Which fpv kit for 250 racer ?

[aburn09]

Hi I not new to flying as I';ve built and flown model helicopters for over 15 years but quads are new to me although I';ve now built and flown three 250 quads I';m now ready for what I built them for which is fpv.........I have a spektrum tx so I know I should look at fpv of 5.8mhz but other than that I';m confused as what I should go for ?.........I know there will be diffetent preferences on here but I';m just trying to narrow it down a little...... This is what I would like so hoping someone will have a few ideas ? I don';t want two cameras on the quad ie the fpv and a mobius.... I';d like either a good quality camera with built in micro sd card or the goggles that have built in sd card for recording and ideally all comes in a kit rather than buying bits here and there so leaning towards possibly a fat shark kit but which one ? Looking up £300 if that helps ? I think I read fat shark quad transmitters are powered from the balance plug from the battery which sounds good to me ? Any comments/recommendations appreciate 

[PropsToYou]

Hi Aburn,

Is there a particular reason you want to avoid two cameras or is it more a weight/space issue?
I';d try to avoid recording RX side as you will loose quality this way and will definitely feature static, even if just occasional.

There are a number of options for recording on-board in-camera. I was originally quite set on the same thing and didn';t like the idea of two separate cameras on my quad. However, I ended up going for one camera for my FPV and one to record (Mobius Type C).

There are a few reasons I came to this decision in the end.

Firstly, and most foremost for me, I wanted good quality footage (without strapping a relatively heavy, £400 GoPro on the front). From what I could tell looking online and asking around, Mobius definitely sat up there among the best quality onboard recorders without pushing up the price or weight.

Another reason I ended up going for two cameras is that, if you go for one, you have two options. Do you go for an FPV camera for better response but forego a little quality in the video, or do you go for a better quality camera (eg a mobius) but undertake a little lag, which with 250 flight can be a killer. As for me, I really wanted good quality footage, whilst not compromising my agility and reaction speed in the air, I felt it best to go separately.

If you are set on recording on board with one camera however, I myself haven';t got any personal experience with any particular cameras, however, from everything I';ve read, I';d certainly recommend getting a camera with FPV in mind rather than quality, or you will likely end up with a little lag which could cause big problems in flight.

That all said and done, I';m very far from the most experienced here so definitely worth seeing what others have to say on the subject too.

[aburn09]

Thanks props for your quick response.......I only wanted one camera partly yes because of weight but also space saving you';ll see my Diatone is small and I like a clean build no extra wires sticking out or extras that don';t have to be there so really trying to avoid a second camera if possible but I take on board what you';ve said about two cameras 

[slurm]

There is a reason we pretty much all have 2 cameras, no one camera does both functions just yet.

You either have too much unacceptable lag, ie using a go pro/mobius for FPV or,

You have a bad recorded picture quality if you record at base the FPV footage.

of course there is advantage to recording baseside thats not really talked about, which is the ability to rewind and see where the multi was before it crashed making recovery possibly easier if you cant find it, (granted not all cases but most)

If you want to fly fast, then i would suggest you opt for recording at base.

You could always spend £15-20 for a nice chinese carbon fibre zmr(blackout copy) frame and get both cameras.

[aburn09]

Thanks slerm for the resons of two cameras..........so if I had a good fpv csmera and goggles which recorded the flight I would be dissapointed with the playback although the flight through the goggles live would be ok ?

[slurm]

yes, interference would ruin the picture as its an analogue signal

[dirtyharry]

you Can only transmit a fairly low quality 640x480 pixels ( or about that amount) down your typical 5.8 ghz video link. A cheap recorder will do 720p , which is about 1280×720 pixels , the difference is quite noticeable + not having interference is a bonus.

If your worried about weight ( which is a good thing) get a keychain 720p recording camera , the picture quality is more than good enough and well up to youtube standards.

You can actually use this camera to fly on as well , it has the lowest latency of all the recording cameras and is perfectly good for general FPV, however a stand alone camera will give a better picture especially in big light changes, such as facing into the sun which is pretty much unavoidable.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-DVR-808-Micro-Camera-16-V3-D-HD-720P-H-264-Pocket-Camcorder-Video-Recorder-/160874297245?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2574daf79d

[tim b]

I';m relatively new to FPV too, but my recommendation would be to avoid the 25mW video transmitters, (the one on the quad).  I';ve only flown FPV 3 or 4 times, but am already so disappointed with the 25mW (UK legal) one that I';m changing it for a more powerful one.

I';ve bought the proper ImmersionRC LHCP antennas, but it still breaks up at ridiculously close distances, and I';ve crashed a few times because of it.

If you are getting an FPV mini-camera, spend a little more and get one with WDR.  I didn';t and went for a cheaper £20 one, but again have discarded that and bought another one already for £28 that seems to give a much better picture.

In my case ';buy cheap buy twice'; is definitely true.   :-(

[aburn09]

Thanks guys..........so the mobious/ knock off cameras I can velcro on/off at will so not neccessary unless I want to record the action...... Now getting back to the fpv camera then can someone reccommend a good camera with bracket and everything else I need transmitter etc I need to strap onto the quad.....if possible that can be powered without soldering the transmitter in as I';m sure sone can get a feed from the balance plug from the battery ? Then of course back to the goggles no point in having a good camera if the goggle screens show poor quality images ? So what I';m saying could someone give me a complete run down in what I';ll need......web links / ebay links appreciated 

[aburn09]

So narrowing it down to Fatshark attiude v2 or dominators v2.......