[RickDeckard]

If I want to record everything that happens, I see a few ways of doing that, I just don't know how these systems play together.

If I have a Cyberdeck with Commlink and Micro Camera and I have Image Link and Smartlink implanted in my eyes, can I operate the Micro Camera via my Smartlink or Image Link to record what I see? Or does it only work the other way around, i.e. I can see in my Image Link what my Commlink records (which is a handheld device and therefore not efficient for constant recording purposes).

I imagine that tech at this level play together in perfect harmony and record/playback works in both directions.

There's of course also a camera in the gun Smartlink, but that requires me to aim at everything I want to record, and some people take offense to that.

I don't know if I am missing it, but I don't see a Camera option for Contacts or as a Cyber Implant in my natural eyes? I'm trying not to rip out my eyes and replace them with a full Cybereye suite.

[Ajax]

If I want to record everything that happens, I see a few ways of doing that, I just don't know how these systems play together.

If I have a Cyberdeck with Commlink and Micro Camera and I have Image Link and Smartlink implanted in my eyes, can I operate the Micro Camera via my Smartlink or Image Link to record what I see? Or does it only work the other way around, i.e. I can see in my Image Link what my Commlink records (which is a handheld device and therefore not efficient for constant recording purposes).

I imagine that tech at this level play together in perfect harmony and record/playback works in both directions.

There's of course also a camera in the gun Smartlink, but that requires me to aim at everything I want to record, and some people take offense to that.

I don't know if I am missing it, but I don't see a Camera option for Contacts or as a Cyber Implant in my natural eyes? I'm trying not to rip out my eyes and replace them with a full Cybereye suite.

The Image Link is playback only, it doesn't transmit or record anything. The Micro-Camera and Smartgun (via it's gun cam) will both record and transmit, although it will only record unless connected to some other device that can transmit. It's never explicitly stated (as far as I can tell) but I've kind of always assumed that all commlinks have a camera built in as well, just because of their general nature being basically "the smartphone in your pocket only better." But with the general caveat that although it has a camera, it ain't a very good one.

So, you'll need to have a Micro-Camera to record, an Image Link so you can see it, and hook them both up to your Commlink as part of your PAN.

As for how to get a camera, the basic cybereyes system features an image link and a built-in camera at no extra cost (Core, p. 453), plus whatever other vision enhancements or other gadgets you shove in their Capacity. 

As for non-cyberware Vision Devices (such as Contacts or Goggles), they don't come with anything built in for free (not even Image Link) but they also have a Capacity that allows you to add vision enhancements (Core, p. 443). If you dig into the Sensors/Sensor Housings rules, you'll find that "Sensors can be put into devices that have capacity." (p. 445), a Single Sensor takes up [1] Capacity slot and "can do only one function listed under Sensor Functions," and on said Sensor Functions' table you'll find Camera (p. 446). TL;DR: Adding a Camera to a Vision Device costs [1] Capacity.

I pretty much won't let my `runner leave home without Contacts or Cybereyes that have (at a minimum) a Camera, Image Link, and Low-Light Vision. Earbuds with Audio Link and a Subvocal Mic are also "must haves."

[RickDeckard]

I found how to add them to Contacts, which for some reason didn't register. Thanks tho!

[Tecumseh]

Commlinks come with "built in high-resolution digital video and still image cameras" (p. 438, SR5).

I think the quality would be perfectly fine, although one could argue that the quality would diminish in low-light situations. The catch would be that you either have to hold the commlink in your hands or you have to awkwardly attach it to your armor or clothing.

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Gear/Augmentation such as commlinks, image links, and etc are perfectly serviceable.  As are sensor tags!

No Future goes into some fluff (not much crunch) on professional media grade cameras.  They're overkill for most shadows purposes.

[Ajax]

Commlinks come with "built in high-resolution digital video and still image cameras" (p. 438, SR5).

I think the quality would be perfectly fine, although one could argue that the quality would diminish in low-light situations. The catch would be that you either have to hold the commlink in your hands or you have to awkwardly attach it to your armor or clothing.

The quality wasn’t what I questioned, so much as the usefulness in the sort of situations ‘runners get into. I could stick my iPhone on a piccatinny rail on my shotgun, but it would definitely not work as well as a GoPro during a lengthy three-gun match... to say nothing of a real firefight.

If I were GMing and my players tried to use their commlink cameras  in such a rough manner, I’d probably take gleeful pleasure in making any Glitches they got in that combat scene do bad things to their ‘links.

[Tarislar]

Micro-Camera (Lapel Pin) w/ Lowlight or Magnification is a SOP.

[RickDeckard]

Yeah, I was trying to find a way around the commlink on a selfie stick that doesn’t involve cybereyes. If an image link or Smartlink implant in my eyes could also function as a camera when PAN’ed to my cyberdeck. But I guess contacts with sensor and micro cam is the best option.

[DigitalZombie]

You could also use a simrig, recording all your senses- incl. meat eyes and cyberears, and tactile stuff  etc.

[Ajax]

Yeah, I was trying to find a way around the commlink on a selfie stick that doesn’t involve cybereyes. If an image link or Smartlink implant in my eyes could also function as a camera when PAN’ed to my cyberdeck. But I guess contacts with sensor and micro cam is the best option.

So you do have cybereyes? They’ve got a “free” camera and image link by default.

[Ghost Rigger]

No Future goes into some fluff (not much crunch) on professional media grade cameras.  They're overkill for most shadows purposes.

Especially considering they only offer high limits and no bonus dice. High limits are nice and all, but seriously, who gets 12 hits on a Perception check?

[Ajax]

No Future goes into some fluff (not much crunch) on professional media grade cameras.  They're overkill for most shadows purposes.

Especially considering they only offer high limits and no bonus dice. High limits are nice and all, but seriously, who gets 12 hits on a Perception check?

The rules for Teamwork Tests combined with a team of professionals can easily get you to a total of 12+ hits. I’m guessing that a war correspondent embedded with Picador’s mercenary company isn’t getting these kinds of numbers, but the newscrew filming an on location segment to air later on the 10 o’clock news has time to do it.

Select a Primary character John Q. Workingstiff, the Cameraman (the one with the highest skill (6 Pool 12) and select his coworkers (Abby McCutie, reporter; Bob O’Bluecollar, soundguy; and Coffey Gopher, research intern: Pool 6)

Task: Film a news segment about a shoot-out in a Downtown Seattle office building where two heroic officers of Knight Errant gave their life to defend the people against some Neo-Anarchist Terrorists! (Who totally were not “Shadowrunners” because that sort of thing is just fictional crud invented for the trideo.)

Abbey, Bob, and Coffey roll their Skill. Each hit from A B and C adds 1 Dice to Joe’s pool with a maximum bonus up to Joe’s skill (6) A B and C roll...

5,6,6,1,5,6 Miss: 1 | Hit: 5

6,2,1,6,2,4 Miss: 1 | Hit: 2

4,5,3,2,5,4 Miss: 0 | Hit: 2

So A B and C got 9 hits but Joe can only use 6 ( his skill) Joe rolls Attribut 6 + 6 skill + 6 Teamwork +/- any Modifiers the GM deems appropriate (weather, lighting, and so on). Assuming the modifiers are zero (and why wouldn’t they be?) Joe rolls 18 dice...

1,6,5,1,3,4,3,2,1,3,6,3,5,3,5,5,6,4 Miss: 3 | Hit: 7

So that’s seven successes, which should be more than enough to keep the eyes of Seattle’s wageslaves glued to the trideo while Abbey describes in lurid detail the “terrorist” attack and keep them watching during the commercials for NERPs, Stuffer Shack, and Ares’ new and improved home security system.

[Ghost Rigger]

So that’s seven successes, which should be more than enough to keep the eyes of Seattle’s wageslaves glued to the trideo while Abbey describes in lurid detail the “terrorist” attack and keep them watching during the commercials for NERPs, Stuffer Shack, and Ares’ new and improved home security system.

That's only half of what a R12 Internal Smartcam is capable of, and only one better than what an R6 handheld camera could do. Also, it's missing the point I'm getting at. Increasing limits is nice and all, but it has a nasty case of diminishing returns and is completely useless after a certain threshold. Having more dice, on the other hand, is always useful and it even mitigates some of the diminishing returns of higher limits. Not giving that piece of equipment bonus dice was a mistake on every level; you can say "oh it's a piece of NPC gear, it doesn't have to be useful to shadowrunners", but the fact that it offers limits that no one can reliably roll while offering no bonus dice makes it useless to NPCs too. Who is this product for?

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

Higher limits is never useless.

You might reasonably argue that it's less useful than bonus dice, but a bonus to the limit is not useless.

The book also gives examples of increasing performance dice pools by practicing for a gig.  There's no reason a GM couldn't apply similar logic for when the filmmaking IS the performance. 

Or inventing any kind of circumstance that gives a dice pool bonus, really.

[Ghost Rigger]

A limit of 14, though? I invite you to find anyone with 14 dice in perception, let alone anyone who could reliably achieve 14 hits on a perception test with teamwork and situational modifiers.