I'm looking for a tiny video camera to use with a robotics project

May 27, 2009 10:31 AM

I'm looking for a tiny video camera to use with a robotics project. The camera needs to be digital, have a digital connection (preferably USB, not wireless), support a minimum resolution of 1024x768 at 30fps and weigh as little as possible — maybe as much as 120g but hopefully lighter. And it must be affordable: less than $500 including lens.

I have looked at consumer web cams, but I have not found any that match my requirements (web cams are typically low resolution/low frame rate); also they are all in enclosures so I would need to pry them open. And they are not that light-weight.

I have looked at various RC sites, but they tend to do analog cameras or ones that record to an SD card; I want a live feed to my microcontroller.

I found a company called OEM Cameras that have several digital ones for sale, but the model that I would prefer (which has a standard CS mount) is an incredible $800, and that's without a lens!

posted by gentle to technology (11 comments total)

Flip MinoHD
posted by katrielalex at 10:40 AM on May 27

I think you misunderstood. I am not looking for a hand-held consumer camera. What I am looking for probably looks more like this:



For one, I need a live digital feed (not S-video like consumer cameras tend to provide), and secondly, I need to control the shutter programmatically, and thirdly, I need something that runs off an external power source of my choice (typically 5V).

I could buy a consumer camera and dismantle it in order to control the shutter, but it would only be useful for taking still shots since these cameras don't provide a live feed, and consumer cameras use their own power source. It wouldn't be worth the effort.
posted by gentle at 11:41 AM on May 27

Metafilter ate my image even though it looked fine on preview? Oh well.

What I am looking for probably looks more like this.
posted by gentle at 11:43 AM on May 27

I don't have any direct links, but maybe it'd be worth it to check out arduino forums?
posted by aeighty at 12:05 PM on May 27

A company called VRMagic makes a bunch of different cameras and they should have a few that meet your specs. Unfortunately, if they have pricing info on their website it is well-hidden.
posted by TedW at 12:59 PM on May 27

This site seems to have a big selection. In a quick pass, this was as close as I could come.
posted by Lazlo Hollyfeld at 1:01 PM on May 27

I have a friend who does robotics programming - he recommended the Firefly MV2 which seems to meet all of your criteria except resolution and comes in a standard CS mount config.
posted by namewithoutwords at 1:02 PM on May 27

I love the products from The Imaging Source, but I have also heard go things about the Point Grey cameras. (both of which are, apparently, mentioned above)
posted by tip120 at 1:11 PM on May 27

ahem. "... heard good things ..."
posted by tip120 at 1:12 PM on May 27

Thanks! I wonder why my Google searches didn't pick up those sites. Finally some rationally designed web sites that provide lots of guidance and yummy technical information. I had lost my faith in the Internets for a while there.

The Point Grey cameras look particularly impressive. Probably expensive.

Most of these sites still require that you contact them to get a price quote. What is this, the Middle Ages?
posted by gentle at 1:56 PM on May 27

Edmund Optics (division of Edmund Scientific) carries many cameras, especially for machine vision applications.
posted by ryanrs at 3:38 PM on May 27