My inexpensive starter quad (click here for my post about it) comes with a built in standard definition 60fps camera. The whole package, being less than $70, is a great buy, but the lack of high definition is slightly disappointing. I have been looking for a lightweight high definition camera to mount instead. I considered a key chain camera, but while at a discount store the other day, I found the Emerson HD Action Camera.
It is a high definition GoPro-esque camera which records 720p high definition, at 30fps. It was about $35, so not much more expensive than the better high definition key chain cameras, and I wouldn't have to wait for shipping. Knowing the store I was buying from has a good return policy (even on damaged items) I decided to give it a try. I stopped by to pick one up on my way home from work yesterday. I will review the camera at a later time, but for now, back to my story.
I stripped it down to its circuit board, which I put into a padded anti-static package, cut a hole in it for the lens, and rubber band mounted the whole thing to my quad. It worked! It was lightweight enough to fly, and actually gave a little more stability to the quad by hanging a little extra weight below the center of gravity. I flew it around the house last night, and have some wonderful video of my walls, but didn't have a chance to get it outside before the sun went down. Today, by the time I made it home from work, we had a storm moving in, and there was a literal calm before said storm. Winds were only between about 3 and 5mph, so I decided to drag my new high def setup quad out, and take some aerial shots of the storm front. I am an amateur meteorologist, so this type of shot is something I have actually been interested in with aerial photography.
I got the quad up about 65 feet, started doing some pans of the horizon, fought some wind gusts, decided I had at least a few good shots, and brought it down just as the wind gusted up to about 25mph. Excited, I go into the house, pull the SD card, put it into my computer, pull up the video, and...I have a wonderful shot of me looking at the camera, adjusting it a little, and then...nothing. I somehow bumped the record button on the camera while making sure it was secure, and turned the darn thing off! ARGH! Even in my makeshift packaging, I can see the LED blinking when it records, and could have easily checked to make sure it was recording before sending my quad up on its dangerous mission. BUT, in my haste, I did not do the final check, and lost out on what I am sure would have been award winning aerial video footage of a storm front. OK, that may be going a little far, but still, it could have been cool. Maybe next time.
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