Notices

seems like the update of the harmattan icon pack installed also the .desktop file of magnus plus...

explained over here:
talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=1101744&postcount=170

seems like it's been corrected already

hey man....you can do(?) a simple camera app.
with camera image frame and on top you putt a simple transparent layer with selectable png file....and maybe some adjustments possibility .
It will be good as a reference image in hand-drawings.
So I can draw the png(with alpha chanel) image, on a paper looking at the phone screen.
I asked lot of people but no one do-it

It sounds interesting. At least it needs the same "real-time" behavior as the magnifier. My guess is that it will not be easy to draw even with this VR aid. Having such a screen in glasses would make the process more natural.
Other than this comment, I cannot promise much - a proper such system should track the paper and project correctly even when the camera moves - so it's not truly simple unless one is satisfied by a simple fixed ortogonal projection.

Update Oct 5th, 2011:
After trying to make sense of the traces of a SMD circuit PCB, when I've had the opportunity again to contrast the default camera app and my magnifier app, I think mine offers better magnification, although I can't really pinpoint the cause (close distance AF difficulties? some mild digital zoom on mine?).
Also, I have found a bug, the app as packed didn't have enough rights to set the focus, so it was silently failing to do it (on my dev copy run as root it has always worked fine).
The updated version is here (still without a proper icon):
http://brainsignals.de/users/cristia....1-2_armel.deb

I am not sure where it's the best place for such an update notice, in the announcement or as a reply to it, so it's both for now.

yes I thought about that
I wanted only a simple png loaded on camera screen
of course the phone must stay fixed.

UPDATE Feb 9th, 2012:

A new version is up, magnusplus_0.0.2-1_armel.deb.

Changes:
- A new app added to the package in addition to the magnifier, magnus plus negative viewer, very handy for the ones who use colour and b/w photographic film negatives. It works like magnus plus magnifier, just that it inverts the video stream on the fly.
- Icons for both apps.
- Close focusing fixed, it works now on my both n900s, one powered by power kernel and the other one closer to the stock configuration.

And a hint on how to best use the two applications from the package:
as I didn't find yet a way to disable the opening of the default camera when the camera slide is open, and it actually helps to open that once to fix the exposure and white balance (these settings remain somewhere and are inherited by magnus plus),

Preparation (only once, repeat just when the type and intensity of the light changes):
step1: open the camera slide. The default camera app either starts by itself, or if you have your phone differently configured, you start it.
step 2: half-press the shooting button (don't need to take a photo).
step 3; close the default camera app

Actual use:
With the camera slider already open, just start Magnus plus magnifier or magnus plus negative viewer, find the optimum distance to the object you are interested in and enjoy the magnified (and optionally inverted) view.
Test first non-inverted (the plain magnifier) on your computer display, you should be able to nicely see the pixels.

I appreciate any feedback.

Good to see it is still developed.
You had some nice ideas (integrate lighting of the LEDs on demand, temporary image freeze). Any news to report on that?

I focused (!) on fixing the close focusing problem and on implementing the viewer for negatives (for me very interesting).
This has proved to be difficult to do, in the end I've made a custom gstreamer video filter for that.
For negatives, best is to look at them on a physical light box, which produces enough light.

When I'll progress more towards an integrated GUI, I'll be able to implement the two features you mention.

Easier should be to do the overlay that was suggested by sharp66, I hope there is some gstreamer capability for watermarks or so that could be used.

Nice App!! Actually it could be useful, but it's funny indeed...
Thanks!

Here are screenshots that should demonstrate what the magnus plus negatives viewer is capable of:

Original Kodak Gold 200 negative on the lightbox:


And now as seen through the application (here running on my n900):


As you can see, due to magnification, one doesn't see the whole 35mm frame, but as the details are so small, that's the better way, otherwise it's very hard to understand what's what there.