Radar vs Camera Launch Monitors

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A launch monitor reads each shot you hit and shows how fast, how high and how far the ball would have flown. Radar units read the shot by following the ball after impact, and camera units read the shot by photographing the ball at impact.

Which kind fits you depends mostly on your room. A radar unit sits behind you, so your room needs depth behind the ball, and radar units start at lower prices. A camera unit sits beside the ball or on the ceiling and fits a room with limited depth.

A Garmin R10 radar launch monitor on its tripod beside a Foresight GC3 camera launch monitor, on turf under a lime shot trace

Which to pick

Pick radar if

  • your room has several feet of depth behind you as well as in front of the ball
  • you want one unit for the range and for home at the lowest price
  • left- and right-handed golfers share your setup

Pick a camera unit if

  • your room has limited depth behind the ball
  • you practice mostly indoors, into a net or screen
  • you want spin measured on indoor shots without buying special balls
  • you would rather mount the unit on the ceiling and keep the floor clear

How a radar launch monitor reads a shot

A radar launch monitor sits on the ground behind you, facing the target. One radar unit, the Garmin G82, a GPS handheld with a radar inside, stands next to the ball instead. Doppler radar sends out a microwave signal, the signal bounces off the club head and the ball, and the radar reads their speed from the change in the signal's frequency, the same effect that changes the pitch of a passing siren.

From the reflections over the first part of the ball's flight, the radar reads ball speed, the angle the ball climbs at (launch angle) and the direction the ball starts in. Spin is harder for radar. The radar reads spin from the ball's rotation, and the radar picks the rotation up over a long stretch of flight or from a metallic sticker on the ball that reflects the signal strongly. Indoors, the ball reaches the net after 6 ft 6 in to 14 ft, so the radar sees only the start of the flight.

The Garmin R10 shows how this works out. Outdoors, the R10 measures spin when its radar follows the ball for at least 20 meters (about 65 feet) and the ball leaves at 90 mph or faster. Indoors, the R10 measures spin only with Titleist RCT balls, which carry a metallic mark the radar reads, and calculates spin on every other shot.

On r/Golfsimulator and r/golf, 9 golfers who use radar units say they use RCT balls or metallic stickers to get spin indoors, and several find the balls costly; one says they wore out quickly.

How a camera launch monitor reads a shot

A camera launch monitor, also called photometric or optical, sits on the floor beside the ball, facing you, or on the ceiling above the hitting area. High-speed cameras take a burst of photos of the ball, and on many units the club head, in the few inches around impact.

From how far the ball moves between photos, the unit works out ball speed, launch angle and launch direction. From how the ball's dimples or printed marks turn between photos, the unit reads spin rate and spin axis, the tilt of the spin that curves the ball left or right. Club data comes the same way, from photos of the club head, and some camera units need small stickers on the club to read club data.

A few camera units read spin only from marked balls. The Square Golf Home Edition measures spin with the marked balls in its box and calculates spin with a regular ball, and the NVISAGE N1 needs NVISAGE marked balls.

The Square Golf Home Edition vs Square Golf Omni comparison covers what the Home Edition reads with its marked balls and what the Omni reads with a regular ball.

Launch monitors that use radar and cameras

Eight units in our list combine the two:

  • Radar for the ball, with a camera added: the FlightScope Mevo Gen 2, FlightScope Mevo+, FlightScope X3C, Rapsodo MLM2PRO and Trackman 4. The radar reads the ball's flight, and the camera adds alignment and, depending on the model, video and some of the club or spin data.
  • A camera for the ball and radar for the club: the SkyTrak ST MAX and SkyTrak+.
  • Radar and a high-speed camera together, mounted on the ceiling: the Trackman iO.

How much room each kind needs

A radar unit needs depth. The unit sits behind you, you swing in front of the unit, and the ball needs room to fly to the net so the radar can read the ball. A camera unit sits beside the ball or above it, so all of the room's depth goes to your swing and the ball's flight. What each placement needs:

  • Radar, on the floor behind the ball: 3 ft 6 in to 10 ft behind the ball, and 6 ft 6 in to 14 ft from the ball to the net. Where a maker gives both distances, the unit sits 11 ft 6 in to 18 ft from the net. The Garmin R10, for example, sits 6 to 8 feet behind the ball with at least 8 feet to the net, so at least 14 feet from the unit to the net, plus the depth of the net or screen frame.
  • Camera, on the floor beside the ball: no space behind you. The Garmin R50, for example, needs at least 8 feet from the ball to the net and a ceiling of 9 feet or more.
  • Camera, on the ceiling: a ceiling of at least 8 ft 3 in to 9 ft 6 in, depending on the model.

Where the unit sits also decides whether the unit has to move for a left-handed golfer. A radar unit behind the ball works for left- and right-handed golfers in the same spot. Most camera units on the floor sit on the golfer's side of the ball and move to the other side for a left-handed golfer, and ceiling units serve both.

On depth, 11 owners on r/Golfsimulator and r/golf describe the space behind and in front of the ball their radar unit needs, and several with a room of limited depth chose a camera unit beside the ball to save that depth.

If your room has limited depth, see Best Launch Monitors for a Garage or Room With Limited Depth for the units that fit it.

In a garage, the door, its opener and a parked car also take space, and the guide to setting up a golf simulator in your garage covers where the launch monitor sits and how much ceiling, depth and width a garage needs.

What each kind measures and what it calculates

Every launch monitor measures some numbers and calculates the rest from them. Indoors, all 56 launch monitors in our list calculate carry: none sees the ball land, so the software simulates the flight from ball speed, launch angle, launch direction and spin.

The software uses spin to work out how high the ball climbs, how far the ball carries and how much the ball curves, so when spin is calculated and the figure is off, the simulated ball lands in a different place. Spin is also where the two kinds differ most. Indoors with regular balls, 25 of the 28 camera units measure spin rate, and the 20 radar units split this way:

  • Calculated: the Blue Tees Rainmaker and Garmin R10 (the R10 measures spin with RCT balls)
  • Measured with metallic stickers or RCT balls: the FlightScope Mevo
  • Unconfirmed: 6 units whose makers haven't confirmed whether spin is measured or calculated indoors
  • Not supported: 11 units

Spin axis, the tilt that curves the ball, is measured by 25 camera units and by none of the radar units.

Club data follows the same split. Club path is the direction the club travels through impact: 21 of the 28 camera units measure club path, and 2 more with a subscription, against 1 radar unit.

How many units of each kind measure or calculate each number indoors, with regular balls unless a cell says otherwise
Radar (20)Camera (28)Radar and cameras (8)
Spin rate1 measured with metallic stickers, RCT balls or marked balls, 2 calculated, 6 unconfirmed, 11 not supported25 measured, 1 measured with metallic stickers, RCT balls or marked balls, 1 calculated, 1 unconfirmed3 measured, 4 measured with metallic stickers, RCT balls or marked balls, 1 not supported
Spin axis2 calculated, 2 unconfirmed, 16 not supported25 measured, 1 measured with metallic stickers, RCT balls or marked balls, 1 calculated, 1 unconfirmed3 measured, 3 measured with metallic stickers, RCT balls or marked balls, 1 calculated, 1 not supported
Club path1 measured, 1 calculated, 1 unconfirmed, 17 not supported21 measured, 2 subscription only, 2 unconfirmed, 3 not supported7 measured, 1 subscription only
Face angle1 calculated, 1 unconfirmed, 18 not supported11 measured, 3 calculated, 2 unconfirmed, 12 not supported7 measured, 1 not supported

Unconfirmed: the maker hasn't confirmed whether the unit measures or calculates this number indoors.

Using each kind outdoors

All 20 radar units are rated for outdoor use. Outdoors, the radar follows the ball for much of its flight, which is how the R10 can measure spin outdoors. Camera units depend on where they mount:

  • On the floor: 13 of the 17 floor camera units are rated for outdoor use, and the Bushnell Launch Pro Indoor, Square Golf Home Edition, Uneekor Eye Mini Core and Uneekor Eye Mini Lite are indoor units.
  • On the ceiling: 10 of the 11 ceiling units are indoor units, and the other, the Foresight Falcon, works outdoors under a full cover.
  • In sunlight: a camera unit outdoors still sees only the first few inches of flight and calculates the rest, the same as indoors, and 3 owners on r/Golfsimulator and r/golf report misreads in direct sunlight or a bright room.

What each kind costs

Prices for the units in our list run:

  • Radar: $180 to $4,999
  • Camera: $699 to $19,999
  • Radar and cameras: $700 to $25,995

Radar units start lowest, and the cheapest camera unit costs more than most radar units.

Our picks at the low end of these prices:

Some units also need a yearly membership for some numbers or for simulator software. Among owners on r/Golfsimulator and r/golf, 10 name the yearly memberships on Bushnell, Foresight and Uneekor camera units as a cost they would rather avoid.

For units that show their numbers with no membership, see Best Launch Monitors Without a Subscription.

What owners of each kind report

On r/Golfsimulator and r/golf, owners report:

  • Moving from radar to a camera unit: 12 owners who moved from a radar unit or a radar unit with a camera (most often a FlightScope Mevo+) to a camera unit beside the ball say the camera unit reads more reliably indoors, especially spin.
  • Chips and putts: 8 say camera units read chips and putts far better.
  • Shot shape on radar: 6 radar owners say the shot shape or club path on screen differed from how the ball curved.
  • Shot shape on a camera unit: one owner stopped using a Square Golf unit because it never showed shot shape, and recommends the Garmin R10.
  • Radar outdoors: 4 owners who use a radar unit outdoors find its carry numbers accurate and the unit easy to take to the range.

Which launch monitors use radar and which use cameras

Each linked name opens a comparison of that unit.

The 56 launch monitors in our list by technology and price
RadarCameraRadar and cameras
Up to $750Blue Tees Rainmaker, FlightScope Mevo (discontinued), Garmin G82, Garmin R10, GolfBuddy Shot Mate, Izzo Launch Master, Izzo Launch Master Lite, Izzo Launch Master Pro, Izzo Launch Mate, Izzo Launch Mate Mini, Izzo Launch Mate Tour, PRGR HS-130A, Rapsodo MLM, Shot Scope LM1, Stack Radar, Voice Caddie SC200 Plus, Voice Caddie SC300i, Voice Caddie SC4 (discontinued), Voice Caddie SC4 ProSquare Golf Home EditionRapsodo MLM2PRO
$750 to $2,000NoneBushnell Launch Pro Indoor, SkyTrak, Square Golf Omni, Uneekor Eye Mini CoreFlightScope Mevo Gen 2
$2,000 to $3,500NoneBushnell Launch Pro, GolfJoy GDS Pro, GolfJoy Spica 3, TruGolf LaunchBox, Uneekor Eye Mini LiteFlightScope Mevo+ (discontinued), SkyTrak ST MAX, SkyTrak+
Over $3,500Full Swing KITForesight Falcon, Foresight GC3, Foresight GC3S, Foresight GCQuad, Foresight QuadMAX, Garmin R50, GolfIn IDRA II, GolfJoy Rigel 2, GolfJoy Rigel 3, GolfJoy Rigel 3 Pro, NVISAGE N1, NVISAGE NEO-E, ProTee VX, TruGolf APOGEE, Uneekor Eye Mini, Uneekor Eye XO, Uneekor Eye XO2, Uneekor Eye XRFlightScope X3C, Trackman 4, Trackman iO

For our picks across all three kinds, see Best Golf Launch Monitors.

Comparisons of units of different kinds

These comparisons put units of different kinds side by side:

Questions

Are radar or camera launch monitors better for a golf simulator?
It depends on your room and where you practice. A camera unit fits a room with limited depth and measures spin indoors on most models, and a radar unit needs depth behind you and starts at a lower price.
What is a photometric launch monitor?
A photometric launch monitor, also called a camera or optical launch monitor, photographs the ball and often the club at impact with high-speed cameras and works out the shot from those photos.
Do radar launch monitors need special golf balls?
For spin indoors, some do. The FlightScope Mevo, and the radar units with a camera added (the FlightScope Mevo Gen 2, FlightScope Mevo+, FlightScope X3C and Trackman 4), need metallic stickers or Titleist RCT balls to measure spin indoors (the Trackman 4 uses RCT balls). The Garmin R10 measures spin indoors only with RCT balls. Outdoors, regular balls work on these units. The Rapsodo MLM2PRO shows spin only with Rapsodo's RPT balls and a Premium membership, indoors and outdoors.
Is the SkyTrak+ radar or camera?
The SkyTrak+ uses both: a high-speed camera reads the ball and radar reads the club, from beside the ball.
What is the cheapest camera launch monitor?
Of the 28 camera units in our list, the Square Golf Home Edition costs the least, in the US and in Canada.