best results from flycamone2 on t-rex 450?

[trickybit]

I just took my first video using this setup. I velcro'd the pedestal under the frame, with the included thick velcro pad.

Note there's a lot of undulation, as if head vibration was beating with frame rate. I don't see any vibe in the heli, but I didn't really look closely since I just looked at the vid.

Is there any knowledge to be shared about this? Maybe skip the pedestal and fasten the cam directly to the frame?

Oh, yeah, pay no attention to my incredibly lame flying; I'm not only n00b, but I'm nervous after my last crash, and it was breezy...

_YGpzRJ0BnA

[Fozy]

looks like you were doing ok to me....

How did you mount it to the heli?

[Ruud Westerhout]

I would also like to see how it is mounted. I mounted mine between the 'holders' of the tail boom. I get the same kind of 'vibe' in the video and I get to see waves even on pictures.
If I see a 'perfect' way of mounting, I would sure like to try that way myself, not knowing where this 'vibe' is coming from with me. It is nice playing and trying, but for now, I sure cannot use the result of the FCO2.

Cheers,
Ruud

PS You did not see my flying yet, that would be WAY more calm.
PS2 Is this FPV ?

[trickybit]

It's mounted right under the main shaft, the pedestal is velcro'd to the bottom of the frame.

I read now that this is a common problem; they even mention it in the manual... you have to really balance things out and eliminate vibe, if that's possible.

I got back in the air quickly after a crash, didn't even pull the flybar... I will see if I can perceive any vibe (again, I didn't really look for it; i didn't see the video until I was done for the day).

So, besides checking for visible vibration, I may also try mounting the cam directly to the heli, but I don't really want to velcro the cam, because the contacts are on that side...

Subscribe to this thread for any updates I post.

Thanks guys. Maybe I'll try to fly smoothly next time... there are some cool views there... I think pointing the camera almost completely horizontal would be better, and next time I'll consciously get a nice 360 of the entire site... it's a nice soccer field next to the office I work in, out on a landfill peninsula in the San Francisco Bay.

Cheers,
Jim

[Ruud Westerhout]

Reason I asked to see the mounting :

If I use the "holder" which allows RC of the FCO2 through the Radio, I add another 2-3cm of distance. If I would mount all of this underneath the main-shaft, I would get the camera to touch the ground on 'touch-down', even if I put it down nicely (with original LG). I did not appreciate that and searched for a more higher place, leaving me with the place between the brackets.

If You look in the attached picture You'll see a cable hanging loose at the back. That is actually to 'steer' the FCO2, but it was not connected during this flight.

I am using the HeliCommand and did not know if actually the HC was the reason for the 'wave', guess it was not, if You have it too :)

Cheers,
Ruud

[trickybit]

Yeah, now that you mention it, mine touches the ground... I take off and land in soft grass, so it's not going to damage, but it does probably tip the lens angle... since I intended to aim the lens more forward, I guess I would have been thwarted. Hmm.

I think I might try direct-to-frame somehow... I don't intend to hook up the r/c to the cam for trigger or aim... cool that you got into it, though.

I'm pretty sure that the waving is a vibe interacting w/ the cam, vibe frequency beating with frame rate. I took a short test flight and my heli looks rock solid, no vibe in the tail fin. I don't really intend to tear it down to mess with it... I put on align CF blades without checking balance, and I didn't pull the flybar after the little tip-over incident I had while yelling at a little kid to back up. It really flies quite nicely...

My next project is to try to get the cam attached to a hat or something. I'm more interested in trying to get flying videos rather than on-heli videos...

Jim

[rocketmannc]

I tried the FCO2 on my Trex 600e last weekend with the same result. I tried extra foam and rigid mount with no difference in quality. a coworker of mine has a $300 solid state Panasonic camcorder that took great video on the same heli: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY42oSLvAfA
(under "Views", below and to the right of the video, click on "watch in high quality')

But with the FCO2, the video isn't worth posting on Youtube. I will be contacting HL for a refund.

[trickybit]

I suspect the anti-jitter feature in higher-end cameras would be a boon on a heli.

I have a nice solid mounting to try, but it's been too windy. I'm discouraged by your results with a rigid mount.

I'm sure I'll find something useful to do with it, like let the kid make weird videos, or maybe swap it with somebody who flies a nice solid plank.

Let us know details and results of the Panasonic... I sure hope I don't spend $300 on this facet.

[trickybit]

I tried the FCO2 on my Trex 600e last weekend with the same result. I tried extra foam and rigid mount with no difference in quality. a coworker of mine has a $300 solid state Panasonic camcorder that took great video on the same heli: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY42oSLvAfA
(under "Views", below and to the right of the video, click on "watch in high quality')

But with the FCO2, the video isn't worth posting on Youtube. I will be contacting HL for a refund.



So, this guys vid doesn't suck:

uWcGwDc_U-s

Maybe I will try to check blade and flybar balance and try again. Still haven't tested the 'direct mount' approach (i.e., no pedestal, firmly attached).

[frogbmth]

I directly mount my FCO to the heli baseplate, I have one half of the velcro foam stuff stuck to the unit, and I use a velcro tie to hold the camera in place tightly so that the foam is compressed. I get a little image wobble on spool up but then the image is solid.

I dont have any dampening on the lens section, it seems to hold for now. Possibly later I may need to do something as it wears, might start to wobble a little.

[bugdozer]

Here's my first vid with no wavy image.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC22K7D7jsY

This was with the supplied foam and Velcro but for some reason, the Velcro fell off the foam. Used Velcro to connected it directly to the base and the image was terrible. Now I have it mounted with Zeal tape but have not had a chance to try it out.

[trickybit]

you have the pedestal in this setup?
nice flips/rolls.

[bugdozer]

you have the pedestal in this setup?
nice flips/rolls.

Yes, I'm using the pedestal. I also connect the little safety string to the frame as the connection to the pedestal doesn't seem too secure.