Cameras
For in flight recording we used GoPro Hero 2's. They are known for good reliability in extreme conditions. They also have a wide angle view. The view is though narrower the higher resolution you use. To receive HD video (1920x1080) the highest resolution is needed and narrowest view. We wanted the best video possible so all cameras recorded HD video. GoPro's are expensive cameras and withstand very high impact. We viewed several videos on YouTube that confirm that.
The cameras where in original GoPro cases, that case has a basic fastener. These fasteners are used to hold the
cameras on the boom. 2 of these cameras face the spaceship, one on top and the other on side. The third one faces the balloon.
Videos were taken for CCP and for educational purposes. In flight 2 was the camera that hits the ground first in Styrofoam box.
In 3 flight all the cameras will be in Styrofoam. The Styrofoam isolates the camera from the cold and that was shown in flight 2
the camera in the box lived all flight and more. The other cameras were not isolated and lived lot shorter time or 1h and 45 min.
That time was to short to recording the whole flight. Though only 5 minits more would have done the job in flight 2.
Smart phone
For the live stream from the balloon we utilized the Samsung Galaxy Note's rear camera. The bottom most insert in the electronics container was milled so that the phone would be held level and steady, the material was removed from the container itself for the camera eye. For the first flight we used an app called IPwebcam. For the second and third flight we used another app called Cloud Cam. The IPwebcam program performed adequately in terms of the video feed, however if the phone lost it's 3G connection for even a short time, the stream didn't restart. Because of this we switched over to Cloud Cam. Extensive testing was performed on the phone with this app running and the stream was always restarted when the 3G connection was reestablished.