Adding a 2nd camera to my P3P; open to suggestions and advice

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I love that my P3P is a fantastic photography platform. It's what I bought it for; it's what I love it for.

But... it sure would be nice to do some FPV flights once in a while. I'm not talking about racing or flying slalom between trees... I'm thinking of casual flights over interesting scenery, or those few occasions where my line of site/distance may not be optimal for being able to rely on the latency and poor screen size of my phone. Having goggles would also give me the ability to share the experience with other goggle wearers (friends, family, etc).

I'm considering getting a small dedicated camera and transmitter and bolting them to the P3P. If I do it right, I could even make them easily clipped on and plugged in when necessary.

The question comes down to where on the quad do I attach it. My thinking is that the easiest would be to extend the landing struts (somehow), and have the new camera nicely centered under the existing one. I'd run a small cable up to the main body, and would hack into the electronics to tap the voltage needed to run the system. The antenna for it could drop directly down, or I'm not opposed to having it stick up straight out of the center of the existing body.

Thoughts? Concerns? Any major problems that you'd foresee that would prohibit this from working?

(Note: This is a repost of my note on Reddit, as I'm not sure what the overlap is in readership between here and there.)
 
I ordered and received the HDMI module the moment I heard of it, hoping that by removing the extra processing of DJIGo app it would be an improvement. Sadly, it didn't. There's still that pesky ~300ms lag in the display. I've gone ahead and ordered a HeadPlay, which should arrive in a few days, so I should be able to report back here shortly about how that feels when used for FPV.

What's everybody else's impressions been with flying with the latency? Am I obsessing over nothing?

By rough measure, the delay going through the full lightspeed / android flow is on the order of 300 ms (0.3 seconds). Going at only 20mph means you cover about 30 feet per second. A third of a second lag means about a 10 foot error from where the drone is to where you think it is.

Imagine driving a car with that kind of a mis-match between what you see and what you have to react to. That lag is also subject to random changes, making me even more nervous.

Granted, as noted, I'm not looking to do races or obstacle courses, but I'm hoping for as smooth and immersive a feel as I can reasonably get with this kind of rig. By having a 2nd camera doing its own broadcasting, I could also "take people for rides". I could strap my HeadPlay onto somebody else and I'd fly like normal, giving them a fun experience.

Just exploring options.
 
Do you actually have any experience flying FPV?

You're saying you want to take some scenery and general flights, but then obsess over 300ms. That's not really "casual flights over interesting scenery".

If you're going to get a dedicated FPV cam, just get a micro fpv 1S setup and a tiny battery. Look at various setups here: FPV camera Pair with really sensitive receiver and you will get very good range.

As for mounting, it needs to mount in the middle or it will be disorienting when you yaw. You can just velcro your tiny camera+ battery to the shell above the gimbal.

Chances are that HD video is already as good as it gets. The best analog still looks like crappy '80s TV set. But as an option, you can explore the idea of 3D video kit. They sell them. It's basically 2 cameras side by side, and 2 receivers each delivering a separate video feed to each eye.
 
Thanks for the link to the FPV camera options, and for the advice about the location/yaw issue. Much appreciated.

For FPV experience... almost none, except having enjoyed it for a couple flights while somebody else managed the controls of his home-built. His athleticism and difference in flying styles, combined with my abundance of caution regarding a $1,300 piece of equipment are what make me concerned about the 300ms / 10 ft error. It may be that after I get my HeadPlay and buzz around with it some that I won't worry after a few flights.

But... that idea of getting a 3D video kit is really tempting. :)
 
If you're not doing any 'crazy' flying, then you would never be within 10 feet of anything that would pose an issue. Your lightbridge setup is already far and away better than what you would put together.
 

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