"Best" Keychain Cameras These Days?

I've used these little keychain cameras with good success, but now I have a new club HPR project where we need to get 3 or 4 of these to go on the bird.

I know these things change designs and features at the drop of a hat, so I'm looking for advice about what constitutes the "latest and greatest" version or model.

Anyone out there who keeps up with these little cameras or has recently bought one with any advice before I dive into eBay?

The little car beeper style one all over Ebay is the best, imho. It is extremely cheap. I see little reason to spend more until you go up to a really good product like booster vision. The price difference for 3 or 4 units is profound, and the quality improvement before going to a booster vision type camera seems minor. If you have the money and payload capacity, the best footage obviously comes from better cameras like GoPro.

Can I ask why so many cameras? One problem with the cheap cameras is that starting them is a pain in the neck (and the instructions are not exactly the Queen's English) and going around to all 4 is going to be annoying.

-----> My recommendation

Visit the following link and you can get an idea of what works well, and what to stay away from. He can also show you how to program the date/time stamp.

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

I have several as well. You just need to make sure when you go online to look for them that the resolution they give is for video and not photo. Some label themselves as 1280 x 960, but that is actually for photo. The video can be lower.

I buy these on ebay. The higher definition cameras sometime have more clarity in the images, but take fewer frames per second. If you can still find a #3, get it. Even though its resolution is 720 x 480, it takes very good video.

Hi,

The "car beeper" style (also known as 808) has a lot of quality variation between versions. You want to know which version you're purchasing. There's extensive info at https://chucklohr.com/808/

A friend of mine says that the best quality currently is #16. It's a good-quality HD videocamera, and above all, you can configure the irritating timestamp off. On ebay the seller eletoponline365 claims to be the manufacturer of the #16, and my friend purchased from there (and I ordered just yesterday). The HD versions are more expensive than the standard definition ones though (approx $40 vs. $10).

As an alternative I'd suggest the MD80 style cameras. Based on my own and friends' experiences they have very consistent quality regardless of the seller. They're only standard definition, so if you want HD it's not an option. Their lens points to the side, so it may be easier to fit in some places (e.g. narrow body tubes).

We have also modified some MD80 cameras to use an external power supply and external start/stop control for rocketry use. Our last hybrid launch had five MD80's, one HD 808 camera and a GoPro HD Hero onboard.

Cheers,
Sampo N.

Nice thing about the MD 80 is that it can be internally mounted in a 2.6" BT or wider without the need of an AV bay. Drill a 1/8" hole in the side and glue together a balsa mount for it, then when you fill the BT with dog barf, make sure it goes up to the bottom of the camera mount so the chute sits next to it instead of underneath. Less drag, and the horizontal shots at launch can be pretty spectacular.

BTW, it is a crapshoot, but you can still get the lower res cameras and even some of the high def on e-bay for as low as 99 cents. Of course you have to pay $10 for shipping and they are coming from China. I had an MD 80 come in the mail that didn't work and it wasn't worth the hssle to return and replace.

I would like to get another keychain camera like the one I had before, I think the "808" type (the original type that became so popular for putting on rockets). No need for HD or extra features, I need it for onboard research to check out flutter/flex issues on an R/C rocket glider.

The thing is, I do not want to wait 3 weeks to get one from Hong Kong, this project is time-critical if I'm going to add a camera at all. And do not want to gamble that the one I get may be dead with no recourse (been there, done that).

So is there a source in the US that's reliable, that won't cost a whole lot of $? I know the cheapest way is via Hong Kong, so any sold in the US will cost more, it's a matter of how much more (plus shipping), and if they stand up for what they sell.

- George Gassaway

There is a fellow who has posted here and on YORF who was selling some variation of the keychain camera specifically for rocket use. I think this is it: https://www.bayouratrocketry.com/Key_Chain_Camera/cat810301_721090.aspx

I have not done any business with him, just remember the posts.

added: oh good.... at the top level of the site they show in stock but on the details page it is shown as out of stock. .....never mind....

have you tried this source, right here on TRF?

https://bayouratrocketry.com

I have found that the Flip Mino HD is also good for onboard, so is the GoPro Hero II . But they take up quite a bit of space, like New Ocean mentioned.

Rocket86 said:

have you tried this source, right here on TRF?

https://bayouratrocketry.com

Click to expand...

Hadn't tried till now. But I got a "gateway time out".

BTW - for what I need to do, it needs to be as small and light as possible, thus the original type of Keychain cam. Anything bigger/heavier is too big and too heavy. As it is, the mass and drag of it will have an effect on the experiment I am looking to check out, but hopefully not too much effect to mask any problems.

Aren't you guys forgetting something?????

What about the micro SD card you need to buy for the keychain camera to work? There's $30 bucks right there!:eyepop:

My last onboard video was whited out by the sun reflecting off the sand. These cameras are just recycled cell phone cameras, so it's hit or miss. You either get a dead battery, faulty circuitry, etc.. But sometimes youget lucky and they work- I've gone through 5, 2 of which actually worked ok.

I'm waiting to try the GoPro HD

jeffgeraci said:

Aren't you guys forgetting something?????

What about the micro SD card you need to buy for the keychain camera to work? There's $30 bucks right there!:eyepop:

My last onboard video was whited out by the sun reflecting off the sand. These cameras are just recycled cell phone cameras, so it's hit or miss. You either get a dead battery, faulty circuitry, etc.. But sometimes youget lucky and they work- I've gone through 5, 2 of which actually worked ok.

I'm waiting to try the GoPro HD

Click to expand...

I don't know where you shop. On Amazon you can get both camera and 8G SD card for $17.99

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005C0Y9UA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Get them from BayouRat. I have two of his and they come with the SD card for $25. He is very dependable. I video all my flights and these little boogers are great. Never had a problem.

jeffgeraci said:

Aren't you guys forgetting something?????

What about the micro SD card you need to buy for the keychain camera to work? There's $30 bucks right there!:eyepop:

Click to expand...

Thanks, I did forget about the micro SD Card. And I do not have access to my old keychain cam, so I'll need a card. But at least it's a lot cheaper than that.

- George

bill2654 said:

Get them from BayouRat. I have two of his and they come with the SD card for $25. He is very dependable. I video all my flights and these little boogers are great. Never had a problem.

Click to expand...

Ditto that.

I love my little BR cam.

The little cards are dirt cheap, and if you get 8 gigs that is enough for several full flights even if it takes a few min. to go find the rocket.

Bayourat stands behind what he sells. I've done business with him and was very satisfied.

Don't buy the cheapest MicroSD card you can get. Look for a class 6 or better yet, class 10 card.

Higher class numbers indicate faster transfer rate, and better quality video (fewer dropped frames)

You can find the class number by looking for a capital "C' with a number inside.

(The cheap-o cards, and even some pricey ones are only Class 4)

A word of caution: some higher class cards have problems with some keycams. I recently smugly bought a pair of 8 GB class 10 cards only to find out these were the exact ones that are suspect

I will try to dig up a link when im back at my computer. Don't have it here on my phone.