We tested Aomway’s CMOS camera last year, and it was great at image quality. This time Aomway has released a V2 and it just got better and cheaper.

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Product Page: http://bit.ly/2fRqx4c

To learn more about FPV cameras: https://oscarliang.com/best-fpv-camera-quadcopter/

Unboxing

The Aomway 700TVL V2 is a CMOS camera that follows the same dimension and mounting as the last version. It comes with a lens mount, an OSD menu control and a silicone wire.

There is no screw holes on the housing for mounting, and this is the main concern I have with this camera. The only mounting option is to use the lens holder/mount provided.

I’ve come across this mount before in one of the Aomway’s cameras, while it worked, I wasn’t a fan of this solution. You have to remove the lens, put the mount on then screw the lens back in. That means you’d have to re-adjust focus every time you remove the mount from the camera.

Like their 650TVL CCD camera we just reviewed, there is no dedicated VBAT pin, the voltage is detected through the voltage input pin (supports 2S to 6S). That’s not a good idea IMO for those who want to power the camera with filtered/regulated voltage such as 5V or 12V.

Also the displayed VBAT voltage is 0.1V lower than actual voltage, probably due to power filtering. There is no voltage calibrating so…

By the way, there is a built-in mic on the camera (see the audio output?)

Another issue I see is the image that is upside down to the text on the camera, it’s not a biggie, but it means the connectors would be at the bottom. That could prove to be a problem on some low profile frames as the bottom plate could put a lot of pressure on the connector/wire due to the lack of height, and it also makes it hard to adjust the tilt angle.

Dimension and weight are:

• 22.4mm x 20mm x 29.3mm (W x H x L)
• 10.9g

The Aomway CMOS V2 is smaller than the Swift quite for a bit.

Image Quality

Comparing to the popular Runcam Eagle 2 (a good comparison since they are both CMOS cameras), the FOV is a tiny bit smaller (2.5mm lens on the Eagle).

Colour is very nice as expected (I love the image from the previous version too), it’s a bit warmer than the Eagle, and I noticed it tends to change with lighting.

Sharpness/detail is a bit low on the Aomway CMOS V2. If you look at the grass on the ground and branches, it all looks a bit blurry.

Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) is just as good as other CCD cameras in the test, no complains there. But at low light (e.g. under the trees) the image looks a bit “washed out”. I have to say the Eagle 2 is still more superior in that aspect. Especially when the camera is pointing directly to the sun you can really see the difference.

Here is the comparison video:

Latency Testing

The latency of this camera blew me away. The Aomway 700TVL CMOS V2 is the fastest camera I’ve tested so far at only 14.4ms average. The next best camera in terms of latency is the Runcam Owl 2 at about 18ms.

Check out this post for the FPV camera latency testing results.

OSD Menu and Settings

Camera settings are limited, you can only adjust the brightness, exposure and day/night settings. However it allows you to change aspect ratio (image scale) between 16:9 and 4:3 which is really cool! (in case you have different displays or FPV goggles) This is the first FPV camera I have tested that can do that. I’ve not tested how it would affect the FOV under different aspect ratio, I will update when I tested it.

It’s also possible to change between PAL and NTSC just like the Eagle.

Conclusion

If you love racing, or you are really picky about FPV camera latency, the Aomway 700TVL CMOS V2 is a great option. Image quality and WDR are good enough for racing and flying. Most importantly this camera only costs $23!

The main downside for me is lack of mounting solution and the lack of dedicated VBAT pin. Do check if your quadcopter frame supports the type of mounting in this camera.