Lightburn Camera - Position and Where to buy

[kevinstan (Kevin Stanley)]

I just purchased my laser a couple of days ago (has not arrived yet) is it possible to go ahead and buy a camera or will I need to have my laser to measure first? And also, since the official lightburn cameras seem to always be sold out, where else can I get one and which one should I get (need to figure out angle of lense and etc…) Possible to buy now or should I wait ?

[Rick (Technical Evangelist)]

Welcome and thanks for your post.

@kevinstan

should I wait ?

Yes please. Wait, and do your research. There is a lot of valuable information available on this forum, covering all manner of the lasering experience. Search, found at the top-right of each page is your friend.

I will share some starting points.

@kevinstan

I need to have my laser to measure first?

Yes, as described in this procedure:

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 …

Visual Guide for Cameras

As many of us are upgrading features on our lasers to include a camera, I thought I would share a guide to complement the math on the LB site. This is a visual guideline in comparison with the lid/bed, which includes brief print instructions in the file. The angles should be fairly close to spot on, but there may be some approximation, depending on your printer/settings. I placed it at the center of the lid in the open position and at the front of the bed to get an idea of coverage at both angle…

One of our members created this to help double-check your math:

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]

@kevinstan

the official lightburn cameras seem to always be sold out

The global supply chain for all things has been severely impacted by COVID19 and this includes our camera supplier. We are updating the main banner on our site with supply status regularly.

@kevinstan

where else can I get one and which one should I get

Search will return many posts that cover this question in detail and save me from retyping.