Utah Aerial Photography

Darth_Elevator · May 12, 2008, 03:00 PM

Now that several of us have AP planes, I thought I'd start a thread for Utah flyers to post videos and photos of their local sorties, as well as swap notes on anything AP. I got this idea the other day after exchanging about 10 pms with Jonboylemon, just because we didn't want to hijack any of the other UFO threads.

Jon & Nate, I expect you'll be doing some sweet AP with your new Beasts, so I hope you'll be willing to share. Everybody else, whether you're into AP (yet) or not, feel free to comment and participate.

Let me get the ball rolling by posting a couple pics I took this morning on the way to work, a video of me hitting my neighbor's tree, and pic of a hawk I took Saturday.

http://www.vimeo.com/968105

JONBOYLEMON · May 13, 2008, 12:59 AM

http://vimeo.com/1008545

The start of a project I am going to do.

natetanr · May 13, 2008, 08:29 AM

Nice Pics and Vids guys.

I need to get a smaller camera for my beast. My camera is over 15 oz. Works ok but I bet it would work better if I had something lighter. Love the crash Jon and the temple pics are great Darth.

Darth_Elevator · May 14, 2008, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by natetanr

I need to get a smaller camera for my beast. My camera is over 15 oz. Works ok but I bet it would work better if I had something lighter.

You can probably pick up a decent 2 or 3 year old digital camera on eBay pretty cheap. I just got a Pentax Optio s5z for $65. 4.2 ounces! Do some research on the forums, though, because all cameras are not created equal, even among different models of the same brand. If I hadn't gotten the Optio s5z, I was considering the Nikon Coolpix 5900, which usually sells for a bit more but steves-digicams.com says it outperforms the s5z.

jfinch · May 14, 2008, 03:10 PM

Are the cameras fixed mount or can they swivel via servos?

Darth_Elevator · May 14, 2008, 04:30 PM

I'm using a fixed mount but I'm hoping to eventually build or buy a two-axis directional setup with servos. Then I'd love to try FPV (first person viewpoint) flying with a wireless camera.

JONBOYLEMON · May 14, 2008, 06:00 PM

I think I found a pic of the camera Nate is using. Looks sturdy but seems heavy.

natetanr · May 14, 2008, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth_Elevator

You can probably pick up a decent 2 or 3 year old digital camera on eBay pretty cheap. I just got a Pentax Optio s5z for $65. 4.2 ounces! Do some research on the forums, though, because all cameras are not created equal, even among different models of the same brand. If I hadn't gotten the Optio s5z, I was considering the Nikon Coolpix 5900, which usually sells for a bit more but steves-digicams.com says it outperforms the s5z.

Keep your eyes open and let me know if you see a similar camera for sale for around 50 to 70 bucks. I've been looking on ebay and ksl but no luck yet.

natetanr · May 14, 2008, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JONBOYLEMON

I think I founs a pic of the camera Nate is using. Looks sturdy but seems heavy.

Your funny........
Ist actually the sony dsc-s75
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydscs75/page2.asp
its been a great camera but as soon as I decided to use it on my plane it apeared to take on the shape of a 15oz brick.

natetanr · May 15, 2008, 12:48 PM

I just purchased a Nikon Coolpix 7600 off ebay it said it was not tested so i'm crossing my fingers. I may have just waisted 50 bux.... But hey at least this will only be a 5oz brick.

Darth_Elevator · May 15, 2008, 02:49 PM

Looks like the 7600 has some great features, Nate.

Darth_Elevator · May 16, 2008, 05:57 PM

My Optio arrived today and what a huge difference in picture quality over my piece of crap Aiptek. Movies and photos are much crisper and have better color. And, unlike the Aiptek, I'm not getting a bit of frame buffering distortion. The Optio is 4.65 ounces with battery and SD card. It's light enough I'm not using a voltage regulator to shave off a couple ounces of batteries, so I don't those extra wires hanging all over the place.

The Flysoft infrared switch works perfectly. I set it to take a still picture every 5 seconds, but in can be set to any interval up to 30 seconds and also lets me manually take a picture whenever I toggle a tx switch. A great no-hack shutter switch.

Darth_Elevator · May 16, 2008, 08:06 PM

And here are some shots of the plane I forgot to attach to the last post.

chicken hawk · May 19, 2008, 12:13 PM

Nice, I see someone else is doing the Temple thing. I shot these 2 yesteday. I'm trying to get all the Utah Temples this year.

Darth_Elevator · May 19, 2008, 12:49 PM

Those are awesome shots, Chicken Hawk. What camera and plane are you using? Good luck on your goal to get all the Utah temples. I hope you'll keep us updated on your progress.

May 14, 2008, 06:00 PM	#7
JONBOYLEMON Adequate times 2. 10-96 Join Date: May 2002 Location: American Fork, Utah, United States Posts: 4,324	I think I found a pic of the camera Nate is using. Looks sturdy but seems heavy. Attached Images I think this is the Nikon 3700??? Maybe not??? Last edited by JONBOYLEMON; May 15, 2008 at 05:21 PM.

May 16, 2008, 05:57 PM	#12
Darth_Elevator How do I change this text? Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 4,486	My Optio arrived today and what a huge difference in picture quality over my piece of crap Aiptek. Movies and photos are much crisper and have better color. And, unlike the Aiptek, I'm not getting a bit of frame buffering distortion. The Optio is 4.65 ounces with battery and SD card. It's light enough I'm not using a voltage regulator to shave off a couple ounces of batteries, so I don't those extra wires hanging all over the place. The Flysoft infrared switch works perfectly. I set it to take a still picture every 5 seconds, but in can be set to any interval up to 30 seconds and also lets me manually take a picture whenever I toggle a tx switch. A great no-hack shutter switch. Attached Thumbnails 95.1 KB · Views: 109 110.3 KB · Views: 105

May 16, 2008, 08:06 PM	#13
Darth_Elevator How do I change this text? Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 4,486	And here are some shots of the plane I forgot to attach to the last post. Attached Thumbnails AP Slow Stick. 70.2 KB · Views: 121 Rubber band on landing gear legs to keep them from spreading too far on landings. 98.8 KB · Views: 109 Homemade camera mount. Made from a strip of aluminum I got at Home Depot. 62.3 KB · Views: 85 The mount is designed to allow the camera to point any direction or angle I want. Here the camera's facing sideways. 70.2 KB · Views: 89 It can even point straight down. 49.2 KB · Views: 74 Infrared shutter switch taped to a servo. 56.5 KB · Views: 97

May 19, 2008, 12:13 PM	#14
chicken hawk Plane Insane RC.com Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Spanish Fork Utah Posts: 573	Nice, I see someone else is doing the Temple thing. I shot these 2 yesteday. I'm trying to get all the Utah Temples this year. Attached Thumbnails 75.1 KB · Views: 92 77.8 KB · Views: 77

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May 13, 2008, 08:29 AM	#3
natetanr Utah Flyers Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: South Ogden, UT Posts: 1,406	Nice Pics and Vids guys. I need to get a smaller camera for my beast. My camera is over 15 oz. Works ok but I bet it would work better if I had something lighter. Love the crash Jon and the temple pics are great Darth.

May 14, 2008, 03:10 PM	#5
jfinch Hard Left... Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Pleasant Grove, UT Posts: 2,043	Are the cameras fixed mount or can they swivel via servos?

May 14, 2008, 04:30 PM	#6
Darth_Elevator How do I change this text? Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 4,486	I'm using a fixed mount but I'm hoping to eventually build or buy a two-axis directional setup with servos. Then I'd love to try FPV (first person viewpoint) flying with a wireless camera.

May 15, 2008, 12:48 PM	#10
natetanr Utah Flyers Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: South Ogden, UT Posts: 1,406	I just purchased a Nikon Coolpix 7600 off ebay it said it was not tested so i'm crossing my fingers. I may have just waisted 50 bux.... But hey at least this will only be a 5oz brick.

May 15, 2008, 02:49 PM	#11
Darth_Elevator How do I change this text? Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 4,486	Looks like the 7600 has some great features, Nate.

May 19, 2008, 12:49 PM	#15
Darth_Elevator How do I change this text? Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Utah Posts: 4,486	Those are awesome shots, Chicken Hawk. What camera and plane are you using? Good luck on your goal to get all the Utah temples. I hope you'll keep us updated on your progress.