Screenshots Question

April 22nd, 2008, 4:05 pm

I'm very much of a novice with my digital camera, and I was wondering how to get a clear screenshot of my CRT screen? Like with TV, when viewing with another camera, there is a rolling band of blue across the screen, and with the delayed response of my camera when I click the release, it is very difficult or impossible to time it so that the entire picture is clear. Does this also occur with a LCD monitor?

I have seen other people's screenshots, which were very clear, and I would like to be able to do so also.

April 23rd, 2008, 2:35 am

If you had a digital SLR where you can change the shutter settings that would be useful. having a pocket sized digital camera probably won't have very quick shutter response or any settings to change this.

If you do want to take photographs like this i would recommend purchasing one.

[grinch2171]

April 23rd, 2008, 5:39 am

seekermeister wrote:

I have seen other people's screenshots, which were very clear, and I would like to be able to do so also.

Typically screenshots are done with a program designed to take screenshots. You can also use the Prt Scn (Print Screen) button on your keyboard and then paste the capture into Microsoft Paint, Word, Wordpad, Photoshop or whatever. Alt+Prt Scn will take a screen shot of the active window. Prt Scn will capture everything on the monitor.

April 23rd, 2008, 7:55 am

The reason is your TV screen is flickering at just under 30 frames per second and your shutter speed is faster than this (typically), so you're catching it during a screen redraw. You could try an SLR with a slow shutter speed but my guess is with a CRT you're going to either catch the refresh still or have a blurry shot. Best way to get a clear screenshot is to get a TV tuner and do a screen capture on your computer.

April 23rd, 2008, 7:59 am

What if you change the refresh rate of the monitor to 60 Hz?

April 23rd, 2008, 9:09 am

I realize that there are other ways to get a screenshot, but I was looking for a way to do it with the camera that I have. It certainly isn't worth the price of buying another camera, especially that of a SLR.

I doubt that changing the refresh rate would help, because it is set at 60 already. I guess this is just one of those ideas that will have to fade for lack of funds and foundation.

[joebert]

April 23rd, 2008, 10:06 am

I just took this with a point-n-shoot 4MP Fuji camera I bought for like $100 a few years ago. It's been scaled down to 25% of its' original size.

I set the camera on its' best quality setting,
turned the flash off,
zoomed in as close as possible,
backed away from the monitor until it was as shown in the photo. (5-6 feet)

It seems the closer I am to the monitor the more prominent that blue bar is.

Probably would have come out a little clearer if I'd used something to steady the camera.

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April 23rd, 2008, 12:21 pm

joebert,

It appears that you were able to time the picture so as to avoid the blue band, that would be something of a feat for me. I just tried moving back to the distance that you used, but with my camera everything is a blur. To get a really clear text, it seems that I have to be about a foot away, and at that distance it is not possible to see the entire screen.

The reason that I want to be able to do this is because there are times that normal print screens do not work, such as error dialogs, blue screens or while in the BIOS. Too often, I attempt to rely on a failing memory (mine).

[grinch2171]

April 25th, 2008, 6:07 am

I am still trying to figure out why you are trying to take a screen shot with a camera. Makes no sense to me.

I did this with the Alt+Prt Scn function in Windows.

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[ATNO/TW]

April 25th, 2008, 6:50 am

What ^^he^^ said.

[joebert]

April 25th, 2008, 4:33 pm

I can't be that lucky.

I seem to have a little better photo using a slight angle instead of trying it straight on.

I left this one at 1024x768.

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The reason that I want to be able to do this is because there are times that normal print screens do not work, such as error dialogs, blue screens or while in the BIOS. Too often, I attempt to rely on a failing memory (mine).

That's a good reason. I can remember several time I wish I'd had a camera years ago when I used to break my computer just about every day.

April 25th, 2008, 4:54 pm

If you're just trying to read text and it's blurry you could always put it onto your computer and crank the contrast.

April 28th, 2008, 3:18 pm

This response is somewhat late, because the PC has been down for a few days (motherboard replacement).

Mastermind,

I do not believe that I understand your idea of putting it on the PC to change the contrast, because that would not change the sharpness of the text. But, even if it did, that would not be ideal, because I want this to work on a standalone basis.

[George L.]

May 9th, 2008, 9:00 pm

Hmm, guys, how about screenshot with cursor too?

We can't do that using printscreen or snipping tool. Anyone?

Thank you