Turnigy Cam HK52 Super Test
 

I spotted this one, had to try it out- http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...dproduct=10093

Metallover gave me a heads up on this as well, thanks Riley...

First impression, looks pretty well made actually. I had issues initially with copying through WMP, but it was no fault of the camera. Saturday was the only day I had to give it a little wringing, I did four separate tests, one on my old Honda, some aerial with my bro piloting, a ground test, and one on my truck.

Things I like:
- looks well made, considering the $40 price, and looks like it will take abuse
- small and light, HK has it at 1 ounce/28g but it's more like 2oz I think
- simple functions (especially compared to the FlyCamOne2)
- 2 batteries included (most cams this size do not have removeable batts)
- has some good accessories/attachments
- takes 2 to 16G micro SD cards
- decent exposure control, (not great, but better than most) so not bad on dark to light transition
- charges with USB, also with a USB wall charger
- real 30 frames-per-second (as advertised:gasp:)

Things I don't like:
- timestamp, unneccessary and somewhat obtrusive, and it's 2007?
(someone may be able to mess with root files and delete, it's been done with a few different spy-sized cams, 2007 is better than 1980, that's what year my "gumstick cam" thinks it is...)
- the mic is right where you put your finger when using it handheld
- the product shot shows a manual and a mini CD-ROM, I got neither (had to beg and plead with some RCG members to post a PDF, and just what you'd expect, horrible Engrish)
- sharpness seems a bit much, detracts from resolution

I gave it a 7.5, but for onboard use, a 10 would be near impossible. A 10 would be about what the average mid-priced regular handheld camcorder would do under the same conditions. That's what I based the score on.

I did a WMV download to eliminate a second format conversion, so you can see what it really looks like.

Link: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?y2tmjz2oqnw

Awesome review! Did a good job testing it as well.

The lines in the plane run were caused by vibrations as well?

I'll be picking up one of these as well when they are in stock!

They had over 500 in stock the last time I looked!!!! What the hell?

Think that was about 2 days ago.

Thanks nitro, the lines in the aerial are prop, my buddy's cub already had a giant hole for a Creative Vado, so I just stuffed it in. Normally we'd have minimal prop in the video.


The vibes have been a problem on every cam I've used, but only on the bike. You should see my 8mm video from years back, almost unwatchable. I don't suspect that would ever be an issue with RC, it's just the harshest test I could do.

I think this is about as good as it gets for doing cheap onboard. I have seen some better video from the new keychain cams (ebay items) but it's hit or miss on framerate. The ones with 15 fps suck, if you can be sure you're getting one with 25-30, than that may be better, and they go as cheap as $15 shipped. 15 fps is the standard cellphone video, which is not good for motion shots at all, it looks like rapid-photo more than video. This is true 30 fps (confirmed by me) and looks pretty smooth.

Keep in mind this was one of those bright-dark overcast days. That would give any cam a run for it's money. I based my score on one day of fall testing, so that is not 100% fair, and my score may rise a bit. I may have to wait for spring to find out though!

Nice! I didn't think of the prop lines...

What video editing software do you use? I was pretty fluent in Adobe Premier 2.0 about 6 years ago in High School. I assume there are newer programs available.

It's just Windows movie maker. I've been putting off trying other movie software-

a. because I know WMM so well
b. because I am cheap
c. wanted to wait for better cams to justify it

There are much better editing programs, checked into a few. But to utilize it enough to make it worthwhile to me I'd need something like a ContourHD. And the problem with a cam like that for ground vehicle onboard, is durability. Not to mention those go for about $280... And most of those also suffer with fast motion, but for different reasons.

It's not as easy as throwing any old cam on a vehicle, and there are tradeoffs. The stuff keeps getting better and cheaper though. For now, HK cam is worth the $40 IMO.

Nice review man! Thanks for posting this!:angel:

Looks like an ideal camera for the non-serious videogropher. The general RC enthusiest will love this camera, for the price. I can see lots of RCM members buying one of these. There is a very good chance I'll pick one of these up for myself..

Thanks for the review man!:party:

Glad ya liked Metal. I was just snooping around, this was just posted on the RCG AP forum, great vid!

This was taken with the 8GB keychain cam, so look for that one. With so many factories churning these other cams out, they all use the same cases, but with different internals and specs.

I've been waiting to find some onboard crawling... and like he commented, no one even knew he was filming lol.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/E2GC_KpBlKc&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/E2GC_KpBlKc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

I was just reading that you may want to pick up a Class 4 MicroSD card. The class has nothing to do with capacity, it is how fast it can be written on. This is a cure if you find the video jumps or is jittery.

Wish I would have seen this cam, don't know how I missed it. I added the FlyCamOne2 to my HC order and it's on the way right now. Also have the cable on the way that allows you to control the camera with an extra channel.

Is this camera not so good? All I want to do is goof around with some in-car videos.

Nitrostarter: I agree, got to have at least Class 4 or higher to prevent the video from lagging out. If the card can't be written to fast enough the internal buffer of the cam overflows and video will glitch. Probably a Class 6 or 10 is even better, but they start to get very pricey.

You can get a class 4 micro SD for like $15 at Walmart.

If you read the customer rating/comments on the hobbyking web site they say the cameras have be recalled

Oh swell... well that would explain the sudden drop in stock quantity. Sorry guys this is news to me! I'll have to check the forums and see what the deal is. Any comments about a recall have been removed I guess? Hmm.

Edit: info is under 'discussion' I see it now.

Wonder if HK will contact me....

Just picked one up of ebay for $50 shipped. I'll give it some runtime on the track in the Slash or SC10.

Yeah Class 4 are pretty cheap but Class 6 and 10 start to get expensive.

I did forget about the early reports of the included mSD card being junk, and from what I've seen so far that is the main reason for the recall.

And yes the card class seems to matter with this one. A faster card obviously won't turn 15fps into 30fps if the cam is only capable of 15.
But too slow of a card can effectively reduce your framerate. I already had a Sandisk I was using, I failed to mention that:whip:

I have to say I am more impressed with the keychain cams, at least the better ones. Overall they have better video, and being so compact gives you unlimited mounting options.

I guess I will continue to use my Turnigy cam and see what develops...

The keychain cam?

Nope, the same Turnigy.

What's the best way to mount the Turnigy cam?

One of the things that drew me to the FlyCam was that it was in a "laying down" position, whereas the Turnigy one is more "standing up". If that makes any sense?

yes, it would be nice if it had some kind of a craddle or something...

Champ, the FCO2's moveable lens was about it's best feature IMO.
The Turnigy cam is fixed lens, but it's no taller than a tic tac box. There is a clip but it's intended for vertical use (shirt pocket etc)

If lens-on-the-end is what you prefer then look at the 8GB version of the keychain, or keyfob cam on ebay. I think the laydown format is much better myself.

I found more info on the recall- http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbycity/f...s.asp?TID=4065

Man I wish I had known this before I started the thread! C'est la vie.....

That's too bad about the recall, hope everything works out for you.

I already bought the FlyCam and it's on the way right now. Kind of bought it on a whim, and should have done a bit more research. I want to use it on the TC3 I'm building for indoors this winter. I would have actually bought the other camera, but I didn't see it there on the second page. Guess I kind of lucked out by not seeing it.

I haven't had much chance to use the Turnigy cam in the last week or so, weather is on the decline here. Champ I had good luck with my FCO, unfortunately my buddy has had very little. His was a newer production run and has issues with shutting off, red/blue tint to video, and is generally being a pain. I hope you don't run into similar problems.

I'll again recommend the keychain variety of cams, specifically the 8 gig model. The timestamp is an annoying feature, if they're gonna provide it they should also make it defeatable. As I mentioned earlier it is possible to remove the timestamp from some of these cams, but you need a better understanding of messing with root files than I have.

I can offer some tips with the FCO as I used one exclusively for about 9 months, so post up here if you need help :yes:

Lifes funny sometimes- a month ago I purchased one of these Mini DV cameras, very similar to the Turnigy item. I picked up a cheap mini SD card to test with it, and results arent brilliant, but not too bad for a cheap little onboard camera that might get totalled in a crash or flip/cartwheel etc. Annoying thing is I looked around for ages for similar items that werent too expensive (looked at the Flycam one and the gumstick camera etc), but I found one the same as the one I linked to for ~£23 quid, minus the memory card. Now I see the 8GB key chain cam (this one?) for sale in the £12-20 price range, with much better picture quality it would seem.

Never mind eh... :sarcastic:

Wow that's a major coincidence Neil..

I had the same thumbcam, decided to do a quickie trial on the truck and destroyed it.

Broke the record start/stop button off:diablo:. I only had it like 3 days and was pretty impressed with the video quality. If it makes you feel better I paid about $100 for mine...

The cam you linked is one of the good ones I'm pretty sure, go for it! Some onboard from Mulligan would be a nice touch :yes:

Here's a still taken from my thumbcam before I killed it-

Cool, thats some nice quality- I only tested it indoors, so with better lighting it looks like it wont do too baddly. Will definately get some onboard footage with the TXT-1 and Gmaxx too, though that'll be next year when it stops raining probably ( summer is about 2 weeks long, autumn is about 1 week, and winter is 49 weeks since there is no spring as such... :lol: )

I should have the HK52 this week. I'll try to get it mounted for racing on Thursday for some onboard footage. Hopefully I'll stay on all 4 wheels....

I got my FlyCam today, along with the remote trigger cable. Finally have a reason to fire up my Nomadio Sensor and play around with the 3rd channel triggering the camera. Updated the firmware and did a couple test pics/vids. Seems pretty good so far. Along with having the remote trigger the camera will also be powered by the receiver, so don't have to worry about the little 200mah lipo running out of juice.

I mainly bought this cam to use on a TC3 I'm building for indoors this winter. Should be pretty neat. Got everything together for the TC3 and I'm going to start the build this week.

Good deal Neil, I think I'm in the UK about half the year...

Look forward to your OBV too nitro!

Champ the battery actually is one of the main problems with the newer FCO2, many people have used a larger 1S and cured that. So that's probably cheap insurance running it off your RX. The newer ones can be ID'd by looking for a fingernail detent for splitting the case. There is a micro plug for the battery disconnect, so it would be easy to re-solder it to another battery for non-RC use.

I'll just throw out some general tips for the FCO2-

-be certain you have the lens flipped the right way, I threw out more than one video before I figured out how to flip the video 180* in WMM.
-it must be in 'PC' mode to charge
-yields better results attached firmly, I recommend not using the standoff mount, put your velcro on the cam back right over the 4 pin interface, also I always use a secondary tether/velcro strip/tape for security
-use electrical tape to fix the lens position, if it gets hit the tape will allow the lens to fold
-try to use under ample light/ good skies

OBV is addictive... fair warning!

Thanks for the tips. The manual leaves much for the user to figure out themselves. I do have the newer version of the cam. The first thing I did after seeing that little tab was open the thing up. Couldn't resist! I do see the battery could be replaced, which is nice. External battery or powering from RX sounds like a must do.

I thought my cam was screwed up before I realized you could designate what orientation you wanted it from within the cam itself. I took one video and it was upside down, then the next time it was fine, then again it was upside down. Took me awhile to figure out how to switch back and forth. I always make sure to check that now too!

I'll have to see about mounting options. I kind of need to use the 4-pin interface for powering from the RX and remote triggering. I don't HAVE to use those features, but I'd like to. I'll have to play around a bit before I see how much vibration issues there are. I'm hoping since it's a TC running indoors on smooth surface they won't be too bad, but I've never driven a TC before.

Starting the TC3 build tonight! Hopefully get it done by the weekend and start taking some video.

I had forgot you mentioned the R trigger and such. The foam pad on the standoff mount seems to induce vibes rather than dampen them. That's one thing you'll have to play with on each different cam or vehicle, but rule of thumb is direct mount first, then mess with foam etc. if needed.

If you wanted to eliminate the interface you could either solder to the pins externally on the back of the cam, or better yet, directly to the inner wiring. I'm telling you this up front because the standoff mount was a total fail on my truck lol. The cam just flopped like crazy, made the video useless. AND I even tried some 3M industrial velcro (grey) and that was too thick also and acted like foam. So finally I used only high grade black velcro, and that was the ticket. Only took like 3 videos to get it right, not a big hassle, and gave me some practice both using the cam and saving files.

Good luck with your build, should be a good video mount!

After seeing how easily the case was to open I've debated actually removing the case altogether, and making a more RC-friendly case and/or mount for the cam.

Basically, just take the guts out of the plastic shell, maybe do some hardwiring as you mentioned, and also look at a better way to mount the lens/CCD. I don't really plan on using the swivel, and like you said before for our purposes the swivel is more of a hindrance than a help.

I think mounting the lens/CCD separate from the rest of the hardware could solve some vibration issues (or create more? who knows?) Get rid of the flimsy ribbon cable, replace it with some longer wires, and make a nice solid mount for the lens/CCD, and the rest of the cam guts can be stowed away lower on the chassis.

So basically you want a keychain cam? :lol:

It would be worth modifying it in any manner you like, I'm not one to mess with the real intricate stuff. If you're good at that kind of thing then it would be of great advantage to be able to use the lens "pod" by itself, for sure!

And these cams are CMOS, not CCD, I decided I could use a little education on the types myself, found this- http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question362.htm

CMOS can never be as good as CCD according to some of the AP experts, but technology has a way of proving statements like that wrong...

Ok guys, did a quick test in my Slash. I'm using the supplied microSD card. I didnt get a better one yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLrkyz7r0sY

<object width="500" height="405"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/bLrkyz7r0sY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x94 61ca&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/bLrkyz7r0sY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x94 61ca&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object>

Nice vid, but a stiffer mount is needed. Very shaky lol.

Definitely impressed with the video quality. The hard part will be beating the vibrations. I don't think the mount is the issue as much as the grass. No matter what type of mount is used the surface you run on will dictate how much vibrations you get. I'm hoping running a TC on indoor track will provide some pretty smooth video.

Yep. I rebuilt the mount after that run and made it stiffer. Darkness fell and I couldn't get another run in. I'm setting this up for racing on our carpet track, smooth with 3-5 bumps depending on configuration.

I'll do some street running tomorrow if it doesn't rain...

Nice boat, beefcake!

Found some good info on the keychain cams- http://www.chucklohr.com/808/

nitro that video was useless :lol:

E for effort.. but made the video look like gahbage. Amusing however:cry:

Get a chance to try again?

Sure did, on the indoor carpet track. Its smoothhhh now. Much better. Less vibrations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2DXEGS25d8

After watching it over again, I need to remount this camera in a better spot and in the right side position.

This was taken in a race tonight with a RC Hero camera mounted in a Slash.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LozNBL_WZ4