First thing worthy of mention is the size. I had more or less scaled it on the HobbyPartz page and decided it was about a 1.5" cube. Much to my surprise (and pleasure) it's only about a 1-1/8" cube. VERY TINY! Everything looks really good so far! You definitely CAN turn off the stupid date and time on this one! Can't tell you how glad I am about that. It has three lights on the back that clearly show you what it's doing. Not like the keychain camera that is completely dark when it's working (or not working). I never feel I know for sure it it's working when I launch the bird. Nothing is certain until you land and connect it to the computer to see what you have. Many times I thought I was recording and wasn't. :-( The instructions that come with this cam are brief, but very clear (english!). It charges with a micro (not mini) USB cable which thankfully came with it. My plan was to replace the IR LEDs with red ones so I could see it in the air, but now I'm not sure that is going to work out. It turns out the LEDs only come on when the light level is low. There may be a way to bypass the light level sensing, but I still need to look into that. You could see in the ad picture that it had a tripod mount on the bottom. I figured it would be plastic and useless, but it turns out to be an aluminum insert which is great. This give you unlimited mounting options. So much for now. I need to get back to work. I did make a quick video inside the shop to test it and posted it on YouTube (see below). I'll try to make a better video in sunlight tomorrow. I'm sure more light will help a lot. ...Tiger P.S. Select 720P on YouTube if you have enough bandwidth [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRvhcRjjTFA&feature=player_profilepage[/youtube]
Here is a nice pic of the camera in the palm of my hand. Pretty tiny! BTW... I opened it up and it's built really rugged. Not like most of the China wonders! I tried to copy the instruction sheet, but it's so tiny it didn't copy well. I think you can read it, but it's less than a pleasure. I might try doing it again with the camera rather than the scanner. ...Tiger
Video quality looks good, in fact I think the video looks much better than the "Key-Chain" examples that's been posted of late. Even @ 360p the quality is there. Although I would be curious to SEE an example (@ MAX Resolution) of a "Still-Photo", please? On a side note Tiger that is a mighty FINE collection of toys I'm also seeing PS: The "DOC" is readable, just! So I see NO worries there!
The video is great! I watched it in 360 and 720, very impressive quality. The sound is quite good also, I could hear your voice perfectly and also the background music clearly. Regarding the light sensor: Tape. Unless it uses the camera sensor somehow.
Very cool. Can't wait to place my order (waiting to see what G & B have for my MP5 before placing orders online this weekend). I agree, the 360 & 720p videos were very clear as was the audio. A nice HD cam for a great price. Thanks for the hands-on review Tiger, I can see many of these getting ordered in the next few days
HobbyPartz just posted a 10% off coupon on NEW products that's good until the 9th. The specifically show the new little camera in the ad. Use Coupon Code: "NEW10" and save about four bucks! ...Tiger
GPS - The camera is the light sensor so tape won't do the trick. When I had the camera apart I noticed a transistor on the LED board that turns the LEDs on and off. That would be an easy place to jumper them ON full time provided there isn't power to that board when the camera is off. What would really be nice is to just add a switch. That's on option, but it would be a little messy mechanically. We'll see! GC - Be sure to notice the Coupon Code I just posted for the camea a few minutes ago. wOOd - I'll shoot a still and also some better video if the sun ever comes out. Also... I just installed a Class 6 (fast) micro SD card in the camera so that should keep it from dropping frames in my next test. I really like this little guy so far! ...Tiger
