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I'm working on a project that will have a camera onboard the object for FPV as it moves in the air at very high speeds. What kind of frame rates are good to transmit and/or record onboard the flight, and what kind of characteristics in action cameras should I look for. I know asking for 1080p can be hard but nowadays cameras have improved. DO suggest compromises in different areas and their effects on the transmitted video. I'm new to community so do help improve the question with edits and help me out.

EDIT: This will be onboard a plane so under 100-200g with mount and casing(etc) should be ideal for each camera. 30-60 fps of 1080p is more than good enough for FPV as well as other onboard cameras. We aim to supply electricity as part of the electronics onboard, so any battery it has is more an inconvenience and can be bypassed to maintain electronic supply. FPV maybe live(low latency preferred), but other onboard cameras can be just recorded. I found most budget action cameras(60-200$) are around 64GB compatible and 1080p video consumes about 20-40MB/s depending on the camera. Budget is flexible but for 3-4 cameras I have about 700$ but I can stretch by little it if needed. Should I focus on 720p if data consumption limits my flight time, and/or is there any way to have them store onboard a larger data storage system(?) Thanks a lot. Came here on the recommendation from photography stack exchange.

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  • Welcome! What is your budget? What are you size and weight constraints? Live and/or recorded? If live, what are the constraints of your transmission system?
    – Michael Liebman
    Oct 2, 2018 at 2:48

2 Answers 2

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The usual solution here, used by many pilots is actually the ubiquitous GoPro. They are robust, housings are built for most purposes and the tech is tried and tested, and compatible with everything. Solutions already exist for continuous power.

And the new GoPro 360 cameras will give you views in every direction - may or may not be useful for your use case.

There are budget versions/copies, but GoPro are the most robust I have used for high-g, high exposure uses.

If you are expecting extreme temperatures, then make sure your housing has the temperature control you need. That's what everyone does for mounting cameras on fast/high aircraft :-)

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  • Hey @dr mayhem, agreed. I have seen sounding rockets with go pro, but I also notice that gopro doesn't work well with extreme temp. Freeze issues plague it below -10 C and I believe alll electronic face issues with heat above say 60 C. I'm curious about the housing and the lens in that case, and how cameras can work in such extreme cases and if GoPro is built for it(?)
    – Rajath Pai
    Oct 12, 2018 at 2:50
  • The temp range of the newer models seems to be better than that - and low temperatures don't cause issues with the electronics - it's the battery that suffers in the cold. If you are expecting extremes, then you make sure your housing has the temperature control you need. That's what everyone does for mounting cameras on fast/high aircraft :-)
    – Dr Mayhem ♦
    Oct 12, 2018 at 7:58
  • I did not know the source of the faulty behaviour at low temperatures. Is it the Li-ion tech that fails to perform in cold temperatures(?). So, the lens and the sensor can perform reliably under much more extreme conditions if housed in protective gear(?). Thank you for the information
    – Rajath Pai
    Oct 12, 2018 at 23:16
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You can check Phantom high speed cameras, they can reach 12500 fps at 1080p.

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  • the object mounted on has high speed and may require live footage, so highspeed cameras with large fps, may not mkae sense
    – Rajath Pai
    Oct 2, 2018 at 23:32

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