Friends at SONY loaned me two imaging devices so I can test them. By imaging devices, you have to understand a camera and a video camera. Respectively the QX-10 (camera-lens) and the HDR-AS100V (Action Cam). Before going ahead, I want to thank them again for this opportunity! Now, why did I call them “imaging devices”?

Besides the fact that they are literally imaging devices, I tried to use them as image/video acquisition devices from a Galileo and Edison boards, since they come equipped with a Wi-Fi interface. This interface is used for example to take control of the cameras via software that you can install on your smartphone or computer. This week, I will focus only on the hardware aspects. In a follow-up post, I will talk about the API that SONY makes available to software developers, so they can add imaging and control features to their applications. This is a great capability if you develop embedded applications. Without ruining the subject, let’s simply say that it is really easy to do! From the hardware perspective, these cameras are remarkable and feature-packed and are delivering excellent quality images.

I took numerous pictures, so you can judge by yourself. As usually with SONY, the build quality is very high, and the use of the space available within the devices is outstanding. The latter is really a plus for embedded usages. The form factor of the Action Cam, for example, is a perfect match for the Edison (see pics). The clamping mechanism of the QX-10 is perfect to mount on a Galileo (Gen 1 or 2). Even though you can drive the devices via Wi-Fi – so you can control them remotely – it is great that you can design complete and compact solutions without adding too much the small footprint of the cameras. With projects such as our stratospheric adventures (see the previous post presenting it), this is key, because one of your main “enemy” is the weight of your payload. Note that the HDR-AS100V has am embedded GPS and that you can – in a post-processing step – overlay the positioning, speed, distance information using the PlayMemories software. Enjoy the pics, and stay tuned for more info on the API! 

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