Rocketry Planet

TOLEDO, Ohio USA — BoosterVision is proud to announce our newest product line in hobby video acquisition, GearCam DVR. The GearCam DVR is a new mobile video device able to capture exciting video and audio from a variety of extreme sports; from Rockets and RC to Skydiving

Tiny GearCam DVR is perfect for recording your hobby rocketry adventures.

The GearCam DVR can strap on just about anywhere and its built-in 640x480 resolution camera will record video at a cinematic frame rate while it hitchhikes a ride on your action vehicle. Easy to install on a T-rail or even just with duct tape for those times when quick action is needed to capture the moment.

At the small size of about 3/4 of an inch in diameter by 3-1/4 inches long, it's about the same size as an 18mm model rocket motor. This size makes it easy to take long for the ride on just about anything! 

It records digital 640x480 resolution video at cinema frame rate along with audio. The GearCam DVR can run for 99 minutes on the built-in rechargeable battery and stores the data in the onboard 2GB of flash memory.

You can attach the GearCam DVR to your USB port and download it direct to your PC. Mac, or Linux computers will also work but may need an audio/video codec or conversion program not supplied. GearCam DVR weights approximately 1 oz.

Features include:

• 640 x 480 @ 24.9 fps
• Records in MP4 format
• Audio capture
• About the size of an Estes C rocket motor ~ 19.5mm x 3-1/8"
• Rechargeable battery
• 99 minutes battery life
• AC charger – or charge from your USB port
• Easy strap on installation – even use black tape if you wish
• Mounts can also use an I-beam / T-Rail
• Use Plastic-Strut or Bass wood for making T-rail / I-Beam
• Less then one ounce weight
• Mounts look forward (or rear) on aircraft
• Look forward lens can be moved ~5-7 degrees downwards
• Mounts look down (or up) on rockets
• Look down lens can be moved ~5-7 degrees out on rocket

Website: http://www.gearcam.com/

Reader comments:

#1 Re: Article: BoosterVision launches their new GearCam DVR product line

Nice products...but maybe it's a little bit expensive... I lived in Europe, and for my video I used a similar tecnology based on 2Gb (or more) SD card memory.... Some features...

Video resolution 640x480
Photo resolution 1280x1024
Registration continues or heat detection: 25° (distance 5mt)
Battery Li-Po 200mA, charging through mini Usb
Focus: from 0,3metri to infinity
Sd card from 256Mb to 4Gb
Maximum time with maximum quality: 50 Mb/minutes 25 fps
Size: 4x8x1,4 cm
Weight: 37 grams

I hope can be helpful.

breaker on 11-02-2009 06:37 AM

#2 Re: Article: BoosterVision launches their new GearCam DVR product line

I think there are a number of things to consider when deciding if this unit is over priced or not. I would base my decision on these criteria.

1) This unit is much smaller than many units I have seen being attached or mounted inside of rockets. Therefore it is lighter, MUCH easier to mount & has a pivoting head to adjust angle.

2) Boostervision's products have always struck me as well designed and from my experience with others, have always performed very well when used properly.

3) Customer Service. Boostervision does an excellent job in caring for the customer. Whether it is assistance with a product though phone or e-mail conversations, they will have you covered.

I have worked in retail sales for the past 15 years and it seems that people look only at how much a particular unit is priced at and forget how valuable good customer service is. I would have to disagree and say that this unit is not overpriced. I own one and enjoy it very much. It works every time I use it, its extremely easy to mount to your vehicle of choice and the video quality is excellent. Good product, keep it up Boostervision.

g_osborn on 11-02-2009 08:57 AM

#3 Re: Article: BoosterVision launches their new GearCam DVR product line

Quote:

I think there are a number of things to consider when deciding if this unit is over priced or not. I would base my decision on these criteria.

1) This unit is much smaller than many units I have seen being attached or mounted inside of rockets. Therefore it is lighter, MUCH easier to mount & has a pivoting head to adjust angle.

2) Boostervision's products have always struck me as well designed and from my experience with others, have always performed very well when used properly.

3) Customer Service. Boostervision does an excellent job in caring for the customer. Whether it is assistance with a product though phone or e-mail conversations, they will have you covered.

I have worked in retail sales for the past 15 years and it seems that people look only at how much a particular unit is priced at and forget how valuable good customer service is. I would have to disagree and say that this unit is not overpriced. I own one and enjoy it very much. It works every time I use it, its extremely easy to mount to your vehicle of choice and the video quality is excellent. Good product, keep it up Boostervision.

I agree. And you don't need to make a camera bay. You just tape it to the side of the rocket. Good old duct tape...

I don't have one, but I have seen them used. I'm going to have to get one.

rocket999 on 11-03-2009 10:19 AM

#4 Re: Article: BoosterVision launches their new GearCam DVR product line

Or for the same price, you could mount three of those key chain cameras and get the flight from three different angles.

New Ocean on 11-03-2009 08:42 PM

#5 Re: Article: BoosterVision launches their new GearCam DVR product line

Only one question: Does the unit automatically save the video, if you can not get to the unit to turn it off before it runs out of power? I have had a few occassions were recovery took a lot longer than 90 minutes.

Arnold Roquerre on 11-05-2009 10:53 PM

#6 Re: Article: BoosterVision launches their new GearCam DVR product line

Quote:

Only one question: Does the unit automatically save the video, if you can not get to the unit to turn it off before it runs out of power? I have had a few occassions were recovery took a lot longer than 90 minutes.

Yes, the unit will write out the end of file marker to memory and gracefully shutdown before the battery dies.

This was a very important feature, I will update my FAQS page to mention it, thanks

Art

Art Upton on 11-06-2009 09:10 PM

#7 Re: Article: BoosterVision launches their new GearCam DVR product line

Quote:

Yes, the unit will write out the end of file marker to memory and gracefully shutdown before the battery dies.

This was a very important feature, I will update my FAQS page to mention it, thanks

Art

Art,
Assuming the video is written contiguously, is it possible to write EOFs to memory before a flight and then write over them from the beginning so if a rocket crashes and causes loss of power to the GearCam it's easier to recover the video?

Steve_Shannon on 11-06-2009 09:24 PM

#8 Re: Article: BoosterVision launches their new GearCam DVR product line

Hi Steve, the best way to retrive video after a crash on ANY solid-state camcorder is not to attempt to write (record) to the unit again, and to preform recovery on the memory as soon as possible.

If the directory is corrupt and file bytes are zero, then use one of the many shareware Photo/Video recovery programs for USB disk or SD-ram cards. Even if the unit you have (like our GearCam-DVR) does not use an SD-ram card the method is similar.

My handheld Kodak Easyshare camera I used to take pictures of my L3 flight in 2004, somehow while powered up the sd-ram card suffered a dsiconnect and reconect while taking a picture and became corrupt. I took the card out and waited the long wait to get home and put in my workstation and used photo recovery to get my pictures back.

The GearCam-DVR's memory is not removeable to eliminate any vibration problems in the memory connectors.

Art Upton on 11-07-2009 09:54 AM

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