Decent, cheap board camera?

[DebianDave]

I';m a monitor user and have recently bought one of those cheap HK goggle set. Up til now I';ve  been using a Möbius but its a normal lens rather than wide and I am finding it quite difficult to avoid objects due to its narrow fov...

Anyone have a suggested source of a good wide angle board cam in the UK/Europe?

[Britishguy]

you could buy a lens for the mobius or buy a sony 600tvl cam plus a 2.8mm lens

Review: Sony 600TVL Super HAD board camera for FPV

[DebianDave]

Can';t seem to find any of the wide lens modules in the UK I am too impatient for China deliveries these days!

Having a search for board Sony cams now

[Biffa]

Can';t seem to find any of the wide lens modules in the UK I am too impatient for

https://joovuu.com/gb/mobius-action-camera-accessories/86-mobius-wide-angle-lens-module.html

[Britishguy]

http://multirotorparts.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=33

[richardg6paj]

I';ve just bought a Sony Super Had 600tvl Camera, I have to say after reading all the "good" reviews I';m not that impressed with the picture quality.
Looks like a typical cctv camera, poor definition. Yes I';ve been through all the settings and refocused the lens. Had to remove the sharpeness setting to make it look more realistic and less like a really old mobile phone picture.
I suppose it';s adequate, but definitely not as good as expected.
I';m looking for better!

Richard

[Britishguy]

Mine was brilliant when put through the tv

[DebianDave]

I';ve ordered one of those Sony cams, thanks guys. I don';t mind if the picture is a bit iffy as I';ll be using the mobius for recording.

In related news, I put 3 packs through my new 250 flying Los this morning... Only to discover the lens cap was still on the cam! Shame as this basically its maiden and probably the best LoS I';ve ever done

[Britishguy]

oh noo

[richardg6paj]

Mine was brilliant when put through the tv

When I put mine through the TV it looked like a very poor vhs video tape.

Richard

[Britishguy]

strange..

[Hands0n]

Really you should not be using anything less than 700tvl these days. Otherwise the image quality is going to be rather low.

I have found that CCD board cameras seem to top out at 700tvl and the more recent CMOS at 800tvl. I have one of each and much prefer the 800tvl for giving an image that is close to Standard Definition TV!

I';m seeing 700tvl board cameras for around £12 from China recently

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[DebianDave]

I do wonder what sort of quality those super cheap cams from China are...

[Britishguy]

the ccd one i had was pretty good, but i think a wide angle mobius would be great because its in one unit.

ill go on a search to see if i can find you a wide lens in the uk that isnt too expensive

[Britishguy]

far as i know the lens module is the same so just swap the lens
and change the firmware from lens a to b

http://www.minidvcameras.co.uk/viewitem.php?productid=70

Lens comparison:
Mobius standard lens = 87 degrees (approx)
Mobius Wide Angle Lens = 116 degrees (approx)

[DebianDave]

Might give that a bash, thanks. All the other lenses I';ve seen have been £20 odd but with a ribbon cable. Apparently these are quite fiddly to fit without damaging though...

The standard lens is alright for me on a foamie buy everything seems so close hovering a quad at waist height, gives me claustrophobia lol

[Hands0n]

I do wonder what sort of quality those super cheap cams from China are...

It really is all down to the imaging chip - and anything less than 700tvl is likely to disappoint.  Of course, the lens needs to be of sufficiently good quality also - but these are commodity items in the CCTV industry and so are fairly consistent.   Just need to make sure you get the size of lens you require, wider angles are better for FPV. 

[DebianDave]

The one I ordered was a 2.8mm, looking on YouTube that seems to be sufficient...

[dirtyharry]

I did try reading up on  what fpv systems were capable of when I started out but its a complicated old subject and I couldn';t find a simple answer as I don';t think there is one.

600tvl cameras work with our goggles and osd';s to give a good picture without compression or electronic fudgery.
Most vtx systems can only handle about 640 TV lines  with 640 * 480 being the norm for goggles, Pal standard is 625 lines .
Have tried higher lines but it didn,t work well for me, but was good on other systems.

What';s the best camera? Don';t know but I have 2 that cost less than 30 quid that are excellent and a 70 quid one that';s pretty poor.