Skytrak now compatible with swing catalyst

[AndyF]

https://www.skytrakgolf.com/swing-catalyst

All very interesting. Now you can film yourself with high speed cameras and have it integrated with your Skytrak ball flight data.

Is this the next step towards club tracking?

Andy

[Dan Kuratko]

25% off for the first 50 buyers. Curious what the difference in fidelity is between the two cameras (i.e. if the higher end models is worth paying $500 more).

[MJH]

Why not available in Canada?

[Stian]

25% off for the first 50 buyers. Curious what the difference in fidelity is between the two cameras (i.e. if the higher end models is worth paying $500 more).

The main difference is the technology.

The PRO variant comes with a USB 3.0 Machine Vision camera, with a 1280x1024 resolution sensor and 149 FPS. Whereas the Starter variant comes with a USB 2.0 web camera with a resolution of 1280x720 at 120 FPS. The cheaper camera has some image compression, automatic sharpening etc (things you usually will find in a web camera).
The cheaper camera requires slightly more distance from the camera to the golfer as it has a slightly smaller sensor (1/4") vs the PRO variant's 1/2" sensor.

Ultimately it depends on what kind of setup you're looking for. The more expensive option has stricter hardware requirements and cable length limitations but has a superior image compared to the cheaper one. If you just want something easy to use that is plug and play the starter variant is definitely easier in that regard.

25% off for the first 50 buyers. Curious what the difference in fidelity is between the two cameras (i.e. if the higher end models is worth paying $500 more).

At the moment this promotional deal is not available in the UK and Canada.

Source: I'm the Head of Support for Swing Catalyst.

[Morini]

I am being a nitpicker, but 1/2" is 400 percent larger sensor than 1/4", which all else the same should result in significantly lower illumination requirement.

[Stian]

You are correct, the sensor size does make a difference.

What makes a camera good in low lighting conditions has a lot of factors, such as the sensor type, pixel size, how well the sensor handles gain, and so on. To be clear, the sizes you are referring to is technically the sensor format, not the actual sensor size or the sensors active area.

[FaultyClubs]

Bottomline, the Chameleon is a much better camera than the Kayeton. Both are widely used on this site for swing recording.

[Sting Ray]

Is there an option to just purchase the software?

[Stian]

Is there an option to just purchase the software?

Currently the sales bundles include a camera (both the starter & pro kits).
Nevertheless you need a camera of some sort to use Swing Catalyst (an iPhone or Android phone will not work in this case).
If you were to purchase the software alone, it'd be the along the same price as the starter kit.

Considering it's 25% off for the first 50 sales, it's really a bargain!

[bbutler]

Are there any videos to show how this all works

[Stian]

Are there any videos to show how this all works

Yes there is, here's the promo video:

[Real_Gosthe]

what model are those cameras they are selling on starter and pro kits ?

[GungHoGolf]

what model are those cameras they are selling on starter and pro kits ?

The cheaper one is here: https://shop.swingcatalyst.com/products/dragon-usb

The better one is here: https://shop.swingcatalyst.com/products/chameleon-usb3

I’m currently testing both. The Chameleon3 is dramatically better in my indoor studio. You can manually adjust its shutter speed - I’ve got mine set at 1/2000th sec and the club and ball are razor sharp through impact. The Dragon doesn’t have shutter speed adjustment that I can find, and the club is a blur pretty much whenever in motion.

Note that if you plan to use them indoors, you’ll need a LOT of light. I’m using 4 Neewer 660 LED panels (about $70 ea on Amazon). I’d consider that a minimum if you want blur-free videos.

Both cameras have global shutters, so you won’t get the weird curved club shaft artifacts you see when using a rolling shutter camera like an iPhone.

I’ll be writing up a full review in the near future.

- Ron

[Jaeme Adams]

I have mine set up now and I really like the integration. Just an FYI from swingcatalyst that I thought was cool

"Hi Jaeme, we are offering skytrak customers a 2 camera license free of charge"