I have BlueROV2 heavy that I am just getting started with. I have everything working but am extremely disappointed in the camera/video. On land, the camera looks good but in the water it is practically worthless. Overall, ,the picture is extremely dark. On my initial dive, I followed a dock piling down to about 20 feet and even with the 4 LED lights on high was hardly able to see anything. I can see an object like the piling if the ROV is right up against it and practically hitting it. However, anything more that about 1-2 ft away is indistinguishable in the camera. At 20 ft (6m) depth, there isn’t enough illumination, even with the lights on, to see bottom features. The bottom features are not at all recognizable unless in extremely shallow water (less than 5ft) Are there setting in the QGC software or adjustments on the camera to optimize the image?
Hi K.Kraz -
Can you share some screenshots or a recording from your dive? You experience does not sound typical for the camera!
Is it possible you don’t have “charged” desiccant in your housing, and your dome has become fogged over?
If things seem a bit blurry in water but sharp in air, rotating the lens of the camera about a 1/2 to 3/4 turn counter-clockwise will adjust the focus to be better underwater. You may have to remove the camera from the mount to accomplish this - keep in mind this recent technical bulletin.
Finally, it usually doesn’t take much light for a clear picture, and indeed turning the lights on at full brightness can have a terrible impact on visibility due to backscatter, in waters with a lot of suspended particles or general low-distance clarity. The farther away from the camera you can mount the lights, the lower the impact of this light backscattering will be
did you try turning the lights off? I have found the camera to be exceptional in low ambient light, however experience from diving I know that when in the dark, adding light makes the dark simply darker. The ROV is no different.