How to use the BETAFPV SMO 4K Camera - 4K video camera for FPV drones weighing 30 grams

BETAFPV SMO 4K Camera is a 4K video camera for FPV drones that weighs only 30g and was developed in collaboration with Insta360. It is a manufacturer's genuine naked camera equipped with the Insta360 ONE R logic board and lens.

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What is BETAFPV SMO 4K Camera?

BETAFPV SMO 4K Camera is a compact and lightweight 4K video camera for FPV drones and radio controlled aircraft that was developed and released by BETAFPV in Shenzhen, China in collaboration with Insta360 in December 2020. It is a manufacturer's genuine naked camera equipped with Insta360 ONE R logic board and lens. It weighs only 30g and has a focal length of 16.4mm (35mm equivalent). Despite its small palm size, you can use Insta360's image stabilization technology "FlowState" to minimize blurring.
In 2022, an improved version of SMO 4K Camera SE was released. The basic function remains the same, but the lens case has been changed to metal, so the weight has increased by 5g to 35g.
Note: Do not upgrade your SMO 4K camera with Insta360 ONE R firmware (v1.3.8). It's not compatible.

BETAFPV SMO 4K Camera official site

Introduction to FPV drone for beginner / How to fly Racing drone

Introducing BETAFPV SMO 4K Camera

This photo shows packing box and set of items included in the package. From the top left, a message card with the support URL, user's manual (English / Chinese) , and a packing box. From the middle left, replacement back cover, SMO 4K camera, UV filter, ND filter (ND16), wiring cable and screws. At the bottom is a T5 Torx screwdriver.
Back cover of the camera is fixed with T5 Torx screws.

BETAFPV SMO 4K Camera official site (BETAFPV)

BETAFPV SMO 4K Camera manual (BETAFPV)

There are two types of back covers, one with and without a fixing mount. Replace the back cover according to how it is mounted on your drone.

Seen from the back, there is a record (Rec.) Button and a power button on the upper right. White wiring connector is visible in the center of the right end, and gray circle above it is the status lamp (LED indicator).

There is a microSD card slot on the back of the wiring connector. Insert microSD card with the label side facing the lens and the terminal side facing the back.
(Image quoted from BETAFPV official site)

MicroSD card for SMO 4K Camera

BETAFPV SMO 4K Camera manual (BETAFPV)

The wiring is VBat + (red), GND (black), remote recording (yellow), remote power supply (blue) from the bottom. You can use the camera as long as you connect at least Vbat + and GND. The corresponding power supply voltage is 6V to 27V. Can be connected directly to 2S ~ 6S batteries.
(Image quoted from BETAFPV official site)

BETAFPV SMO 4K Camera manual (BETAFPV)

This photo shows the back cover opened. SMO 4K Camera is a customized version of Insta360 ONE R and uses the same master PCBA board as ONE R.

This photo shows the camera mounted on Firefly Baby Quad , an FPV drone . The drone comes with a power cable for SMO 4K Camera, and a dedicated camera mount as an optional part. You can easily make a 4K aerial video drone with a takeoff weight of less than 100g.

Firefly Baby Quad and BETAFPV SMO 4K - 4K aerial video FPV drone less than 100g

Use SMO 4K camera as a normal action camera

SMO 4K camera was developed specifically for FPV drones, but it would be a shame to use it just for that purpose, so I thought about how to use it as a normal action camera.

The wiring connector is 4-pin JST-SH1.0. You can purchase it on Amazon . However, color of the cable is different from the genuine product, so you need to be careful when wiring.
If you connect SMO 4K camera directly to battery, you can use it as an ultra-lightweight Insta360 ONE R 4K action camera by itself. In case of configuration shown in the photo (2S-350mAh battery + XT30 connector), it weighs about 55g. It is 66g lighter than original Insta360 ONE R.

Buy Micro SH 1.0 4-pin JST connector (Amazon.com)

I put the battery and SMO 4K camera together in Insta360 ONE R waterproof case . Total weight of this configuration is 132g.
However, since the main board becomes hot during operation, it is necessary to cool it by making holes in order to use it for a long time. If it is not cooled, a high temperature warning will appear and the operation will stop after recording for about 6 minutes.
Once I punched holes in the case, the camera was able to use as a bike camera. However, when I used it while wearing it on my body, it did not cool sufficiently at walking speed and stopped with a high temperature warning. In this case, an additional cooling fan is required.

Buy Insta360 ONE R waterproof case (Amazon.com)

This is the view from the back. Since the switch of the waterproof case cannot be used, it will be controlled remotely from the smartphone. With a 2S-350mAh battery, you can shoot continuous videos for about 50 minutes.
Note:If you continue recording until the battery is empty, you will end up with unplayable files. Be sure to stop recording before the battery runs out.

MicroSD card for SMO 4K Camera

Maximum bit rate of SMO 4K Camera is about 100Mbps. To record 4K 60fps video, you need a microSD card with UHS Class 3 (U3), Video Class 30 (V30), UHS-I or higher performance. Prepare a microSD card with (U3) logo. Format SD card in exFAT format and use it.
Please note that some models of the same series of microSD cards do not support U3 depending on the capacity.
Shooting for 4 minutes at a bit rate of 100 Mbps consumes 24 GB. To store 4K resolution video for 10 flights (about 40 minutes), you need about 240GB of capacity. The maximum capacity supported by SMO 4K Camera is 1TB.

Buy 128GB U3-compatible microSD card(Amazon.com)

Buy 128GB U3-compatible microSD card(Amazon.co.uk)

How to record video

Turn on the camera

After connecting the camera (drone) to battery, long press power button on the camera. The camera will then power on. A chime will sound and the camera LED will flash blue. After a while, you will hear a "pico" sound and the LED will light blue. If the LED does not stop flashing blue, an SD card error has occurred. Check if the SD card is inserted correctly.

Start / end of recording

Press Record (Rec.) Button to start recording. A chime sounds and LED flashes red.
If you press Record (Rec.) Button during recording, recording will stop. A chime sounds and LED lights blue or red.
If you press and hold the power button while recording is stopped, the camera will stop. A chime sounds and LED turns off.
Note: If you remove battery during recording or continue recording until battery is empty, you will end up with unplayable files. Be sure to press record button to stop recording before turning off the power or removing the battery.

Remote control

You can start and stop recording, and set shooting mode remotely using Insta360 app installed on your smartphone. For details, see Connect with Insta360 app, Set shooting mode, Remote control .

Apply image stabilization technology "FlowState"

Video file saved on the SD card of SMO 4K camera is a video in the "plain" state to which FlowState is not applied. To apply FlowState to this, enable FlowState for the target video in Insta360 app or Insta360 STUDIO, and then perform the export operation. FlowState is enabled by default. All you have to do is export operation.

Export from Insta360 app to your smartphone

How to use Insta360 STUDIO

LED Indicator

State of the LED	Camera status
Blue light flashing	SD card error
Blue light normally on	The power is on and the SD card is normal
Red Light Flashing	Recording
Red Light on	Stand by for recording, battery low / temperature high
Green light flashing fast	battery empty

Add location information (geotagging) to videos and photos

SMO 4K Camera does not have GPS, and photos taken remotely from an iPhone will not have location information attached. However, you can manually add location information later.
When using SMO 4K Camera, at the same time, start the GPS logger app on your iPhone and record the location information. Then, on the computer, write the recorded location information to the photos taken with SMO 4K Camera, relying on the shooting date and time information. Since the location information of the iPhone is recorded, it is not exactly the shooting position with the drone, but it is enough to look back on the memories later with Google Photos etc.
Geotag Photos Pro App is recommended for GPS logger function and location information writing.
For more information, please see each link below.

How to use Geotag Photos Pro / GPS Logger / Automatically record location info and write it to digital camera photos

How to use ExifTool Add/edit/delete video/photo location information and shooting date

Install the Insta360 app

SMO 4K Camera is developed using Insta360 ONE R logic board. You can control it with Insta360 app. Install Insta360 app on your smartphone.

• Insta360

  

  Shenzhen Arashi Vision Co., Ltd. Photo / video free

  Insta360 cameras give creators, athletes and adventurers tools to create like they’ve never created. Whether you're upping your shooting game with an Insta360 ONE R or ONE X, the Insta360 App is a creative powerhouse in your pocket that acts as your camera’s sidekick. Editing on your phone has never been easier.

  view details (App Store)

Connect with Insta360 app, Set shooting mode, Remote control

Connect with Insta360 app
Enable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on your iPod / iPad / iPhone. Then connect battery to SMO 4K Camera (drone) and press the power button on the camera. Then a chime sounds and LED of the camera glows blue.
When you open (Settings)-(Wi-Fi) screen, an access point with a name starting with "ONE R" will appear. This is the SMO 4K Camera. Tap this name.

Then you will be asked for your password. Enter "88888888" and tap "join".

If you see a screen like this, the connection is successful.

Initial settings for Insta360 app
Open (Insta360) app. Tap "I have".

Then you will see a screen like this. This is the screen for requesting various permissions. Allow everything but "notifications" to control the camera. Set "Notification" to your liking. Then tap "Enter app".
You can get help by tapping book icon displayed on the edge of the screen.

Then, "A new device was found" is displayed like this. Tap the name of the camera.

Then Insta360 app and SMO 4K Camera will be connected. A confirmation screen like this is displayed on the way. Tap "Connect".

Once connected, the (camera) icon will change to (camera) . Tap (Album) icon then a list of thumbnails of videos and photos taken with the SMO 4K Camera (saved on the SD card) is displayed.
By tapping the place where "Camera" is written on the upper left of the screen, you can switch the display target to "All", "Downloaded (within the iPhone's Insta360 application)", and "Camera (within the microSD card)".
You can play videos by tapping the thumbnail.
Tap yellow (camera) icon at the bottom center of the screen to control and configure the camera.

Set shooting mode, Remote control
Tap (Camera) icon to see this screen. Remaining capacity of the microSD card and battery of the camera are displayed on the upper left of the screen. In the center, the image seen from SMO 4K Camera is displayed.
Tap red record button to start recording.
You can switch between shooting modes by flicking the menu at the bottom of the screen left or right, or by tapping (Menu) icon.
By tapping icons lined up at the top of the screen, you can specify the resolution, file format, etc. for the selected shooting mode.

Disconnect camera from Insta360 app
Tap (other) icon in the upper right corner of the screen to get a screen like this. Then tap (disconnect) icon on the top left of the screen.

Then the screen will look like this. Tap "Disconnect" to disconnect the Insta360 app and camera.

Manage videos and photos taken

Videos and photos stored in the camera's microSD card can be processed on the app or downloaded to smartphone.
On the (Album) screen, if you tap (Check) icon on the top right ...

The screen will look like this. When you tap thumbnail, it will be selected with a yellow check mark in its upper right corner. And at the bottom of the screen, the following icons are lined up.
Tap (trash) to delete the selected videos/photos from the microSD card.
Tap (Download) to download the selected videos/photos from microSD card to Insta360 app. Downloaded videos and photos can be played back and processed only with Insta360 app even if the power of the camera is turned off.
Tap (Favorites) to classify the selected videos/photos as "Favorites".
Tap (Export) to export the selected videos/photos to an album called "Insta360" in the (Photos) app on your iPhone. Output with effects such as "FlowState image stabilization" applied.

When you tap (Export) , the screen looks like this. Tap "Custom" to adjust the output parameters. Tap "Output" to start exporting. For details on how to export, please refer to Export from Insta360 app to your smartphone .

Export from Insta360 app to your smartphone

In the (Album) screen, tap the video / photo thumbnail to start playback. If you tap the screen again, you will see a screen like this. By tapping the icons below, you can crop, change the angle of view, adjust the image quality, add various effects, add background music, and cut out (snapshot) photos from the video.

Tap (Other) icon at the top right of the screen to display this screen. You can see information on videos and photos. However, since the SMO 4K Camera does not have a built-in calendar (battery), the shooting date and time will always be fixed (Date and time of last connection with smartphone). If you connect to a smartphone and start recording from the smartphone, it seems that the correct shooting date and time will be set.
You can turn ON/OFF "FlowState image stabilization" on this screen. This is ON by default.

Tap (Export) button at the top right of the screen to display this screen. Tap "Custom" to select resolution, frame rate, bit rate, and grain removal. Tap "Output" button at the bottom to start exporting to your smartphone from Insta360 app.

When the screen looks like this, the export is complete. An album called "Insta360" will be created in (Photos) app, and videos and photos will be exported to it.

Remove watermark logo from video

When exporting from Insta360 app to a smartphone, a watermark logo "SHOT ON Insta360 ONE R" is burned into the bottom right of the image by default. To turn it off, open the Insta360 app's Settings screen and set the "Insta360 logo" to (OFF).

How to use Insta360 STUDIO

Software called "Insta360 STUDIO" that allows you to edit videos and photos of Insta360 series cameras on a Windows / Mac computer has been released. You can download the free app "Insta360 STUDIO" from Insta360 Applications page

After installing Insta360 STUDIO, click icon to launch it. Then you will see a screen like this. Connect a microSD card containing videos and photos taken with SMO 4K camera to your computer.

Then, dialog box like this will bring up.
Click "Import All" to load all videos / photos on the microSD card into Insta360 STUDIO.
Click "Select File" to open microSD card in Explorer. Select the file you want to load and drag and drop it to Insta360 STUDIO.
In addition, "Import" here means simply loading the "file list" of the microSD card into Insta360 STUDIO. Videos and photos themselves are not copied to your computer.

When loading is complete, you will see a screen like this. On the left side of the screen, a list of thumbnails of videos and photos on the microSD card is displayed. Currently selected video / photo is displayed on the right side of the screen, and you can play it back and perform various processing / trimming.
Operation is easy. Double-click the video / photo you want to edit from the thumbnail on the left side of the screen. Then you can process it by clicking each icon on the right screen. Hover your mouse cursor over each icon on the screen to see a description of the function.
After editing, click (Start Export) icon at the bottom right of the screen.

Then you can see a dialog box like this. You can specify the output file name, folder you want to store, bit rate, resolution, frame rate, format, etc. Click "Export" at the bottom right of the screen to store the edited video in the specified folder on your computer.

SMO 4K Camera specifications

BETAFPV SMO 4K Camera

item	description
Weight	30g (91g lighter than Insta360 ONE R)
Size	61.5mm×39.4mm×29.2mm (Horizontal and vertical about 1cm, thickness is about 3mm smaller than Insta360 ONE R)
Power supply range	6V-27V (2S-6S Li-Po battery)
Lens aperture	F2.8
35mm equivalent focal length	16.4mm
Video resolution	4000x3000@24/25/30fps, 3840x2160@24/25/30/60fps, 2720x1530@24/25/30/60/100fps, 1920x1080@24/25/30/60/120/200fps
Video format	Insv (export through APP or Studio), Mp4 *1
Video code	H.264 / H.265
Video mode	Normal video, HDR video, Time-lapse photography, TimeShift mobile time-delay video Pro stabilization mode (Use Insta360 App/Studio or supported plug-in export to implement FlowState Stabilization)
Video maximum bit rate	100Mbps
Bluetooth	BLE4.0
Wi-Fi	5G (standard range approx. 2 m)
Micro SD card	UHS-I V30 speed level and above recommended, exFAT (FAT64) format (maximum storage capacity is 1T)
Operating environment	-20° C ~ 40° C

With 1.2.16 firmware and later firmware versions, videos are saved in MP4 format instead of INSV format. MP4 format files with "PRO_" prefix in the file name can be read into Insta360 app or "Insta360 STUDIO", and the aspect ratio can be adjusted and FlowState image stabilization can be performed.

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