Having read various negative comments on the 60 and 90 degree cameras I was concerned that it might not do my job. Boy was I wrong!
My laser machine has a bed size of 600x400mm, and the cover raises pretty high. Based on the calculations the 60 degree camera was ideal.
Now that it’s mounted and in operation I have only good things to say, not only about the camera, but also about how well LightBurn works with it. In truth I’m kinda blown away!
Previously I had a little dance - frame-move-frame-repeat- until the material was properly located on the bed. Now with one quick snap of the camera, I’m reliably locating the cut within 1/8 inch or better. First time. SOOOOO easy! And best of all, I’m using my material much more efficiently.
Kudos to the group at LightBurn software, and thanks profusely for a truly outstanding product.
I just got a 600x400 bed machine and am wondering what camera to get. Do you mind mentioning what your Camera mounting distance to the bed is? Mine is 686mm, so its recommened that I get a 80-90 degree camera. But my worry is the focusing issue, and seems like a 120 may be too wide. Anyways, thanks for your insight and information.
The focusing issue seems to be more with larger systems, and more pronounced with the 60 than the 90. I tested a 90 degree camera, 30" (760mm) above a flat surface, and I was able to get good focus across the full field of view. It helps to have consistent lighting, but a 600mm bed should be fine with the 90 degree camera.
On my machine the cover lifts pretty high, placing the camera at about 750mm from the bed. Using the camera calculator (https://tinyurl.com/LightburnCamera), mine worked out to a 60 degree camera. The results are very good, but it did take a few trials to get the focus set to the best average (not hard).
It helps to mount the camera pointing directly down at the center of the bed. That way the limited depth-of-field doesn’t work against you. With this setup I find that if I focus at the center, it’s fairly well in focus everywhere. FYI – this is NOT a hi-resolution photography camera, it’s for targeting, and for that it’s just fine.
I plugged your numbers in and it definitely suggests the 90 or 80 degree camera. Looks like they don’t sell an 80 degree, so 90 is the best available unit.