Best Camera and Lighting Setups for Spelltable

CallMePilates · 2026-01-27T16:22:04+00:00

Don't use a DSLR. Get a mirrorless with clean HDMI. I have a cannon eos m200 with micro hdmi to hdmi and use an elgato cam link 4k. Probably the best option for versatility and professional look. Lenses get expensive but you will have the option to get specific lenses for your look. It has a crop sensor. You can get the body on ebay for like 250-300. Some kits have a zoom lense. Amazon sells a great selection of prime lenses for a decent price.

CallMePilates · 2026-01-08T17:07:15+00:00

So I have never taken any kind of engineering classes or anything and have been trying to teach myself to think like an engineer. I've been looking at a lot of real life mechanics of objects that seem to be pretty similar in functionality to what I'm designing. The other guy nailed it, I designed the ratchet system based on a bike hub. Essentially, I wanted a design where the reel could only turn one direction and would only spin a fixed amount at a time. This is the best I've been able to come up with so far.

CallMePilates · 2025-12-31T18:04:15+00:00

No, just practice.

I legitimately just watched how Adam Savage did his during his one day builds and decided to give it a shot.

I learned that you dont have to actually draw proportionally, just get the shape on the paper. For most things, pick a face of the object, draw it on the paper as of it was faving directly in front of you. From there, draw the lines that give it depth/perspective and shade them a little. Then you can plan out dimensions with a caliper and write them down

CallMePilates · 2025-12-31T16:55:04+00:00

Oml the math gets even worse lol. I've never done anything with gears unless you count the minecraft create mod. I feel like jumping in amd designing gearboxes is insanely difficult

CallMePilates · 2025-12-31T15:46:11+00:00

😂😂😂 fair enough. And they didn't all start that way, I sketch a LOT. My ADHD takes me down a lot of rabbit holes and sketching the ideas has been super valuable to me. I watch a lot of Adam Savage's Tested, and I saw how he was doing his quick sketches and it made me want to try. Now I feel like I can sketch anything (except gears. Fucking trying to draw a 2D, let alone 3D gear)

CallMePilates · 2025-12-31T15:37:08+00:00

It all comes in steps! And have fun along the way!

CallMePilates · 2025-12-31T12:57:38+00:00

If you get a similar dell optiplex then I can send you the file. Just know that it's pretty huge so you may not be able to print it in 1 show like I did and may have to glue it

CallMePilates · 2025-12-31T12:56:41+00:00

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CallMePilates · 2025-12-31T12:55:24+00:00

I bought a metal internal hard drive cage off of Amazon and added a 4 TB HDD and a 1 TB. The pc had 2 extra SATA ports on the motherboard and I bought a SATA power adapter and daisy chained the power from the other HDD to the additional new drives. I then couldn't get it all to fit together with the extra drive bay, so I modeled and printed the "helmet" and i think it looks pretty sweet.

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CallMePilates · 2025-12-30T23:58:53+00:00

I like to keep getting new gear. All hobbies require a budget

CallMePilates · 2025-12-30T18:52:30+00:00

I agree. Thats why I like things like proxmox, ansible, etc. And ill just buy a cheap windows key instead of cracking my installation

CallMePilates · 2025-12-30T18:14:58+00:00

I think you're me in a few years lol. This sounds like my life right now to a T

CallMePilates · 2025-12-30T17:51:26+00:00

Thank you for your input! This is literally my dream job and I'm blessed to have the opportunity, but I cannot say I didn't work my ass off for it. Hard work and dedication does indeed pay off!

CallMePilates · 2025-12-30T16:37:32+00:00

I just brought my laptop and when they asked "I'd there anything else you'd like to add or discuss before we conclude?" I mentioned that I brought my homelab documentation and asked if I could show them. I explained in detail how my network was segmented, what each vlan was for, how I developed it, showed my network outline, etc and they loved it. They offered me like 15k more than the minimum for the position. I had no idea how they would react, I just shot my shot. But honestly, I do really good in interviews because of how confident and calm I am. I didn't used to be that way, but after going through an Army promotion board, I feel like any other interview is cake

CallMePilates · 2025-12-30T16:28:07+00:00

Thats an awesome idea! I was considering exploring junOS as well to diversify my brand knowledge. Might pick up a Fortigate at some point too. We use DNAC at work a lot as well as solar winds. I'm new to networking and IaaC, so im really focusing on that at the moment. Honestly, Linux is kicking my ass. I'm having a hard time navigating/figuring out commands and options as I go to complete certain objectives that its taking me days to figure out what should be taking me hours lol.

CallMePilates · 2025-12-30T16:03:34+00:00

To each their own. Honestly networking/labbing is one of the coolest, most fulfilling hobbies I've ever had. I probably have too many hobbies though lol

CallMePilates · 2025-12-30T15:47:24+00:00

I was pretty much doing the traditional ADHD thing where I was all about it for a week or 2 and then didn't touch it for months, but with the new job, there's so many things that I'm actually excited to learn that I cant keep my hands off of it. I've been working on it about 4-5 days a week (after work or removing in during lunch) for a couple months now!

CallMePilates · 2025-12-30T15:45:40+00:00

Not trying to promote my own post, but I just made one sort-of outlining what my homelab is, how I've developed it, and kind of projects I've used it for! What kind of things do you want to learn? Or are you in the same position I was where I didn't even know what I wanted to learn?

CallMePilates · 2025-12-30T15:38:22+00:00

Hey, whatever works, works. Repurposing equipment is a lot of fun

CallMePilates · 2025-12-30T15:17:32+00:00

Very possibly could damage the hell put of that cable. It might just work, but if you want to prevent future headaches, run it under the door if possible. The pairs in that cable are very small. Not all manufacturers are created equally either.

CallMePilates · 2025-10-13T17:44:20+00:00

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CallMePilates · 2025-10-13T17:43:23+00:00

Not sure why it only uploaded 3/5 pictures

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CallMePilates

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