How to Change Camera Settings

There are several ways to change the camera settings for the specific application you are working on. The easiest and most recommended way is via the MavCam application on the Herelink. If you purchased the entire P3 system through Arcsky along with your X55, the Herelink will already have MavCam installed and ready to use. If you purchased the P3 after already having received your X55, you will need to install MavCam yourself if you’d like to use this method. It’s a relatively simple and quick procedure, but there is a one-time cost for the MavCam P3 control upgrade. Please contact us if you need assistance with this.

Via MavCam Application on the Herelink

Once you have initialized the Herelink and the X55/P3 setup according to standard procedures, you can find the MavCam application in the bottom right hand corner of your screen. It will look like this when the system first initializes:

As a side-note, you can control the 2 axes (yaw and pitch) of the gimbal using the on-screen joystick by clicking the “GIMB” button. It will bring up the controls as shown here:

You can re-center the gimbal by clicking on the center icon (bottom left). You can exit out of this by clicking on the hand icon.

To change settings on the camera, swipe up on the camera icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. It will bring up this settings menu:

Here you can change the various settings on the camera, such as exposure strategy (auto vs manual), focus strategy, among many other things. In the above screenshot, you can see that the A.EXPO button is selected, meaning the camera will automatically handle its exposure settings to the best of its ability. There is a range you can set for the auto exposure, such as maximum and minimum ISO setting, maximum and minimum shutter speed, and maximum and minimum aperture (f-stop) settings. If you deselect the auto exposure function, you will have access to the three adjustments of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, as shown here:

Changing those settings will instantly change the setting on the camera - you can see the settings being changed on the bottom bar of the on-screen camera display.

To change the focus strategy, click on the gear icon next to the “AF” button. Here you can switch between focus strategies such as “GATE” and “CLIP”.

If you want to exit out of the camera settings, simply click the “X” in the box. It will minimize to the bottom right again. If you want to remove even the bottom right camera icon, swipe to the left and it will be as minimized as possible.

To adjust MavCam application configuration settings, swipe right on the camera icon to bring up the menu. You can exit out of this by clicking on the “X”.

Via QGC on a Laptop or Tablet

You can also use the latest version of QGC running on a laptop or tablet in order to change camera settings. You will likely need internet available and connected on the device you’ll be connecting with. With the internet active, simply open QGC on your device, and plug in a Micro USB cable between your device and the X55 USB port. The connection to the X55 should be established automatically. Allow it to load (up to 30 seconds). Then, click on the gear icon in the camera area, as shown here:

This will bring up the camera settings menu, which looks a little different than that of MavCam, but can be used in the same way. You can adjust all of the settings, such as focus strategy, exposure, ISO, shutter speed, etc.