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Photography

Posted by Julian Cohen on March 30, 2013 at 5:06pm

Does anyone have experience with doing aerial photography using a mirror-less camera or SLR? I plan to take videos of wine country houses I have designed. I would need to figure out the appropriate multicopter and camera mount. I am looking for recommendations.

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  • Adam Haggerty March 10, 2014 at 1:52pm
    Gothelirc.com is where I got my gimbal. Performs great for the price. They have 3 axis and multiple camera plate widths now to choose from as well.
  • Adam Haggerty April 12, 2013 at 8:26am

    I second the Nex5 recommendation.  I am running a 6s carboncore hexacopter and using the nex5.  60fps 1080 video is 60fps 1080 video, the nex7 has a larger sensor for still pics, but they both take excellent video.  the nex5 has the same lens options and is more affordable.  I have no interest in putting a $900+ camera in the air if I don't have to.  Also, there is a new and affordable brushless gimbal available specifically tuned for the nex5, and it is outperforming all gimbals for video as far I can tell.

    For copter options.  I have the carboncore 950 hex, 6s/400kv, and I think it's an amazing platform.  Very strong and sturdy, precision built.

    • Jaime Lopez > Adam Haggerty March 9, 2014 at 3:22pm

      Hi Adam,

      I understand this camera (Nex5) perform well to video...what about still aerial photography for mapping or photogrammetry?

      thanks in advance, Jaime

      • MR60
        Hugues > Jaime Lopez March 10, 2014 at 1:04pm

        Hi Jaime, for mapping and photogrammetry the important factor is the ground resolution. You can get the same resolution with a 16mpix camera or with a 4mpix camera because other factors intervene: which lens, which altitude, which overlap and sidelaps between pictures,etc.

        I personnaly like the nex5 because it is light, robust, good quality pictures. I do not like it so much for filming because it does not produce perfectly smooth videos (especially the Sony video format is not natively recognized by Adobe premiere and YouTube destroys the quality a lot) and focus is quite tricky in video mode.

        • Rob_Lefebvre > Hugues March 10, 2014 at 1:31pm

          Not all 16MP cameras are created equal.  The Nex5 will probably return better results than a 16MP compact camera.  Particularly in difficult lighting situations.  And probably with better image quality around the edges of the picture.

          This is something I don't see anybody talking about, but seems important to me?

          One other nice thing about the Nex, is that it is basically the standard mirrorless camera for AP, so there are several bespoke gimbals on the market.  I am using the LotusRC PTZ-E gimbal and like it.

          • Jaime Lopez > Rob_Lefebvre March 10, 2014 at 1:46pm

            Hi  R_Lefebvre,

            very good information on Nex5 for AP, and its great to know several gimbal options for that camera too. 

            what do you think about DSLR cameras? i ask that because I see these two are compared very often.

            Jaime

            • Rob_Lefebvre > Jaime Lopez March 10, 2014 at 1:59pm

              I think DSLR's are anachronistic.  They are much larger and heavier than they need to be, only to accomodate the mirror and prism system, which you don't use in flight anyway.

              Higher end cameras do offer higher performance lens systems, and availability of specialized lenses.  But these are required only in very specialized circumstances.

              • Jaime Lopez > Rob_Lefebvre March 10, 2014 at 2:05pm

                Hi,

                OK, very clear your point, thanks again,

                Jaime

        • Jaime Lopez > Hugues March 10, 2014 at 1:18pm

          Hi Hugues, 

          Thanks for your answer, I had read a lot about to cameras mainly to capture video from UAVs, but my interest is vertical still photography, so as you said, the Nex5 camera will be useful to my purpouses, that give me more confidence about to buy this one.

          Thanks again,

          Jaime

  • Philip Sulikosky April 1, 2013 at 12:00am

    Sony NEX 5. Tougn. Good enough optics. Light. Controllable by RC SLED. Good HD video capability.

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