Looking for a Board Camera for a 5D Mark ii

[WayneMann]

Hi Guys,

We do not do a lot of aerial photography, but we do have to shoot some occasionally. I am having trouble finding a replacement board camera that mounts to the view finder on the Canon 5D Mark ii. The connector on my board camera which is quite old finally took a dump and I can't fix it. Taking aerial photos using live view sucks to say the least. Does anyone have a lead on where I might find a suitable camera?

Thanks for the help.


Wayne Mann

 

[Ronan]

You want to strap a small camera to the viewfinder of your 5d MK ii so it takes photos through the viewfinder? Is that correct?...

 

[WayneMann]

Hi Ronan,

No the board camera is attached to my video downlink. It lets you take pictures using the mechanical shutter as opposed to having to use live view and the electronic shutter. It is strictly for framing shots.


Wayne Mann

 

[jes1111]

Taking aerial photos using live view sucks to say the least.

Why?

A small video camera attached to the hotshoe won't help you "frame" shots per se, since the field of view is going differ from that of the camera - "aim" shots, perhaps. But what's the problem with live view? What setup have you tried? When you say "electronic shutter" and "mechanical shutter" are you referring to the shutter release being mechanical (a servo on top of the shutter release button) versus electronic (via a wire)?

 

[WayneMann]

The field of view with the camera I was using is the same as looking through the viewfinder as it was a wide angle camera. It covered the entire viewing area of the viewfinder. With live view you loose auto focus on the 5D which is very important as I have to get fairly close to some objects and others will be at infinity and often times I am shooting this in very low light situations with a wide open iris so auto focus is critical. Also in live view once you take a picture it takes about 4 to 5 seconds before you get a video signal back at your monitor. I do use a servo to depress the shutter button. None of this is an issue if I am taking photos with my GH3 or Gh4.


Wayne Mann