Review: Sony 800TVL Effio-V FPV camera (part 1)

[@jchtr3ac]

Just watched the fireworks in New Zealand on the telly welcoming the New Year. Some hours to go until we celebrate here. (About 16.) So Happy New Year Bruce! Thank you for a year's worth of fun, reviews, and RC news. Cheers mate, John

[@nellodude]

That is a very informative review Bruce. These reviews are what make you the best on the net.

[@BorisBnow]

I tried the cam on my B330 and like it very much. The picture was stunning so I recommended the cam to metalldanny, but he didn't like it all in the forest, but couldn't explain why. He said he was not able to see the trees on time. So I think the additional latency bothered him. I wanted to try it on my mini quad as well, so flew it in pretty dark conditions and had a soft crash during my first pack and the cam died. I personally think that BGA chips are more sensitive to crashes than the conventional SMD stuff.

[@FinalGlideAus]

Yes interesting stuff Boris. I noticed a slight latency when flying it after a while but couldn't pick where it was coming from and have gotten used to it. Maybe I should install an old PZ0420 back in a mini H and give it a test run to see if I notice an improvement. I do really like the improved picture quality, low light performance and being able to fly into the sun though with the Effio-V.

[@BorisBnow]

Yes the picture from the cam is just great and sometimes feels like it is a HD footage. You get so many detaills in your goggles (using doms v2). So far only tested it on the b330 with some longer straight runs where latency isn't really an issue. Bruce....how about that monitor? Was that one adding some extra latency?

[@florian190399]

I don't think so, because the old super had II didn't have a latency.

[@rctv-uk3126]

Boris B. That is a good suggestion Boris, the screen could be slowing things down slightly but the comparison did show the old version being less significant. Bruce you're doing a great job here and as a result saving us all money and time. We thank you! ATB Malc Team Nana UK division

[@oenta83]

Wow, I was considering putting one of these new 800TVL cams on an B330 but seeing this latency i might choose an old 600TVL. Damn.. didn't knew it had that kind of latency also... maybe there is something up with that LCD screen Bruce uses?

[@BMSWEB]

Fantastic Test Bruce. Really helpful stuff!!

[@michaelm6212]

Great Job with the frequent uploads Bruce keep up the good work.👍✈✈

[@fpvairmark4417]

Thanks for the review Bruce and happy new year.

[@VORT3XFPV]

Well done Bruce. I had been thinking about this camera, but for my flying the resolution isn't worth the lag.

[@hanslangenberg3617]

Thanks Bruce, Looking forward to part 2

[@BlackoutTheDrunk]

Great review Bruce !

[@ME-zu5kg]

Any chance we could see the old 600 on the scope as well please? or just tell us the results? P.s Happy new year.

[@rogueqd]

The DNR probably affects the latency. It works by comparing more than one frame (default 3) to remove noise. It also makes trees look slightly out of focus as the leaves move slightly. Can you please redo the latency test with DNR turned off?

[@moshenc]

I just did a test with my Effio-V turning everything i could find off including DNR to 0, and I still get 60-100ms latency as before (through goggles).

[@rogueqd]

Moshen Chan That's a bit disappointing. Thanks for doing the test. :)

[@JohnFHendry]

Yup... that's what my Mits X7 did I think to get such a good picture off a noisy cable signal as it has to add time but others are seeing it still with it off... bummer as it has far better picture performance.

[@benjahnz]

FINALLY some real testing to cut through all the effio hype. Thanks Bruce! Think I'll stick with my sony super HAD. That latency is just unacceptable.

[@donpalmera]

I have an Effio-E 700TVL and one of the nextchip 600TVL cheapies. The Effio-E camera was perfect out of the box really. With the nextchip one I have to adjust the brightness and contrast on my skyzone goggles to see much and then when it gets a bit bright everything goes white. It apparently has an OSD to configure it but I can get it to come up by shorting the menu pin etc.. I think I'll stick to the Effio cams.

[@P44man]

The latency you saw with the old 600TVL, Im guessing is caused by your LCD monitor. I notice no lag with that camera at all. If you want to be sure, for a test, hook it up to an old CRT TV, because unlike LCDs, they dont have any latency.

[@xjet]

P44man Yes, all "digital" (ie: LCD) monitors have at least one frame of lag associated with them because they need to create a buffer-full of data to display.

[@P44man]

***** Its usually much more than 1 frame (16ms). Here is some info: www.anandtech.com/show/2803/5 Typical seems to be 33-80ms for pc/gaming monitors.

[@JohnFHendry]

P44man So what is the latency of FPV goggles like the DOM HDs I wonder. But CRT's do have some delay at least my 40in Mit's did.. so must be the 3D comb filter used and other digital processing.

[@P44man]

I guess crt's that do that kind of filtering may indeed exhibit lag, since that is essentially what a comb filter does (and btw, its analog processing, not digital), but in principle, a cheap simple CRT basically has no lag. I never tested goggles, not so easy to do that properly, I can only say I notice no lag in my cinemizers. But then I probably wouldnt notice anything under ~40ms.

[@JohnFHendry]

P44man The Mits X7 and 40-809 had 3D digital comb filters like the newer Mit's. The X7 had an amazing picture using the composite input showing how good it can be done right but big $$$. It had no component input only S-vid and it's 3D comb filter was so good I only used the composite input. The Mit's X7 had some quality's like doing flesh tones better than any TV I've seen based on memory but I had two and both had issues so Mits gave me the 40in to replace it. After that ended up with plasma as LCD's "sweet" spot drives me nuts so can't wait for OLED to become the standard and have it all. Never seen the Cinemizers but hear good things about them from the FPV crowd. But really happy with the DOM HDs and watched The 5th Element using the composite input and not that bad, far better than expected and haven't got the mini HDMI to try that out yet. Seems to be an issue with getting the right mini HDMI cable for the HD's so need see how the list is coming along and order one to test it. I still have a 20 in Mits computer CRT that has almost no time on it. Should turn it on more often.... but not sure what to do with it. Great picture if a "bit" dated;-)

[@mcdaw]

Did you do a noise test for the mobius action cam?

[@leetrevarthen]

While watching this, I suddenly realised why my PZ0420 has stopped working. The Crystal you pointed to on the back has fallen off. Do you have a part# or something that I could find a replacement? Cheers Lee

[@bfun1088]

Great vid. It really helps to see these guys compared against a reference. Given the latency, seems like the 600 is stll the winner so far. Thanks Bruce.

[@Munky332]

If the best image for a low light sensor (Infrared) is your concern, what is the best option for a 1/3" CCD? i'm looking for one to do some IR stuff with, without breaking the bank.

[@pokies100]

Can you build a retro quad fpv machine, with the old early products, and show us what camera and when it came out that you would have used please.

[@JohnFHendry]

Since the cameras are creating RF reducing voltages I'd like to know if running a lower voltage off say 2S produces less RF that a higher voltage say 3 S or even 4S? And is there a specific voltage where the harmonics are increased or decreased. Personally I think we are about to enter a new age of electronics due to the hobbyist so we better start thinking harder.....

[@zhanyiduo]

Here is my way to measure the latency. Turn on a stop watch, use the FPV camera aim at the stop watch, take a photo that includes both stop watch and the stop watch image on FPV screen (they should be in one photo). compare the difference of these two stop watch numbers, eg.the real watch shows 1.365s, the FPV screen shows 1.350s. Then the delay is 0.015s.

[@stevechance150]

Great review! I'm looking forward to Part 2. If they fixed the RF noise problem, maybe they'll come out with a version 3 that will fix the latency problem (fingers crossed).

[@RoboTekno]

Great 1st review. I look forward to the flight tests :-)

[@ShawneeConsulting]

Hello! First let me say thank you for all the great videos, advice, and education. I'm in the process of ordering components for my first build (a 210 quad) and have a question. I'm looking at purchasing a HS1177 with 2.8 lens, IR sensitive. Can I then just purchase other focal length/IR block or sensitive lenses only so that I have options? Or should I just get whole cameras with the different lenses already attached? Not sure what focal length I'm going to like best and trying to be budget conscious in my picks but at the same time not have to wait for that slow boat to fly :-)

[@courierdude7250]

That latency was a shocker. But on the plus side, I now have another tool for my crash blame bag.

[@thexpto51]

Very good video! Very well tested! Nice work!

[@STRK3R1234567]

A Sony Effio-V that I bought from surveilzone was dead on arrival... I cannot get it to show a picture to save my life. All polarities for the connecting wires are correct, I double checked the pinouts. Power source was 11.3 Volts via a Lawmate transmitter. All pins in the cable are properly crimped; I checked with a DMM... And the lens cap is off. I'm out of ideas.

[@warwicklaken]

Hi Bruce, Happy New Year. I know this sounds stupid but I am using one of these cameras, It should be powered with 12V, Currently it is powered with a 2 cell LiPo as used with the rest of my on board equipment. It works. How are you getting 12v on your small quads. What issues can you have with lower voltages. Please help. Best regards

[@jameswil]

ive been looking at these cameras for a while now Bruce and im glad your doing a review on them, i am myself interested in how they will handle night flying in both low light conditions and what about almost pitch black? is that possible? i look forward to part two and hope you do a night test? thanks for your videos!! :)

[@blackmennewstyle]

Stupid question but how can we know if we have a old or new version of Sony 800TVL Effio-V FPV camera?

[@Smokkedandslammed]

Compare what you have to what Bruce has in his video...

[@xjet]

ABMNS PRODUCTION The second version has "Version 1.1" printed on the front of the PCB just below the plastic base for the lens.

[@blackmennewstyle]

***** Thanks for your answer Bruce :) Happy new year to you and all your family! Greetings for Thailand & France

[@SJohnM81]

Good review Bruce. Happy New Year! Perhaps if you disable or reduce the WDR feature on the camera the latency will improve. I have found that to be the case with my seawolf pixim 690tvl camera. Looking forward to the flight review.

[@WinstonSmith1984]

Thanks for the video. That lag is too huge for crisp FPV maneuvers even though it's only 100ms as you said. I'll pass on that camera. It'll make me feel like flying MS Flight Simulator on a x386. B.t.w. Is there a way to measure the frequency of a crystal such as that on the PZ0420? I crushed the crystal on my Fatshark camera but I don't know what value it is in order to get a replacement. Even Fatshark themselves couldn't answer that.

[@Psi105]

Some of the effios seem to come in a box saying 5-24VDC while others say 12VDC. I'm not sure if its just the wrong box or if some are that different. It would be nice if they could run from 4S and even 6S but i didn't want to burn out my camera testing it. I fly my mini-quad around tree and stuff using the Effio-V the double scan ultra wide dynamic range makes a HUGE difference, you can see all the tree branches before flying into them :) I did notice the lag while testing on the ground but never noticed it while flying. 800TVL effio-V really is the best camera i've ever used. I've never used it near a 433 system though

[@xjet]

Ben Wilson Yes, the brain can adapt remarkably quickly to things such as latency in the control-loop (ie: in your RC system or video link).

[@le4fkicker]

You can request a v5 version from them, I did this and have it working on 5v. Think I will go back to a 600, I'm going to ask them if they do a 600TVL 5v version.

[@miroslavpokorny7145]

I just wish they made it a bit smaller so it would easily fit within a 250 mini quad with a servo gimbal. A 25x25 camera on a HK tilt servo gimbal already needs a few spacers to fit inside a QAV 250. A 30x30 camera like this is just a bit too big :(

[@msheridan]

Fantastic review. Thanks!

[@JohnFHendry]

Excellent review! Thanks...

[@Spoif]

***** If you are going to fold the crystal back, it would probably be a good idea to make sure it has a sufficient ground plane between it and other active components.

[@RCandFPVJonathanNL]

I made a CF case for my effio:) have some pictures on my google+ really like this camera compared to my fat shark 600tvl! The dynamic range is much better! Makes for a all round better fpv experience!

[@46449771]

Great review, I think I'll stick with the 600TVL.

[@baldrickscunningplan6154]

I have the Effio V 800tvl. I did the latency test and there wasn't any latency at all. I can only presume its your fpv tx/rx or your tv screen that is causing the latency. Its certainly not the Camera. I also have the Sony super HAD II 800tvl and that has no latency either. I am using Boscam tx/rx.

[@vazza69]

Thanks bruce!

[@MSM5500]

I use 3 (three) different board Effio-V cameras with Carl Zeiss OLED goggles as well as LCD TTL screen based upon Realtek RTD2662H flat panel controller and have to say I've got much much less apparent latency on both in comparison to one shown in the video. It seems to me Carl Zeiss almost doesn't give delay at all due to more reactive OLED panels built in it. So the conclusion is just chuck the monitor to the rubbish bin.

[@DenHvideHund]

I just checked latency on my effio-v with my fatshark goggles and I cannot replicate what your showing here. I have zero lag between it and the goggles. I think it's your screen that is the problem. Use goggles which is what people use and not a LCD screen :) Cheers out and a happy new year Bruce.

[@ulaB]

But why is the LCD adding so much more lag compared from the 600TVL to the 800TVL camera?

[@xjet]

Balu Exactly, that's why I showed the 600TVL camera for comparison.

[@DenHvideHund]

***** use goggles and do a proper test :)

[@xjet]

DenHvideHund Regardless of whether you use Googles or an LCD screen, it is clear that there is an increase in latency with the Effio-V over the 600TVL camera. The latency of the LCD screen will be a constant in the comparison so even with a totally zero-latency video display system, there will still be latency associated with the Effio-V. Whether it's enough to cause a problem is entirely dependent on the type of flying you do.

[@DenHvideHund]

***** yes, that is correct. Still a perfect cam to fly proximity with. Love all mine :)

[@Dieselpower82]

Mine was dead on arrival, so couldn't try it out yet, thanks

[@danusb2]

can you do a vid no Installing gps no a naze 32 my quad copter want flyaway on me it is gone

[@MatHelm]

Point it at a timer with 1000th of seconds shown instead of your fingers. Or even at your display...

[@Yonex333]

Another Bruce at the best.

[@Toysrme]

i love the 900TVL and 800TVL sony's. much better cams, very nice.

[@chrisquez7]

Hey !!!! I have that shirt!! nice video!!!

[@Sambas1983]

Found way to mod CC1526 to work with 5V input voltage. Pulls about 200mA current @5V. Though it didn't work without modding Fatshark V2 transmitter as it also has series diode on it's 5V output. This is the old version. www.dropbox.com/sh/ksgjqtkp8ghd94e/AADJlMvdUeYzC3c5HXPIBn1ua

[@hotliner]

... really helpful information! Thanks Bruce :-) Personally I trust the PZ0420H from SC2000. It's cheap and works perfect at all :-)

[@XSspeeds]

3000 ft ??????

[@tintinwang]

hahaha specially the yellow and the blue with the middle finger up.......( 9.32 min)

[@fdaremi]

Latency is a no no.

[@Hans_Ham]

the latency makes it worthless for racing

[@saxonlight]

100 ms latency is about what your average online multi-player game might offer.

[@P44man]

It actually looked like more than 100ms to me, but even so, this is only the camera's latency, you have to add to that all the rest, like input latency (ie your radio), potentially LCD latency, receiver, FC, servo travel, .. it all adds up to. My mobius has ~120ms latency and for miniquads, I found that very noticeable and pretty annoying eg when trying to hover.