keychain camera 808 nightmare

[CaptainVideo]

Went to the https://www.chucklohr.com/808/index.shtml and came out even more confused than before.
So for low end it looks like #3 and #6 are the best of that lot. But then it quickly degenerates in to total confusion. First, most sellers don't list numbers. Then it looks like no. #3 may have gone out of production, not much info on #6. Some sellers that do post numbers lie, or mistake the number. Listing of confirmed sellers very outdated and useless.
Has anyone here RECENTLY purchased a cheap 808 and where did you get it from? (please, specific seller, not just "ebay", or "amazon")

 

[djs]

it's hard to go by "#3" or "#16" as the sellers on ebay aren't that great at being honest on which one they're selling.

bayou rat rocketry sells them, and his are good quality.

This video here is from an 808 camera i got off ebay for 8$ shipping included. Let me know if you want the seller name:

[video=youtube;Ynjk6EgRijo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynjk6EgRijo[/video]

Quality is kinda crappy, but for 8$, it was good enough for me

 

[CaptainVideo]

Looks decent for the price. Definitely would like seller name.

 

[samb]

Looks decent for the price. Definitely would like seller name.

BayouRat, like djs said. Don't mess with the ebay for keychain cameras, my 2 cents.

https://www.bayouratrocketry.com/

 

[djs]

Looks decent for the price. Definitely would like seller name.

seller was "TOP IDEAL INC ‏(indstopet&#8207".. total was actually $9.47

not sure why the video crapped out at the end- might've been because it hit the ground pretty hard. Will have to disassemble it to see if the video lens got knocked loose.

 

[Ravenex]

I sell the authentic 808 #16 which is one of the best 808 cameras with the most features, but is not the cheapest.

https://www.LiquidFyre-Rocketry.com

There is a small cheap very hi resolution and long battery life 808 available called the matecam but it doesn't compress the video so the files can be difficult to work with.

 

[Cabernut]

I've ordered 808 cams off of Ebay twice now. First one didn't show up after about 2 months and had them re-send another that arrived 6 weeks after that. Next one didn't arrive after 2 months and had to have them send out another one... again. Different seller both times but both in "Hong Kong". The first cheapo $6 808 that I bought worked for a couple months, then started getting glitchy, internal lens is misaligned, microphone records junk static noise with the slightest wind, maybe 1 hour standby/15 minute in-use battery life... and so on. I'm done with Ebay cams. Next time I'm buying from somewhere on this continent. You get what you pay for with the lowest bidder.

 

[gna]

I bought a couple of cheap 808 cameras off Amazon. The battery life is very short, and maybe 1 flight out of 4 I would get video--the others would be black screen and static. Then one day I plugged into my brother's computer, and I was surprised that some of the videos that didn't display on my computer showed up on my brother's. The .avi format seems to be problematic for many computers. I finally tried converting them to mp4 format using Windows Movie Maker on my work computer, saving them on a thumb drive, then taking them home to edit:

https://youtu.be/nZsb3VSrofI

And here's one that was lost and recovered:

https://youtu.be/oy2o2TYRH-E

Edit: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00849KQD0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 is the one I bought. I also tried https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CGTN2N0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 when I was having trouble.

 

[Cabernut]

Yup, I've noticed that problem too with the M-JPEG format that the cheaper ones record in. The only way to rescue them is convert them in Windows Movie Maker

 

[CaptainVideo]

Yup, I've noticed that problem too with the M-JPEG format that the cheaper ones record in. The only way to rescue them is convert them in Windows Movie Maker

OMG you took the words right out of my mouth. MJPEG has to be the worst video format ever made. Youtube won't take it(They could save a lot of people a lot of grief if it did), and Sony Vegas won't take it. MJPEG is just one, giant, festival of suck. Hitfilm worked for me to convert that, nothing else did.
Still, I only need the camera to work for one flight. It would make a nice, but not essential addition to my up coming rocket movie. I did cheap out and get a low budget one, only because I already spent money on other things for the movie and the cost is adding up.

 

[Nytrunner]

I'm also interested in a reliable source for the lo end 808s.

A friend bought me a 5$ one cuz he wanted to see rocket vids, but neither of us could get the thing to turn on. Power light when charging, NEVer powered in no matter how long the power button was held.

 

[TangoJuliet]

I'm a firm believer in "You get what you pay for". I haven't bought an 808, but if I did, I would probably get one of the #16's and look for the lowest price on one of those among the more reputable dealers. I DO have a Sony Action Cam (HDR-AS15 - Now Discontinued) that I bought about three years ago and I really like how it works. It's very similar to the GoPro3, but I find it easier to use than the GoPro. I originally used it to record video while riding my motorcycle with it mounted to my helmet. I can easily operate it with one hand. Outside of its waterproof case, it's not that big or heavy. In the back of my mind I'm slowly working out how to build a mount that would stow it inside a rocket with the lens viewing down the outside of the BT, then at apogee event, the mount would separate with the NC and the camera would rotate to a horizontal position during decent under canopy.

 

[billdz]

Got mine for $7 on eBay from ekoenig21 and it has worked fine, no SD card included. The Bayou Rat deal of $20 including an 8gb card seems worth the few extra bucks to be dealing with someone who is reliable and knows rocketry.

PS - Be careful about where you tape the camera. The first time I used it, I put it as high up as possible, thinking this would move the CG higher and give the rocket more stability. But it seems to work best when the camera is just above the CG.