Is the Active Camera worth the $15?

[Guest majhankee]

I am a guy who likes to fly to see the passenger views and wing views of the plane. So, is the Active Camera worth it?

[kerosene31 349]

Well... yes! It is worth it just for the movement in the virtual cockpit... everything else is a bonus. You can search old posts, but honestly I don't see a reason not to get it...

[JimD737 0]

Active Camera has been one of the most used addons I have bought.HTH,Jim

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I believe I recommended the tool found here in one of your other posts regarding wing views: www.fs-recorder.netYou can set up a wing view for almost any aircraft, and install is easy. You can also set up interesting spot views. I strongly suggest this program before paying anything for a commercial program, not that Active Camera isn't good, but Matthias' tool really adds a lot to FS2004. Matthias did a great job with it, and it offers so much more than just recording and playing back flights, which it also excels at.Regards,John

[Guest majhankee]

Ok thanks.

[Guest majhankee]

I tried to but it didn't really work too well. The replay part is great but I don't understand how to set up different views.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

You are going to have a learning curve with any program, including Active Camera. I suggest giving it another try and don't be afraid to ask questions in his forums.Regards,John

[Guest majhankee]

After playing around with the recorder, I've LOVED it. Now, I truly understand how to use it and set up the wing views! You need different aircraft and if you get one view down with one aircraft and save it, its the same for everything else. Thanks guys, you saved me $15 ;)

[Guest ThrottleUp]

majhankee please can you tell me how you set up those wingviews using Recorder? I just cant get it right :(Thanks!

[Guest majhankee]

>majhankee please>can you tell me how you set up those wingviews using Recorder?>I just cant get it right :(>>Thanks!Ummm...I would first suggest that you get a Camsim Boeing 787 plane or Airbus 350 from this site: http://pages.infinit.net/camsim/Then, download any one of them but I suggest the British Airways A350 (its my fav). Then, when you're playing, press the 6 or 4 button on the numeric keyboard (right side of the keyboard) and press ALT. The game will pause. Then press ALT again and the view will remain in that wing view. Then go to the Virtual Cockpit view and press ALT again and go to the Recorder menu and press "New VC view". You should now have the wing view and you can use the arrow keys or joystick to survey around. It's really cool, you have to play around with the views.Oh, and also...once you have set up that wing view with the Camsim plane, you can use that same view on any other plane you want. And you can edit the view to go at different zooms, like 2x zoom or only 0.5x zoom.Yeah, my explanation might not be clear but try it.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Although that is a great way to work with wing views with aircraft that have them modeled, a number of aircraft don't have them modeled--i.e. the HJG DC-8.That's where recorder.dll really shines, as you can set up a spot view to act as a wing view. Unlike the default MSFS spot view, the spot view recorder offers can "move" in synch with the aircraft, giving a passenger's eye perspective as an aircraft makes its way through the skies.To set up a spot view that can substitute as a wing view in aircraft lacking them, the steps are pretty simple to follow.First, pick the aircraft you want to use.Next, go to the Recorder menu, and choose "Advanced Spot Views", then "New Spot View".After creating the new spot view, return to the Recorder menu, choose "Advanced Spot Views", then "Edit Spot View".Here you will assign your Spot View a name (such as "HJG DC-8 Starboard Wing View). Next, you will assign parameters for your Spot View, such as those I show here in my attached screenshot. You'll have to experiment with the distance and altitude to get your spot view right, but the most important thing is to leave all three options checked. You can vary the distance, altitude and view direction to set up exactly the type of wing view you want. Once done, you can save the spot view in a folder and load it back up whenever you load the aircraft.Remember, the spot view can be used to create a realistic pax/wing view perspective for a model that doesn't have them built as part of the virtual cockpit. If a model does, no need to use spot view in this manner. I've attached a second example shot showing a wing view I set up for the default MSFS MD-8x.Regards,Johnhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/182650.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/182651.jpg

[Guest majhankee]

WOW! Thanks!

[John_Cillis 2,406]

"WOW! Thanks!"No, thanks goes to you and anyone who finds a few of my thoughts can help them. I love what Avsim offers the community, and tho' I haven't been here as much as I'd like lately, I know Avsim is always there and the sense of community here is second to none.Happy New Year,John

[Guest ThrottleUp]

majhankee & John - thank you both for taking the time to explain how Recorder works. I admit I've been trying to figure it out for quite some time but got nowhere. For some reason the custom views I set up always seemed to end up pointing someplace odd! Now that I have both your instructions to hand I shall check them out! I have a freeware C17 that does not have its own modelled wingviews so Recorder will be perfect for that!Happy New Year. Be well :)

[Guest majhankee]

Happy New Year to everyone too!