The developer did a fantastic job. I think this was the firmware with the hardest work to do by elijah.

I made a small test with the new Motion Detect setting as High and I am happy with actual value. Something interesting about this mode even for everybody is normal:
if camera is in a dark place when light will be on, the camera will not start recording because light is not considered motion, but if will be some motion in the new light conditions the camera will start recording.

I have the feeling that 16:9 and 4:3 settings are reversed.

During a test, after Low Battery is detected by the camera, the recording will be just one frame, the latest frame freezed when Low Battery was detected so the latest 90 seconds (for me were exactly 100 seonds) will be one frame record.

The 5fps trick player at 30fps is just amazing. You can have a timelapse in the most easy way possible but this is only when you play the MOV file because the video parameter of fps is stored as 30fps and the player will play at 30fps even the record was done at 5fps. If converting to AVI the file playback will be at 5fps. But if you want to save the timelapse video at 30 fps jus set the fps at 30 and you will have the same playback (and encoding) as the mov original file.

enjoy,
Mtz

Originally Posted by kenci

I miss the option 60 fps @ 720p. That would be cool

I don't miss it because I've never had it in any of my small 720p cameras. But I do want it more than any other ability... don't even need/want 1080p.

So far I've not seen a camera as small as the #16 that can do 720p at 60 fps with no dropped/skipped frames or other codec compression issues. Not to mention the power consumption is so much more it requires a larger battery and case (e.g. like the #11 jumbo) to get decent minimal recording times. I could accept a Jumbo case size and a bit higher price if it could eliminate these problems. But then I'd want a better lens and larger CMOS to go with it. We're never satisfied!

Simply fantastic once again. Just updated everything easy as pie, first started up Isoprop's GUI which immediately told me there was an update. Did that one then plugged in the camera, again it immediately told me there was an update, followed the instructions and as if by magic it's all done. The impressive thing is this was all done before I'd even looked on the thread.

One thing I noticed that I'm not sure was the same on the old version is if I plugged in a v1 the video out options are not greyed out.

Congratulations and thanks to the developer, Tom for all his testing and commitment, Isoprop for his splendid GUI and even though I don't have Java on my PC therau2000 for the massive progress and update to his GUI

Nothing is perfect but this camera is getting close. There is one annoying thing though: that ticking sound someone else already mentioned. I think it wasn't there with some previous fw. Is there a way to get rid of it?
Auto on/off with external power would be nice too.

Comments in blue below:

Originally Posted by Mtz

The developer did a fantastic job. I think this was the firmware with the hardest work to do by elijah.
No question about this! Just keeping up with him by testing numerous iterations of the FW was challenging.

I have the feeling that 16:9 and 4:3 settings are reversed.
This was a nagging issue during FW/GUI development, but it was working perfectly using this 0.58 MOV FW with Isoprop's latest v3.0.5.3 Windows GUI. Which GUI version are you using? Both PAL and NTSC in each aspect ratio worked for me.

During a test, after Low Battery is detected by the camera, the recording will be just one frame, the latest frame freezed when Low Battery was detected so the latest 90 seconds (for me were exactly 100 seonds) will be one frame record.
Interesting. I did not get this result, but I was aware that battery size and health will be major factors. Healthy Lipo cells tend to maintain a very slow voltage decline during about 80% of their available capacity, then the voltage will start declining rapidly and "fall off the cliff" in the last gasping breath. That final voltage decline can steepen as a battery gets older and weaker. I'll retest this and see if I can duplicate your results. I have 5 cameras with 5 different batteries so can get a better "average" result. It may be this function will not be very useful if the internal battery is used for FPV?

The 5fps trick player at 30fps is just amazing. You can have a timelapse in the most easy way possible but this is only when you play the MOV file because the video parameter of fps is stored as 30fps and the player will play at 30fps even the record was done at 5fps. If converting to AVI the file playback will be at 5fps. But if you want to save the timelapse video at 30 fps jus set the fps at 30 and you will have the same playback (and encoding) as the mov original file.
I was wanting to get ALL of these settings to play back at 30fps for a variety of instant NATIVE slower time lapse videos. The developer was not able to do that, even though they are all in MOV format. If you have in-depth knowledge of the MOV structure, you might have some key information on how to do this? I've done it by post editing, and this will always be an option, but getting the camera to set the frame rate for playback as it writes out the MOV file would be a great improvement.

enjoy,
Mtz

Originally Posted by Aviefly

...
One thing I noticed that I'm not sure was the same on the old version is if I plugged in a v1 the video out options are not greyed out.
...

It's always been that way, and must be that way because there is no way for the camera version to be "read" via a USB connection. So that function must be kept active with the instructions and tool tip to turn it off with V1 cameras.

If there were a way to retroactively set some memory bit or register in the camera that could be read by the USB interface to flag the two camera versions, it would be easy to implement.

Originally Posted by ko2610

Nothing is perfect but this camera is getting close. There is one annoying thing though: that ticking sound someone else already mentioned. I think it wasn't there with some previous fw. Is there a way to get rid of it?
Auto on/off with external power would be nice too.

Both of these have been asked before a number of times.

Since the developer monitors this thread, he already knows of these requests, but new visitors here do not.

I think I need a page of user requests that can be linked in the FAQs so users can read what has already been ask about, with a response on those that cannot or will not be implemented.

I can't hear good enough to hear the clicks, but I don't recommend that solution!

Tom, if you will use for example the MediaInfo program you will see that for the 5fps recordings the framerate is set as 30fps and for example for the 10fps recording it will be stored as 10fps.
But I think is OK the way is now to have only the 5fps with a playback rate of 30fps. or maybe also the 10fps mode.

The framerate I think is stored somewhere only in the MOV header.

-------------

When the latest Good Battery frame is recorded as freezed frame you will see in MediaInfo a new parameter called:
Source duration
which is not present in normal clips with no battery problems and no freezed frame.

If you will save from virtualdub this type of avi (exported from mp4cam2avi) you will lost that freezed frame and the result will be the video without a freezed frame.

Tom, thanks very much for opening this thread again, it's been an invaluable source for me.

My computer is an old power PC Mac G5 which won't support the oldest version of Java that supports therau2000's GUI interface. I just installed and set up the new firmware manually following your instructions in post #4 and it works perfectly...very easy to set my preferences using the text file as described.

I would have posted my #16 HD Key Camera Aircraft Mount here, but this thread was closed at the time. If anyone has camera mount comments please post them there as I don't want to get off topic on Tom's thread.

Thanks again!

Regards,
John

Originally Posted by Mtz

Tom, if you will use for example the MediaInfo program you will see that for the 5fps recordings the framerate is set as 30fps and for example for the 10fps recording it will be stored as 10fps.
But I think is OK the way is now to have only the 5fps with a playback rate of 30fps. or maybe also the 10fps mode.

The framerate I think is stored somewhere only in the MOV header.

-------------

When the latest Good Battery frame is recorded as freezed frame you will see in MediaInfo a new parameter called:
Source duration
which is not present in normal clips with no battery problems and no freezed frame.

If you will save from virtualdub this type of avi (exported from mp4cam2avi) you will lost that freezed frame and the result will be the video without a freezed frame.

Thanks. I have mediainfo, and I understand what you are saying. If mediainfo can find the magic bullet (or maybe I should say "atom" in MOV jargon) in order to report the play back frame rate, then a knowledge of the MOV structure will lead to the location of the magic of that specific byte or two of detail that will unlock the playback issue. Whether the camera can do that as it writes the file is another story, but if it does it for the 5 fps recording rate, it's a mystery why it cannot do the same for the others.

I'll be posting some info on how to reformat the file with an editor to play back the video at 30 fps for those who want that option.

Originally Posted by 1Hammer

Tom, thanks very much for opening this thread again, it's been an invaluable source for me.

My computer is an old power PC Mac G5 which won't support the oldest version of Java that supports therau2000's GUI interface. I just installed and set up the new firmware manually following your instructions in post #4 and it works perfectly...very easy to set my preferences using the text file as described.

Thanks again!

Regards,
John

I'm glad you were able to use the work-around! Enjoy!

Originally Posted by Tom Frank

I'm glad you were able to use the work-around! Enjoy!

I'm an old guy, my first exposure to computer programming was using Fortran and punch cards. To me using the text file and following your simple instructions is as it should be...this fancy GUI interface is the work-around, JK.

Great work on this thread as usual!

Regards,
John

My #16 v2cam was out of focus and so I tried adjusting the lens (D).
It was all working fine till now but after I did some trial and error focusing it, it stopped working.
Now when I switch on, and move it to video mode. It goes to yellow LED and stays there but it doesnt take any video/photo. Also If i connect it computer, it doesnt detect at all.
Is it bricked? I tried both in normal mode and webcam mode and it doesnt get detected.

After this i tried
1. resetting the cam
2. removing the lens sensor cable and reinserting it.
3. tried with another spare card.

Originally Posted by foamybuilder

My #16 v2cam was out of focus and so I tried adjusting the lens (D).
It was all working fine till now but after I did some trial and error focusing it, it stopped working.
Now when I switch on, and move it to video mode. It goes to yellow LED and stays there but it doesnt take any video/photo. Also If i connect it computer, it doesnt detect at all.
Is it bricked? I tried both in normal mode and webcam mode and it doesnt get detected.

After this i tried
1. resetting the cam
2. removing the lens sensor cable and reinserting it.
3. tried with another spare card.

The symptoms sound a lot like the CMOS module is not being detected during the boot sequence when you turn it on. I'd guess the ribbon cable is not fully seated, but you say you checked that. It's possible during your handling that the ribbon cable got flexed too much and cracked one of the copper traces in the ribbon.
Also, did you disconnect the battery while you were handling the camera? Did you handle the circuit board with your bare hands? I have bricked a camera that way while focusing a lens. It's possible the lens cable is the culprit, and you can get a new CMOS module with lens and cable for about U.S. $10 shipped from you camera seller. But no guarantee. If you had access to another #16 camera to swap a lens module, you could test it before spending money on a new lens and find out later the camera is zapped.

Actually I did not disconnect the battery while handling the board. I will order the lens module and give it a try. But i thought even though cam doesnt work, it should have atleast detected the card etc.