jigga009

Came across one of these for sale locally that is new in box. Question is as to whether one might be worth purchasing if the price was right, or whether one really should skip them and pony up for the latest and greatest along the lines of the Smartycam 3 Sport or the Corsa version. I may be able to score the Smartycam 2.1HD for somewhere in the region of 350-420USD.

My use of the unit might be a little unusual; not so much for track use, but for use on the road. I tend to do a lot of datalogging and road tuning, and find it useful to have video footage to correlate with the data that is being logged. For example, video footage showing perhaps engine parameters and visual demonstration of how the engine behaves when one runs across a questionable area of the fuel map, or perhaps even video footage tied to the datalogged info that shows what the car is doing during a misfire event that is logged on my standalone ECU and my MXG 1.0.

In addition, I do like the idea of having video footage of my travels. Sometimes there is some exciting stuff that one might see, and would like to re-watch later, with the major engine data tied into the footage.

So I guess in a sense, it would be working as a glorified dash cam.

The real benefit that I am aware of with the newer cameras is that they record in 1080P, but I've also seen posts about even this being quite disappointing also, leading me to question whether to even look at the older unit at all, which I think records in 720p, if I'm not mistaken?

I also don't know how well these cameras do with recording at night. If anyone can comment on this, I'd be appreciative.

How reliable were the 2.1HD models? I have read another post about certain components being non-serviceable in them, which also gives me cause for concern.

So opinions please gents... Should I consider the Smartycam 2.1HD for around $350-420? or would you skip it and go with the newer units such as the Smartycam 3 Sport and possibly a Corsa? I know that the saying that "the poor man pays twice" is always in play, so I'd like to get some opinions from those in the know before getting seduced by a low price.

Thanks for your time and input!

ProCoach

I think the new ones are really worthwhile. The older ones, less so.

Matt Romanowski

Great question. The SCHD in all it's versions is a great camera and all of them will do what you want. For $350, a 2.1 is a good deal and a really cheap way to get into a camera. There are a few problems they can have that are not able to be repaired, but I've seen that more with the OG SCHD and not the 2.1.

There are some differences in the night capabilities of them. I don't have night footage, but a few people have posted it over the years. I can't remember which of the SCHD they said was best. I would expect the SC3 to be better.

The SC3 bit addition for your use case is being able to send any channels in the MXG to the camera to be put on the video. If you had parameters you wanted to have overlaid, you can put them there versus the SCHD being limited to the 16 basic channels.

jigga009

Ah... I did not know that one is limited in the channel selection that can be sent to the SCHD. I do have my standalone sending some rather specific engine parameters through to my MXG at the moment, such as per bank back pressure sensor data, per-cylinder lambda, purge solenoid duty cycle, and closed-loop fuel trim data that I would have loved to be able to have included in footage recorded. Using the video footage recorded by the SC3 could even be used to better narrow down where in my standalone's datalogs I need to look in order to narrow down data recorded during odd engine behaviour or performance. My suspicion is that this specific data would not be able to be sent through to the SCHD, if it's as restrictive as you hint that it is.

From what you and Coach mention, it would seem that I should probably resist the temptation and skip this one. I'll wait and keep an eye out for a good Black Friday or New Years deal on a Corsa down the line.

Any idea if AIM is planning on upping the camera resolution on these? Or is there some reason why they insist on 1080P as a max and nothing higher?

Thanks very much for the advice; I'm appreciative!

Matt Romanowski

The data and video will still synch in RS3, so you would have access to all the data and be able to see the video that corresponds, but only in RS3.

AiM doesn't allow sales, so you won't see them for BF or anything. Some dealers do offer Rennlist discounts

No plans for a new camera or resolution change that I know of. I think the 1080 is for a number of reasons. First, it gets the job done with enough detail and quality to be a driving tool. Second, the videos are not huge and taking massive amounts of storage. Finally, with all the real time processing of data to put it on the video, you can only handle so many pixels at a time.

ProCoach

Yes, you sound like you need the flexibility in custom messaging sent to the camera.

Typically, MAP governs pricing but I know that several online racing supply resellers offer club and DE instructor discounts. Just no scheduled sales since there is no shortage of demand.

The Corse is the sweet spot, for sure.

I think most folks have been spoiled by the 4K image sensors and resolution the straight cameras like the GoPro provide, but this is a different animal.

These cameras include a CPU, GPU and their own OS to render in real time the channel info onto the video. The processing requirements and thermal demands are huge, especially for a packaging solution such as the Corsa. I don't see anything coming soon that isn't the size of a small desktop computer that will be able to render to 4K. Plus the cost would be prohibitive.

I think the 1080p SC3 series is a big step above the 2012-2022 SCHD (720p) series, which included the 2.1 and the 2.2 GP.

As pointed out, the sample rate for channels encoded in the video is only 6 Hz and the SC3 will do it at 20 Hz, plus you can't modify the SCHD 2.1 and 2.2 GP CAN templates. So there's that.

If you want, go sign up for the AiM Sports Used Equipment Buy/Sell Group on Facebook. There are often little used SC3 cameras for sale as people's needs change at a reasonable discount.

Matt Romanowski

This is not correct. The SC3 Advanced Stream that you are advocating is user defined from 1-100 Hz. For what he wants for engine tuning, I think he would like to see a situation in the video and do the tuning the ECU software.

ProCoach

It is correct for the expanded SC3 default stream.

I would think he would want to do it pulling the card, opening the video with encoded data in RS3A.

This would offer a highly detailed review with lots of display options. Then, tuning the software and repeat.