Masthead Camera

[Flyingriki]

How practical is it to mount a camera on the masthead to keep an eye on coral heads in tight quarters? Looked around here and didn't see any discussion. Seems like a great idea except the lens would get crud on it quickly with no easy way to clean it off......?

I'd use a drone but aren't that good with mine yet and it's not improving so fast. Plus it's hard to fly and drive!
Thanks.

[johnyhask]

Originally Posted by Flyingriki

How practical is it to mount a camera on the masthead to keep an eye on coral heads in tight quarters? Looked around here and didn't see any discussion. Seems like a great idea except the lens would get crud on it quickly with no easy way to clean it off......?

I'd use a drone but aren't that good with mine yet and it's not improving so fast. Plus it's hard to fly and drive!
Thanks.

The new ish mavic will follow course automatically ((follows relevant to where controller is) point and shoot all hands free for about £1k. I'm saving up [emoji1303]

[John_Trusty]

I always have a hard time finding coral heads without polarized sunglasses. Does your proposed masthead camera have a polarizing lens?

On a related note, I was thinking a masthead camera with some type of level indicator and zoom would be useful to check bridge heights on the ICW for those close calls.

[paulajayne]

Originally Posted by johnyhask

The new ish mavic will follow course automatically ((follows relevant to where controller is) point and shoot all hands free for about £1k. I'm saving up [emoji1303]

Phantom 4 is better.

[Auspicious]

I would think the dynamic range of available cameras might not be enough to be useful.

If you're focused on a display you aren't watching the world around you. This really is a two person job.

[PlumBob]

Mavic looks almost impossible to "catch by hand" for landing. Without cutting up your arms by the props, that is.

Phamtom 4 and 4 Pro look like much better choices to me. Catch the leg.

[Delancey]

I know a guy who bought a three pack of Uniden security cameras from a big box store for less than a couple hundred bucks which include IR night vision. He mounted them on the bow, masthead, and at the stern.

He said he used the bow one at night to navigate the ICW. Showed us video of the stern camera facing our boat behind him at the dock during hurricane Mathew, all I could see was driving rain but you could see the rain clearly.

Coral heads? Yeah maybe. Can get polarized filters at a camera store. Also, just having a top down perspective would be beneficial in most lighting conditions.

Dunno though how useful it would really be. Depends on the focal length of the lens and how wide of a view you have. Maybe as an extra but any one will tell you to never rely on a single navigational aid.