Hi all,
does someone have the same low quality on the supplied borescope cam than I have?
If I compare his to the picture in the docs:
they are of totally different quality.
@roryaronson: Could you share a picture of yours please?
Came here for the same reason, the camera I got is not the best one…
The resolution is not great but the colours are far worse. (Can they at least be improved by software? - calibration hadn’t changed anything yet)
Guess that plant. With bare eyes it’s super easy, but through the camera…
Does someone has a suggestion what camera to buy maybe?
What about a better boroscope cam?: https://www.amazon.de/Somikon-Fingerkamera-Wasserfeste-HD-USB-Endoskop-Kamera-UEC-5070-hd-Schwarz/dp/B00BPTGX6U/ref=sr_1_8?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1530464522&sr=1-8&keywords=Ăśberwachungskamera+hd+usb+wasserdicht
Or one of those little things?: https://www.amazon.de/Original-Sansnail-Camcorder-Nachtsicht-Wasserdicht/dp/B078HTYKLW/ref=sr_1_1?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1530464522&sr=1-1&keywords=Ăśberwachungskamera+hd+usb+wasserdicht
I think these are fundamental problems with these “USB Borescope Cam’s”
Would be really interested if you’d try another one. Just wondering again what the farmbot team used in oder to try fool someone who thinks that this comes out of the FB cam 
The action cams, I guess you will have difficulties with power supply and getting the data off. Normally they would only support WiFi connection, right?
Cheerio!
Yeah the more time I spend with the farmbot the more I wonders what those farmbot guys thought 
I guess a lot of Americans are good salesmen…
The borescope cameras supplied with the kits have relatively low resolution and image quality compared to a smartphone or the Raspberry Pi Camera. That’s the tradeoff we made in order to include a camera that was cost effective, readily available with a long enough cable, sufficiently small in size, and didn’t require additional waterproofing components.
If you look back at v1.1, you’ll see that we experimented with using the Raspberry Pi Camera with a plastic mounting bracket, plastic cover, and somewhat cumbersome ribbon cable to HDMI adapters in order to achieve the cable length we needed:
(Sorry that there aren’t photos of the actual prototypes we built)
While the Raspberry Pi Camera solution produced better quality images, it required a complicated installation process, was significantly more expensive, and was bulkier on the z-axis. That’s why with v1.2 (the first kits we shipped to people), we went back to using borescopes. Because we ordered 500 of them, we were able to have the manufacturer customize the focus to 1m, rather than the 5-10cm that borescopes are usually adjusted to. While the borescopes do not produce as great of image quality, it is sufficient for running the weed detection software which was our primary need.
Should you want higher resolution/quality images, you can still use the Raspberry Pi Camera or a better USB-based webcam. If your bot is outdoors you’ll need to provide adequate rain-proofing for it.
In regards to the image used in the docs - that image was either taken with the Raspberry Pi Camera or maybe just my smartphone, I can’t remember. We used it for illustrative purposes and I can see now how it is misleading. We will update the v1.4 docs to include an image taken with a production borescope.
All the images shown in this GIF are from the production borescope camera:
Rory first of all thanks for the explanations provided!
Could you tell me how you got to the specification of 1m? My z axis would never support this, I am currently at 60 cm and I guess that is why I see kind of a blurry image…
We wanted the cameras to work for both medium-distance imaging from the z-axis/gantry looking down (20cm to 100cm distances or so) as well as long-distance imaging (1m+ distances) for potential whole-FarmBot/whole-garden views.
Because the aperture on the camera is so small (like a smartphone camera), a focus distance of 1m will actually result in a focal range sufficient for both medium-distance and long-distance imaging.
To get the best photo results, ensure your z-axis is not moving or vibrating while taking a photo. You may try adding a 1-second wait command in-between the last movement and the take-photo command to allow the system to stabilize. Also, take photos in good lighting (no direct sun/harsh shadows). I’ve found early mornings and late afternoons to be the best because that is when my FarmBot is not in direct sun. Cloudy days also work nicely.
So I had bought one of those improved boroscopes and the quality is far worse as it is very much out of focus.
I guess I will turn to the Raspi cam then.
Thanks for the link to the extension cable. That would have been my next question otherwise
Please post a picture when you own one 
I own one and I got the parts to print out from onshape (which worked great), also I could change the farmbot from USB cam to Raspi cam, but I was not able to make a picture that way. It first told me it made successfully a picture but then there was an error with the camera farmware and no picture has been uploaded.
Edit: Somehow the extension is not working properly. With the camera plugged in the Raspi directly it is working just fine. And here might be the explanation why:
Edit 2: It is working now 
And the Quality is so much better than the boroscope. Pictures will follow
Some pics would finish this thread nicely…
Gents, I still don’t have a satisfactory solution for the borescope cam. I bought the amazon crazyfire cam a year ago and now it wouldn’t work anylonger. I can’t see what the problem is, the problem with the farmbot supplied one was water into the housing after some years… I am struggling to find a good alternative as the crazy fire thing isn’t sold anylonger on amazon although it says so. They are delivering another product but sell it as crazy fire. The other solution is importing it from the US where it is sold under the Teslong brand.
Anyhow two problems I see with the china cams on the market. First the not long lasting non outdoor proofness. The problem is cable to main body and lens protection to main body. Second the problem of the auto focus. The crazy fire had an autofocus capability and it is definitely needed I’d say. Unless you have the super duper specs and know exactly at which height your cam will be operated.
Has anyone found a suitable, water proof outdoor solution? I am a bit lost and annoyed about the current “market” situation… 
After getting my FB back to life I also found out that the camera is not in the state as is should. That’s the picture I get:
You can clearly see the spot in the center where it looks washed out. I also saw that the front glass was slanted about the thickness of the front glass. I pushed it back in (now far from water tight) and cleaned the glass on the outside. But the results remain the same.
About a year ago I bought one of those Crazy Fire cams from Amazon (https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07L9XD23K/) but didn’t install it. Now I’m questioning if its worth the effort…
The question is what you need / want. If you like to get crisp pictures (useful pictures at the end) then definitely install it! If it works, it works great. As said I couldn’t find out in the end why mine was broken, returned it to amazon today, lets see if they will refund the full price…
Btw if you don’t install your crazy fire cam, reach out to me and sell it to me if you want 
I’m quite sure that I will install it. Aren’t you able to order the one I linked to above? 
OT: The cam supplied is not the crazy fire cam anylonger, it is another cam that is sold under the wrong name…
