The Foxeer Arrow HS1190 FPV camera is probably the only camera on the market that provides voltage OSD capability. And in this review we will check out the performance and how it compares to the Swift and Eagle.

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The Foxeer Arrow HS1190 is available at Surveilzone.

Arrow HS1190 Spec

The Foxeer Arrow is one of the first FPV camera that is capable of monitoring battery voltage and displaying it in OSD. However there was some issue with the first version.

The Arrow camera we received is the second version (V2). It was improved from the previous version which had several problems including the annoying slow flashing/updating OSD. In the old version, it reads the voltage from the power input of the camera which means you would have to supply voltage from LiPo directly (not good due to ESC noise!) However they fixed it in the new version, and now there is a dedicated pin for reading battery voltage.

• $40
• 15.5g
• Input voltage: 5V-35V
• Built-in Mic
• Built-in OSD (voltage/timer/name)
• 600TVL

FPV Camera Unbox

It comes with 2 housing options: 1 case with 1 mounting hole on each side, the other case with 2. The metal inserts in the case for mounting are excellent, they make those mounts easier to work with and a lot more durable.

Update (23 Sept 2016) – multiple reports of the metal inserts falling off the case. Some people recommend adding glue. We are waiting for response from Foxeer regarding this issue.

I took off the back plate, and found out the PCB is fitted very tightly in the case and seems to be really difficult to remove.

Features

OSD

One feature I really like about this camera is the OSD. Three things you can overlay on the screen:

• voltage (Power)
• timer
• name (or any text you want)

You can even move the text around the screen which is handy. Voltage value can be calibrated to ensure best accuracy.

OSD setting Instructions:

• Press and hold top button to change name, and OSD info settings
• Press and hold left button to change name position
• Press and hold right button to change timer position
• Press and hold bottom button to change voltage position – press centre button to calibrate/adjust voltage value

FOV Options

Another good thing about the Arrow is that they offer lens options of different FOV when you buy it. With the Runcam Swift the stock one is 2.8mm (90 degree FOV), if you want wider FOV you would have to purchase the upgrade lens separately.

Misc. things

I prefer the Swift’s connectors where they have the Video Signal/Power and OSD control pins in 2 separate connectors. You can plug in the OSD whenever you want to use it. On the Arrow, Everything shares the same connector, and it becomes a headache dealing with the OSD control wires when you are not using it (whether to hide it or cut it).

OSD settings menu (brightness, contrast, sharpness etc) looks very similar to the Swift, and they are well explained in the manual.

Connectors are located on the top of the camera which would make fitting in tight mini quad frames easier.

Built-in Mic and audio output to the VTX. It’s located on top of the case where there is a hole to let the sound through.

Compared to the Swift, the body is similar sizes, but the stock lens is larger and longer.

Field Testing

I fould the HS1190’s performance is almost identical to the Swift. Because of the different lenses, the FOV on this Arrow HS1190  (2.5mm) was bigger than the Swift’s (2.8mm).

In the test we are comparing with Runcam Swift, Eagle (16:9) and (4:3) versions.

According to a few HS1177 users, the image also looks similar to the Arrow too.

Just something to bear in mind, a friend of mine complained about the image quality of the Arrow, where it has some strips in the footage. He was using the NTSC version, mine is PAL and I didn’t have this issue.

Cons and Pros

Advantages

• useful battery voltage OSD (with dedicated VBAT pin), as well as timer and custom name
• durable metal inserts in the mounting holes, with 2 casing options
• 3 different FOV lenses you can choose from
• connector located on top
• built-in mic

Disadvantages

• OSD control share the same connector with video signal and power, making it hard to deal with OSD control wires later on
• 3g heavier than the HS1177 and Swift (Not a big deal but some hardcore racers might cry over this :)
• unable to switch between PAL/NTSC

I think the next step would be integrating the MinimOSD into these FPV cameras. FuriousFPV is developing a camera Add-on for these cameras, which is basically a micro MinimOSD that sits behind the camera. But how cool would it be if it was done without any user DIY and too much extra cost?

Manual

Here are the manual for future reference.