I was wondering if anyone has tried out the Mini Camcorder SQ8 on a HO layout. It should easily fit in a dummy locomotive or freight car.
The published specs say 1920X1080P 30fps / 1280x720P 60fps, Focal Distance 2cm to ∞, Effective Pixels: 12.0MP
The YouTube videos look pretty good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGAqMrwPSgM
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
Hi, Mel
Yes, I bought that model a couple of weeks ago. They were $21 on Amazon then, I believe they have gone up a bit since.
This camera has been discussed in the MRH forums. http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/28328
I have only made a few videos with it but it seems to function pretty well. One thing I don’t care for is the “stepping” of the exposure rather than the gradual exposure adjustments you get from “better” cameras. However, the size makes it handy to get shots not otherwise possible, say from inside a cab, passenger car or a “hobo’s view” out an open boxcar door.
I hope to have time to play with it this week and post results.
It is a little fuzzy at close focus.
The instruction translation leaves a lot of room for improvement. There’s a blue/red LED that is your only clue as to what the camera is doing. It is a fun toy, though.
Regards, Ed
Thanks for being a Guiney Pig Ed. I don’t need one quickly so I’m going to hit eBay for one today. There are a bunch of negatives on the reviews about high heat during charging but that’s expected. Rapid Charging batteries does warm things up a bit. I have a slow charger for Lithium batteries that will cure that problem.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
The worst thing that I ever did was to buy a mini cam to view my layout at track level. It showed every defect that you can imagine. I was all excited when I first started the videos to see my layout from track level, but I was soon dismayed for any number of reasons.
So, my advice is to think twice before you invest in a mini cam. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy one, but unless your layout is museum quality, be prepared for a rude awakening.
Rich
I know what you mean Rich, I’ve been using a low res 5.8GHz wireless camera for several years. I had a few kinks here and there and used the mini cam to correct my errors. This little camera has great resolution and a couple of YouTube videos talked about it even having a steady cam circuit. The YouTube videos sure look good.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
What the heck, ordered on Ebay for $15.37 with shipping. Can someone advise what type memory card it needs? Thanks.
This is the one I bought :
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010Q57T02/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Seems to work just fine with it.
Ed
Thanks, Ed. I just ordered that. Hope the camera works…Amazon reviews show only a moderate reliability rate (it works, it works awhile then doesn’t, or it doesn’t).
Yeah, I pretty much consider it as a novelty item. About a year ago I bought one of these Mobius cameras and it is still functioning even though it spends much of it’s life on my truck dash board in the blazing sun or sub zero cold!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N6AWQ5I?psc=1&smid=A2M0TX9WX7YD3U
Although a little larger and 5 times the cost than the little GenLed cube camera, the operation, picture quality and on-screen setup menus make it worthwhile.
This was made using the Mobius:
Have Fun! Ed
LION uses this Camera from Swann, purchased from B+H several years ago. I guess there is cheaper now.
Yes it shows so many defects on the layout out it is a really great goad to get me moving on finishing and perfecting the layout.
ROAR
Here’s a few photos of my paparazzi car to show the relative size of the Q8 camera.
Enjoy!
Ed
Ed, your video was awesome. You’ve certainly captured the feel of big time northeastern railroading. Your lighting and signaling are fantastic. My favorite scene was at 13:49 when you could see inside the diner. Great work!
Ray
Thank You, Ray!
I hope I can get to work on another one soon…
Much obliged, [:)]
Ed
All kinds of the mini cam on eBay, for a little over $11.00. I just ordered one for $11.09. The downside is the delivery, probably won’t get it for 6-7 weeks or so. EBay items to Canada have been taking that long for quite some time now.
I can’t remember the model I bought a couple of years ago, but I wish I’d held out for the one that has the receiver that connects to a USB port, instead of the one that connects to a VCR. I made some nice videos, but without transferring them from VHS to digital (mpeg or mp4), I can only view them on the TV hooked to the VCR. [:(]
Here is a simillar camera thread topic I ended up buying one myself:
Now that I have a SQ8 on the way, I see there are similar SQ9s on Amazon & EBay. It would be nice to know if the SQ9 is from the same folks and if so whether any improvements have been made; e.g. in the SQ8 reviews a number of folks complained it got rather hot on charging and/or just quit. So it would be nice to know if the SQ9 is any better, or just looks slightly different (6 bumps on the front instead of 4).
UPDATE: Here’s a youtube comparison of the SQ8 and an SQ9. I say “an” SQ9 because I see there are at least two versions of SQ9, one round (in the video) and one square. The video is helpful in comparing. It seems to me the SQ9 has a slightly wider angle lens but not enought to matter. The SQ8 looks considerably sharper in the video but we can’t know if that from more vibration due to the different mountings in the car vs. the lens sharpness. The video poster prefers the color rendition of the SQ8. So the SQ8 is not a bad buy versus the (round) SQ9, unless the reliability is better, which we will not know except from Amazon reviews to the extent there are sufficient ones to draw a conclusion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKnfKkjCrEY
Also (if not covered above) I note in the Amazon reviews that the instructions are nearly unintelligible. If needed, two folks included instructions in their reviews (on different “offerings” on Amazon) that should get me going when it arrives. Plus ther are some helpful SQ8 youtube videos along those lines. I also note one of the offerings listings has a caution note about what not to do when charging and inserting / removing the microSD card that can somehow delete the internal software.
Mine just came it works great definitely worth the money!
My SQ8 and micro SD card arrived so I had to try it out. I’m not certain whether any of the above are SQ8 (vs. Mobius) videos so I’ll show my effort here. With a whopping 5’ x 9’ or so HO layout it does not take long to go around the layout so the tour is in both directions via the reversing loops, plus some extra footage.
Here are comments on the minicam that are pasted from the YouTube site:
This is a first video to try out my new SQ8 minicam. It provides a tour of my modest 5’x9’ HO layout. The video is a bit long at 12 minutes after only minor editing, so enjoy what you wish.
The SQ8 is quite inexpensive, about $14 with shipping. The instructions are a terrible translation, but two or more of the Amazon reviews detail what is needed to operate it.
It does get hot on charging, at least initially. Maybe a good idea to set it on a piece of cool metal or a stone coaster at first. I used a 32GB micro SD (works as a TF) card, probably overkill as my unedited 15 minutes of video used 1.7GB at 1080p.
One quirk I have not yet figured out is why the camera, set to start 1080p filming, then started, makes multiple, sequential video files. This video was 15 minutes before minor editing and it chopped the video into 4 files. I think it has a motion auto start feature but I don’t think I activated it.
EDIT: Another issue that arose is that the .api files that camera makes would sometimes not open with the Windows 10 default video program. The message noted it would not open due to either wrong file type (not the case), corrupt file, or something else. I was worried except that the Microsoft Movie Maker program would open these (and non-problem) .api files so I could proceed. Not sure why it happens inconsistently but not really an issue for modifying the fil
Thanks, Paul!
That is a very thorough demonstration.
Well done [Y]
Ed