Get the Best Picture Possible

Analog FPV cameras don't typically lend themselves to high-quality imaging. Factor in a slightly out of focus lens, and that marginal 600-line picture in your goggles just got a whole lot worse. Fortunately, there's an easy way to focus an FPV camera lens without playing the guessing game. In this tutorial, we'll focus a lens close to the ideal hyperfocal point, allowing for the best image from a few feet off the nose out to infinity.

Don't Focus on the Tree Line

Trying to focus your lens on a distant object such as the horizon line, a building, or tree line is usually an effort in futility. It's merely a guessing game as the clarity needed to see objects sharply at that distance, in order to focus on them, just isn't possible with an FPV cam. You usually end up with a "that looks about right" focus setting, which could be pretty close... but is it really focused for the best possible view?

Use a Focus Pattern

How to Focus an FPV Camera - RCGroups Tutorial (5 min 33 sec)

RonDexter.com offers a free-to-download focus pattern for setting the focus on practically any camera that has an adjustable focus ring, or in our case, a threaded lens. The idea is to have the best possible focus from a few feet off the nose to infinity by setting the focus pattern at the hyperfocal point, or pretty close to it. In the case of almost all FPV-style cameras, 3-5 meters off the nose is perfect, and that's where I set my pattern.

How to set the focus accurately:

Print the focus pattern and position it 3-5 meters from the fpv camera

Loosen the set screw on the camera body and slowly turn the lens until the pattern appears at it's clearest. Due to the standard definition of the camera, it can't resolve the pattern very well, so there will always be an oval blur in the middle. The objective it to make that oval as small as possible.

Tighten the set screw and do a final recheck.

CLICK HERE to download the focus pattern at RonDexter.com