'WHICH' AP Cameras

Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
I see there are some Professional photographers out there. I am waiting for my Promini mount from Droidworx and am researching cameras. Looking at the Canon 550D for both video and stills. I wanted a camera with time lapse function but cant find any. I have found a plug in device by 'Hama - 5201' which will plug in to any SLR and release the shutter as often as you program it for.


Comments and advice welcomed.
 

Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
droider,
ideally, someone will eventually craft a flow chart where one can navigate all the options and pop out with a perfect solution but since that hasn't happened yet, here's my take on it.
before i forget, there's a software hack for canon cameras called chdk (canon hack development kit) but it doesn't include the 550D yet :( . this link will give you a lot of info on it http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK . with the CHDK software you can program the camera to take pics continuously at a set interval and those pics can be transformed into a time lapse sequence. i think it's a better solution than adding more hardware to carry aloft on your multi-rotor. you can probably buy a good quality second-hand canon that is compatible with the chdk software and do exactly what you have in mind with great quality results.
anyway, as for the camera, i've got a 550D on my Oktokopter but the weather and a variety of other issues have kept me from getting it in the air. the 550D is an awesome camera with video that will get you very nearly into the world of high end videographers. with a 32gb memory card it holds like 3500 pictures with resolution of 18 megapixel. i've been able to work out the details of making it take pictures remotely and transmit what the lens sees during flight so that i can use it for AP work but it's an expensive little addition to the copter and might not be for everybody.
what are you trying to do with your copter and what level of quality do you need?
regards,
bart
 

Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
Hi Bart

I am away from home at the moment. I am in my caravan just outside London for a project we are working on. I have been a keen photographer and videographer for as long as I can remember. My first camera was a Kodak 110 and my first cine film was on a Kodak super 8! Since then I have been taking pictures and video in all kinds of formats. I was one of the first people in the UK to use mini surveillance cameras to record footage with head cams for mountain biking and have progressed to chase filming Extreme down hill biking. BUT at 50 my body is saying NO, my broken bones and torn ligaments cannot handle the extreme battering anymore. I have a vision of flying my camera chasing the young guys I can no longer stay with, and from a totally different angle that has ever been used before.
That is my goal.

Take a look on you tube here
http://www.youtube.com/user/davehalton


And my personal gallery here
http://www.youtube.com/user/davehalton
This needs a server sort out!

I want to use the AP for pleasure and work. Pleasure filming mountain biking, and work to show our installations

Work is mainly thermal solar installations
http://web.me.com/energyworx2/EnergyWorx2/Home_page.html

I am aware of the canon hack but its just getting ideas from everyone to help me decide which road to go down to satisfy my requirements..

Hope that not long a ramble.. its been a Looooooong day

Dave
 

R

RTRyder

Merlin of Multirotors
Current personal preferences, Canon SX 200 with CHDK for stills and GoPro Hero HD for video. The GoPro is about to get hacked with a new lens installation to get rid of the fisheye effect and I think it will be a pretty darn good little video cam afterward. I'd really love to be able to use a real camcorder on a multi but every one I've looked at that was worth buying has built in image stabilization and that simply doesn't work on a multicopter. The high frequency vibration drives my Canon Vixia nuts and to a lesser degree it still messes up the video recording I've tried with the SX 200.

I've looked at the 550D and seen a fair amount of really good video, much of it alleged to be raw output from the 550. My problem is the cost factor is more than I feel comfortable flying around in the sky on a platform that could easily become a brick in a heartbeat, I have a hard enough time bolting the SX 200 on and I didn't pay nearly the cost of a 550 for that.

As soon as I get the GoPro hack completed I'll do a test flight and post the results.

Ken
 


R

RTRyder

Merlin of Multirotors
The new lens for the GoPro got delivered a short while ago, I'll have test video in a day or two. I'd do it today except for the fact it's snowing here yet AGAIN!!! Weatherman is predicting 12 to 15 inches of snow through midday tomorrow, this on top of the 3 1/2 feet we already have on the ground...:(
 

Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
Haho... You should get some nice footage of the fresh new snow then! We don t get it that often.. I am waiting for my lens and hopes it gets here before the crocuses flower!! They are just poking out of the ground at the moment.. I will be interested in how you go on getting the stock lens out of the GoPro as much as I am in the results.. I am especially keen to see some stills shot through the new lens mod. I just hope that GoPro amend the firmware in the next update to allow selection of hirer res stills..
 




Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
Ive seen um but they dont have interval shooting / time laps. Do they have a remote trigger we could use via the FC board? I dont think so :(
 

CopterCam

CopterCam

Member
I'd be very surprised if they don't have interval shooting..........in the absence of a remote trigger I use a micro servo positioned on the camera for shutter release and use a spare rx channel, works flawlessly. A much more convenient feature is AV out !
 

Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
Well dpreview does not list them as having the function and reading there spec does not make any mention of their capability of it either. With all the functions required for flying an MK extra channels are a luxury and I would need a 9 or 12 channel to do everything i would like but then its remembering it all when its flying!! I want to try and stick to eight channels. I fly alone so using my skill as a pilot and a really good judgement for what the camera is seeing I would prefer to hold position and slow move around knowing that the camera is taking a number of similar pics for me to present the best ones.

Dave
 

CopterCam

CopterCam

Member
OK !.............you have a very specific need. Does that involve interval shooting of high res. RAW or Jpeg. Will you use a downlink for framing or eyeball it??

Sid
 

Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
:eek:It would be great to have down link capability to eyeball the frame but first I want to fly and take HiRes Jepg images. RAW would be good but until I learn more I dont want to throw a £700 camera under her. The Rioche CX4 is £200 and has some good reviews and takes at a frame rate of 1 / 5sec. nto brill but its the best I can find at the moment.. My Panasonic TZ10 is very good a video and is about the same size but does not have interval function. I could go down a canon and CHKD or what ever it is but its more learning and more time and all the what ifs or maybes that come with experimenting.

If some one would say "i have a camera that is reasonable and I can fire it from the outputs on the FC and you do it like this" I would do it. BUT I cant find a dummies guide so I am stuck with experimenting my self.

I am catalouging everything I do and the mistakes I have made, the thinks I bought that worked and thems that dident.. one day,, time permitting I start a bit of a web site... Time Gorden Bennet whats taht all about.. how fast is that going now!! :eek:
 

CopterCam

CopterCam

Member
I have been through the whole gamut when it comes to shutter release in an Aerial Platforms. There are broadly two approaches.....with or without a downlink, some of the Kite AP guys insist on shooting blind, they feel it adds to the element of expectation. The downlink approach is indispensable when it comes to composition but having said that I abandoned it when I transitioned from my Lumix cams to the GoPro. I found the big FOV so easy that I positioned an orientation ball to the rear of the Quadrocopter and simply eyeballed the placement of the lense and it proved great on the 5 and 2 sec interval. Admitedly the jpeg are 5mp but if you can work close in they are fine. In the past I have placed a shirt button on the shutter release and secured it with an elastic band and programmed it for continuous..........this was good for short flights or else make sure you have a big SD card.

it is a great adventure...........you are well advanced with your kit. looking forward to your findings.
 

Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
Any one used the Gentles stuff?

Anyone used theis kit


http://www.gentles.ltd.uk/index.html

I am still in a quandry as to which camera to get. I tried the Roiche CX4 but even with all the research in the world I did not spot that the interval function was limited to 10 shots.. Pants..

Now looking at Sony Nex5 and using the Gentles kit to fire it through the IR port. Its not the best solution but I am really loathed to get the Canon 550 not because of the cost but the weight.

So any one used the Sony NEX5 or the Panasonic DCM GF1/2 or GH1/2

Who is using what?:confused:
 

P

Paul@scc

Member
I think setting up a servo to trigger the shutter is the best way.
At the moment I'm using a X650 Quad and that comes with a fantastic trigger. You could buy the X650 camera mount and hack it to your requirements.

I'm using it here with a TZ7

x650shuttertrigger014.jpg
 


Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
SO.. just in case any one was wondering what I ended up with after a few duff purchases and after recomendations from a Pro AP operator..I got the Sony Nex5

Really happy with it..

Any questions just post um up here

dave
 

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