DPC480 OSD Camera - Any Experts On Configuring Settings?

[Reckless Bill]

I bought the following OSD camera which is similar to the one Intelligent Flight sells.

http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16300&cat=264&page=1

Has anybody become familiar enough with it in order to be able to answer these questions?

1) What is the BLC (back light compensation) option? This option lets you mask a portion of the screen using blocks and then set a "ratio" value. What is it's purpose and under what conditions should you use it?

2) Under what conditions should you use high vs low AGC (auto gain control) values?

3) Under white balance, there is a ATW and AWB option (or something close to that). What is the different between the two?

4) Are there recommendations that people have based on experience for setting values for different lighting conditions? When adjusting values, for example, is there a certain order to go about things to get the best results?

5) Any other findings / recommendations?

I'm going to be doing a lot of playing around with the settings over the next few weeks but I figure anything I can learn from people who are already using the camera would definitely help.

[VRflyer]

Send a PM to DPCAV, they will be please to answer your questions. Or perhaps Thomas will see this message and answer here

[galaxiex]

I bought the following OSD camera which is similar to the one Intelligent Flight sells.

http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16300&cat=264&page=1

Has anybody become familiar enough with it in order to be able to answer these questions?

1) What is the BLC (back light compensation) option? This option lets you mask a portion of the screen using blocks and then set a "ratio" value. What is it's purpose and under what conditions should you use it?

2) Under what conditions should you use high vs low AGC (auto gain control) values?

3) Under white balance, there is a ATW and AWB option (or something close to that). What is the different between the two?

4) Are there recommendations that people have based on experience for setting values for different lighting conditions? When adjusting values, for example, is there a certain order to go about things to get the best results?

5) Any other findings / recommendations?

I'm going to be doing a lot of playing around with the settings over the next few weeks but I figure anything I can learn from people who are already using the camera would definitely help.

Great post! :)

I don't own one of those cams, but I have been tempted to get one.

The only thing holding me back has been the lack of info on how to set it up.

If you find some good settings, and descriptions of what all the different settings do, please post the info here. :D

(I guess I could just get one anyway and play around with it, but I'd like to have some idea of what I am doing). :rolleyes: :D

[fmkit]

BLC makes ground details visible while camera is looking into sun.
Set BLC full, low values of contrast of brightness worked best for me
I'm still trying to figure out zone mapping, "alll set" and "all clear" sometimes have no effect and other times limit BLC

[Reckless Bill]

BLC makes ground details visible while camera is looking into sun.
Set BLC full, low values of contrast of brightness worked best for me
I'm still trying to figure out zone mapping, "alll set" and "all clear" sometimes have no effect and other times limit BLC

Interesting. I'm going to have to play with that.

[Reckless Bill]

Send a PM to DPCAV, they will be please to answer your questions. Or perhaps Thomas will see this message and answer here

Thanks. Email sent.

[Reckless Bill]

Ok, I got an email response from Thomas at DPCAV. Copied below:

--------------
By default, the camera's image processing characteristics are managed
automatically by a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). This is essentially a
nifty microcontroller that is programmed to compensate the image for a
wide variety of imaging conditions. The default values that were chosen
are usually optimized for typical indoor and outdoor security
applications, so fortunately they do well in a variety of situations.

However, the FPV application is particular hard on a camera because of the
wide imaging variations seen by the CCD. For example, the FPV pilot's
viewing region is often burdened with high contrast, such as bright sky /
dark ground. Fortunately the OSD camera gives you total control over the
DSP and you can set it for manual control (and can tweak it to suit your
operating environment and personal visual needs).

Here are some definitions:
* ATW: Auto Tracing White. Dynamically optimizes white balance in response
to varying light conditions.
* AWB: Auto White Balance. The users chosen white balance value is used.
* AGC: Auto Gain Control. Automatically adjusts the average intensity when
enabled.
* BLC: Back Lighting Control. Used to enhance the foreground when the
background brightness is vastly different in intensity.

Here is what I recommend as a way to get to know the camera. Use the OSD
menu and perform a camera reset. This gets you back to some known default
values. While at the flying field, set the Shutter exposure to Manual
while the camera is viewing the horizon or some preferred imagery that
represents what you camera will be seeing in flight. You might also want
to turn off the AGC (set to low value or zero). These simple things should
help out when the sun is low in the horizon (not so important if the sun
is high in the sky).

Later on you can start experimenting with the other menu settings. I think
you will want to adjust the colors and do other things to make the image
look its best on your viewing monitor. There is no one perfect setup for
everyone, so be prepared to try many menu combinations.

When field lighting conditions change you may want to re-optimize the
settings. And please keep in mind that if the chosen settings go horribly
wrong, just perform a camera reset and start over.

Best Regards,
Thomas Black
www.dpcav.com

[galaxiex]

Thanks for posting that Bill, it's very helpful. :)

[fmkit]

Bill, have you decided on optimal settings ?
can you post DPC480 videos ?

I'm using same menu 520line cameras so far I learned that ATW distorts green corn field, AWB is better and today I tried Fixed WB mode 4
at day time I recorded natural colors clips while riding bike,
then flew my wing at sunset , colors shifted somewhat (we have low visibility/dry season)

http://www.vimeo.com/5142868

[Reckless Bill]

Bill, have you decided on optimal settings ?
can you post DPC480 videos ?


Heh, I can post a bunch of videos of settings 'not' to try. I'll try to post something in the next week or two. The wind here in Austin has my SlowStick grounded for the moment.

So far I've taken 2 strategies:

1) Start with default settings and just tweak one or two settings like contrast and gamma

2) Start with default settings, then turn off automatic gain control, set the shutter to manual and try to find a good shutter setting (also sometimes playing with other settings)

So far approach 1) has produced the better results in terms of recorded footage. For me, taking the default settings and just increasing the contrast (and sometimes the gamma a little) has produced some decent footage. Colors stay true and the recorded image is nice and sharp. While looking through the goggles, however, sometimes the image isn't bright enough.

Approach 2) has been excellent for early mornings when I fly directly into the sun. The image inside my goggles is nice and clear with no dark ground but unfortunately the recorded image is very much washed out and excessively bright.

So, it's clear to me that "calibrating" the OSD using my goggles isn't the best idea. What I might do is take out my portable DVD player which has a pretty nice screen on it and try playing with settings based on how things look on the DVD player instead of my goggles.