Camera implementations and results

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kaween

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Hiya,

As I've noticed I'm not the only person who's thinking about either installing a camera system on their suits to either get some kind of vision inside a closed helmet without real viewports or has other reasons, I though it may be interesting to do a little write-up about what cam can yield what kind of result. I'll probably near-necro post on this thread myself once in a while to report new findings/other hardware or different setups.

If any questions or requests, just shoot.

Currently I'm working on a simple camsetup that permits the taking of pictures and videos from within a helmet. To me, that's stage one. But it will be extended in due time. China electronics have become so cheap that actually only your imagination is the limiting factor.

The thing is, when you first start out with this, you'll probably be like me having NO idea what to expect from hardware X or Y .... and there's a crapload of choices out there.

So here's a little rundown on what I've got as result. Do with this as you may.


Inside or outside the helmet ?

When you design a new helmet and you already have the idea you'll use some kind of camera setup, you're one step ahead of everybody else. Altering/modding an existing helmet/suit is a bit of a tricky thing : you'll have spend days, months, years (?) into building your suit to make it look JUST right, and now you've got to get some kind of camera in there ? Depending on the material, color and type of suit, that may be very easy but it also can turn into a mission impossible. So PLEASE do not make the same mistake I made, THINK about this at the design stage.

Why is this important ? Why can't I just put it behind a piece of one-way mirror glass/plastic/whatever ?

The key problem here is light sensitivity. Our eyes cope with differences in illumination quite well. Expensive camera's do so too. But the kind of cheap smal cams we'll end up using ? Not really. In best case, you'll end up with a grainy, pixelated picture. In worst case, you'll end up in digital soup.

Example : cheap spy cam, build inside a MarkVI helmet behind the single layer part of the gold visor. (and this is not a make-do visor, but a good motorcycle gold-visor thingy with otherwise excellent visability) and you get the first picture. And yes, that's the same little Kilrathi monster which was held at gunpoint by my daughter in my avatar.

Now lets compare that with the image you'd get using the same cam with free vision, not being restricted by any crap in front of the lens.
Okay, it's not framed all that well, but it's clear visability went out of the window here. :)

Mind you : these pictures have been taken in a VERY bright lit room, we're talking mostly light walls, white ceeling, white floor, and with 24 high powered filament LED's as light source. Take it from me, these things do light up !


So .... if that's the result of a mediocre cam module at excellent light conditions and with a automotive grade filter .... well yeah, not good when it gets a bit darker, believe me.

The used cam in this case : http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2016...601740856.html?spm=2114.10010108.0.178.rfuODp

Now note : this cam is being advertised as 1080p but NO WAY this is real 1080p. It's some kind of upscales crappy lower-than-720p for sure. The capture algoritm is also only so-and-so. The manual is a joke and full of errors. If you ever buy this cam and have issues with it, let me know. I can probably solve some of the issues you come across.
The cam unit does have a saving grace though :
1) it can be controlled by remote, meaning you can use a small RF remote to choose to start video capture, stop capture, take a still picture ect ect.
2) there are more advanced versions of these costing not all that much more which are capable of sending out the video over wifi to a smartphone or comparable. This might be interesting for some people I'd imagine.


So it's clear : if possible, try to give your camera a free view to the outside world. That's were planning your suit comes in. Still, even if the suit is already made, nothing is lost. A better cam CAN save you.

In the third and fourth picture, you see the same pictures taken with a cheap "Lens A" type Mobius action camera. Not only is the visability angle a lot wider, the image has a lot more detail and even behind the gold visor, the image is still usable. The Mobius permits manual tweaking of illumination too : what you see here is the standard setting of the Mobius. Although the view angle is loads better, you might consider the new "C2" type of lens which throws out a view angle of about 135°. The used "Lens A" is something like 110° in this mode : depending on used capture resolution, the Mobius will show a wider or smaller viewing angle.

The pro of the Mobius is it can produce GoPro like results, yet it costs just a fraction of a GoPro and it can be disassembled in sepperate parts, making integrating it into a helmet a breeze. You can put the electronics, batteries, cmos capture unit ... all where you want or need them. That can be a real life saver.

Okay, I did not have the forsight of having some kind of cam viewing hole myself.
However, depending on your suit, you may still want to consider not putting the camera insde your helmet.
As you can see on the picture of my helmet, a small lens-and-cmos only assembly can be attached at the underside of the helmet. I've purposly done this here without any black neck protector on so the module can be clearly seen. It's simply attached to the read rim of the helmet, so it sits as far back as possible shooting images from underneath the helmet.
Believe me when I say that if you're wearing a full suit and black undersuit, the presense of this module is nigh undetectable.

The downside of the Mobius : it has no remote control system. If you want to command the camera by a remote, you'll have to build that yourself which isn't something I'd advise if you don't have at least basic soldering skills.


... will be updated in due time. As said, if you've got questions : let them come. The idea is to share as much as possible info about this subject.
 

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I believe there is an off brand go pro with WiFi that has 1980 resolution. Just shy of 80 and you can buy a remote for it for a few more dollars. I would just mount it in the edge of a helmet (where the lights are) in most of the mjlonir variations, but every suit is going to be different.
 
Correct. That's also exactly why I started this topic. Every build is different, every armor is different. What works for X won't work for Y. As a lot of people build a lot of different suits and variations, everybody who's looking into adding a camera for whatever reason could benefit from the experience and errors other people have made. That goes from "don't use this brand, it's crap" to "don't use that kind of mount, it creates this or that problem".
To my surprise, no such thread existed as yet or at least, I couldn't find it.

As for Wifi : You're probably refering to the SJ4000 series or the Xiaomi Yi devices. These can be picked up for 80USD or so and they're basically "as GoPro as you get without a GoPro label or their price tag".

But just like every build is different, everybodies' idea about their build is different too. Some of us will not care if a camera is visable on an armor. Others will find it terribly out-of-place.
There's no wrong or right.

But in my search to start doing this, I found virutally nothing that concentrated on the topic using cameras in cosplay builds. Not saying this is all that great, but it's a start at least and hopefully it will provide some ideas or help to other now and then. :)

Feel free to contribute and discuss.
 
The SJ4000 has a wifi capable model (as well as a non). it also has the capability to be used as a dash cam. Just note the 32 GB card maximum with this one. Also, just as another bit of info in regards to mounting, it is compatible with all GoPro mounts (sans the cases) if there are any that are req'd and don't come with the camera. Also, a remote is made for this one (I don't have one though)

While I don't plan on making a closed helmet, I did advise this unit to one of my friends who wants a Gungnir Helmet. if no one cares about the camera lens being visable, then this would work nicely. The SJ4000 has an LCD built into it, unlike the GoPro, which needs an attachment screen. The disadvantage with the screen is that on default it will turn off after some time to save battery life (but it still records). I'm not sure if that is an option that can be changed or not, I'll have to look at mine later., but simply any button will turn the screen back on.

The recording quality for this one is rather nice, and I, personally, have no issue picking out details on the screen in the back.

All in all, I find it pretty good as a money saving option if you don't own a GoPro already (I couldn't afford one)
 
I quite like the idea of having a Drone FPV camera style system, you know, these things?
fatshark-fpv-kit.jpg

Not sure on recording and stuff, but great for visibility in a bad visibility helmet, like the Gungnir, or even any helmet where the visor is for aesthetics and not practicality :D
 
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