Hello-
I'm starting this thread to help develop the Aiptek A-HD+ 1080p camcorder for use with FPV.

This camera records in HD while sending a standard definition signal (480 lines) out it's A/V jack. This SD signal can be used as the FPV downlink.

The Aiptek is no super broadcast-quality camera by any stretch of the imagination (at $150-$200, how could it be?). But it does make some very nice movies. At full 1080p, it suffers from motion artifacting. But at 720p/60 it looks really good for a cheap HD camcorder.

It records to SDHC cards, up to 32gb. Faster cards make a big difference here, so don't cheap out. A 4gb card can hold around 1-2 hours of HD at 1080 or 720/60, and 3-4 hours at 720/30. (These are just rough numbers)

One of the biggest problems when using this camera for FPV is, "how do you pan and tilt it?"
It's been done, but it sure didn't look easy. I wondered if the camera module in the camcorder could be separated and extended on a ribbon cable, so I completely disassembled mine. Voila! It's not that hard.

Now the idea is to find the right connectors and cable to make the adapter cable.

And we can all be the "HDFPV" guys since our videos will always be in HD.

Questions, comments, suggestions and one-liners all welcome.

Well done Rob, look forward to seeing if you can source the extension cable, or components to make them.

Ive just put my Aiptek pan/tilt version 2 on hold.

What a difference a day makes, this is the way of the future for fpv, lol.
cheers.

Has anyone run their Aiptek off their flight battery?

If you have some old broken laptop or hifi lying around, there should be some ribbon cable inside, if you can't source it somewhere else. I always keep boxes full of broken electronics around "just in case".

Does anyone know what type of connector that is? I'd bet it is available from a standard electronics distributor like Mouser, Digikey, Allied, etc.

The ribbon cable is probably available too! This is VERY interesting!

Can you get some close-ups of the ribbon cable and connectors?

I would probably advise against using a ribon cable. you need to be able to get a ferrite ring on it as close to the camera as possible. Ive seen the insides of some of theese types of cameras before, and those with the camera not directly connected to the main board Always have a ferrite ring on their cable. You can use a bundle of small wires to the same effect as a ribon cable anyway

hello,
what if you use a piece of mirror instead of pan/tilt the camera ?

How many wires do you need? A network cable has 8 if I remember correctly. Or a telephone cable can also work.

mirror will show the image backwards and upside down. the upside down can be fixed by placing the camera at another angle, but backwards is unfixable untill post processing.


bestview: Alot.

A mirror- that's an excellent idea! Point the camera backwards at a P&T mounted mirror...

My IF-OSC has an option to mirror the image. The Aiptek has no such option I suppose.

Originally Posted by hoysome

mirror will show the image backwards and upside down. the upside down can be fixed by placing the camera at another angle, but backwards is unfixable untill post processing.


bestview: Alot.

A mirror won't show the image upside down just backwards.

I would be interested in how long it takes for the
picture to travel trough the cam (from lens to AV).

Even a relatively short delay can be verry annoying...

I've ordered connectors for the camera from here:

http://www.4uconnector.com

Look under "Board to Board" connectors. I ordered a bunch of samples to see which one would be the most appropriate to use for the camera. Just waiting on them...

Originally Posted by hoysome

mirror will show the image backwards and upside down. the upside down can be fixed by placing the camera at another angle, but backwards is unfixable untill post processing.


bestview: Alot.

In my aiptek camera I find silicone.Remove camera not imposible.