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Remote Controlled Aerial Photography 101
A camera on a remote controlled aircraft can capture supurb images that would normally
be very expensive or difficult to obtain.
Usually R/C aerial photography is done from a R/C Plane, Helicopter, Kite, Blimp or Mast. You can take it further and use a rocket, a tree or a bird, but that
is all up to you. We'll keep this tutorial limited to R/C aircraft for now.
R/C Aerial Photography check list:
This is a minimum setup. You can connect this together and be flying in a few hours. Nothing else apart from some piloting skills is required.
- Electric R/C Aircraft than can carry at least 120g. The radio needs at least 1 spare channel. Landing gear channel is OK.
- A suitable Canon or Nikon digital camera. These start at US$140 at almost any camera
retailer.
- An URBI interface to control the camera.
- A USB cable for the camera. The one that comes with the camera is OK, but maybe
a little long.
The Aircraft
Almost any R/C aircraft can carry some extra weight. The smallest cameras
suitable for R/C use are abour 120g.
The aircraft must be using a normal R/C radio system (eg JR,Futaba,Spektrum,Hitec,Graupner
etc) with at least one channel spare. Landing gear channel is ok. A slow flying,
steady aircraft is better, but it depends on your application.
If you are new to R/C aircraft, this is not a problem - complete electric aircraft
can be purchase requiring almost no assembly & R/C Simulators on your computer can teach you to fly in a few hours. See your local hobby store, visit one
online, or look up a flying club.
The camera
The camera is mounted somewhere on the aircraft, prefereably near the centre
of gravity so it remains flyable.
To provide remote control of the camera, we produce the
URBI interface. It connects
to the camera's USB port and accepts signals from the aircraft's remote control
system to release the shutter and optionally change the zoom. It also performs
some other functions to assist in R/C photography.
We recommend Nikon and Canon digital cameras for R/C applications as these cameras
provide the required USB control functions. Not all cameras with a USB port
are suitable. Here is a list of the current models
we recommend.
We sell strong, light nylon bolts, which can be used to secure a camera to your aircraft.
A simple mount can be made from a piece of aluminium or wood, but some people just use a
few rubber bands!
Cameras such as the Canon A640 and A620 can easily be made much lighter by removing
the batteries and using one of our Voltage Regulators. The regulator will
accept a high voltage from a large battery, such as a LiPo pack, and electronically
regulate it to the correct voltage for the camera. These cameras weigh about 240 grams
once the batteries are removed.
If you are planning on using a Pan/Tilt setup, be aware that the servos will pull
a lot of power from the battery. We recommend the use of a high power BEC,
such as the Sport BEC.
Operation
With the camera mounted and the R/C controller hooked up, the aircraft
can be flown into position to start taking photographs.
Most operators favour a powerful motor to get up to altitude quickly, then just
slowly circle the target taking as many pictures as possible. Land. Take the memory
card out of the camera and view on a PC.
Video Transmission
To make photography easier, a video downlink can send an image to
the ground, so you can see what you are photographing. Whilst this is not required equipment,
it makes the task of photographing a particular target much quicker.
When our URBI interface is connected to a Canon camera, it turns on the live video
output from the camera's viewfinder. This way you can preview exactly where
the camera is pointing as well as the level of zoom. The video from a canon
camera is output via a 3.5mm headphone style jack.
We stock the Stinger
transmitter and
Yellowjacket receiver for this application. Depending on your antenna choice, the
image can be sent a very long way - thousands of metres if required. |
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