BGR

I have watched many videos and most of them seem so dark it is hard to really see. Is this the norm for these CCD payload cameras?

mr.rc-cam

Can you post links to the dark videos? That will help us identify which camera technology was used.

I have a feeling you are referring to the wireless video systems that use CMOS based cameras. These are usually very low cost designs and tend to have poor response to intensity changes and high contrast scenes. Good CCD sensor based cameras do not have this issue, but they tend to cost more. Budget about $100 for a good CCD bare-board camera.

Examples of the video quality from a Panasonic CCD camera can be seen at the RC-CAM site's movie catalog page.

BGR

It seems that just about every video that I have seen either from the ground or onboard was rather dark. here is one site that seems to have this issue, not only from ground based camers but from onboard systems aswell. [link=http://fubar1.freeservers.com]Video Link[/link]

mr.rc-cam

The ground based videos I sampled at that site were from a camcorder. They looked good to me. The one aerial video was using a CMOS based video camera, so it had the usual issues (too dark sometimes, too washed out at other times).

If all AVI videos look poorly then it may just be your PC's video card setup. Try using the True Color 32-bit video mode found in your display properties settings. Don't be too bashful to use the monitors contrast/brightness controls too.

aaron2874

Filming under overcast skys can be a problem too. In my videos, they seem too dark sometimes due to a cmos camera and an overcast sky. I wish the weather would be more cooperative when I'm shooting aerial footage...

Fubar-One

My Feedback: (1)

If the videos seem dark to you, it might be your computer. I have an airborne video or two (this link being to my site) that are dark due to filming on a cloudy day. 98% of the ground based camcorder shot video was shot using a very high quality Sony Digital 8 camera. I have run into situations where the rendered media file is a bit darker than the original but the video on the tape itself is not dark. The camcorder used works very well in low light conditions so I am not sure what the problem is.
They dont look dark to me!

Nik

My Feedback: (12)

I had the same prolem...
The first time I flew with the Camera it pointed straigt forward (Horizontally)
I fixed it by putting the camera a little father under the wing and changed the angle the camera looks at the horizon by 20-30 degrees down...

-Nik

BGR

Fubar-One. Please dont take my useing your videos as an example an indication that there is anything wrong with them. I have watched allot of RC flying videos and they are all dark in varying degrees. I am sure that your videos are just fine and that the problem is on my end. My applogies if I in any way caused you to believe i was criticizing your fine work.

I have since done some adjustments to my gamma correction and although my screen is now a tad too bright for my taste it does make your videos and others show much brighter than with my previous settings.

Fubar-One

My Feedback: (1)

Nononononono!
Wasnt taking it that personal, just kinda tripped when I realized it was my site that the link went to. Was thinking, "Hmmm... Lets check out the site he's talking about, Hey, its mine!" sort of thing. No problemo!
Its cool![8D]

Skycam41

I would think that a lot of the problem with dark looking video's is caused by the camera's metering system. You will notice that when the plane is banked with the camera facing towards the ground the picture looks "normal" and as soon as you get some brighter sky in view it takes a moment for the camera to adjust to the brighter scene so the shutter can speed up and the opposite applies when shooting bright sky and then dipping a wing to a darker scene where the shutter needs to slow down to allow more light in. When you have a scene that includes bright sky and the ground all in one, the camera's metering system is more bias towards bright scenes and therefore the camera "sees" a large area of brightness and says, "my goodness, it's really bright out, speed up the shutter to compensate for such a bright subject" thus making the ground portion of the picture look much darker than it is......well OK the camera does not talk to itself but you get the picture. Makes you appreciate how good the human eye/brain is! Having the camera pointing slightly downwards should help with the "exposure" making it more consistent....you could always keep turning the same direction so the camera was shaded from the sun..lol.

Mike