Hi guys, my name is Marco Rubagotti, I live in Italy, on the shores of a beautiful pre-Alpine lake, a lifelong diver and passionate about underwater videos. I made videos up to 100m using trimix blends, but the lake is 270m deep, and is loaded with history, from Roman times to the 1940/45 war. In short, driven by the curiosity to see what is at the bottom of the lake, and thanks to the experience of SORS RICERCHE SPECIALI in Turin, I finally have a heavy bluerov2, with aluminum tubes, 300m cable and for a few weeks I have been training to pilot the my rov. Everything perfect, for now I have reached 110m without problems. But I would like to try to mount a fisheye camera to have more field of view, have any of you already done it? Do you have any advice for me? Is it possible to replace the lens of the hd camera? Thanks for the invaluable help!
Hi @Marco,
Are you thinking of modifying the existing camera, or adding a secondary camera? If you’re wanting to add an extra camera, there are a couple of different options:
- I’ve discussed adding a second USB camera in this comment - it’s a bit of an involved process, but is possible.
- You can add an IP camera, which requires adding a network switch to your enclosure so the camera signal can be sent to the top without needing to go via the companion computer (if you’re interested in this option, note that we’re just about to release a network switch). For some inspiration you can search the forum for “IP Camera”.
Yes, it uses a standard M12x0.5 mount (I’ve just added that info to the Technical Details, since it wasn’t already there), so you can swap it out for a fisheye (or other) lens with the same mounting size. A couple of things to note:
- Our camera sensor has a 1/2.9" format, so if, for example, you were to get a lens made for a 1/3" format sensor (slightly smaller) then there may be some odd effects right at the edges
- If you’re modifying the existing camera on your ROV, make sure any lens you get fits inside the enclosure dome
On a somewhat unrelated note, you might be interested in this (although doing something similar that’s rated to 300m may be difficult):
Thanks for the timely replies, my idea was to replace the existing camera with a USB 264.h but with a 140/180 ° fisheye. I saw there are some on the market and my doubt was the compatibility with the computer on board the Rov. This is because my idea is to use to film a gopro hero7 black which has a much wider wide angle than the hd camera, so I have some difficulty seeing exactly what I film with the gopro.
That should be fine 
Hi guys, I ordered this https://www.amazon.it/dp/B07PZDL7TV/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_W1R0CFR9WXY5X4GY8FX9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 I mounted it today and the results are great, I had to widen the hole of the HD camera support but now i have the same field of view as my gopro, i have to test it in water, but it looks perfect …
@Elliott Can you please tell us more about the network switch? We are currently working on an IP camera setup on our custom ROV (which uses a lot of BR components)…and that’s part of the challenge we haven’t solved yet…most of the compact switches available are slightly too large for the 4inch enclosure, so we’re looking at moving up the 6 - but then that means we have to get a custom dome fabricated, etc…what are the plans for your network switch? This is exciting news. Can it connect to onboard 12v power? POE to the cameras? Size? How many ports? Thank you!
No, I’m not going to put any switches, I have the cable reel with 300 meters, Fathom-X Tether Interface Board Set and therefore I have a very stable network signal despite 300 meters of 4mm slim cable. My problem was being able to see through the hd camera of the rov the same image that my gopro set to 4k superwiew records. But the gopro with aluminum case of 300mt I have it recorded since I put the rov in the water and I turn it off at the end of the dive. I’m learning to use the rov and for now I dive for 60/70 minutes so it’s enough. I bought the rov to make quality videos at depths above the ones where I come scuba diving with trimix blends. Now I am working on the video part of the rov, then I will move on to modify the spotlights to have a clear video. I would like to make videos similar to this:
which I did but at 200/250 meters where the human eye has not yet arrived
@cwnetdev, I’ve had great luck with these little switches:
SwitchBlox - Small Ethernet Switch | 5 Port Network Switch — BotBlox
Wide DC input range too!
We’re releasing it this week, so I’ll leave the specs details until it’s officially released. As an indication, it’s quite similar to the one @k-deboer linked to (we’ve partnered with that company to make it), but it’s a bit more tailored to working with the other equipment in the ROV. If it’s of interest, there’s a public article about the physical testing of it here, which may give some early insight into the expected specs.
Cool video! I hope once you get to do some of those dives that you’ll make some posts in our Dive Log forum category
I’ve edited your comment so the video is embedded, which means we can watch it from within the forum (as covered in the “Formatting a Post/Comment - Hyperlinks” section of my recent How to Use the Forum post).
Broken link to test results, here is the fixed link.
Hey @yosheli, welcome to the forum
Thanks for the updated link - I’ve fixed the one in my post too.
Also, awesome work on your various ethernet switches! Super cool to have some mini ones for robotics applications - several of us are excited to try out the new BR one 
You’re welcome.
I’ll be available for any technical questions, just @ me.