AP Most Common Focal Lengths - TV/AV/M Settings - Altitude

[SMP]

Hello All,

Have been impressed by this forum in particular about the willingness of it's members to share detailed settings, tips and a general passion for flying without the quibbling. Impressed so much actually to go so far as to having commissioned 3 builds from Patrick over at Aerial Media Pros.

Regarding AP/AV; my feeling is that ANYTHING that helps us elevate our game directly equates to our ability to sell Clients on the VALUE of what we provide. None of us actually compete with other photographers; that's a misconception. The real and only challenge is convincing Clients that the commercial work they desire is worth the commercial rate. Sooo with that said I recognize this is a bit of a delicate question and I VERY MUCH appreciate any willingness to share what you've learned. If I'm able to repay the favor I certainly shall.

AP on a AD8
We've made a decision to use our 5D2/3's for AP principally because WICKED weather (Heat/Wind/Haze) will force us to fly closer to sunup/sundown (lower light levels) and we love the image quality coming out of these bodies. We're also used to the focal lengths having tossed the 7D crop body some time ago. We do use T2i's for our Remote Timelapse Units but haven't really used them fro any other purpose. Unlike the States, the Middle East prints everything (usually on MONSTER billboards) so Image Resolution is a competitive differentiation. Also realize, like most things, just got to keep testing till you find the solution for that situation.

So to the question at hand.

IF you were flying a full frame; what focal length would likely be your first choice for a Typical 4-6 level Mid Rise Building with a wee bit of surrounding area). Something in the neighborhood of 35mm on the ground. Guessing 50mm at 200-250 feet?

Speaking of height; What is the average height you most often find yourself shooting at for Residential, Mid Rise, Hi-Rise, Plant??

Cant twiddle the dials remote so Manual is out... Guessing TV 640 at F2.8 Auto ISO? (Up higher/faster usually shooting in the 1/1000th+) Assuming you're locking focus off at infinity? Or? (For closer stuff inside infinity letting the AF hunt and then snapping remote or just pulling back till you get the right DOF and crop down??) Assuming shooting shallow biased towards shutter speed...

Any Canon user shot (pixel peeped) the 50mm F1.4 versus the 1.2? Same question for the Canon 85 1.4 versus 1.2 Significant weight savings but image really does have to hold up...

Mirrorless - Consensus seems to be Sony Nex & T2/3i for stills and GH2's for video. My understanding is that the GH2 stills simply dont hold up but the video is beautiful. So.. what lens do you guys most often screw on the front of these things?? I love shooting an older Olympus Zeikos 28mm F3.5 stopped to 5.6 on the 5D stuff (under 200 bucks on ebay, fantastically, wickedly sharp!!) but of course, there goes all the IQ. Are you using the kit lens or trying something a bit sharper. How the h$#ll are you triggering without an IR on the GH2?

Mirrorless versus 5D2/3s. Anybody with both? Thoughts based on your experience between these two versus image quality versus weight? Do understand that everything is a tradeoff.

Sorry, bit of a wander there!!! Thanks again in advance!!

 

[jforkner]

Not unlike ground-based photography, the focal length will most likely depend on how close to the subject you'll be (horizontally, not vertically unless you're going to be shooting mostly down) and how much of the surrounding area you want to capture. As a point of reference, I use a Nikon 1 V! on my hexa with it's Nikkor 10-30mm lens (27-81mm equiv.). I usually set it to the shortest focal length, and often stitch a couple frames together for panoramas. My guess is you'd want something in the 22 - 28mm range for an FX camera. Keep in mind, it's easier to crop than add to an image. I'm primarily an Olympus shooter, primarily. If I was going to take my E620 up, I'd put my the Zuiko 14-54mm lens (28-108mm equiv) set to the 14mm focal length.

Regarding height...from my experience, you don't need to get very high to create a dramatic image. Twenty or 30 feet elevation is enough to give the viewer a unique perspective of a one or two-story house. For a high rise or large plant, probably a bit higher and a little farther away (horizontally). Unless you're trying to cover 5-10 acres, you can probably stay under 100 feet. You can see some examples on my website: http://www.caltel.com/~jforkner/aerials/aerials.html You'll note the camera wasn't very high to significantly change the perspective from a ground-based photo.

Fast shutter speed will aid in sharper photos especially if the camera is moving. Likewise a larger f-stop will increase the depth of field and keep more of your image in focus. You'll have to experiment with these two to find what works best for you and the situation. Keep in mind the difference between having everything out of focus from motion blur and those things on either side of the focal plane that are out of focus due to aperture---I prefer the latter.

Regarding mirrorless vs. not, I think it's about weight and risk. The mirrorless cameras certainly weigh less than say, a 5DII or III, so you don't need as big and powerful platform to get it airborne. And then there's the risk factor of carrying a several-thousand-dollar camera with an equally expensive lens in the event of a copter failure or pilot error. Yes, I know folks are carrying very expensive Red Epics up in very expensive multicopters; and if you're prepared for that risk, good for you. But if you're just getting started in AP, you might want to ease into it, including the risk factor.

Hope that helps.


Jack

 

[SMP]

Ahhh quite right, took a look at your website (nice snaps!) and you don't need to be super high. Great bit of advice thank you! Have heard a number of folks do the stitch and received a great tip to Bracket as well. Thanks a ton for the tips!!