to ask Lightburn.

Based upon the spec sheet, I’m seeing that the bed is 551.18x485.14.

Can anyone help and tell me which laser to purchase? (Edit: I meant camera not laser.)

Also, I see that there is a newer model camera which is currently sold out. Is it silly for me to buy the one in stock instead of waiting for the new one to be back in stock?

Thanks!

[Rick (Technical Evangelist)]

You identify the size of bed but you also need to know where you are going to mount the camera and calculate the distance it will be from the bed when in focus. Have a look at these posts for further information on how to determine the correct choice.

What is the best camera lens to choose for my bed size?

To answer this question requires one additional piece of information: The height above the bed that you plan to mount the camera. LightBurn now has a helper that will do the ugly math for you. Go to Help > Camera Selection Help and the software will use the current workspace size by default, and show you the minimum mounting heights for all the cameras we sell: [image] This number is the absolute minimum required for the camera to see the whole working area. You will need to allow a little …

Lightburn Camera Calculator

I whipped up a Lightburn Camera Calculator to help determine which camera focal length might be appropriate for any given machine. Give it a whirl & let me know if you see any issues! I hope this helps everyone answer the question, “Which camera do I need?” https://tinyurl.com/LightburnCamera [LightBurn%20Camera%20Calculator%20Screenshot]

@Kismet

Can anyone help and tell me which laser to purchase?

Can I assume the above is a mistyped question and that you meant “camera” instead of “laser”?

[Kismet (Lindsay Leaf)]

Arg. Yes, I absolutely meant camera instead of laser in that line.

Thank you for sharing those. I was looking at them but wasn’t sure what that actually meant. Are there standard places where people would mount the cameras? I’m not sure whether there is one spot which would be more beneficial?

Thank you!!

[Rick (Technical Evangelist)]

I did a quick forum search (found at the top-right of each page ) for “best place to mount a camera” and found this post:

Quick Tip - Best place to mount a USB camera to use with Lightburn?

We get asked this a lot. Straight down, in a stable location above the bed, with the whole bed in view, with a little extra room to allow for pixel loss when correcting distortion is “best”. If your lid opens to a set and consistent location, mounting with the lid open works well for clearance and reduces the requirement for extreme fisheye. With a well focused and calibrated camera, it is possible to correct an awful lot, but extreme angles or extreme fisheye will test the limits of it. Mount…

[Kismet (Lindsay Leaf)]

Thank you so much! Apologies for not thinking to search for that. That should have been my first stop. I really appreciate your help!

[Rick (Technical Evangelist)]

No worries, we are all good. Not wanting to “take anyone to task” if you will, just pointing out one of the valuable features of using a forum for supporting LightBurn. We have captured a ton of really good information here over time and using search will help in discovering the goodies within.

[LightBurn (Oz)]

A few of our members with Boss 1620 and 1420 machines have reported success with the 60 degree camera. The important part is the mounting height, as Rick mentioned. I have a Nova 24 laser with similar bed dimensions (600 x 400 mm) and on that system, at 800mm directly above the center of the bed, the 60 degree lens is a perfect fit. The newer cameras you’re referring to are 8 megapixel, wide aspect cameras, intended for larger machines (1000mm or larger). Using one on a smaller system would be overkill.

[Allen (Allen Massey)]

I have the 60 degree camera mounted on the lid of my 1420 and it works great. Just be sure you mount it on the lid so that the camera is directly over the center of the bed when the lid is fully opened.