SQ11 Camera Lens Mod 

Cheers! Yeah - a wide fov lens with a lighter case with no silly things like IR leds and it would be a lot more usable!

Thanks heaps!

Hey Scott! Good tip with the glue nozzle, thanks! Won't stacked velcro strips introduce a lot of play and make the camera wobble on the layers? At this small scale velcro won't have much surface area to prevent the fabric part from warping, unless using more rigid plastic strips? Cheers!

nomand Velcro = no problem. Try it. You can always peel it back off what you stuck it to. One strip fuzz on camera, one strip hooks on copter. They secure quite well to each other or vice versa. Just go slow on separating them by starting on one edge so you separate the Velcro from each other.

Thanks! I really appreciate it. I hope I can get more time to make videos, very little time.

Hey thanks! The drone is my own design, you can check out the build here rotorbuilds.com/build/4654. Custom frame, only one exists :) You don't have to do the mod to the camera anymore though, there are better ones out now with a wide lens. Cheers!

Thanks Chansook!

It looks like his replacement lens already had a filter.

Hi Patrick, thanks for your feedback! at about 8:18, you can see I'm twisting the lens to focus it on objects further away but when the image is blurry, it first brings my hand into focus right around the lens. So yeah, you can just twist the lens to bring it further away from the sensor to focus it on objects closer to it, but you will be sacrificing visibility of anything in the distance because it'll be blurry. I believe this will work regardless of the lens FOV, any of them should be able to focus this way. I hope that answers your question!

Thanks Bruno GP!

Hey sofyan! The SQ cameras don't, but if you want a similar DVR quality as well as FPV feed, check out the Turbowing Cyclops camera :) goo.gl/RRYGEP

you could, reducing flight time and if battery runs out while recording, it might corrupt the video or sd card. Wouldn't recommend it.

The fake ones are much lighter, unfortunately I have a fake one myself.

I would recommend studying. You will feel far better about yourself having passed because you can. Cheating will set you up for wrong expectations in life and even if you get away with it the first few times, it's not as easy as you think. It will hit you so hard you won't see it coming and you'll be far far worse off for yourself.

Sounds odd! Maybe camera overheating and stopping recording? I haven't actually tried recording longer than a single flights worth, so I can't confirm having the same issue.

It's bescuse it is mainly a security camera And security cameras record in loops of 1h I guess to prevent data loss during power shutdown

I don't think so! SJ4000 is a gopro sized camera, so it would be too big.

Thanks! Now I'd recommend getting an SQ12 to avoid doing the mod :)

Thanks!

It has a thread, but the lens is tiny and is thread-locked with some epoxy, so the factory focus is pretty much set, not sure if it'd be useful.

@@nomand yes I pulled apart and tried but very much locked

Cheers! I think SQ12 has a stock wide angle lens, so this mod would not be required :) I'm planning to pick one up for my 3" soon

I believe so! People still do lens mods on sq12 to improve the quality and some like it extra extra wide. This video has sq12 stock lens footage if you want to compare ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CbTsgfjJ1-4.html

Hey thanks! I lucked out and the car DVR lenses fit perfectly. I can't tell you where to buy ones that will fit, but the base square is 8.25mm if that helps :)

This one says it's 8x8mm in the description if you don't mind buying a whole camera just for the lens, but it's cheap anyway. www.banggood.com/1_2g-Super-Light-1000TVL-14-CMOS-2_8mm-Lens-FOV170-Degree-Mini-FPV-Camera-p-1110381.html?rmmds=search

I'm not sure, it would mostly depend on your android device being able to take in a webcam over OTG and whether SQ cams are compatible with android over usb. I would recommend getting an android compatible endoscope. Just search Aliexpress for "android endoscope" and a bunch for $10 will come up. Worth a try at that price even if it sucks :)

thanks. i have tried something like that, ages ago, but the image quality was pretty bad, and you couldnt make it focus on anything further than a couple of inches from the lens. maybe they have evolved.

That's too big. I wouldn't bother with this mod anymore because they released an SQ12 with a wide FOV stock lens! :D But if you still wanted to try it, there's a link to the lens somewhere in the comments, can't copy it sorry I'm on mobile.

nomand okay thanks, i will look into the SQ12 then I guess

No worries, GearBest sells them for $12. Saves you all the fiddly work, quality is exactly the same.

haha thanks! The goal was to make the smallest possible true X 2.5" that replicated design patterns of a 5" :)

The little 2.5" one is about 3-4 minutes on a 350mah 2S :)

I don't recommend it. There are other tiny cameras you can now buy instead of SQ11 and I wouldn't tear down another working cam for this.

@@nomand the xiaomi camera after a firmware upgrade via the phone app stopped working (doesnt turn on)-(warranty has expired so customer service is charging me 100euros just to check it - i bought it 120 euros ;-) so no thanx customer service ;-) . i tore it down via youtubing but still the problem consists

I wish someone would find a way to flash firmware and do a fw mod for it to adjust exposure smoothly. It's stepped just like the SQ11, it's the only thing that's between this camera being "amazing for the price and size" and "is bad, but it's $10" haha.

Hey! Sorry, I'm not sure what's going on there. I haven't used the camera enough to come across such error code or whatever it is. Maybe the card isn't formatted in a way the camera can write to (but the PC can see it)?

@@nomand thank you for your prompt reply. ive tried three different cards (verified working on other cameras) and none of them make a difference. Seller is giving me grief and says i need proof that it doesnt work. ill send him the blank sd card.lol thanks again.

Hey! Sorry to hear. I'm not sure what could cause that! Is the filter still on? Because the video would be purple if it fell out completely. Or maybe the sensor got damaged? Any light leaks anywhere else?

@@nomand fixed it replaced ir filter with a one i got from an iphone 5 camera perfect fit

@@InstaLabSparti Win!

It's just the SQ11 feed, that tiny quad wasn't designed to carry anything but it's own battery, so I attached it with rubber bands as much as I could :)

Thanks Richard! New versions have the wide angle lenses, but this was worth the shot back then :)

I salvaged it from an old dashcam, so I don't have a link where you can buy one, sorry. I would advise looking into SQ12 and newer cameras, as this mod is no longer necessary :)

@@nomand oh cool. yeah I just scored some other old cameras so might do something similar. don't want to buy more things

Thanks! I'm not entirely sure, it was pulled out of some no-brand dashcam. Looks like a 150 to me, or I'd see more props like I do in my FPV cam. Cheers!

Fredo fredomod hey! Sorry I'm on mobile, can't get the link, but I would recommend getting an SQ12 now, same camera but with stock high for lens at the same price :)

Yes i see it and i buy it. But i want recycle my old sq11 :)

Sorry I can't find the link, I'm not sure if anyone posted in the comments. I already had the lens from a dashcam so I don't know for sure which one would fit.

Hey Omer! Yes you can replace the battery, just use a 1S 3.7v, the ground pad is marked on the circuit. It should be pretty straight forward to desolder the wires. You could also replace it with a pigtail connector so you can swap batteries if you want :)

Guys, whole the video I am thinking: why not to use quad battery instead? As you mentioned nomand, put there pigtail and connect it to quad battery. Or is the drainage of camera too big and can mess up with multicell battery ballance?

Well the camera is powered by 1S, you could use the flight battery if you flew 1S, but I wouldn't want to just drain a cell out of a 2S or a 3S setup. Probably not much, but doesn't feel right. Also I'm ok with camera ejecting more than with it ripping pads off the fc or messing anything else up. And if the camera looses power, you'll loose the footage or the whole sd card who knows. Don't think power is an issue, the battery it comes with should be enough for more than a few 3 minute flights :)

nomand yes, you sound right about multi cell batt. But anyway, my point was to spare some additional weight, not to make footage longer. So only possibility is 1S battery, but it has some disadvantages, as you mentioned.

True, I think the original battery is like 2g or something. If you're running a 2s or a 2.5"+ build, it wouldn't really matter, but if you're tight for savings due to weight regulations then for sure!

Hi Matt, yup! Flight footage from 10:26 is from SQ11 :)

that was so long ago, I don't remember and it's probably not worth doing as you get better cameras nowadays that don't need any mods :)

@@nomand thanks so much my friend , do you have any cheap recommendation

@@exploreintime thanks either way

Thanks mate!

Hi, I got it from a broken car DVR I had, sorry there's no link to a direct replacement. I'd suggest to get an SQ12 because it has a wide angle camera and no mods are required :)

nomand thanks

I think it's 25fps "upscaled" to 30, so once in a while there'll be a repeating frame. Can't expect more for $10 ha

womplestilskin uh.. My sq11 doesnt have that stuttering..

nomand try recording at 720p. 1080p is a fake resolution.

I don't know of many that are this small and at this price range. There's the TBS RXHDCAM, it's almost 30g though, more appropriate for a 3" and is too expensive. Also keen on alternatives, this naked solution is too flimsy for comfort.

I think a you or abs printed housing would fix the issue with being comfortable using it and keeping safe from crash

Definitely! If only I could get my printer to print TPU too :(

Hey Martin, SQ12 just came out and is exactly what you asked about some months ago :)

Cheers Doug! You can add a larger capacity battery no problem, however I don't know if this cam can do cycle recording when the video exceeds file size limit. Also some youtube videos about the SQ11 note it's overheating in its own case and frying itself. I don't know whether it will withstand and hour of continuous recording like that.

Good point on the heat problem. I've seen a few notes on that. Hoping to use it while cycling so maybe I might get lucky. Thanks for posting the video and your reply.

Hi, it's been posted multiple times in the comments, but don't do this, buy an SQ12, it already has a wide angle lens :)

You're right! Risky! Thanks!

H Lieb I was thinking the same about using epoxy.

спасибо!

Good point! I'd recommend applying only a tiny bit and wait for the plastic to melt a bit before putting it down. Better yet, use an epoxy. Cheers Mark!

I ended up putting an angled piece of foam under it to get it out the way of the fpv camera, but you're right, the pids need work, so does my flying :) I didn't change the tune after putting the camera on, it already wasn't ideal and it was pretty windy too. It's mostly my flying though ;)

yea ive gotten my sq8 to work fine without noticable jello, i did this mod before your video (or anyones), my lens didnt go on as easily i had to make a backing plate to adapt a micro FPV lens to mount to the sensor, as the lens was too big. but generally its too fiddley and the Image quality is so bad that i was better off just using the mobius mini, its like 27 grams which can be a bit heavy, but works a treat and has 60p, just put it on with foam and a rubber band and youre good, works better with a more beefy quad like the king kong gt110, you can still get a sub 100gram build with hd60p which is great and the exposure changes smoother too, it costs more though which is a consideration-

Cool yeah, sounds like a better option for a 3" 70-100g build. Someone suggested the mobius mini on RCGroups as well. 27g extra would be too much for my 2.5" 45g build though. Hopefully there'll be a similar camera weight/size with a wide lens stock. The SQ11 is $6 on banggood now, so it would be really worth it if we didn't have to do the lens swap.

Yeah, true that, - i think the FPV camera should have a DVR piggy back and record REAL 1080p 30, instead of the current ones being 480p

рамку сам сдизайнел и арматтан мне разрезал :) rotorbuilds.com/build/4654

@@nomand Готовый есть у тебя? Сколько будет стоить?

Heya, it's fully DIY with my custom frame design. You can check out the build here rotorbuilds.com/build/4654 Cheers!

Thanks for your reply! =D Which is your remote control? I want to begin in the Quad world, without FPS camera, can I use this project, without the FPV?

I use a Taranis QX7. I think if you're just starting out, it's better that you buy pre-built because making your own is quite a high barrier to entry, costs more and there's more risk of failure while building, because all the parts are very very tiny. Check out Babyhawk R reviews, I would recommend getting that, and once you're ready for fpv it'll be there for you :) But if you have never flown a quad before at all, I would get a Hubsan H8 toy for $13 to practice hovering and throttle control. Keep in mind though that line of sight and fpv are very different. Hope this helps, welcome to the hobby!

nomand which one pre-built did you know?

Have a look at Emax Babyhawk R. Has some good reviews, you can find it on most online drone stores, it's pretty popular high performance micro.

Check my other reply, the plastic base is about 8.5mm

Haven't seen anyone do that. Wifi would require some digitizing and stuff, not trivial so I'd say no. If you want wifi video, you could strip one of those cheap toy drones you can control with an app and get the camera off it to stream to the app but I don't know.

I fly 16:9 goggles, so it works really well for me. That one's subjective. Enjoy!

I killed one lens because I got the glue on it and couldn't remove it without destroying it. But I only bought one camera so was careful about it :) We're lucky this mod isn't necessary anymore because better cameras are out there.

fair enough ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks davidkorn! I have a rotorbuilds page for it here rotorbuilds.com/build/4654. The only thing that isn't available is the frame, as it's my own design that isn't public yet :) Cheers!