Hugh Hemington
Well-Known Member
** UPDATE **
While you can "flip" the video on this camera, it only flips the recording and the back display. It does NOT flip the analog composite video output! So if you want to use this for FPV, you have to mount it right side up.
**
This camera is similar to the GoPro line, but at a much lower price. I won't attempt to repeat what is in most of the YouTube reviews on it already, or available elsewhere. This is just an R/C centric hands-on review.
In addition to mini-HDMI (sort of an odd cable), the CM-7500 has "TV out", implemented with a 2.5mm banana plug -- NOT 3.5 which is more standard! So you'll need to get or make a cable if you want to use it for FPV on an aircraft, connecting the video out to the yellow video cable on your FPV transmitter. That is, if your camera doesn't come with the cable. You can opt for 50 or 60Hz and NTSC or PAL in the menu.
In order to use the camera as FPV & HD video recorder, you can either start recording at launch and give up on stills, or you need to be able to turn recording on and off and take (8MP) stills from your transmitter. The camera lacks the video and control header found on the function-built Boscam HD19 but it comes with a remote, 3 x 5 x 1.5cm. The remote uses RF, not IR (outdoors, IR wouldn't work), and it is very easy to open up and tap off a four pin header, (assuming all three remote buttons run on the same ground, and each has a trigger lead) and use a cable to connect to your flight receiver, configured on three momentary channels.
The manual claims a remote range of 16ft, but holding the camera and remote at arms length (6 ft.) didn't work once for me. I found the remote range to be a meter or less (for reliability, .5 meter is best), but that's plenty of range for use on a radio-controlled aircraft. The remote I got has a 13.560MHz chip in it.
The beauty of the remote is that, while the camera itself has one "toggle" button for start/stop recording, the remote has discrete start and stop (recording) buttons! So if you're recording, hitting the record button on the remote again doesn't change anything and likewise with record-stop, it just stays stopped.
That means you can put each function on a separate (R/C) channel, and be certain of the record status you're selecting. By adding a header, or just hanging a short wire out of the remote, you aren't running the risk of damaging the camera itself or eliminating the option of using the water-resistant housing later. Even if you lunch the remote, the camera will be fine. If you don't care about using the remote later, you can pull the transmitter board out of the plastic housing and save weight.
I figured out how to build an AV Out cable. You need a 2.5mm 4 conductor plug and the video feed is on the two back conductors -- those closest to the shoulder of the connector. When you're recording the date and time appears at the lower right corner (if enabled in the menu) and when you take a still picture, the screen goes black for a second. You cannot take still pictures WHILE recording. If you're planning to use OSD (on screen display) for flight telemetry, turn off the time/date stamp on the video menu of this camera.
I found the video quality to be excellent, and you can turn the time and date stamp (lower-right corner) on or off in the menu. Currently, you are limited to 30 minutes max on video recordings, but most aircraft don't fly that long anyway. The still pictures are good too, but at higher resolution (8MP) than the video, you notice the fisheye effect a lot more with things closer than five meters.
Power: The camera comes with a 3.7v 900mAh Li-ion battery (manual claims 2hours record time) and charges on 5 volts (DC) from a 1000ma mini-USB power supply. If you want to run the camera on external power, the camera will run while being charged (fed with power) with or WITHOUT THE BATTERY INSIDE! (saves weight) The manual quotes the camera as 3.3oz. Not sure if that includes the battery.
The remote uses a standard CR-2032 3v battery. You have to remove six tiny Phillips head screws to get at it. The screw holes are not symetrical, so be aware when replacing the back.
I got mine from 1sale.com for $99, which was a steal!
(stuff you can find elsewhere)
The camera menu allows you to flip the image, but only flip -- not rotate 90 deg. It's 6wX4.5hX3d cm. It comes with many mounting pieces including a water-resistant housing. There is no pass-through for the analog video in that housing, so if you opt to use it, the camera won't serve as an FPV source; only an HD video/still cam. It has a 36mm color display on the back to review video and access menu functions. It has a small speaker in front. It uses a full-size SD card, up to 64GB, and records in MP4 and JPG. 1080p 30fps, 720p 60fps etc., and stills to 8MP.
While you can "flip" the video on this camera, it only flips the recording and the back display. It does NOT flip the analog composite video output! So if you want to use this for FPV, you have to mount it right side up.
**
This camera is similar to the GoPro line, but at a much lower price. I won't attempt to repeat what is in most of the YouTube reviews on it already, or available elsewhere. This is just an R/C centric hands-on review.
In addition to mini-HDMI (sort of an odd cable), the CM-7500 has "TV out", implemented with a 2.5mm banana plug -- NOT 3.5 which is more standard! So you'll need to get or make a cable if you want to use it for FPV on an aircraft, connecting the video out to the yellow video cable on your FPV transmitter. That is, if your camera doesn't come with the cable. You can opt for 50 or 60Hz and NTSC or PAL in the menu.
In order to use the camera as FPV & HD video recorder, you can either start recording at launch and give up on stills, or you need to be able to turn recording on and off and take (8MP) stills from your transmitter. The camera lacks the video and control header found on the function-built Boscam HD19 but it comes with a remote, 3 x 5 x 1.5cm. The remote uses RF, not IR (outdoors, IR wouldn't work), and it is very easy to open up and tap off a four pin header, (assuming all three remote buttons run on the same ground, and each has a trigger lead) and use a cable to connect to your flight receiver, configured on three momentary channels.
The manual claims a remote range of 16ft, but holding the camera and remote at arms length (6 ft.) didn't work once for me. I found the remote range to be a meter or less (for reliability, .5 meter is best), but that's plenty of range for use on a radio-controlled aircraft. The remote I got has a 13.560MHz chip in it.
The beauty of the remote is that, while the camera itself has one "toggle" button for start/stop recording, the remote has discrete start and stop (recording) buttons! So if you're recording, hitting the record button on the remote again doesn't change anything and likewise with record-stop, it just stays stopped.
That means you can put each function on a separate (R/C) channel, and be certain of the record status you're selecting. By adding a header, or just hanging a short wire out of the remote, you aren't running the risk of damaging the camera itself or eliminating the option of using the water-resistant housing later. Even if you lunch the remote, the camera will be fine. If you don't care about using the remote later, you can pull the transmitter board out of the plastic housing and save weight.
I figured out how to build an AV Out cable. You need a 2.5mm 4 conductor plug and the video feed is on the two back conductors -- those closest to the shoulder of the connector. When you're recording the date and time appears at the lower right corner (if enabled in the menu) and when you take a still picture, the screen goes black for a second. You cannot take still pictures WHILE recording. If you're planning to use OSD (on screen display) for flight telemetry, turn off the time/date stamp on the video menu of this camera.
I found the video quality to be excellent, and you can turn the time and date stamp (lower-right corner) on or off in the menu. Currently, you are limited to 30 minutes max on video recordings, but most aircraft don't fly that long anyway. The still pictures are good too, but at higher resolution (8MP) than the video, you notice the fisheye effect a lot more with things closer than five meters.
Power: The camera comes with a 3.7v 900mAh Li-ion battery (manual claims 2hours record time) and charges on 5 volts (DC) from a 1000ma mini-USB power supply. If you want to run the camera on external power, the camera will run while being charged (fed with power) with or WITHOUT THE BATTERY INSIDE! (saves weight) The manual quotes the camera as 3.3oz. Not sure if that includes the battery.
The remote uses a standard CR-2032 3v battery. You have to remove six tiny Phillips head screws to get at it. The screw holes are not symetrical, so be aware when replacing the back.
I got mine from 1sale.com for $99, which was a steal!
(stuff you can find elsewhere)
The camera menu allows you to flip the image, but only flip -- not rotate 90 deg. It's 6wX4.5hX3d cm. It comes with many mounting pieces including a water-resistant housing. There is no pass-through for the analog video in that housing, so if you opt to use it, the camera won't serve as an FPV source; only an HD video/still cam. It has a 36mm color display on the back to review video and access menu functions. It has a small speaker in front. It uses a full-size SD card, up to 64GB, and records in MP4 and JPG. 1080p 30fps, 720p 60fps etc., and stills to 8MP.
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