AiM Sports SmartyCam HD2.1

SmartyCam HD has been designed for motorsports with a single purpose: providing great videos that include all the technical information that will help you improve your performance. All this in the most robust and reliable system ever. In its new version, the electronics/mechanics have been further improved, and SmartyCam HD is now even easier to manage.

You are on the starting grid, ready to sprint, your adrenaline reaching the climax: the last thing you can worry about is… switching on the camera. You have other things to worry about. SmartyCam HD is aware of that. That is why it switches on/off automatically and starts/stops recording the same way.

SmartyCam HD can be switched on by the logger it is connected to. Switch-off is automatic, too: simply decide after what period of non-activity the camera will switch-off. Both operations can also be carried out using the keyboard, if you prefer.

Recording can also be started/stopped automatically or via keyboard. With automatic switch-on, the camera will start recording when the speed or RPM threshold is exceeded. In this case, you simply decide how long after dropping below the selected threshold the video will automatically stop.

Unlike generic multipurpose cameras, SmartyCam HD has been designed to avoid the problem of image distortion, thanks to the innovative Global Shutter CMOS sensor. The camera shutter captures the entire image at the same time, not “pixel by pixel” like traditional sensors. The result is that images are captured at once and are not affected by the vibrations that happen on a racing vehicle, which create the so-called “wave effect”.

A lens specifically designed for motorsports must be robust, must be able to work when the engine rolls 100 times per second, and have good resolution and brightness.
But above all a lens designed for motorsports must reduce distortion, which is a typical problem of lenses used by generic action-cameras: objects placed at ten meters distance look very far, making it impossible to accurately determine whether the track is straight or curved.

SmartyCam HD telecentric lens with six elements reduces distortion to the minimum and will withstand track vibrations for years. Moreover the lenses with different HFOV’s allow a tailor-made framing in all kind of vehicles.

The narrow HFOV lens is preferred for closed-roof cars, as it “sees” the track just within the wind-screen pillars, reducing that unpleasant black frame around typical of generic camera on-board videos.

The wide HFOV lens is specific for open-roof, formula car and kart use, where it is possible to have a more ample view of the track and there is no risk of black frames.