I need a tiny camera...

April 13, 2008 8:52 PM

Where can I find a tiny wireless camera, and how much will it cost me?

I've recently realized that I have need for a small wireless color video camera to use with some robotics stuff I work with. This is purely recreational and not "mission critical" in any way.

Anyway, I want to get a very small camera that can transmit wirelessly to a base station. I've seen some that have RCA outputs, and while that'd be acceptable, I'd prefer USB.

I also want the camera to be in color and have a fairly good resolution. I realize that this will be difficult to get for a cheap price, but I'd like enough resolution to be able to remote-control the robot based only on what I see onscreen.

Is this possible for a cheap price (<$100)? If so, can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

posted by DMan to technology (6 comments total)

Check the hobbiest avionics forums (e.g., rcgroups.com). Lofting cameras in small helicopters has gotten popular.
posted by dws at 9:08 PM on April 13

Wireless mini-cam. 34.99. Low resolution though.
posted by damn dirty ape at 9:19 PM on April 13

Years ago I bought a pinhole cam on ebay. It's pretty much regular camcorder resolution and the picture is really really good, full color. It runs on either a 9v battery or can be plugged in. I was actually able to get about 100 yards away before it got very grainy, too. It has a base station w/ RCA outputs. That was about 5 years ago and it cost $35 shipped from HK then.
posted by TomMelee at 5:31 AM on April 14

Forgot to mention that it was totally insanely tiny. The actual lens is something like 1x1mm at the most, while the actual camera housing is about 1x1cm. It's actually got a round little lens housing that could easily be inserted as an "eye" for your robot.
posted by TomMelee at 5:32 AM on April 14

I have the very cam that damn dirty ape points to. The tuning is a little twitchy, but it works well enough to drive an RC car remotely and sneak up on people in my office.
posted by plinth at 5:42 AM on April 14

Hey guys, thanks for the answers so far, keep 'em coming!

Can someone give me an idea about the quality? Like compared to a cell phone cam, is it worse than that or about the same?
posted by DMan at 5:47 PM on April 14