I have installed a Low Light camera as well as the Pi color camera so I am streaming both videos to the surface. I am very pleased with the Low light camera. It has a good picture but it works in conditions long after the color Pi camera has lost its picture due to lack of light. Much better than I expected, just as good as some models that run into thousands of dollars. Nice product BR.
@canman172 - Nice! Thanks. I think the low-light performance of that camera is pretty impressive too. We’re working on getting a digital version so that we can get the same type of performance in HD.
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From my experience with ROVs the low light is used for navigation and the color is used for close up inspection. I have the low light going to a monitor strictly for viewing purposes. The HD color is being recorded with overlay for inspections and client requirements. The Low light is connected via a regulator board to the battery so even if the system crashed I still have video to the surface which can be an asset if recovering a dead sub to mitigate against pulling too hard on the tether if the ROV is entangled.
Nice to hear someone else likes the low-light SD camera. I was equally impressed with it. In fact in some ways I prefer the simplicity of the “Standard” electronics for the ROV also.
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That would be great, a better HD Pi camera for sure.
We are going to run some parallel tests with the Runcam Owl on the Fathom-S along with the Pi HD.
The Owl is similar to the low light BR with 700 lines and 0.0001 lux. Best bench testing and works well. Had it for a UAV setup. http://shop.runcam.com/runcam-owl/
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Mark I am powering the camera through a 12Vdc regulator board and running the video straight up 150 meters of tether.
I have a set of baluns which I figured I would need but the picture is excellent without them.
Interesting so just straight analog over the twisted pair? No noise or signal loss?
I’ll have to try that out to compare to the feed over Fathom-S.
I said I would try it straight analog just to see the quality. I honestly expected a lot of noise. There is not a flicker. As for losses I am sure there are some but where I am using the video for navigation the quality is more than sufficient. Let me know what you learn from your experiment.
Thanks will do. Running the Fathom-S its pretty much equivalent as straight out of the camera.
I’ll try and test and take some pictures to compare with it run each way later this week.
@canman172 What framerate are you getting in different light conditions? Did you do any manual adjusting of the camera parameters?
Hi Todd, which 12Vdc regulator board do you use?
Did you install the lowlight camera inside the 4" housing the 3" battery housing?
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Eloi,
I used the following regulator board.
VIKINS LM2596 DC-DC Adjustable Voltage Regulator 4.0-40V to 1.25-37V DC, 36V to 24V to12V to 5V Variable Volt Power Supply with digital Display.
I have one in the 3" housing and I just purchased a 2" housing to make a camera which is a great size.
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Great thanks, I might go for the one without digital display to get a smaller unit.
I might try to add the analog low light camera within the BlueROV2 4" housing first (easier since I have not yet spliced the tether to bring a pair of wires inside the 3" unit).
Will I need the voltage regulator within the 4" housing or can I power the analog low light camera directly from one of the board already inside the 4" housing (I have the Fathom-X + Raspberry Pi setup).
…how do you send the signal, and how do you get it out topside?..im not much into net stuff;D …can you explain moore accurate ?
Eloi the regulator will go in the housing with the camera. Take your 18v from your power terminal into the board and adjust for 12Vdc. The unit is very small even with the LCD.
Christian if you have the regular tether you send the video up two wires (1 twisted pair). At the topside install and RCA connector into your topside box. Use a standard RCA cable to go into a monitor. The picture is very good. If you like but there is no need, you can use a video ballun.
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Tnx…soo easy also;)
…are we talking about the analog or the HD camera?
Analog
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