Cheap Beginner Camera

I've never put a camera on a rocket before. My flights were never worth it. But now they are getting much better and higher.

I see a lot of cameras talked about, but I'm really not ready to invest a lot just to experiment with. Any recommendations for a cheap camera, say $30ish, in the roughly 720p 30fps range? SD card style is preferred but by no means a requirement. And lighter is way better.

I've seen options that look possible, but I'm not sure they'd survive the Gs or even the landing impact. They look a little cheaply made.

808. There is lots of info out there on it.

Save your money and buy a Mobius. Great quality & excellent HD.

timbucktoo said:

Save your money and buy a Mobius. Great quality & excellent HD.

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+1

Versatile and runs on 4.7v

The 808 looks interesting. Price is in a good range too. Do you guys normally just tape them to the rocket or do you get the shrouds?

Also, what's the difference between the 16 and 26 and other version numbers?

timbucktoo said:

Save your money and buy a Mobius. Great quality & excellent HD.

Click to expand...

CORZERO said:

+1

Versatile and runs on 4.7v

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Yes, but waaayyyy more expensive. A lot more to lose if you lose a rocket. I'm looking at entry level. The Mobius is more than twice the cost of the 808 I was looking at.

I got 5 808 cameras at 5 bucks a piece (because they simply stop working a lot of the times).

I built a rocket which held this camera in a downward-facing angle in a balsa transition. Unfortunately, I lost the rocket and camera on its first flight. Fortunately, the camera had stopped working anyway.

I'm a big fan of usb shaped spy camera... less that $10 with free shipping.. I've purchased several from the vendor in Sacramento. They are 720x480 will record for a long time with a full charge and right micro usb card. I just use black electrical to hold them on the rocket. Check my videos at rhttps://robbdm.com for examples.

I stopped using the key fob shaped version since shape not as aerodynamic as usb shape.

I flew an 808 camera about a dozen times without one usable video.

Then I bought a Mobius and every scene I take is fantastic. To me, the better deal is obvious.

First decide if you're a dedicated tech head that wants lots of videos, or a dabbler that wants to see what the technology is all about.

Be aware that there are so many versions of the 808 that there's no telling what you'll get for your $5ish. Many of the 808s out there are NOT updateable to the #16 firmware. There was also a case change from a rounded back to a flat back at one point. The round back one will not fit into the Landru made 3D printed shroud except once (going in). Most retailers that guarantee a #16 want upwards of $50. At that point, the extra $$$ for a Mobius, which is a tech leap over the 808, is a good deal to get a genuine product.

Google search the 808 camera, the RC web pages have TONS of info about the things.

I bought 6 different ones from Amazon and ebay. All were supposed to be #16. All were supposed to come with all the cables. All had the #16 pictures in the adds. None were a #16.

YMMV.

Caveat Emptor.

This ^^^^

I bought a few 808 cameras of varying quality off of ebay, until I decided it was worth it to pay the 60$ from buy mobius for one of their 808 cameras. You can see some of my videos here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/analoghardware/videos

if you compare the quality from the older videos to the newer ones (play in HD!) you can see the difference.

It's just my first try. Cheap and moderately effective is better to me for learning. If I start getting it right and it looks good, then I'll look at a Mobius. Right now 3k is a super high flight for me.

Jolly Logic needs to drop the chute release on the market and get me flying higher. A/V bays weigh in around 1/2 a pound. Not great for 29mm motors.

Kruegon said:

It's just my first try. Cheap and moderately effective is better to me for learning. If I start getting it right and it looks good, then I'll look at a Mobius. Right now 3k is a super high flight for me. .

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I've only had one flight over 3k, and on that one, the camera battery died I started with my camera on Estes rockets flying B6-4 engines. You can always try with a cheapo ebay one- they're 15$ shipped.

Kruegon said:

Jolly Logic needs to drop the chute release on the market and get me flying higher. A/V bays weigh in around 1/2 a pound. Not great for 29mm motors.

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Agreed on the chute release, but don't let that stop you. Altimeter DD is very do-able on LPR and MPR rockets. Ditch the 1/4-20 threaded rods, eyebolts, and 9V Duracells, and get creative on your lightweight e-bay construction.

Working on it. Started using #8 and #10 rods. Still using the 9v batteries right now. Trying to get my way into lipo but I can't seem to locate the proper female leads for the batteries I've been looking at. Lighter a/v bays would definitely help my altitude and make the camera more worthwhile to me.

I was thinking about getting a camera too. Deciding between the Möbius and 808. I may try the 808 first.

I've been looking at the CMOS board cameras used for FPV on quadcopters. Because these are meant the be flown around on small racing quads, they are very small and light plus they have interchangeable lenses and use micro sd cards. Heres a link https://www.getfpv.com/fatshark-pilothd-v2-fpv-camera-with-720p-sd-recorder.html

The 808 camera page:

https://www.chucklohr.com/808/index.shtml