Radio Shack PC Camera Owner's Manual

PC Camera

Owner’s Manual

Please read before using this equipment.

ˆ

Introduction

Your RadioShack PC Camera is designed
for PCs that have a universal serial bus
(USB) port. You can use the camera to make
a video, capture still images, or post live vid­eo, chat, still pictures, and video clips to the
World Wide Web. With the supplied fun-to­use application software, your camera is a
powerful addition to your PC.

Camera Features

USB Operation

and begin using the camera. The camera
uses the power provided through the USB
bus directly from your computer — no batter­ies needed!

CMOS Sensor

images.

— lets you easily connect

— provides high qu ality video

1

2

-Foot USB Cord

6

/

camera almost anywhere.

— lets you use the

Supplied Software

WDM (Windows Device Model) TWAIN
(Technology Without An Important Name)
for Windows 98/2000 —

and transfer images from the camera to im­age editing programs such as Adobe Photo­Shop, MGI PhotoSuite or Corel.

Presto

— helps you create and manage

your video and photo archives.

Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 5.0 —

web browser that lets you quickly view multi­media files such as image, GIF animation,
video or sound files in your computer.

lets you capture

320

240 Pixels C olor Resolution (3 52

××××

288 Pixels Maximum Resolution)

vides excellent video quality.

Snapshot Button

age captured by your camer a.

Auto Exposure Control —

software works with your camera to let you
set the band frequency according to your lo­cal frequency and the set exposure speed.

Auto White Balance Control —

change the color image to your preference.

Backlight Compensation —

automatically compensates for poor image
backlighting.

Edge Enhancement —

matically provides clearer and sharper imag­es.

— lets you freez e any im-

the camera auto-

RadioShack and RadioShack.com are trademarks used by RadioShack Corporation.

— pro-

the supplied

lets you

the camera

©

2001 RadioShack Corporation.

All Rights Reserved.

Ulead Photo Explorer

××××

viewer and image management tool for pro­grams such as Microsoft Front Page or
Netscape Navigator Gold, and a perfect im­age editor for programs such as Adobe Pho­toShop and PhotoDeluxe, JASC PaintShop
Pro, and Microsoft Picture It.

— a perfect image

FCC STATEMENT

This equipment has been tested and found
to comply with the limits for a Class B digital
device, pursuant to Part 15 of the

. These limits are designed to provide

Rules

reasonable protection against harmful inter­ference in a residential installation. This
equipment generates, uses and can radiate
radio frequency energy and, if not installed
and used in accord an ce with the instru cti ons ,
may cause harmful interference to radio
communications.

FCC

2

Introduction

However, there is no guarantee that interfer­ence will not occur in a particular installation.
If this equipment does cause harmful inter­ference to radio or television reception,
which can be determined by turning the
equipment off and on, the user is encour­aged to try to correct the interference by one
or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving
antenna.

• Increase the separation between the
equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on
a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS



•IBM

• CD-ROM drive

• VGA or SVGA monitor

PC Pentium 266 MHz or compati-

ble with one available USB port

To avoid ins tal lation problems, insta ll th e
supplied iCam 320 driver software
before connecting the camera to your
PC. Before installing the driver software,
have your original Windows CD handy
(this is not necessary if the Windows
installation files are lo ca ted o n your hard
drive). When an

Insert Disk

box appears
while you are installing the driver soft­ware, click OK and insert the CD.

If you have Windows 98 installed, a

sion Conflict

box appears. Click

Yes

Ver-

to

keep the file.

• 32MB or more of available internal
memory (RAM)

• 150MB of free hard disk space



• Microsoft Windows

98, Windows

SE, Windows 2000, or Windows Me

• Microphone and speakers (optional)

Important:

• Your camera will not work with Windows

95. You must have Windows 98, Win­dows 98 SE, Windows 2000, or Win­dows Me installed on your computer to
use the camera.

• Some soft ware featur es might not w ork
correctly on computers running Win­dows 98 First Release. For best compat­ibility, upgrade to Windows 98 SE or
later.



98

Introduction

APPLICATION SOFTWARE

Your camera comes with a CD-ROM that in­cludes the drivers you need to operate the
camera, as well as these applications. You
can install the applications you want when
you install the drivers. (See “Installing/Test­ing the Software/Hardware” on Page 4.)

TWAIN Drivers and Utility

image editing program, such as Adobe Pho­toShop, MGI PhotoSuite, or Corel, to use the
camera and all of the program’s functions.

lets you use an

3

Presto! Image Folio LE

media image processing program which lets
you quickly create new images or enhance
old ones.

is a complete multi-

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0

browser that lets you quickly view any multi­media file (such as image, GIF animation,
video or sound file) stored in your computer.

is a web

Presto! Mr. Photo 1.5

solution that lets you work with digital imag­es, create images, use other applications
with images, transmit images over the Inter­net, and mor e.

Presto! VideoWorks 4.2

video editing program that lets you create
live presen tations.

Ulead Photo Explorer 6.0

front end for Microsoft Front Page, Netscape
Navigator Gold, or almost any other image
editor.

ˆ

Preparation

is a single package

is a quick and ea sy

is a perfect visual

CONFIGURING THE
MONITOR

1. Open the Windows
ble-click

Display

, then click

Control Panel

Settings

, dou-

.

Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.01

which lets y ou read docume nts and ma terial
prepared in the popular .PDF format.

Notes:

• For information about Presto! applica­tions, refer to their user’s manuals
included in the supplied CD-ROM (at

Start/Programs/Presto! (application
name)/(application name)UserManual

• For information about Ulead Photo
Explorer, refer to its online helps
included on the supplied CD-ROM.

Color

2. Set

Color (24- or 32-bit)

we recommend

Screen area

3. Set
els.

High Color (16-bit)

to

. (For the best display,

True Color

to at least 800 × 600 pix-

is a program

Tru e

or

).

).

INSTALLING/TESTING THE
SOFTWARE/HARDWARE

The driver software and application software
supplied with the camera is included in the
supplied CD-ROM. It includes a Setup Wiz­ard that makes installation easy.

Important:

you how to install the software using Win­dows 98. If you have Windows 98 SE, Win­dows 2000, or Windows Me, the steps might
differ. Follow the prompts you see while us­ing Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000 or Win­dows Me to install the software.

4

Preparation

The steps in this section show

Follow these steps to install the software,
connect the camera to your computer, and
test the camera and software together.

1. Start Windows 98 and quit all applica­tions.

2. Insert the software CD into your CD­ROM drive. The CD starts automatically.

Note:

If the CD does not start automati­cally, make sure the CD-ROM's door is
completely shut. If the CD still does not
start, the auto run option on your com­puter might be turned off. If this hap­pens, click

My Computer

. The window
shows the available drives on your com­puter. Then double-click the icon for
your CD-ROM drive and double-click

setup.exe

Select Components

3. Click on
installation) or

. The CD starts and the

screen appears.

Typical

(to select complete

Custom

(to select custo m
installation if you are installing a Presto!
application), then click

Continue

.

4. Follow the prompts to install the driver
and software for any or all of the applica­tions listed under “Application Software”
on Page 3 from the CD-ROM. Follow the
instructions provid ed with the applicat ion
software to install them.

Note:

Some subsequent steps in this
section assume that you installed the
Presto! Mr. Photo 1.5 application soft­ware in Step 4. If you did not install this
application software, the screens you
see might differ from those documented
here.

Notes:

• The cable f its on ly one way. If it does
not fit, do not force it. Turn it over and
try again.

• Refer to your computer’s owner’s
manual for the location of the USB
port.

• Some new computers also have a
keyboard with a built-in USB port. In
such cases, you can plug the cam­era’s cable in to ei the r the ke yb oard or
the computer.

7. To confirm that the camera is operating
properly when you first install it, click

Start

on the task bar, then click

Presto! Mr. Photo 1.5

grams

,

Photo 1.5

. The Mr. Photo application

, and

Pro-

Mr.

software runs.

8. Place the camera on a steady and l evel
surface, then slowly rotate the camera
so it aims at the target image.

9. Place a light source behind the camera,
facing the subject.

5. After you finish installing the software,
restart your computer.

6. Plug one end of the built-in cable into
your computer’s USB port.

Preparation

Important:

Do not aim the camera

directly at the light source.

Hint:

For better images, maintain a con­sistent li ghting envi ronment. Do not mix
fluorescent and other light types.

5

10. Click on the camera icon at the top left
of the screen. The TWAIN window
opens and you see the image captured
by the camera.

Delete

Setting

Image

Take

Picture

In-Use LED

Focus Adjustment Ring

Snapshot Button

Transfer to
Application

11. To adjust the focus of the image you
see, simply turn the focus adjustment
ring on the front of the camera in either
direction until you see the clearest
image.

ˆ

Software Operation

Size

Exit

Delay Time

RECORDING VIDEO CLIPS
OR CAPTURING STILL
IMAGES

Use the camera with the supplied application
software to record video clips and capture
still images.

USING TWAIN TO ACQUIRE
IMAGES

Use the camera with the suppli ed T WAIN ap­plication software to acquire pictures using
the supplied image editing program, other
image editing programs, or other programs
that can accept images. Any program that
supports TWAIN can access the camera and
make full use of its functions. These pro-

Uninstalling the Software Driver

If you need to remove the driver, go to

trol Panel

grams

click
stalling/Testing the Software/Hardware” on
Page 4).

grams include Presto ! M r. Pho to, MGI Photo­Suite, Adobe PhotoShop, CorelDraw, Ulead
Photo Explorer, MetaCreation Painter, Ado­be PhotoDeluxe, Ulead PhotoImpact, NewS­oft Presto! PageManager, etc.

This section describes the TWAIN inter face
in detail and explains all the c am era s etti ngs .

then double click

. Select the driver for your camera,

Add/Remove

, then reinstall it (see “In-

Add/Remove Pro-

Con-

Using Camera Commands

Note:

The steps in this section are general
descriptions of actions you can take to use
your camera’s commands. The screens you
actually see might differ from those docu­mented here.

6

Software Operation

After you install the camera and software,
follow these steps to fi nd and use th e camera
commands.

Note:

The larger the image size you choose,
the more memory space it occupies and the
longer the file takes to transfer.

1. From the application software you are
using, select

iCam320

as the source.

2. From the application software you are
using, acquire the camera. The TWAIN
window opens and you see the image
captured by the camera.

Image Forma t S e tti n g s

You can choose different image sizes, de­pending on your monitor’s display si ze. The
application software offers five image size
choices. Select lower image sizes for low­resolution images or high image sizes
for high-resolution images.

Size

To change the image size, click on
the TWAIN window. The

Still Image

appears.

on

screen

Color Space/Compression

— Your camera
can work with video images that are pro­cessed with characteristics called

space

and

compression

. Your camera’s de ­fault color space/compression setting is
Advanced users can adjust this value to

SP62, IYUV

, or

RGB24

.

color

I420
I420

Capturing and Transferring
Images

Once you open the TWAIN window, the pro­cess used to capture and transfer images is
the same, regardless of the application soft­ware you used with your camera.

Note

: Depending on the application software
you use to capture and transfer images, the
steps you use might be different than these
steps.

1. Start the application software you want
to use to capture and transfer images.

2. Use the application software you chose
to scan a new picture. The target image
appears.

3. To capture an image, press the snap­shot button on top of the camera or click

Take Picture

on
The camera freezes t he image and dis­plays it on the left screen of the TWAIN
window.

on the TWAIN window.

.
,

Size

— Your camera’s default image size
setting is
value to

480

320 * 240

160 * 120, 176 * 144, 352 * 288

, but you can adjust this

.

640*

, or

Software Operation

4. To take more than one photo or direct
transfer an image to an application, click

Delay Time

on the lower right side of
the screen, then click the related button.
The

Setup Self Time

dialog box

appears.

5. To repeatedly tak e a p hoto, click on

picture repeatedly

, then select a display

Take

interval (from 1 to 100 s ec ond s) for e ac h

7

picture. The still images you selected
appear, one by one, on the left side of
the screen at the time interval you
selected.

6. To adjust a photo’s quality to your pref-

Setting

erence, click

on the TWAIN win­dow, then adjust the video setting or the
video processor/amplifier (shown under
“Adjusting Video Setting” on Page 8 and
“Adjusting Video Proc Amp (Processor/

Size

Amplifier)” on Page 8). Or, click

to

adjust the photo’s image size.

7. To transfer a photo to your application
software for future editing or posting,
click the photo on the left side of the
screen, then click

tion

. The photo you selected is trans-

Transfer To Applica-

ferred to your application software.

8. To delete an unwanted photo, click the

Delete

photo then click

.

9. To return to the TWAIN-compliant appli­cation software, click

Exit

.

ADJUSTING VIDEO SETTING

To adjust your camera’s video settings, click

Setting

on

erties

on the TWAIN window. The

screen appears.

Prop-

For the best results, follow these hints:

Brightness and Contrast

— Your camera
comes with an intelligent light detector that
automatically adjusts the light source’s
brightness according to your environment’s
ambient light. You can also slide

Contrast

and

(also known as tone correction)

Brightness

according to the way your environment is lit.

Hue

— Slide

Hue

to adjust the hue o f the co l-

or you see to your preferences.

Saturation

— Slide

Saturation

to adjust the
image’s color intensity. The higher the satu­ration level (up to 20), the greater the color
intensity. If you adjust the saturation level to
0 (zero), the image appears in gray scale.

Sharpness

— Slide

Sharpness

to adjust the
image’s sharpness to your preferences. In­creasing the sharpness sharpens the image,
decreasing it blurs the image.

White Balance

— Your camera automatical­ly adjusts the color you see (called white bal­ance) according to the ambient light in your
environment. You can also slide

ance

to adjust the white balance you see

White Bal-

through the camera.

Default

— Return all settings to their default

values.

ADJUSTING VIDEO PROC
AMP (PROCESSOR/
AMPLIFIER)

Your camera’s video processor/amplifier lets
you adjus t more of the camer a’s video set­tings. To adjust the camera’s video proces-

Setting

sor/amplifier settings, click on
TWAIN window. The
pears. Then click on

Properties

8

Software Operation

screen.

Properties

Video Setting

on the

screen ap-

on the

Type:

For the best results, follow these hints.

Bandwidth

Your camera and other USB devices con­nected to your computer use differing
amounts of

bandwidth

(an amount of infor­mation per unit of time) as they work with the
computer. The USB controller in your com­puter has a fixed amount of bandwidth,
which all attached USB devices must share.

Your camera’s default bandwidth setting is
You might need to adjust this value in either
of the following circumstances:

USB Controller Bandwidth Ex-

•

ceeded

happens, select

appears in Windows. If this

5

to reduce t he amou nt

of USB bandwidth used by the camera.

Note:

Selecting 5 might reduce the c am -

era’s frame rate.

• The camera’s frame rate is too slow for

7

your needs. If this happens, select

to
increase the amount of USB bandwidth
used by the camera.

Auto Exposure

Adjust these values in any of the following
circumstances.

•Select

Band 50Hz

if your AC power

source’s frequency is 50 Hz.

•Select

Band 60Hz

if your AC power
source’s frequenc y i s 6 0 Hz (m os t AC
power in the United States is 60 Hz).

•Select

Normal AE

(Auto Exposure) to
set the camera to its auto exposure
mode.

Speed:

•Select

Stop AE

•Select

to stop auto exposure.

Fast

to expose the image to

light at fast speed.

Medium

•Select

to expose the image

to light at medium speed.

•Select

Slow

to expose the image to

light at sl ow speed.

Color Correction

6

.

Adjust these values in any of the following
circumstances.

AWB

(Auto White Balance):

•Select

Stop AWB

to turn off auto white

balance.

Fast

•Select

to turn on fast auto white

balance.

•Select

Medium

to turn on medium

auto white balance.

Slow

•Select

to turn on slow auto white

balance.

Light Source:

Overall

•Select

for images using a mix­ture of light sources, or if you are not
sure what type of light source will be
available.

Software Operation

9

•Select

•Select

ˆ

This section provides information about maintaining the camera and helping you solve prob­lems you might encounter while using it. If you continue to experience problems, or the prob­lem you have is not covered in this manual, contact your local RadioShack store.

The camera does not work. Make sure the camera is connected correctly to the com-

Home

for images using a typi-

cal home light source.

Office

for images using a typi-

cal office light source.

•Select

Troubleshooting

Problem Solution

puter.

Outdoor

outdoor light source.

for images using an

No capture device
found

appears.

Camera not
directed

Image display window ap­pears black, blue, or green
or no image appears.

No camera imag e or no mo­tion in video.

appears.

Make sure the camera is connected correctly to the com­puter.

Locate the camera in the Windows

Multimedia

click

vices

. If the camera is not listed, unplug the camera, plug it
in again, then reinstall the driver (see “Installing/Testing the
Software/Hardware” on Page4). If the camera is listed but
other cameras are also installed, disable all cameras, en­able the camera, then try again.

To remove the driver, go to

tem

the driver for your camera, click
driver (see “Installing/Testing the Software/Hardware” on
Page 4).

Unplug the camera then plug it back in. Then restart your
computer.

Reinstal l the software.
Make sure the camera is connected correctly to your com-

puter and the lens is clean and not obstructed by other ob­jects.

Unplug the camera then plug it back in. Then restart your
computer.

Device Manager

, click

, click

Devices

Control Panel

, and select

, then select

Control Panel

Image Devices

Remove

, then reinstall the

Video Capture De-

, double click

, double

Sys-

. Select

10

Troubleshooting

Problem Solution

After installing the camera
software, the software does
not detect the camera.

Blurred video/still image. 1. Adjust the focus (see “Installing/Testing the Software/

Camera software stops
working after installing oth­er application programs.

USB Controller
Bandwidth Exceeded

appears.

If you have any questions regarding the bundled application software, contact the respective
software companies listed in the software’s owner’s manuals.

Some computers are shipped without the USB port mode
enabled. To enable the USB port, you must run your com­puter’s CMOS setup program. This setup program is only
available when you power u p the c omput er. Sinc e the p roce­dure is different for each system, refer to your computer’s
owner’s manual for details.

Hardware” on Page 4).

2. Use the application software to adjust the sharpness
settings.

Installing other applications sometimes changes the com­puter’s system registry so that the camera no longer works.
If this happens, reinstall the camera’s driver (see “Installing/
Testing the Software/Hardware” on Page 4).

Adjust the bandwidth within your camera’s video processor/
amplifier settings. See
sor/Amplifier)” on Page 8.

If your computer has more than one USB port, try plugging
the camera into a different port.

Unplug any unneeded USB devices.

“Adjusting Video Proc Amp (Proces-

CARE

Keep the camera dry; if it gets wet, wipe it
dry immediately. Use and store the camera
only in normal temperature environments.
Handle the camera carefully; do not drop it.

Never use harsh or abrasive cleaners or or­ganic solvents on the camera or on any of its
parts.

To remove dust and dirt, blow gently on the
camera’s lens. Moisten the lens by breathing
lightly on it.

Wipe the lens gently with a soft lint-free cloth
or an untreated lens-cleaning tissue.

Troubleshooting

Do not use a cleaning s oluti on unle ss it i s de­signed specifically for PC camera lenses.

Do not wipe the camera’s l ens with chemi cal­ly treated eyeglass lens tissues as it might
scratch the lens.

Modifying or tampering with the camera’s in­ternal components can cause a malfunction
and might invalidate its warranty. If your
camera is not performing as it should, take it
to your local RadioShack store for assis­tance.

11

Limited Ninety-Day Warranty

This product is warrante d by RadioShack aga inst manufacturi ng defects in mate rial and workma n­ship under normal u se for nine ty (90) days from the date of purchase fro m RadioShack company­owned stores and authorized RadioShack franchisees and dealers. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED
HEREIN, RadioShack MAKES NO EXPRESS WARRANTIES AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
INCLUDING THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE,
ARE LIMITED IN DURATION TO THE DURATION OF THE WRITTEN LIMITED WARRANTIES
CONTAINED HEREIN. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN, RadioShack SHALL HAVE NO LIABIL­ITY OR RESPONSIBILITY TO CUSTOMER OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY WITH RE­SPECT TO ANY LIABILITY, LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY BY USE
OR PERFORMANCE OF THE PRODUCT OR ARISING OUT OF ANY BREACH OF THIS WAR­RANTY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM INCONVE­NIENCE, LOSS OF TIME, DATA, PROPERTY, REVENUE, OR PROFIT OR ANY INDIRECT,
SPECIAL, INCIDENTA L, OR CONSEQUENT IAL DAMAGES, EVEN I F RadioShack HAS BEEN AD­VISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts or the exclusion or limita­tion of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to
you.
In the event of a pro duct defect duri ng the warranty period, take t he product and th e RadioShack
sales receipt as proof of purchase date to any RadioShack store. RadioShack will, at its option, un­less otherwise provid ed by law: (a) correct the de fect by product repair with ou t ch arg e f or par ts a nd
labor; (b) replace the product w ith one of the same or similar design; or (c) refund the purch ase
price. All replace d parts a nd produ cts, and p roducts on which a refund is made, become th e prop­erty of RadioShack. New or recond itioned parts and products may be used in the performance of
warranty service. Re paired or repl aced parts and pro ducts are warr anted for the r emainder of the
original warranty period. You will be charged for repair or replacement of the product made after the
expiration of the warranty period.
This warranty does not cover: (a) damage or failure caused by or attributable to acts of God, abuse,
accident, misuse, improper or abnorm al usag e, failure to fo llow instru ction s, improp er instal lation or
maintenance, alteratio n, lightning or other incidence of excess voltage or cur rent; (b) any repairs
other than those provided by a RadioShack Authorized Service Facility; (c) consumables such as
fuses or batteries; (d) cosmetic dama ge; (e) tra nsporta tion, shippi ng or insura nce costs; o r (f) costs
of product removal, installation, set-up service adjustment or reinstallation.
This warranty give s you specific le gal rights, an d you may also h ave other right s which vary fr om
state to state.

RadioShack Customer Relations, 200 Taylor Street, 6th Floor, Fort Worth, TX 76102

We Service What We S ell

12/99

RadioShack Corporati on
Fort Worth, Texas 76102

25-3006

03A01

Printed in China