Runcam 5 Review: My first proper FPV HD Cam

The Runcam 5 is the latest HD cam suitable for FPV quadcopters released by renowned FPV camera manufacturer Runcam. It is a cube form factor following on from the shape made popular by the now discontinued GoPro Session 4 and Session 5 cameras. It measures 38mm x 38mm x 36mm which is nearly identical to the Session meaning it fits easily in to the commonly available 'GoPro' mounts. My Runcam 5 was ordered from Banggood and can be found at the link here: RunCam 5 12MP 56g Smallest 4K Cam HD Recording. It retails for $99 and can be had on special for a little as $87 - see my coupons page for up to date discount codes. 

RunCam 5 12MP 56g  4K Cam HD Recording 145 Degree NTSC/PAL 16:9/4:3 Switchable FPV Action Camera Bulit-in Battery for RC Racing Drone

History
Runcam have been making HD cams specifically for RC for sometime now. The runcam 1 and 2 are both in the matchstick-box style form factor and although well liked never really took off for FPV drones. The runcam 3 "took inspiration" from the GoPro session series which have become the most popular form factor for FPV drones given there small size, light weight and robustness. Because of the strict patents on the session cameras Runcam had to pull the runcam 3 from the market in North America and ultimately worldwide which was a shame - it was a good camera at a much more competitive price than the higher specced GoPro sessions. Runcam then went away and came back with the runcam 3s - same form factor but with larger dimensions which meant it wouldn't fit the raft of mounts that are out there in the wild for the session cameras. A lot of reviews also stated inferior lens performance to the deleted runcam 3 and so it was not successful to runcam.

The Runcam 4 was released in the same form factor as the 1 and 2 mainly but predominantly for airsoft guns and was not widely promoted for FPV due to the smaller lens angle. Runcam have done their homework with the Runcam 5 and although it is essentially the same dimensions as the GoPro session series, they have not run foul of the patented design aspects of the session that they ran into trouble with on the Runcam 3.

Why the big spiel? The Runcam 5 can be used in the now ubiquitous session mounts and has a video quality comparable to the earlier session cameras but at a much more palatable price. Besides the GoPro sessions have been retired and the struggling GoPro does not look interested in resurrecting this form factor - the Runcam 5 looks like the most robust and particularly beginner friendly HD cam to have at this point in time.

Runcam (1) HD

Runcam 2

Runcam 3 - pulled from market

Runcam 3s

Runcam 4

Specs
​I've listed the specs here with my brief comments for those that have an interest but as we know it really comes down to the proof from the cam. Don't worry there is HD footage further below.

• Image Sensor SONY IMX 377 (12MP)
• Video Resolution 4K@30fps / 2.7k@50fps / 1080P@120fps / 1080P@60fps / 1440P@60fps Good to have a 4k option but I'm most interested in 1080p 60fps
• Field of View (FOV) 145° Good wide field of view suitable for FPV flight
• Video File Format MP4
• TV Mode
• NTSC (720*480) / PAL (720*576) Switchable Option to use this as a high latency FPV cam (not recommended)
• Communication Interface Micro USB
• microSD Card supported Up to 128G
• WiFi Nonsupport
• USB Power Input DC 5-15V If you want to remove battery and power camera from your quad - unlikely
• Battery Capacity 950mAh Should last over an 90 minutes on 1080p, 60 minutes on 4k
• Power Consumption Max 620mA @5V
• Dimension
• 38*38*36mm same as gopro session listed dimensions
• Net Weight 56g (with battery) This is very light. Compare the box 2 @ 79g or session 5 @74g

Key outtakes for me here are: It is light, offers a good range of resolutions, has good battery life and will fit all the session mounts. No mentioned here when compared to the the session or box 2 is that it is NOT waterproof by any stretch which is probably where the weight and cost savings came from.

Performance
One spec that isn't mentioned above is the bitrate which tends to have a large bearing on image quality but is seldom mentioned. Below are the stock bitrates from the manual

Now this was a little disappointing considering the Session 5 would do 45Mbps for 1080p@60fps. The good news is that a recent firmware update (v1.2) bumped this bitrate up. For me this is a big deal and brings the runcam 5 up up to speed with the session 5 and superior to the foxeer box 2's 30Mbps.

Below is a raw, unedited clip from Youtube. Of course Youtube butchers bitrate. You can mitigate this somwhat by upscaling to 4k but this has not been done here. Compare this to the smaller, cheaper hawkeye firefly 2 below at the same location. Notice especially the light handling, image quality, sound and field of view. FYI runcam 5 was recorded in winter, firefly 2 in autumn.

Runcam 5 raw video with audio

Hawkeye Firefly 2 Raw video with audio - beware the audio!!!

For sound you can judge for yourself. Again, I've never had a gopro so only have a VTX microphone or hawkeye firefly 2 cam to compare to which aren't great yardsticks. I think the sound is completely serviceable for what I need.

Ease of use
As a first time user of HD cams I found the Runcam 5 very simple to use - it has just one button. Long press it turns on. Long press again it turns off. When on short press it starts recording, short press again it stops recording. There is a single LED light and beeper which also give cues to the action and it is very simple to use. There are no additional buttons nor screens to worry about.

This $4 mixza card works fine

I've only used 1 memory card on this so far and it's probably one of the cheapest ones available - the $4 Mixza 32GB U1 card from banggood. It's super cheap and has worked flawlessly for me. 

Where I think it really shines is the genuinely innovative way in which you change the settings. The Gopro, foxeer and Caddx cam all require connecting to your phone via wifi and then communicating via a convoluted app. For the Runcam 5 you use a runcam app, choose all the settings you want and then your phone displays a QR code. This can then be scanned by the camera and you will get recognition via beeps and LED light the the settings update has been successfully completed.

Firware can be update by copying the firmware file into the root directory of an SD card and turning the camera on.

Other setings can be changed as below where needed:

Value Proposition
The retail price of a Runcam 5 is $99 and can often be had for $89 (check my coupons page here to see if it is presently on special). Compare this to the retail price of a Foxeer Box 2 ($129) and the original retail price of $299 and you can start to see the value proposition of the Runcam 5. No you cannot get a warranty that covers it for any damage but at $99 vs $299 is this any longer relevant? In my mind, no. $99 worth of camera would be disappointing to loose but nothing compared to $299. This lower price does not come without compromise though and I've listed what I consider the key comparisons so you can decide for yourself what is important.

Runcam 5 $99	Foxeer Box 2 $129	Session 5 $299 (no longer available)	Caddx Tarsier $83
4k max resolution ​1080p 60fps @ 45mb/s	4k max resolution ​1080p 60fps @ 30mb/s	​4k max resolution ​1080p 60fps @ 45mb/s	4k max resolution ​
Satisfactory audio	Satisfactory audio	Best audio	Poor Audio
Not water resistant	Water resistant	Water resistant	Not water resistant
App control via QR code settings	Wifi Control settings	Wifi Control settings	Wifi Control settings
Superview equivalent (less effective)	Superview equivalent (less effective)	Superview	No superview
56g	79g	74g	19g
Can use session	Needs custom mount	Use session mount	Mount as FPV cam
​Stand alone HD Cam	​Stand alone HD Cam	Stand alone HD Cam	FPV/HD Cam combo

Summary and Recommendations
Again, I've never used an HD cam before (unless you count the Hawkeye Firelfy 2 cam I reviewed here)  but I'm genuinely please with the experience I've had with the Runcam for the following reasons:

• It's cheap
• It's light
• It fits the commonplace session mounts
• It's easy to use
• It actually records very good video

It does of course lack some of the features of more expensive cameras like water resistance, more advanced menu options available from the camera and better sound quality (when compared with Gopro product) but personally I don't find these important and am really pleased with this little camera.

If you are looking to get in to recording with HD I can strongly recommend this camera. It's probably 80-90% as good as a gopro session but at a third of the price - not that you can get a session new any more. 

FYI there are of course the Runcam Split/Caddx Turtle/Foxeer mix options but these often compromise the FPV feed, are more fragile and cannot be moved easily between builds. They may suit your application more but amongst other disadvantage the quality of HD recording is also inferior to the standalone HD cameras like the runcam 5.

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