Suitable computer for photo booth

miketheDIYman

I am trying to build a portable photo booth - But stuck on Technical knowhow One where guests can stand in front of backdrop then use props and get photographed ( not and enclosed one ) Also on a limited budget
The main component is a touchscreen computer/laptop/tablet that has a detatchable keyboard or can communicate with a remote keyboard. Ideally it should have the following...Intel i5 processor, 4 GB RAM, Graphics card that supports Open GL v 3.0 ( Not AMD APU processors Not Intel Atom/Celeron )
Any help in identifying a suitable one at a reasonable price would be much appreciated.:D

ZENER

You don't actually need anything quite that powerful. We use Intel Integrated graphics in some of our booths. In others we use 512MB ATI or nVidia cards. Are you creating the software yourself or are you buying off the shelf ? We have two booths running of Intel Atom Micro PCs with integrated graphics from 7 years ago.

To trigger the booth I dismantled an old mouse and wired a big red button to the Left mouse button and put the whole lot on a box that was fixed behind the booth face with the button at the front. The USB cable from the mouse was left intact and simply plugged into the PC. The software is set to trigger from a left mouse click.

Have you decided what type of camera you will use ? If you want a live view then choose one that provides that via the USB port. Canon PowerShot G9 and G10 models are what we use or the Canon 500D or Rebel. Webcams can be used too but choose a decent one for better quality.

If you haven't already take a look at Breezesys.

If you need any help let me know.

Ken

miketheDIYman

Thanks Ken for a great response- I will take you up on your kind offer and PM you for more detailed info

miketheDIYman

Hi Ken,
My daughter has done some work for a guy in UK who has a few booths and would like me to put one together for her. I am familiar with Breezesys but dslrbooth offers an app that has more interesting features and they specified the requirements I outlined in my post.

My own DSLR is a Nikon D50 and appears unsuitable for live view which I feel is essential - so I am planning to buy a Canon 1300 which has many new features incl. wi fi

Ideally I would like a touchscreen but if I could get live view with a mouse this would be great

I have purchased a roll fed printer which is less likely to have any paper jams so that end is sorted

Any help you can offer will be much appreciated
Regards, Michael

beertons

I have been pondering the idea of getting a photo booth vending machine. Am I crazy? I'd use an azkoyen coin mechanism, as I'm familiar with those, and know a guy locally who can recalibrate them. I have a site earmarked for it too, just haven't sold the idea to the landlord yet.

miketheDIYman

Hi Beertons, the coinmech is the least of your problems
If you have a good site to place the booth with lots of footfall then you may stand to make some mullah !
Mine is a portable one that you set up at events and several people use funny props and stand in front of backdrop etc.

ZENER

We have a coin-mech booth. It's an old style passport photo booth with wind up seat etc. Coin mechs are cheap these days and are user adjustable with a few DIP-Switches. We install it in pubs and clubs during the summer months where there are a lot of tourists. We customise the prints to suit the venue.

The software is the expensive bit. Lots of companies making it but all looking for big licensing fees.

A Photo Booth can be built in to pretty much anything. An old vintage camera would look really cool though but in our business they'd have such a small market it wouldn't be worth a software license and the work involved.

The printer is usually the bulky part but the camera and a small computer can be squeezed in to a small enclosure and if you don't need a monitor then all the better. We use Sony and Mitsubishi DyeSub printers which are quite large with a capacity for over 500 hundred prints at a time. Again, not cheap at nearly 2 grand each !

Ken

beertons

I'll pm you tomorrow Ken with a few more questions if ya don't mind.

CreepingDeath

I would've said a Raspberry Pi 3 with the RPI Camera would do it.
That's powerful enough to emulate games consoles and has plenty of IO ports to integrate with other hardware ( external button switches, touch screens etc )

But that's a cheap and cheerful DIY option.

ZENER

CreepingDeath wrote: »

I would've said a Raspberry Pi 3 with the RPI Camera would do it.
That's powerful enough to emulate games consoles and has plenty of IO ports to integrate with other hardware ( external button switches, touch screens etc )

But that's a cheap and cheerful DIY option.

The Pi is perfect for a DIY booth and there are several tutorials available on line to make a useful booth on a tight budget.

http://makezine.com/projects/raspberry-pi-photo-booth/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wifi-Photobooth-With-a-Raspberry-Pi/

Ken