Video camera on top the mast?

[Looking4Neptune]

I am looking for recommendations on putting a video camera at the top of my mast. I sail a 46 ft catamaran in the South Pacific and visibility for coral heads and when in narrow passes can be challenging. I have a B&G nav system that can take video inputs or I could run the video to an iPad at the helm.

Do you have a video camera on your mast?
How well does it work?
Is a 'fixed' cam good enough, or do I need pan and zoom?
If I get one that can pan, will it be helpful when pulling into a dock? (visibility of my aft port corner is not great from the helm)

thanks,
Pat

[Ryban]

Search around the threads here as this has been discussed before. I also believe SailLife added a camera to his mast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3_DMawrDEQ

IIRC though, the camera stopped functioning since. Whatever camera you put up there, it really needs to be tough, because it's going to be enduring heat of the sun, UV, salt spray, and constant motion.

You could also make a deployable rig that you hoist up the mast when you need it. This could be a GoPro, and you could use the WiFi functionality to live view it from a tablet.