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About

Its time for mini review! Did you remember this camera which i reviewed many many weeks ago? Ya? No?....ok turn around and read back my previous runcam  hd f28 1RUNCAM HD review.  Click to read the original RUNCAM HD (F2.0 Aperture) review.


First and foremost thanks to RUNCAM.com for sponsoring this camera for supporting my FPV project, honestly speaking i was looking forward to purchase another one but a day later they sponsor me another latest camera for revieruncamhd logow....only a few days into flight using it i fell in love with the latest F2.8 lens upgrade.  This one right here is the 'other' latest release camera from RUNCAM with same model but different lens. The lens have F2.8 aperture claim to have less visual curve distortion and have sharper focus than stock F2.0 which reviewed earlier in my other page. So what the big improvement i see?  After mounting the RUNCAM HD F2.8 on my newly build foamy multirotor the FPV-600 i can see there's slight differences between the old and the new lens, also i need to mentioned that i've upgraded the internal firmware to " file: RUNCAMHD.bin-15.4.2.1" before flight took place.

Here's my finding :


PROS:

  1. Sharper center video/images.
    Yup very sharp...80% in the center i say.

  2. runcam  hd f28 3Less curve distortion on video/images.
    Not actually perfectly straight but slightly eliminate Fish Eyes effect  if the camera is pointed slightly 10 degree down against the horizon angle.

  3. No Lens Flare.
    Been flying all morning facing the sunlight routinely,  i do notice the lens flare from bright sunlight have been minimized on F2.8 aperture compare to the original F2.0 type  lens.  I don't see those hallow lights flaring on my video/photos.

  4. High contras and rich colors.
    I'm not sure if its was the lens factor or the firmware updates that improve this visual but definitely it produce beautiful eye candy video and photos especially when i fly during bright sunlight at high noon over the lakes. 

 

CONS:

  1. Blur focus on the outer edge of the lens.
    The visual sharpness and  quality seems to be focus on the center of the lens but as it goes towards the edge of the images the focus seems to be slightly blurred but not that catastrophic..just acceptable range .  For those who are sensitive about full quality of stills shots they will notice this effect however with fast pace video published on Youtube this doesn't seems to bother overall audience view.

 

 

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Product details:
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Model:  RUNCAM HD F2.8
Vendor links:  http://shop.runcam.com/runcam-hd/
Support files: http://www.runcam.com/download.html
Manual in PDF: http://www.runcam.com/download/RunCam-HD-manual.pdf
Support community:  RunCam SKY HD is in debug phase now. Coming soon!
Support community (firmware & software):  The updates of RUNCAM HD Firmware and Configuration software
My usage status:  Actively used flown on DIY FPV-600 foamy quadcopter.

 

 



Videos/Medias


MediasHere are sample of video of unboxing, testing and FPV flight on RUNCAM HD i posted on my Youtube channel, i will keep update on latest video on this product with every releases of latest firmware to improve the video quality:



 



 

 

 

Download RUNCAM HD apps tools:

Download RUNCAM HD APPS tools for your smartphone now: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.runcam.hd&hl=en

 

 

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What do i think about it?

Having many types of high end FPV HD camera from simple lightweight 808 #16 to GoPro HERO 4 black in my inventory i must say RUNCAM HD F2.8 is a good run for the money....i repeat again good run for your "Money" without burning you wallet.  Priced at 59.99 (updated: June 2015) you can't go wrong with the quality, its great bargain consider the fact the visual 1080P and shots quality were sitting between HERO 3 black edition and  HERO 4 with minor problem on blurry visual on the near edge of the lens.  The fact is RUNCAM manufacturer seems to favor more yellow tint in its visuals to replicate GoPro visual signature. When compare against shots taken with my GoPro HERO 4 black mounted on my DJI PHANTOM it seems both quality almost 70% identical in 1920x1080 resolution when published on the web...let me highlight it for you...."on  the web" (compression quality reduced to meet web standard). Normal web/online audience won't notice a thing.

 

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Value for money as per-quality

runcam  hd f28 12If you compare with choices of FPV camera available in the market vs RUNCAM HD there few factor why i favor this as my trusty FPV camera. Below are some versus at 1080P setup and why:

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Summary


Cheap, lightweight, simple, easy to use, plug and forget FPV camera with quality and rich colors on 1080P video and snapshots. The F2.8 aperture really helps to improve the sharpness of both video and stills photo shots.  Being small and handy size that fits on any standard size flying platform play important factor being best affordable  HD device for aerial FPV photography.

 

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