FPV Cam Settings

An explanation of my FPV Cam settings.
Rundown of settings: 5:45
Quick reference Guide
WDR: ON
WDR Level: Max (63)
Day&Night: Color
Contrast: 104
Sharpness: Max (31)
Display: LCD

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Brightness and contrast on the goggles is a great tip. For a long time, I didn't even know that existed. I adjust brightness and contrast on the goggles literally every time i fly. Makes a huge difference.

[@MavSoloFPV]

Hey Chad, thank you for taking the time to do this. We all know you could be flying right now, but it's awesome to see that you are helping our FPV community. Aloha!

[@eastbay_fpv]

Just tried your settings on a new cam, they really work great, the sharpness and contrast are both great changes, thanks for sharing!

[@bryzifpv7496]

Thank you my friend you have changed my flying experience ten fold.. Changed the setting following this video and can now see the light ... literally heaps better picture and half the solar flare in the cam. Keep it up mate...

[@JoshuaBardwell]

OMG HE'S SO DREAMY

[@FinalGlideAus]

I know right!!!!

[@GUILLERMO.NESPOlO]

aussie jet lag

[@RagTheNutsOff]

Lol Joshua!

[@1917VIL]

Thanks, Chad:)

[@FarmerFpv]

i agree :) lol

[@rambozo_fpv176]

Thanks, Chad. I have been neglecting my cam settings and just flying B&W at night. I appreciate you getting me motivated to fix my settings.

[@simonwallace699]

Thanks Chad.. I was on the bench adjusting my 180 with Runcam Swift when your video came up in my feed. Perfect timing and the settings look ideal for Aus conditions.

[@brianbutcher7409]

Thanks Chad you did a great job of explaining those settings for both night and day,,,,, Great

[@badmofo350]

thanks for this video Chad. i still go back to it as a baseline every time i setup a new cam, as i am right now.

[@drwtrex]

Thanks chad for all the settings and info on your camera it was real helpful.....

[@JaydenLawson]

Thanks Chad! Installed my first FPV cam last night and was wondering if I should adjust the settings, so that's awesome 😎

[@unclejerry486]

you're my hero (again), i was angry and pissed of after my last flight using the swift, I now understand why.. Big thanks!

[@SeanDuffyProductions]

Exciting news that you're working with Runcam, love my Runcam Swift.

[@DroneOn]

Thank you for this. Where I live we get mega sunlight. Making changes to the contrast indeed made a difference for me.

[@cptcrunch9090]

Just found and watched "removing ones self from the equation". Just wanted to say thank you. And I hope you and yours are well. Be safe.

[@jttfpv2424]

Thank you very much FGA! The contrast thing really worked. Cheers.

[@pop-popfpv237]

I have 2 Swift cams. Never touched the settings. Now I will. :) Thanks Chad.

[@fpv3611]

Thanks a lot for your setup Chad! It helps a lot!

[@BumpierDrake960]

Thanks for the settings and actually explaining it too.

[@mitchruddle3182]

Cheers Chad Needed this video as was just about to start playing with fpv camera settings and then I seen your Video pop up 👍

[@Duddits-vu3yi]

super , thx! was looking to find a sollution for the sunlight , spot on :)

[@speeddemon32]

Dude thank you! I cant wait to give them a try. i appreciate video like this.

[@ThomasDartez]

Thanks a lot, I have a runcam owl, and going through the osd and tweaking it really helped out. Thanks again...

[@David__]

Thanks for sharing Chad. Great to see both Steele & yourself continuing to give some much back to the hobby! Only 1 problem with this... now everywhere will be out of stock for gopro 1/2 lenses :)

[@QuadView]

That Wide Dynamic Range make a huge difference. Thanks!!!

[@treeninjafpv1596]

Thanks so much dude!! Makes more sense. I followed a video where one had to point the camera at a white paper in the sunlight, to apparently set the white balance, but yours certainly looks better(thumbs up bro) :) cheers

[@UAVfutures]

awesome info mate.loved it

[@-phonkzilla-4357]

Just what I needed. Cheers!

[@sticky080]

Didn't get a chance to ask you what settings you were using at the LA meetup, thanks for the video. Also can't wait for those super efficient props to drop. Cheers.

[@PropwashRotorsports]

Wisdom - "...rather than image quality, I like to be able to see the important things..." Let your flight be stunning and beautiful in the HD footage

[@Supa_Flyy]

Thanks Chad that was perfect timing! I just picked up a HS1177 and I've been having trouble getting a good picture.

[@frankheadfpv3790]

Excellent video.

[@LukucProdigy]

perfect explanation, thank you very much.

[@Mcdonaldt001]

Thanks Chad! Very helpful

[@AiroFpv]

nice, been needing this one! thanks chad!

[@exidous6831]

Loved the "The Interview" reference.

[@phildawe7172]

gonna test this out in the Queensland Sun. Yep. The Foxeer does have default WDR off. Thanks a lot for your advice

[@JoshuaBardwell]

For the record, I measured the view angle of my 1177 with GoPro lens as best I could and got about 110 degrees. What do you think? Sound about right?

[@FinalGlideAus]

I've never measured it but that does not sound right. Direct comparisons (without measuring of course) showed the GoPro lens to be somewhere between the regular 2.1 and 2.5mm lens sizes in terms of FOV. I can see more than what I could with my original 2.5mm lens.

[@pabz06]

Very nice, thanks Chad. Your discussion is was helpful! You need to upload more often though :)

[@daggad02]

God video Chad, thanks.

[@Jacey2001]

thanks for the vid, ive been using a fatshark cam, with no osd, so this is new to me. but im building an alien 5" with a foxeer sony copy, and a pnp50. i hope i can figure out all these settings when my stuff shows up... thanks to you guys, i probably will.

[@plasticjoe26]

Thanks Chad, gonna try it tomorrow at the field. Had a good time talking to you sat afternoon in Muncie. I'm the guy from Dayton, if you remember me LOL

[@EarthshipFreedom]

awesome info, thanks man

[@FarmerFpv]

great video chad.

[@ibnfpv]

Great video thanks

[@xxx-lucky-fpv-xxx1811]

many thanks chad , this was a pain in the eyes :), and you just wiped it away

[@blackmennewstyle]

Nice settings :)

[@user-ru3wl7se8p]

Thanks Chad! I like those settings as well. Flew a few packs tonight with my new 2.1mm (quadrysteria.com 4 bucks) love the fov!

[@strepto42]

Good stuff. The only difference I run in user->gamma = 0.35 just to brighten up the curve a bit.

[@S700KYFPV]

Thanks Chad!

[@Politicallyhomeless957]

Hope your doing well and making new content soon. FPV needs you.

[@AdamDemas]

awesome thanks!

[@MrHauf85]

thanks for sharing chad

[@neoramadung]

cheers man x

[@jacobrachwal7625]

Because your working with Runcam can you get them to make profiles for the camera settings. Ex Day, Night, Golden hour, Dusk. Thanks!

[@MrJarrod]

Thanks chad being an aussie like you the aussie sun seems to be different from America, so I'll be using the same.

[@zeropez]

thank you

[@BadChizzle]

Thank you.

[@Retrospelaren]

Thanks

[@_theoldgamer_]

Hey Chad, great video, very helpful. Thank you. Question, in the past (don't remember the camera type or settings) there was an option or something where the sun looked actually like a black dot, basically blocked. What was that option? Do you know? Thanks

[@djklermundable]

awesome thanks so much for this video. it's going to help me out a lot. Hey are those tricopters from David Windestål's movie on the wall behind you in your shop? I loves the racing scenes in it.

[@jagwal1]

Thanks for sharing this. A question about the lens you mention at the beginning, The only ones I could find on ebay are 2.5mm "170 degrees" which seems a very wide angle to me for FPV (much distortion) Is this the correct lens you recommend ? Thanks in advance

[@cenabitednbfpv587]

question: re: run cams, and it seems to be only the run cams i have the new swifts and owls. and last night during a test i noticed it switching from (pinkish) best i can describe to normal.. i saw this in your vid also but it was super fast. like a few frames.. is this the wdr? or have u noticed this? also im running a diversity receiver, so my initial thought was switching antennas was causing it after seeing your video I'm thinking that the dynamic range might be the culprit as it was getting slightly dark out while testing last night. and ive seen this before and usually just continue to fly as it doesn't prevent me from seeing it's just an odd pink hue all of a sudden then back to normal. forgive me if this is a stupid question

[@mattyoul609]

hey mate great video really helpful. 1 question thought how do you get the osd swttings lol. i bought a second hand quad with osd but i dont know how to get into the settings. please help

[@John-bv9mu]

Hi! How are those new HQprop working for you? I was having lots of vibration with mine, it might just be because of the screws for the flight controller going through the arms though. I will have to test with o-rings.

[@patrickcol]

Looks awesome in the brilliant sunshine Chad, but what about shitty grey days and low light, any suggestions?

[@markjennings2315]

Regarding GoPro lens, have you tried the 2.9mm hero 4 lens? It's my absolute favorite for image quality out of the Swift.

[@TOTHETOMBANDBACKGAMING]

😎

[@badmofo350]

These settings work great out in the open but when I go into the woods where it's darker but there's still some light getting through the gaps, it almost not flyable. Turning WDR off helps, turning sharpness down helps and brings the colors back but then it looks out of focus. Changing the shutter from auto to 5000 or 10000 helps but nothing makes it "good" I've calibrated the cam. I'm using a swift with GoPro 1 lens. The same lens works awesome on a different CCD camera I have. I've tried adjusting settings on my goggles. If you have any suggestings please let me know. The swift is brand new. Thanks.

[@mongranperspective4809]

HI. Can you share where you purchased your gopro lens from? Thanks

[@badmofo350]

MongranPerspective I got mine from Amazon. Just read the reviews and don't buy the cheapest one. I think mine cost about $13 US

[@SKIDOOSH]

My only difference is in white balance.. I do go to manual and set blue at 45 and red at 55...seems to make the image a bit warmer..

[@ir0nm8n]

SAMTIME SQUAD 😍 Well, probably the only one around here :(

[@danielsvirida6737]

hey can u do a video on how to set pids and what each one does

[@lineman198625]

I just started flying fpv. I am curious to know if you ever got nauseous when you first started flying fpv? If so, any suggestions to help lessen it? I would greatly appreciate any insight!

[@Nick-xe2hu]

Any chance we can get a video of you flying with the footage from the DVR? I'm curious as to precisely what you're seeing such as in your recent video "Ultimate Virtual Reality".

[@FinalGlideAus]

Just released one

[@Nick-xe2hu]

Awesome. Thanks

[@GarzFPV]

Have you used the Runcam Owl and if so was the FOV similar to your setup with the Hero1/2 lens? I'm loving the owls FOV but think 2.1/1.8 is was too narrow

[@FinalGlideAus]

Yes I have a few Owl's but didn't like them unless I was flying away from all light sources. The Owl uses a 1/2' sensor so it's hard to compare lens with the Swift that uses a 1/3" sensor.

[@solmag8076]

Do you think this settings will work for the Owl plus?

[@omnious112]

could you link a example of the hero fpv lens?

[@frankie44193]

aaaye

[@cJhudanich]

thanks, what's ur use with fpv cam not HD cam, angle?

[@frostlife]

What size lens do you fly with? Looks like 2.1mm to me

[@DavisDFPV]

Hey Chad, was the video 13:37 because you're the greatest?

[@FinalGlideAus]

Of course, why would you even need to ask? :)

[@awokenfpv3887]

Leet (or "1337"), also known as eleet or leetspeak, is an alternative alphabet for many languages that is used primarily on the Internet

[@LokiMelb]

thanks captain obvious :)

[@SerialTequila]

Thanks for all the good info Chad, Question for you: How did you get the Swift into the Aliens camera plates? I was forced to use one of the supplied mounting kit that came with the swift. Cheers.

[@FinalGlideAus]

Pretty simple mod. Just file out the back plate so the larger plug fits. Now just use the standard screws to screw to the backplate. I am working on a new K-Bracket for the Alien to fit the Swift easily

[@SerialTequila]

Ah yea, I did that filing down mod, then found the screws didnt line up or even reach... no worries, as much as I loved the quality of the swift cam I have DOM v3s and am now using that XAT1200 (the 16:9 thingimajig), great widescreen and picture quality with slight CMOS light adjust penalty. still worth it tho. Loving the Gopro2 lense mod too, instant winner. ta ta

[@FinalGlideAus]

Just use the screws that came in the Swift then it fits fine. I'm not a fan of 16:9 so don't use those cameras

[@moskiserious]

Any time frame on that new K-Bracket ?

[@slipperysquid]

Is it just me or is Chad getting younger and younger in each video????? Benjamin Button shit right there!

[@bradelder3999]

Hey Chad! What OSD do you run? Is your call sign at the bottom part of the cam settings or a different OSD? I'm running the newer Runcam Eagle (which is great!) but am not seeing that particular adjustment. Thanks!

[@FinalGlideAus]

Watch the video and all shall be revealed ;). I don't use an OSD

[@HilmiR1]

Do those settings differ very much on a Runcam Owl Plus?

[@timmyklus]

Can you show us how you hooked up the camera and how you view through the gogggles. I have the cable powered by a Lipo and hooked it up to my tv. Not ideal for field adjustments. Thanks man, Tim

[@FinalGlideAus]

The Foxeer cam toggle cable can be modified to go in between the cam and VTX with a little effort. The Runcam Swift uses a seperate connector.

[@Myideanow]

Hi, what lens did you use for the Runcam? is that the same one you use on Foxeer (GoPro Hero 2 170 degree) ? Thanks advance.

[@FinalGlideAus]

Yes the GoPro 1 or 2 lens

[@holliedog1000]

do you use ir filter or ir blocked cams

[@sierra7534]

what degree of an angle is your camera set at? Is it still 25? and is your GoPro set to the same angle?

[@johntrueblue]

whick version of the lens? IR Blocked or IR sensitive

[@bishopvick6373]

do you have UK settings as its grey and murky here ;)

[@SeanDuffyProductions]

Agreed, I went and put Steele's settings on my Runcam and then it occurred to me that I'm not flying in sunny Atlanta but miserable overcast Britain so they may not work as well. :)

[@alwishy2696]

Same Sean LOL,i wonder how many people put Steele's cam settings in and live in a rainy cold country like us.

[@Josh-ye8kk]

+Sean Duffy same

[@rambofpv4402]

What u on about we've just had a belting summer!

[@SparrowFPV]

Lmao! i need to change mine tomorrow due to the lack of sun recently :( here comes the bad weather (more than usual)

[@alexdalton7290]

Hey guys can u fly at night with HS 1177 in like a parking lot and still see decent or is a run cam owl best way to go

[@GoGupGo]

Chad this question not about setup but I just ordered a Run Cam swift to do a Alien 5 build and I seen where you have to do a mod on the back plate to get it to fit in the frame. Can you tell me what the mod is?

[@FinalGlideAus]

Newer versions of the back plate will accept the Runcan without mods. If you have the older version then simply file the coutout for the plug a little wider to accept the Runcam plug and you may need to elongate the mount holes out ward ever so slightly (you can use the files in the Alien kit). you can use the screws that come in the Runcam to mount it.

[@GoGupGo]

Awesome... thank you Chad. Looking forward to the Alien Kit. I been flying QAV 250 and like it but its an old version and heavy. Once again thanks for the response.

[@rcandcnc9684]

Why WDR off for night flying? Did some ground tests not so long ago and WDR on seemed to give a more detailed picture.

[@FinalGlideAus]

RCandCNC because the street lights tend to blow out more in a dark situation.

[@rcandcnc9684]

Thanks

[@mrre78]

Is that gun for getting drones out of trees that hanging behind you?

[@tahosrfr]

Damn, you could sell Ice to an Eskimo:)

[@samik83]

With an Alien it's a real pain plugging in the control cable to the camera unless you take the top plate off. How do you go about this if you wanna make some quick changes?

[@FinalGlideAus]

I never take the top plate off. Only takes me about 30 seconds to plug in the control plug through the bottom.

[@samik83]

FinalGlideAus Is the connector on your camera on the bottom? Mines at the top. I remember there being two versions of HS1177 where they switched the connectors place.

[@lepequie]

Actually today I was messing with my camera settings, but I didn't messed around with contrast, how do you find that contrast setting in sunset/lowlights?

[@FinalGlideAus]

Fine to a point but if you are flying in really low light it won't work as good. That light level is no good for filming so I don't fly then anyway.

[@BBFPV]

The sun is red and when i turn the picture is blue, what do i wrong? Swift and eagle the same

[@AliGreenFPV]

Is this IR bloked or sensitive?

[@alanhennesy2145]

its all a bit counter intuitive and even paradoxy.. turn WDR on and contrast down, i think its about how well it changes from bright to dark, you obviously want the transitions to be rapid and as natural as possible. its about time camera makers had settings purely for fpv instead of the classic photography controls ie sunny / sunny+dark / cloudy+dark/ night 1 and 2.