Aerial Photography

[Wowbagger]

Something I keep meaning to have another go at. Stumbled across this sole surviving pic' the other day when looking for something else. I'm the one in the orange jacket, by the way. Equipment was very basic indeed! A Kodak pocket 110 camera lashed onto the wing of a Liecester Model Centre Microlight (25 powered) with rubber bands and a servo arm reshaped into a snail cam to operate the shutter. This was early eighties I think. Things have come a long, long way since then. Anyone got anything better to show us? And any tips and hints for better results?

Edit: Just added a better pic of the microlight in an earlier incarnation.

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[adzam]

very cool mate :welldone:

 

[duncan]

:welldone: Wow...you`ve just spotted my email address !

 

[wonwinglo]

Had a try myself some years ago,lashed an automatic wind on camera underneath a Pipster,at the front was a deflector shield to keep the oil off the lens,climbed quite high for the initial attempts and shot the canal system doing overlaps as they did in wartime,the results were very good considering that it was just a quick experiment,I made a balsa box for the camera fitting a cam on the servo which stroked the shutter.

A few years later I had a couple of requests to take some pictures for cash,one was a car boot fair,the owner needed some pics but did not want to go for the expense of hiring an helicopter,the field next to the said event was quite tight,I tucked myself in the corner and opened her up just clearing the wire fence at the end and then felt very uneasy flying over a lot of people albeit at altitude,oddly enough not many realised what was happening,I throttled back and took a string of pics,anyway he was delighted with them.

The next venture was for an amateur film company who wanted shots of a mini fixed with deer horns ( ?) on the bonnet,they provided me with a very expensive digital cine camera,made a frame for it on the side of the fuselage and after permission to use the local race course the Mini sped around the perimeter,I had to keep the model low and at the speed of the mini,it was the most difficult flying that I had ever done as just could not get the speed right,after about 8 takes we managed to get some film in the can,so if you see a fim called 'The Westener' the aerial footage is mine !

One model that I designed specially for aerial work was called the Overlander,a 100 inch camera ship with either forward or downward camera attachment,she has yet to be built but one day I will get around to it.

One answer is to have combined IC and electric power,shut down the IC in flight and fly on the electric with no vibration,plenty of room for experimentation here. :terrific:

 

[Wowbagger]

Yes, glow and electric is one answer to the vibration problem. Get altitude with the glow engines and then shut them down and fly on electric. Pix attached show a club friends Precedent T240 with two O.S. 32's and a Speed 700 electric motor in the nose. The camera is in the cockpit. Apparantly he wasn't satisfied with this as his next camera ship was a lifting bodied pusher with camera in the "nose" of the wing/fuselage. This too he considered a failiure as his next project - as are so many involved in aerial photography - is a large scale glider. I know this cos he's told me I've got to tow the damn thing up! :rolleyes:

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[Wowbagger]

Duncan - ???

 

[wonwinglo]

Camera Ships.

Hey Wowbagger you know how much I like Tri Motors ! that is some ship,funny thing is you would think that pointing the camera downwards would be ideal,but it is not,you just get rather bland scapes of the ground,much better to point it forward and slightly downwards so you get the horizon plus the ground,takes a bit of fiddling to get right.

Pusher sounds good,clean airflow plus slime out of the way of the camera.

RCM & E have featured some brilliant aerial camera work over the years.

So more power to your shutters who ever would like to have a go,it is a real challenge and you get a real kick seeing the results after the photography session. :welldone:

 

[Wowbagger]

Yep, those that I did which were successfull were with the camera pointing down the wing. You can "target" things pretty easily by turning until the wing is pointing at the target, then "SNAP". Job done. Also it's nice to see the wing of the aircraft in the shot.

Also tried some air to air with mixed results. It's really nice to have a photo of your model in the air from an airborne perspective. Unfortunately those seem to have vanished as well! Maybe I'll have a go again this summer. My Limbo dancer would be a good candidate for it with the camera mounted above the wing perhaps. Hmmmm...

 

[Wowbagger]

This thread is turning into a bit of a Moderators benefit, isn't it? )

 

[wonwinglo]

Come on lads and lasses dont be shy,let us see some of your models even if they are not finished,we want to see them here,just think if say we have 100 members and perhaps half contribute a picture,that is 50 models right ? then if you pass comment on the models that is another 50 + messages,it all keeps the ball rolling,you are going to get fed up listening to us two soon ! go and dig those pictures out,brilliant.

 

[adzam]

has anyone tried these wireless cameras` which are so readilly available and cheap. i have seen pics of them fitted to model boats and cars, but yet to hear of one being fitted to a rc plane

 

[Wowbagger]

Yes, Adzam, they do. Live video feeds, everything. They even fly the plane from a tv screen from a camera mounted in the cockpit. Pilot eye view. Expensive game though supposedly. Wish I could have a go at it! :shucks:

 

[adzam]

there are "cheap" wireless cameras that run of 9v available on ebay for around £45-£50 , they include the camera,battery lead, reciever and leads to connect , all you need is a tv or vcr

there are 12v tv`s for camping , s`pose that would work

 

[duncan]

Duncan - ???

Wow.. would break Forum rules my email is flyingcameras@hotmail but simlicity is the answer when it come to the aircraft. Powered glider, large,8 or 9ft ,under12lbs, smoothest 2st possible, ( 50 OS heli )hand launch,belly land (seldom suitable landing site,) . Go to highest altitude , run off whole film per flight while on the glide. Customers, archeolosist,planning authorities,roads etc, pollution, watercourses, agriculture,crop damage,wild life(counting deer,migratory birds,geese) avoid neighbors house picture for the wall stuff. CAA regs pretty stiff re commercial use of RPVs. Model club insurance wont do. Downlink live mini TVs for sighting are cheap (about £200 complete). Remember it is the photographic quality that counts not your flying ability or sophisticated aircraft. Look on it as a high mobile tripod. 35mm cameras are adequate for most but 6cmX6cm better but pricey. The digital revolution will be the next major change. Oh ..and you wont make any money out of it. Expect to sell less than 5% of shots taken. It is interesting though. Since we were on a historical note on another page, cameras were first taken aloft about 5 or 6 years after they were a practical proposition in balloons ,long before aeroplanes . The dark-room had go up too, to senitize and the develope the wet plates. Have fun, its a bit easier now .

 

[Wowbagger]

Dunc', more useful info in your post than I've seen on the subject for years! But how about isolating the camera from vibration? What do the commercial guys use? Or is it not worth the effort - just shoot on the glide? I'd hoped for lower level shots and maybe some air to air if I could get over the camera shake, which was the big problem last time. Electric would seem to be most of the solution, wouldn't it? When those Li-Po' batteries come down a bit more in price I may have another crack at it.

I've seen isolastic mounting devices for cameras here and there but doubt they work very well. I can't see how they can work without being tailored to the specific installation - too many variables.

Suppose it'll be the usual for me then - rubber bands, £15 35mm camera and lots of luck!

 

[duncan]

WowB Your 15 quid camera is the problem. You need a shutter speed of 500th sec for engine-on pics. Camera is isolated easily by packing in a large wad of not too soft sponge-foam. The high-tech stabilising devices are way out of our league but many modern cameras have that built in. I`m using old Canon T-70s. A s/h body can be obtained for very little these days as everybody flocks to digital. Only fly on calmish days with good bright light,(sunlight will give harsh shadows.) Use UV filter to protect lens and a rubber lens hood will keep muck off lens. 200 asa film for most purposes. I prefer Fuji "Superia". A standard 35mm lens saves you having to go very high to get a fair area covered in pic. Camera mounted under port wing, inside fuz, pointing down at about 45o. Fly cone pattern round target area, take more shots than you think you might need, film is the cheapest item in the whole set-up. You are right about electric do, a web-search for the Pointer RPV, why didnt we have these batteries on the civvy market years ago. Now back too the JUMBO construction factory...unless the weather improves, looking good so far. Sun has just came out.......

 

[Wowbagger]

Thanks for the good advice once more Duncan. How much will a second hand T70 cost roughly? And what about lenses, any preffered type I should look out for? Also, and most importantly, how heavy will the complete camera be?

Yep, shutter speed - my £15 job has 1/90th :rolleyes:

 

[adzam]

you could try www.ffordes.com

there in inverness-shire and have a very good second hand selection

t70 is an slr , so will be heavy

 

[adzam]

in fact , you`ll pick a t70 or t 50 for around 60 quid mate, with a 50mm lense (roughly speaking , the same view as the human eye, give or take a bit )

 

[duncan]

Wowb. Cheapest I`ve got so far was £65 for body in good nick , averages 80/90 in second-hand dealers. Canon lens about £50 to £80, other makes to fit much less,say half. It has a remote cable socket so your prefered switch or servo can be anywhere. Set focus on "infinity",Tape it well with electricians tape to stop lens being accidentally moved, put a 15" day-glo ribbon on the lens cap to remind you to remove before flight ( done it !). Go semi auto ie shutter priority @500th and let the chip decide on f stop to suit. T70 is auto-wind at 2 frames per second. It was originally made for use by "non civilian" use and came in a tasteful olive drab. If you spot one of these , grab it, they are much sought after by enthusiasts. I`ve only ever seen production black ones. Dont be tempted by the T50, a much lesser machine, though similar. Only had two rendered un-usable in 16 years,both to salt water ingression, instant junk. Used a Pentax 645 for a while but cost didnt justify the risk (£1400) Results were astoundingly good but customers wouldnt pay top price. Slide film only if you want top quality prints but your local mini-lab wont do them in 30 minutes. Weight is about a pound and a bit I think......and it rained so nearly got ailerons finished but clubmate came round for natter and that was that.....:shoot: