Hawkeye Firefly 8S 4k (Coming soon!)

ActionCamGuy

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MSRP: $139.99
ETA: June
4k30, 1080p120
selfie mirror
6-axis gyro stabilization
external mic compatibility
1200 mAh
2 lens options: 170* fisheye, 90* linear

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GearBest suggest the old Hawkeye Firefly app (like Firefly 7s etc) LINK Android
I wonder if they will also add a better app when released?
 
I wouldn't count on increased support in the future. The features and bugs it has at release it will probably have its entire life. Lots of Q6 owners on RCGroups found this out the hard way.

Still, impressive specs for the price. I also very much like some of the extra features, especially that selfie mirror :)

Curious what the sixth axis for the gyroscope will do, if anything. Probably just marketing but we'll see I suppose.
 
Most likely 3 Axis Gyro and 3 Axis Accelerometer, a combination of angular velocity sensors and rate sensors in a chip. Doubt any electromechanical gyro will be in use.
Up-down, left-right, roll, pitch, yaw so possibly 6 would be possibly sudden stop mode, like dash cams forcing "protect" a 5 minute file save?
 
Very interesting. Firefly 8s comes in two versions! 170° and a 90° no distortion version with a built in lens hood.

GearBest pre-order for 19th June 2017 LINK HERE

Photo of 90° Version with built in lens hood
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I would love the 90 degree version, in spite of EIS being unavailable in 4K.

Can someone tell me: does it offer 4K in 25fps?
 
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I would love the 90 degree version, in spite of EIS being unavailable in 4K.

Can someone tell me: does it offer 4K in 25fps?
Only a guess from other similar cams but if you set the 50/60 Hz options to 50 Hz and PAL it may switch to 25fps.
 
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WiFi via NEW Firefly App for iOS and Android available apparently.
Bluetooth. It seems that Firefly 8S will work with the YI remote.
Firefly 8S offers a mini USB port with microphone support as well as A/V output!


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Hi I am wondering what are the interval options for the Photo Time Lapse and Video Time Lapse.
I'd like a 90 degree camera for my quadcopter to shoot stills. I have a Yi 4K that can shoot one photo after the other in fast sequence. But its field of view is way too wide for many situations. Firefly 7S apparently can shoot only with at least 3 seconds intervals. Too slow for me. I wonder also if there could be a FW update for improving the time lapse options for the 7S, that has a more interesting price for my case.
thanks
 
stefano giovannini As far as I can find out for Firefly 6s, 7s and new 8s - Video Lapse 0.5 / 1 / 3 / 5 / 10 seconds. Photo Lapse is 3 / 5 / 10 or 30 seconds but NO 0.5 second for some reason?
Burst Photo fixed to 11 shots per second. Seems nothing has changed for 8s
Review here LINK
 
stefano giovannini As far as I can find out for Firefly 6s, 7s and new 8s - Video Lapse 0.5 / 1 / 3 / 5 / 10 seconds. Photo Lapse is 3 / 5 / 10 or 30 seconds but NO 0.5 second for some reason?
Burst Photo fixed to 11 shots per second. Seems nothing has changed for 8s
Review here LINK

Thanks - I am not sure why. Does depend on the A12 processor? It is kind of a dealbreaker as Photo Time Lapse with short intervals is good to shoot photos when a camera is used as a dashcam or on a quadcopter when the exact moment for the best photo can not be determined.
 
Received the 90 degree version yesterday, updated the latest V42 firmware and noticed that the camera has horrible rolling shutter effect (vertical jelloing). Not as horrible as I had on my Nokia 1020 for instance but for a something that's supposed to work as action camera that's pretty lame. The jelloing seems to be somewhere on the same level with older GoPro 3 models, which not so surprisingly are using the same image sensor, Sony IMX117, and Ambarella chipset.

None of my previous action cameras (Git2 and Firefly 7s) had it at all on a noticeable level. Funny that none of the reviewers has mentioned it and Hawkeye has conveniently left out publishing any clips which would show any hints of it. Nicely done!

Here's just a short clip at 4k 30fps. I will do more testing with different settings later when I have time for it.

Here's a longer version, you can see the jelloing clearly for instance at 0:45 as well.
 
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Pretty much par for the course for CMOS though. Really need a CCD and a global shutter if you want to eliminate it.

I'm guessing CCD's are probably too expensive for the camera.
 
Yes I know all CMOS sensors have rolling shutter but in some implementations it's just much less noticeable than others. Like I said, haven't noticed it on Git2 and Firefly 7s, I also would say that GoPro does it better with Hero 4 and 5. Of course one reason why it's so evident here is the non-distortion lens.

This needs more testing and I know that it should be possible to reduce it by faster shutter speed (60fps) and filters, will see, but I'm still amazed how none of the reviewers I've seen so far have paid any attention to it.
 
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The issue could be sensitivity. One reason rolling shutter is used on CMOS sensors is because they're not as light sensitive as CCD and thus need longer exposure. Rolling shutter achieves the extra exposure as its open longer.

I too would like to see rolling shutter eliminated, at least from action cams, because with some subjects, it can become very evident: aircraft propellers, helicopter blades, lasers to mention a few. Might not be so much of an issue on a dashcam but for an action cam where these elements are more likely to be encountered along with fast motion on RC vehicles, it's more of a problem.

Maybe Firefly can optimise it.
 
Would using Metering set "Multi Spot" setting instead of "Center" help a little? I do know how RSC is supposed to work but not what is being done in firmware with this particular chipset/sensor setup. Sorta take it for granted as all seem the same these days and, although annoying, kinda forgot about it. Well at least for sub $200 cams that is.

Nice comparison vid from Ferdi Agrippino - ACTIONCAM ITALIA

 
I did some more testing with 2.5k@60fps and 2.7K@30fps. 60fps reduced the rolling shutter effect significantly but it's still there on fast panning. Much better nevertheless. However, 2.7K@30fps is pretty much par with 4K. If I remember correct the default metering is "Multi Spot", at least that's the one I'm using. I don't think metering will do anything, it's all about the sensors refresh rate which depends on frame rate, amount of light and ISO setting.

2.5k@60fps

2.7K@30fps
 
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I did some more testing with 2.5k@60fps and 2.7K@30fps. 60fps reduced the rolling shutter effect significantly but it's still there on fast panning. Much better nevertheless. However, 2.7K@30fps is pretty much par with 4K. If I remember correct the default metering is "Multi Spot", at least that's the one I'm using. I don't think metering will do anything, it's all about the sensors refresh rate which depends on frame rate, amount of light and ISO setting.

My default came up 'Center' on early version T5e. Found 'Center" noticeably balloons the center area (like putting a magnifying glass over pic middle) while editing out fisheye using various algorithms in the program. Haven't edited using Multispot yet so can't wait to try when new T5e arrives. Probably no difference LOL
Just wondered if it effected the scan rate of the sensor too while firmware is working on the "positioning" but was just guessing.
 
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