Best camera for Rex 450

[Ruud Westerhout]

Hi all,

this must have been asked a lot of times, but still, please give me your advice on an AP P&S camera which I can put on my T-Rex 450 SE V1.
My bird is equipped with all the standard Align equipment (430L engine, etc) +
-ParkBEC
-HeliCommand 3A
-DPR-50
-2100 mAh Batteries

I have the Askman Mount lying ready for this purpose.
And I have an electronic shutter from RC-flysoft.com (single switch) waiting as well.

Most important is good quality wide angle pictures, video is not so important (only for playing).
I'd like it to be small weight, as I did not put anything special on the Rex like new engine or something.

Any advice will be appreciated.
(wth pictures and samples even more :) )

Regards,
Ruud

[jascamera]

Nikon L10 is nice camera. Light, cheap($80) in eaby and continuous shoot for about 200 shots. I also just ordered the L12, it's a 7 mega pixel and image stablizing, might also help vibration. Most people, said it does work, but I have heard some said it helps. Make sure your trex, haven't been crash, or keep it as smooth as possible.

[KarbonBird]

If you want to get decent images - get a camera with manual settings! You need to control the shutter speed / ISO to get a good picture otherwise the camera will do it for you - and it doesn't know too much about taking pics from a heli I found!!! I use a Casio Exilim 850 and a 1200 - the former being the preferred camera at the moment but there may be others around that will work OK.

[Ruud Westerhout]

Hi to the both of You,

I have been narrowing my search for a fitting cam, but came to another issue, not the least important. I have an electronic shutter, which needs to go "into" the camera. For the Canon A-Series there is a thread here "how to hack" it, so the wires can be connected.

I thought I would go Panasonic (FX33, FX55 or FX100) :
-around 150gr
-28mm (compared to 35mm film) wide angle
-2,8 very nice open aperture
-image stabilization

But I could not find any shop in the area yet, who is willing to open the cam and insert that wire. I'd do it myself if "lead the right way" but did not see any "hacking information" yet.

My Rex is looking silent (without vibration) but I will see the result when actually trying.

Regards,
Ruud

[Gtarling]

Ruud - Most users don't hack that type of camera - too expensive if a mistake is made! If you don't want to hack the camera or use a servo to actuate the shutter, there are a couple of other options available. The 'Prism' switch uses IR to act as a remote, for those cameras with that facility (mostly Pentax Optios). There's also gentLED, which can use IR, USB or other camera port, dependent on camera type.

http://store.hexsys.biz/cubecart/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=10
http://www.gentles.ltd.uk/gentled/index.htm

[Ruud Westerhout]

Hi Gtarling,

I heard, I think even here, about another IR option which is put infront of the camera which can be programmed to do all different kind of things.

I am also already thinking about leaving the shutter away and take a camera who can shoot in continous mode, just every sec. from start to land.

Ruud