View Full Version : more cell tower inspections
AZ ChopperCam
02-04-2007, 02:37 PM
another round of cell tower shooting yesterday. I can tell you that cell towers will not affect a standard 72mhz PCM radio system. For most of the flight I was within 8' directly in front of the antenna arrays.
These are resized images... the full 10mp images show q great deal of detail.
http://azchoppercam.com/forums/cell_tower/1.jpg
http://azchoppercam.com/forums/cell_tower/2.jpg
http://azchoppercam.com/forums/cell_tower/3.jpg
http://azchoppercam.com/forums/cell_tower/4.jpg
GJestico
02-04-2007, 03:13 PM
Ive said it before I'll say it again DJ. How can you walk with Ballz that big ?
Man that is some tricky close in flying. Nice work
Greg
R Hudson
02-05-2007, 05:11 PM
Aw, c'mon!
Everybody knows he did it by hand from a crane :wink:
Nice tight work there, DJ.
That cam did a really nice job with focus and lighting. Lots of detail.
R
advoloastra
02-05-2007, 10:03 PM
Did you use the A640 with your wide angle Raynox? What does your client think of them?
AZ ChopperCam
02-05-2007, 10:42 PM
A640 with no wide converter. I zoomed in about 30% before taking off.
Tonystott
02-06-2007, 07:21 AM
Just a question DJ, is the Raynox better than the Canon wide converter? I bought the latter, and hope I haven't done my money...(its at the post office for pick-up right now)
AZ ChopperCam
02-06-2007, 09:26 AM
the Raynox is NOT better. I'm not too pleased with it. there is excessive distortion at the edges. I believe the Canon will have less distortion.
advoloastra
02-06-2007, 01:41 PM
I agree with DJ, the Raynox has a lot of distortion at the edges :arggg:
Tonystott
02-07-2007, 06:16 AM
thanks guys, I just breathed a sigh of relief! Fitted the lens onto the A640 (jeez the combo is huge, weighs as much as a 400D now!), and then, a weird storm arrived, so here is the very first photo with the wide converter! I just banged it off in Auto mode
That lens is good!
MLaBoyteaux
02-07-2007, 06:51 AM
Nice Tony!
AZ ChopperCam
02-07-2007, 09:52 AM
tony... which lens is it?
Tonystott
02-07-2007, 01:59 PM
tony... which lens is it?
The Canon wide converter WC-DC58N
b8factor
02-09-2007, 05:05 PM
Ive said it before I'll say it again DJ. How can you walk with Ballz that big ?
Man that is some tricky close in flying. Nice work
Greg
I would think that a pro is required to do professional work. hehe
When i have had my first crash I may revise this post! :lol:
jonesjj
02-10-2007, 12:25 AM
were you using manual focus on infinity with these shots or were you using auto focus?
do you use the manual settings on this camera or in auto mode ?
Just wondering as I am looking at maybe getting an A640 also.
Does anyone that has the canon wide converter think it is worth the $$ for the extra wide use ? I have been using point and shoot cameras with a 28mm focal lenth on the wide setting and I know that going to a 35mm equivlant will require further back shots to get the same as the 28mm and some times that is not as convienent as haveing a wider lens.
Any thoughts?
Tonystott
02-10-2007, 06:57 AM
were you using manual focus on infinity with these shots or were you using auto focus?
do you use the manual settings on this camera or in auto mode ?
Just wondering as I am looking at maybe getting an A640 also.
Does anyone that has the canon wide converter think it is worth the $$ for the extra wide use ? I have been using point and shoot cameras with a 28mm focal lenth on the wide setting and I know that going to a 35mm equivlant will require further back shots to get the same as the 28mm and some times that is not as convienent as haveing a wider lens.
Any thoughts?
I have converter lenses for both my Olympus SP350 and Canon A640, but fly the heli with a Samsung Digimax S800 using its normal 38mm focal length lens. With the heli, we haven't felt the need to try a wider lens, but using the mast, it is virtually essential (although tonight I am shooting across a 6 lane highway to make a night pano of a car dealership, and I think I will be taking the converter off, and maybe even using a touch of optical zoom to bring in the detail and using 3 images to create the final rather than 2 without the zoom, or even a single one with the converter.
The Canon converter lens for the A640 is humungously heavy (AUW of camera and converter of 656 grams with batteries makes it a lot heavier than a Rebel XTi!!!), and materially changes the cg. To use it in the mast even, I will need to change the mount considerably so that the tilt servo has a fighting chance of lifting it back... But the results are pretty impressive! Here is a full-rez shot using the A530 and converter lens. (I probably should have gone to manual to stop the aperture down a bit to get a better range of focus, but shot this in auto mode)
heavier than a rebel xti
I posted on here a couple weeks back thinking the same thing someone assured me the rebel was much heavier since its published weight does not include any lens. I believe it is 1.2 lb without any lens. by the way have you got a larger heli, or are you doing this all still with a trex :shock:
Tonystott
02-10-2007, 09:31 AM
heavier than a rebel xti
I posted on here a couple weeks back thinking the same thing someone assured me the rebel was much heavier since its published weight does not include any lens. I believe it is 1.2 lb without any lens. by the way have you got a larger heli, or are you doing this all still with a trex :shock:
I just checked with www.dpreview.com and you are right, the Rebel XTi weighs 556g with batteries but NO lens.
Don't worry, the A640 is going up the pole! I will stick to the Samsung Digimax S800 for the Trex, and when I get a Logo 10 or whatever is the ideal new equivalent, I think I will put the Olympus SP350 on it, as it would be light enough even with wide converter lens. A Logo can (obviously) carry the A640 without wide converter a lot easier than with the portky converter fitted.
AZ ChopperCam
02-12-2007, 01:14 AM
were you using manual focus on infinity with these shots or were you using auto focus?
do you use the manual settings on this camera or in auto mode ?
auto focus set to center spot, shutter priority set at 1/1000 (safety shift on).
dreslism
02-12-2007, 08:57 AM
heavier than a rebel xti
I posted on here a couple weeks back thinking the same thing someone assured me the rebel was much heavier since its published weight does not include any lens. I believe it is 1.2 lb without any lens. by the way have you got a larger heli, or are you doing this all still with a trex :shock:
I just checked with www.dpreview.com and you are right, the Rebel XTi weighs 556g with batteries but NO lens.
Just FYI, my Rebel XT ready to go airborne with kit lens is 756 grams.
Put a better lens on there and the weight goes way up! :D
scott I may have you cofused with DJ but haven't you recently sold off some of your big ships in favor of a logo? What are you using to lift the rebel
tTommy
AZ ChopperCam
02-12-2007, 03:41 PM
that would be me. I have shifted 98% of my work over to the Logo and will likely convert the last Raptor over to a scale helicopter.
Thanks so Dj do you fly SLR cameras or do you stick with pro-grade point and shoots like the Canon A640
AZ ChopperCam
02-12-2007, 04:00 PM
A640 fulfills my purposes perfectly