Camera Operator?

[helid]

I want to get my feet wet in AP but don't want to have the hassle of coordinating with a camera man.

Is it standard practice to operate without a camera operator when using a fight stabilizer like the Spartan AP2000i ??

What are some of the more successful ground setups being used for this situation?


Thanks.

[Wbird]

I use no stabilizer yet and no cameraman. Not that I wouldn't like to have them, but I just am not there yet. My camera mount is home made and I set the angle before lift off, no pan other than rotating the heli. Use a servo on the shutter button, set your camera to rapid shoot and take lots of pictures. Before long you will get a feel for where the heli & camera is pointing and be able to get decent shots. Once I do enough to justify it I plan on getting an Askman mount and downlink but it isn't necessary yet.

Snoop around these forums, a ton of info and pics here.

Good luck.

[Hogster]

I shoot solo and use a AP2000i :) I use a set of Eyetops video glasses to view the video downlink from the camera. More photos and information on my website:

www.horizonimaging.net

So it's definitely possible! :) I too like the freedom of not having to rely on a cameraman, as nice as it would be to have one at my beck and call ....


David :cool:

[crewchief]

David/Hogster - boy, nice pics on your website! Up until just recently I used Wbird's method of shooting, and yes, you can get quite good at it. However, I can't imagine working without the AP2000 at high altitude.

I've decided I'm spending way too much time in Picasa looking through 100's of pictures. I wear glasses, so at very far distances using the Eyetops alone is scary. I came up with a way of using a pair of video goggles, which are narrow, in front of my glasses. I can easily look over them to watch the heli and under them to check the timer, etc. When I'm descending to land I reach up and take them off because they obscure obstacles in the descent path. It works well enough that I can use single-shot triggering instead of multiples. Looks like the main problem will be trying to see the video image in the bright light and glare if the sun ever comes out again.:roll: I'll take some pictures of the setup for you, helid.

[crewchief]

helid,
Here are the pics of my current setup.
Pic 1 & 2: servo mounts on lower portion of camera bracket and moves with tilt
Pic 3 & 4: A/V cable modified for lower profile to clear camera bracket for tilt
Pic 5 & 6: Rangevideo 900MHz Tx, battery & 9V cutoff circuit
Pic 7 & 8: Receiver vest showing components - Rangevideo 900MHz Rx, video goggles & 3S battery (12V).

[helid]

Bruce,
Thanks for the photos. I like the vest idea.

David,
Thanks for the feedback. I am very interested in your choice in goggles. I can immediately see the virtue in your choice. The Eyetops serve the need for eye protection and allow you to see the preview in your periphery. How does your brain deal with processing the two images?

Bruce,
Are you saying that you fly the heli with only the view from the goggles, except for landing and takeoff? You wear them in front of your (prescription?) glasses. I wonder how placing the goggles at a greater distance from your eyes disrupts their ability function as they were designed.

Thanks.

[crewchief]

Are you saying that you fly the heli with only the view from the goggles, except for landing and takeoff? You wear them in front of your (prescription?) glasses. I wonder how placing the goggles at a greater distance from your eyes disrupts their ability function as they were designed.
Necessity is the mother of invention! It turns out that if I put the video goggles on, I can easly slip my glasses on behind them, because of the way they rest on my nose. Or I can put my regular glasses on, and then the video goggles in front of them. Because the googles are narrow, I can see both over and under the googles through the upper and lower portions of my lenses, and the video image through the lenses is very clear.

I have tried "flying the goggles" a couple of times and found it way scary. If the camera is pointed downwards 20-30 degrees and you're in a high hover, you can start to move forward and downward very quickly and never see any movement in the googles. For this type of virtual flying, I think it is best to have the camera mounted straight forward, and to maintain a constant forward velocity at all times. You can attach a rubber shroud to the googles that blocks out all outside light, and sometimes I like to have someone wear them while I fly patterns. You can see them moving their whole body, turning their heads, and making weird noises! Sometimes they say they're getting airsick. It's pretty entertaining.