Ez-robot Camera $29.99

Question

For those who might be looking for the EZB Camera for your Iotiny. Hobby King has them on sale for $29.99 https://hobbyking.com/en_us/ez-b-v4-camera.html I just purchased 3

JustinRatliff · Answer

Sweet! So did I.

rz90208 · Answer

So now my Inmoov can have stereo vision. Might have to start playing with Roborealm again. A little Nostalgia. Back in the 80's I built a robot that I used 2 RAM chips that I unsoldered the gold cap from the top and glued a microscope slide glass over the top. I then mounted them a known distance apart and they both moved together ether bot moving in or both moving out forming a triangle so I could calculate the distance. then depending how big the object was in the frame, I could estimate the size of the object. I believe I used 21L02 1k x 1 bit ram chips. I was able to write once and read a bunch of times and get a idea of what it saw. I guess you could call this one of the first CCD chips.

malc · Answer

the hobbyking EZ-B V4 WIFI ROBOT CONTROLLER is version 1 not 2 just letting you guys know. malc

Nomad 6R · Answer

malc is there a diffin color led from version 1 to version 2?

malc · Answer

nomad 6r you can't see led in the hobbyking EZ-B V4 WIFI ROBOT CONTROLLER picture and they don't tell you if it's 1 or 2. https://hobbyking.com/en_us/ez-b-v4-wifi-robot-controller.html I thought it would be the latest version but it's not. malc

Nomad 6R · Answer

hi malc thanks for your quick respons.maybe someone knows the diff.

Tony1952 · Answer

Hi rz90208, has there been an update or improvement to the EZB Camera since it first came out? I've been away from robots/Ezrobot for 3+ years and want to get back into it again soon. The facial/colour/object recognition was pretty poor back then. Don't know if it was the camera or the software. I wonder if it has improved? A quick look at the store shows me that not much has changed. What happened to all the addons promised? Great to see Nomad 6R is still here and very active in the forums!

Nomad 6R · Answer

Tony1952 thank you for the kind words.ez robot is an adventure that never stops.

rz90208 · Answer

@Tony1952 I do not believe that the camera itself has changed, but the software for the camera has gone thru a lot of updates and enhancements. This is a better question for DJ or Jeremy .

Dunning-Kruger · Answer

There are two versions of the EZ Robot camera.... The first gen has a 2 part circuit board and blue indicator LED... The 2nd gen ( the current one) has a single board and a heat sync on the back... It has a green indicator LED...

Nomad 6R · Answer

RICHARD R many thanks for the info.

rz90208 · Answer

Thank you Richard R for the update.

Tony1952 · Answer

rz90208 and Richard R, thanks for that info! Unfortunately it looks like I have 3 of the Gen 1 cameras I have found a 2yo discussion/explanation of the Gen1/2 cameras in which DJ explains that the new camera has wider angle and better tracking :- (https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ez-robot.com/Community/Forum/Thread%3FthreadId%3D8688&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwi72sKYptzcAhXRE4gKHSkuDAcQFggEMAA&client=internal-uds-cse&cx=014805214228602627829:qkn9go9gkk0&usg=AOvVaw0BTaqDRZkzFRKAtvOyeRd3) Better tracking and facial recognition is definitely what I am after but at AU$400 for 3 new cameras incl shipping and the new 10% import tax I can't justify this to my boss (wife)! I've already paid for three EZ-B v4/2 Comm Upgrade boards with horrendous postage costs to Australia. I also suspect that the Hobbyking cameras are Gen 1.

rz90208 · Answer

I just purchased 3 from Hobby King, I will power one of them up when I go home for lunch and report back as to the color of the LED.

Jeremie · Answer

Hi guys, here's a guide to distinguish the Camera versions without having to open up the plastic: Version 1 - Blue indicator LED on Left side of Camera Version 2 - Green indicator LED on Right side of Camera Version 2 (updated firmware) - Blue indicator LED on Right side of Camera Please note: The updated version 2 firmware didn't change the performance of the camera. We found that green LED color was too prominent and distracted from the RGB Eyes when used in JD's Head so we switched it to blue.

rz90208 · Answer

@Jeremie if it is a single board and has a heat sink is it not also a new version? Here is a picture of what I received from Hobby King

Jeremie · Answer

That's correct. If you open up the plastic (or have a developers kit) the single board Camera is the version 2 (current version) of the Camera.

rz90208 · Answer

So Hobby King is selling the new cameras for 29.99. (or at least I received) This is awesome news.

Tony1952 · Answer

That is excellent news Jeremie & rz90208! Thank you very much for that feedback! In my case they ship from Hong Kong so postage is also a massive saving. In total I would get the 3 of them delivered for one third of the cost incl taxes, I'm sure the boss can't complain about that deal!

JonWalter · Answer

This does a lot of amazing stuff, but still has a lot of issues relating to power draw and WiFi connectivity. flipboard.com/@maxgoodz/top-20-best-power-tower-review-2019-ipukbj0ay

Tony1952 · Answer

Thanks JonWatker, I should have suspected that. My new cameras (hopefully they are the new ones) are in the mail. After 3 years away from EzRobot I was keen to get back into Robots as I (wrongfully? Hopefully not) assumed things had progressed! At this stage any improvement is a plus. I've downloaded the latest software but twice already it has locked up for unknown reasons. Not a good sign as it's on a new Win 10 PC!

Jeremie · Answer

@JonWalter, Can you elaborate on your issues at all? I'd love to see if we can help you out with them. WiFi Connectivity issues can usually be resolved through changing the WiFi channel on your EZ-B or it could be possibly poor signal getting to the EZ-B. I own some devices myself that have really poor AP mode connection due the antenna design/RF strength that they have. Can you try other devices, USB WiFi dongles, etc. In terms of power draw, I'm surprised, the entire Revolution series was designed around power efficiency. Are you using a larger than normal amount of servos?

ptp · Answer

Quote: This does a lot of amazing stuff, but still has a lot of issues relating to power draw and WiFi connectivity.  It's important to compare Apples with Apples There are 2 wifi controllers V4 (BlueGiga) old and V4 v2 (MXChip) actual. Which one you have problems ?

Tony1952 · Answer

I just received the Cameras from Hobby King Singapore and can confirm they are the new version with single board and a heat sink, Hooray! Now comes the thrill of exchanging the one in JD's head!

DJ Sures · Answer

Be super super super careful to not knock the lense off the pcb when taking it in and out of jd’s head

Tony1952 · Answer

Thanks much for the tip DJ!

I've just opened the standard camera enclosure and saw that I had to remove the foam pad prior to extracting the camera/board. I can see that the camera can easily be knocked off the board eek

rocketsmith · Answer

The cameras at Hobbyking are now $9.99.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/ez-b-v4-camera.html

If you are into using the EZB to control arduinos their Due is now $4.99.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/kingduino-due-at91sam3x8e-arm-cortex-m3-board-84mhz-512kb.html

Tony1952 · Answer

Thanks for that info rocketking! I do "need" a couple more!

cem · Answer

@Rocketsmith Thanks for the info, just brought two cameras, great price! Cheers Chris.

JustinRatliff · Answer

Thanks @rocketsmith It looks like they are out of stock now. We must have grabbed them up. If HobbyKing would drop their EZB price - they could watch those fly away too

jstarne1 · Answer

they have them agian on their website in the global warehouse and it is listed as 9.99 each.

rocketsmith · Answer

And gone again.

cem · Answer

I just got one in the UK, which got delivered yesterday and I only paid 6 for it. Equivalent to about $8, and free shipping and no tax. Does look like version one though, haven’t get taken it out and had a proper look!

rb550f · Answer

Actually it is version camera with heat sink.

DJ Sures · Answer

Version 1 is two pcb's connected together with a plug. That is a single pcb, so it's v2 according to rz90208's photo

rocketsmith · Answer

Back in stock again at $9.99

jphillipsnj · Answer

Why so cheap lately?

Tony1952 · Answer

New hi-res one coming out "soon" ?

rz90208

Ez-Robot Camera $29.99

Upgrade to ARC Pro