I am interested in building a rig capable of taking mid-high resolution aerial photos linked to gps information. I am a competent RC pilot but need help with a few aspects of designing this type of system. I plan to purchase an Ardupilot Mega package soon, I think it can handle all of my requirements. It is likely I will have a fairly robust budget for this project.
What I need help with really is incorporating the camera into the equation...
*What is the best way to take a series of photos and stitch them together to form a larger image
*How do I make the camera take shots at intervals and link gps data to those pictures.
*What are some of the best available cameras for this type of project, considering mid-high resolution, size/weight, capabilities
Replies
The easiest and one of the best ways to take a series of photos from a plane is hands down CHDK. If you get a CHDK enabled camera with GPS then you'll be all set. SX230 HS works, SX260 HS may also work but only recently has had CHDK released in Alpha which may not be very reliable at the moment. The S100 will have better image quality but is also only available in Alpha release from CHDK.
Any higher resolution and you'll have to look into a mirrorless SLR like an NEX-7 and add your own trigger to the APM code to hit the shutter and record the GPS coordinate at that point.
Brianman
Here is the video I promised that shows my mapping camera set up. It's not pretty but it's functional.
I'll be doing a lot of work on post processing going forward so I'll post a follow up video on the simplest most effective and affordable methods I find. I hope this is helpful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01iAJkiFAX0
Brenden
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_stitching