Camera choice

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G1ZAR
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2020 12:19 pm

Camera choice

Post by G1ZAR » Tue Aug 25, 2020 4:12 pm

Just getting back into ATV and so much has changed.
Initially I will be building a simple, portable unit for 5.6GHz using the FPV/drone modules.
Thinking about the camera, would a car dash cam be any good?
They are quite cheap and support HDMI connection. They also have the ability to view jpegs from the memory card, so I thought this could hold one or two test cards with station info. Some specify a frame rate of 25 or 30 fps, is this good enough, or are there better ones available?
Or would I be better off using one of the many cameras designed for the drones?

thanks
Stuart
G1ZAR

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G3GJA
Posts: 337
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2011 3:44 pm

Re: Camera choice

Post by G3GJA » Wed Aug 26, 2020 12:10 pm

The drone units I have only support composite video, so in my case an HDMI output from any camera would add unnecessary complexity. I'm not even sure if my dash cam can output live video.

There are plenty of cheap composite output cameras on eBay originating in China. There's a 700 TV lines version with a 2.8m to 12mm zoom lens for under £11 including postage. Search for "CMOS mini CCTV camera with zoom" At that price it won't attract the attention of HMRC.

Clive G3GJA

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