Horyzon HD camera from FoxTech

[little nellie]

I ordered one of these camera four weeks ago thinking it is going to be a great camera, for sure lighter than a GoPro. While waiting for the camera to show, I start reading post in RCG about setup etc. Looks like some had already received the camera and finding issues with them. Turns out it will interfere with UHF FPV system lockout and these camera produce a red hue if the sky is bright. Was told there is a shielded cable in the works to make available for whoever wants them but for the red hue issue, you are more or less on your own.

The camera was sold to plug into 5v receiver battery, but at that voltage, some people are reporting red hue on the video. FoxTech had came out with a fix to reduce the voltage with a UBEC, but it will cost and not free. Meanwhile, there is Version two coming out to address these issues and doesn't appear to be an upgrade path for those who had already owned the Version one (seems to be a beta version) of the camera.

For me, it has been four weeks now, no camera appears on my door step yet and is already deem problem product and no longer current.

So, if you are considering about purchasing one of these camera, with the way this company release it's product and support, might want to wait until version 10 or 20... unless you enjoy disappointment.

Silas

 

[haris_g]

might make you happy checking this camera out (it's the No16 model of the well known 808 key chain mini cam) I could not believe all the reviews until I just got one and.... it's indeed amazing for the money
till I get my 300 dollar GoPro I'm sticking to this 40 dollar cam and be happy with it for recoding in dissent quality all my test flights

 

[kloner]

that sucks...... the keychain cams don't have live output do they? There is alot of quality difference between the hero2 and the #16......... does that keychain have the time stamp? I used to run three of them keychain cams, they run about 20 minutes then the battery dies. there mounting options are "alright" makes a good head cam

hero2

720 keychain

 

[haris_g]

hi kloner,
the new No16 has a lot of improvements over the No11, with the time stamp removed easily to be the least (check here for full details as this guy (Tom Frank) is an expert on this cam)
Battery lasts now for more than an hour of continuous recording

For sure you can't directly compare the 300$ Hero2 with a 40$ keyCam but please have a look at this comparison under the same light conditions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPH8PXpBpvQ

and tell me what you think
cheers

 

[kloner]

it still has that same thing with the light sensor. like a cheap set of servos, all stepping looking instead of smooth........... I've had these for the last 2 years, had the hero1, then got hero2, now it is my go to

mine are #11, no timestamp, obviously

changed the vid above to the same lighting

 

[haris_g]

sorry, I removed one link coz it was about the No11 and not No16 which is the one I have

 

[kloner]

does the light sensor look smoother? got anything recorded online with it? curious, i'm all about blowing money

is there a live feed output?

 

[haris_g]

will try to shoot something soon and post it here

not sure about the live feed, mostly coz it doesn't have an output port other than a USB

 

[kloner]

hero is suppose to release a pretty cool update shortly that's suppose to change how a gopro looks, acts and it's modes.

http://gopro.com/gopro-partners-wit...w-protune™-firmware-for-hd-hero2-at-nab-2012/

 

[little nellie]

Kloner, that's some great flying on those video..

My major disappointment with Foxtech is not that the poor performance of the camera, it is the lack of support when the unit fail to perform right out of the box. They claim the red hue problem is due to over voltage. The spec call for 5V, and at 5V, from what other are experiancing, it will have red hue. So, now they want you to buy a BEC that step the voltage down to 4.4 for $6 to fix their problem. It is not the $$, just the idea having to do that. A Big Mac cost more than $6 anyway.

Releasing problem product and not supporting it is bad. Now, everything new thing they come up with, I wonder will it work or how much additional cost it will be to make it work. Since there are many competing products out there, there is no reason pay for another disappointment. Hack, even the company in Redmond Washington will give to the service pack free to fix their bugs.

Back to cameras.. I see there are many car 1080p DVR in e-bay. Has anyone try any of them other than the key chain one? I assume one can take them apart, get rid of the case to reduce weight. Most likely all those clear wrapped cameras are re-purpose car DVR, right???

Silas

 

[kloner]

to the best of my knowledge, the 1080 cams are a digital rendering thing of 720 footage. the software makes it 1080, but not sure if there a true.... that #11 cam is awesome for the hat, easy to take, hard to remember to turn on and off. the last one o got came with a AA recharger thing that was nice when you found forgetting to turn it off. if the new one has 1 hour battery, that'd be the "cheapy"

that does suck the way there handling it. sad but the way alot of places that make all this money off us and don't support what there selling.

 

[little nellie]

they wouldn't last long.. words will get around. In today's market, there are many shops that sells the pretty much the samething.

Back to the software making 1080, I guess need to see the spec of the sensor if it is 1080 bits

 

[Dewster]

I lucked out I guess. The video from Horyzon looks dry or a little washed out. I wanted it so I could just frame my shots for aerial photography I power it from my Futuba receiver (5v). I was a little nervous that it would cause problems with my WKM. The only thing that I noticed was some minor twitches in the gimbal. Here's the camera in action: Youtube:

http://youtu.be/IeA_1ofl-8o

 

[little nellie]

At least you received yours.. I ordered mine 5/25, they claim it was shipped and left China on 6/3. Eighteen days has past since 6/3, no camera. I asked and they say it is held up in custom. Damn.. I wonder if they really shipped them.

How long before you received your?

 

[Richk]

I've been told by US customs that they can take up to 21 days alone

 

[little nellie]

Package finally came today.. almost one month since I ordered it. Item was poorly packaged, screen broke and nothing works.. What a mess this becomes.

 

[Dewster]

Package finally came today.. almost one month since I ordered it. Item was poorly packaged, screen broke and nothing works.. What a mess this becomes.

Sorry to hear that happen. When I ordered my system from Foxtech it arrived within 3 to 4 weeks. The package was wrapped so well that I had a hard time opening the box. Now I did order some tools from Hobbyking and the package took a little over a month to arrive. The package was not in good condition, but the contents were not destroyed. I try to order from distributors in the U.S. when possible to avoid shipping delays. It also helps when you have issues. I would contact Foxtech and then your credit card company if you cannot resolve it.

 

[little nellie]

I had good luck with HobbyKing, most of the time, they come in 2 weeks. RCTimer was the fastest for me, always less than 2 weeks. I sent FoxTech a picture of the broken screen and see what Fu will do. Now that I am a proud owner of an obsolete broken camera that took a slow boat from China to get here.

I do agree that when possible, I order from US company. Always will have the language issue when ordering from oversea. When I asked FoxTech for tracking, they send me the reply and I can only make out 2012 06 03.. the rest, I don't even know where to begin.

 

[little nellie]

Here is what I post at the other forum about the lack of support of this poorly made product. They are about to release the Version 2 and "they" FoxTech even say V3 is coming soon. With all the issues with V1 and the lack of support for product already sold, I wonder why would anyone even want to deal with this company. Seem like everyone who purchased them are beta tester. This really put a bad taste in dealing with China. Good thing is there are many company in HongKong and China are alot better than FoxTech.

==============================
This has to be the most fustrating purchase I ever made of 40 plus years in the RC hobby. I finally receiver the Version 1 camera after almost a month since I made the purchase. Not just it is already obsolete before I recieved it, it was broken due to poor packaging.

I e-mail FU with the picture of the broken unit twice since I have not received a reply from him on the first try. On second e-mail, I was notified a package is coming my way. Later, an email telling me a replacement screen was sent.

Not knowing if I can replace this myself, I decided to remove the heat shrink and take a look. Looks simple enough that I should be able to try to repair. Since I have to cut the heat shrink, I sent an email to confirm if the heat shrink is included in the package. The reply made my day.

---------------------------
Sorry sir,
We didn't send the clear heat shrink to you. We forgot it. Next time please remind us.
Thank you for your understanding!
---------------------------

Well FU, you are the expert on this poorly desiged product. How can I remind you to do something when I don't even know what you are going to do for repair?
By the time I found out you are sending a screen for me to replace, it was already sent.

Question, are you sending me the heat shrink? Hope all the required parts will get here and that I can use it finally before another month went by.

Silas

 

[dihnen]

I got my horyzon cam with my witespy quadcopter. Here's my first flight while taking video--I'm amazed at the quality of this camera for the price. Watch the video in 1080p resolution full screen on youtube and see for yourself!
[video]www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnqI13sbkoY[/video]