Micro Video and other Cameras on Model Airplanes..."Rise of the Porcupine!!"

Kim Mon Aug 05, 2013 6:48 am

Thought I'd post some photos of the video cameras I've been strapping onto my planes. The new HD micro cameras have REALLY let me get some great, if not startling footage, with frame-capture photos that are better than those I used to get with full-size film cameras.

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Their tiny size lets me put them almost anywhere on the model I want to try.

This fellow over on RC Groups has a thread on HD key fob cameras that includes where they can be purchased, along with instructions that are easier to understand than those that come with the cameras.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1556994

The quickest way to get going is to just tape them to the airframe with a pad of thin foam rubber as a cushion.

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You want to always bring the plane back to it's original balance point, and I use lead shot, measured into a small zip-lock bag, also attached to the appropriate spot with tape.

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These cameras are small enough to mount to a servo that will let you rotate them in-flight. I built several little platforms, stitched and CA'd to the arms of some Cox Icon servos. I stuck them onto wingtips and fins, again with office tape, but the fun REALLY started when a friend gave me an aluminum hunting arrow (got no explanation...people just give me stuff), which I immediately converted into a camera boom! I'd used hard balsa sticks before, but the arrow shaft was just as light, and much more stout, and less prone to vibration.

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A caution about the booms though: be sure that the wing is stiff enough to NOT be twisted by the arm-action of the boom. It hasn't happened to me yet, but I can easily imagine some severe aileron effect spinning a glider in the ground if the wing couldn't handle the weight of the boom.

And no...I haven't lost one...yet!...but DID manage to ruin one by attaching it on the 3 meter B.O.T.'s fin, giving it a castor oil bath. Got some good footage though!

I'm running out of time this morning, but will be happy to post some more photos of other cameras later on.

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ian1954 Mon Aug 05, 2013 9:56 am

Hi Kim,

Is this the recommended camera?

http://www.minidvcameras.co.uk/viewitem.php?productid=2&groupid=0

Rgds,

Ian

sdjjadk Mon Aug 05, 2013 1:16 pm

Cool pics Kim. I have an old CVS one time use video camera that I modded for multi use.
Here is a vid I made back in 04 using my son's trainer. I have other videos on dvd somewhere and will post more if I can find it.

Shawn

sdjjadk Mon Aug 05, 2013 1:22 pm

ian1954 wrote:Hi Kim,

Is this the recommended camera?

http://www.minidvcameras.co.uk/viewitem.php?productid=2&groupid=0

Rgds,

Ian

That's a neat little camera.

Kim Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:34 pm

ian1954 wrote:Hi Kim,

Is this the recommended camera?

http://www.minidvcameras.co.uk/viewitem.php?productid=2&groupid=0

Rgds,

Ian

Yeah Ian,

That's the #16 model. Thing is, mine do not have that protruding lens for 120 degrees of wide angle. Don't know if that is an improvement on all of them, or if it is removable.

Hope it is, as that would allow a little flexibility. I may have to get another one to check out that lens.

Kim Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:37 pm

sdjjadk wrote:Cool pics Kim. I have an old CVS one time use video camera that I modded for multi use.
Here is a vid I made back in 04 using my son's trainer. I have other videos on dvd somewhere and will post more if I can find it.

Shawn

Cool! I've always loved doing this stuff for a chance to see what the plane sees ! Look like you all have a pretty nice field there !

ian1954 Mon Aug 05, 2013 3:50 pm

Thanks Kim

I just ordered one with the 120 deg lens - hope it works! It looks promising!

Kim Tue Aug 06, 2013 7:39 am

Good Deal !! Bet you're gonna have a big time with it !!!!!!!!!!!!!

WingingIt74 Tue Aug 06, 2013 7:52 am

Here is one video I did a few years back for Brandon's cub scout pack.

**RknRusty** Tue Aug 06, 2013 10:02 am

Ahh, I guessed 300 feet.

sdjjadk Tue Aug 06, 2013 2:03 pm

Kim wrote:

Cool! I've always loved doing this stuff for a chance to see what the plane sees !

Same here. It's really cool to see what it looks like when doing maneuvers you'd never be able to do in a full scale plane like high speed snap rolls and high G rolling tumbles.

Kim wrote:Look like you all have a pretty nice field there !

Thanks, I had a lot of fun flying there when I lived in Florida. I miss the year round flying for sure. When I made the video, the club had just started a complete field renovation giving the runway a professional golf course quality finish.
I fly here now, http://www.paxaero.com/

Shawn

ian1954 Sat Aug 10, 2013 6:14 am

The little camera arrived a few days ago and I charged it up but then wondered what I was going to do with it. I don't have a large sailplane.

Anyway, this morning I thought I would try it out -

It is small and only weighs 17g (0.6 ounces).

Micro Video and other Cameras on Model Airplanes..."Rise of the Porcupine!!" Minidv10

Now normally, I would expect that careful consideration was given as to how to mount it, how it would affect balance ..........

I thought "How hard can it be?" but not for very long.

Out came the Blade 120 Sr and a couple of elastic bands.

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A true work of art! A testiment to my modelling patience!

Yes, the little helicopter was out of balance and I got caught out by a sudden breeze and did a bush landing but ........ the camera is a little gem.

Thank you Kim for the recommendation.

JanPar Thu Aug 15, 2013 6:33 pm

The wide angle lens is impressive . Much better than the flying.

Kim Thu Aug 15, 2013 8:40 pm

[quote="ian1954"]

Yes, the little helicopter was out of balance and I got caught out by a sudden breeze and did a bush landing but ........ the camera is a little gem.

Thank you Kim for the recommendation.

Cool! and you're welcome...one thing I love doing is helping my fellow modelers spend their hard-earned cash !!!!

Is the wide angle lens removable, or permanent? I'm wanting to order two more, but want to stay with the lens of my original cameras.

Mark Boesen Thu Aug 15, 2013 11:38 pm

here's one i did a couple years ago with a parkzone champ....

if you do some surfing there's a lot of good info on key fob cameras

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4yssQK7j8o&list=UUBSC1mqwxfHRDFG3QoU6ylw

ian1954 Fri Aug 16, 2013 3:18 am

Mark,

My garden is a postage stamp compared to yours!

Kim,

There are two versions of the #16 - Lens A and Lens D (120deg). This is lens A

http://www.minidvcameras.co.uk/viewitem.php?productid=0

I don't think I would recommend removing or swapping the lens in one. If you are going to get two, then get one of each.

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Kim Mon Sep 02, 2013 7:46 am

Finally got a new arrow-shaft mount made for my GoPro camera, and had a beautiful evening to put it in harm's way. Thought I'd post some of the Video Captures from the flights.

The engines on the B.O.T. are Bernie's Three Amigos: A Blue Bullet, an Extreme, and the recently broken-in Terminator.

The GoPro is obviously a great camera, but it's downloaded PDF instructions test me a little. Luckily, there's a YouTube video showing it's different set-ups, and I was at least able to get the thing going this time.

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Blasting through the channel...the space between the powerlines and Cedar tree that defines the departure and approach to my little airport.

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Turning the corner and going for altitude.

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Up high...about 3 hundred feet in the calm evening air. This was about the max with no lift to help the B.O.T. and it's Three Amigos.

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The Blue Bullet is still hauling, while the other two ride along.

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Everybody's shut down and turning final approach up the channel.

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Short final between the tree and powerlines, AND clearing the fence that's given the B.O.T.'s leading edge so much character...

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Back Home Again

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Kim Mon Aug 18, 2014 1:27 pm

Mounting these little cameras on rotating servos IS a lot of fun and can make for some a real dramatic footage, but sometimes a quicker and simpler route is better, saving the worrying over running the wires and such.

I decided to take a bandsaw to one of my arrowshaft camera booms, cutting away the servo mount, replacing it with a hard balsa platform, and piercing it all around for bamboo skewers for the #19 rubber bands to hold the camera.

I left enough of the original mount to give myself a couple elevations for the cameras, depending on the plane, and where the whole thing was gonna be strapped.

As with most of my stuff, it ain't too pretty, but it DOES get the job done !

If you make several flights, manually repositioning the camera each time, you can still make some great video by editing them together using the "Movie Maker" program that's probably already installed in your computer.

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pkrankow Mon Aug 18, 2014 1:55 pm

I think the servo is more elegant...however there are advantages to simplicity too. Did you save notable weight?

Phil

Kim Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:13 pm

pkrankow wrote:I think the servo is more elegant...however there are advantages to simplicity too. Did you save notable weight?

Phil

Yeah...HAD to make at least a little difference, although this particular boom was made-up for one of Bernie's micro servos and a Key FOB camera, so that wasn't a whole lot of weight there to begin with. I'm somewhat lazy and don't always weigh the stuff before I start hacking on it.

I wanted a really quick way to strap the Go Pro out on a boom, and had always used a bigger servo for it, for fear of it snapping the neck off the micro. It IS a small camera, but has quite a bit of leverage out on the end of that arrowshaft.

Running the servo wire can be a hassle too, and I've had it mess up a shot or two when the scotch tape gave way.

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This is quick and dirty, and I can still create a panning effect by fading between different angles during the editing of the video.

roddie Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:10 pm

I actually have been curious about how you edit your vids Kim. I do have "Movie-Maker" on my PC.. but haven't done much with it.. besides crudely trimming my start/end points.. No "fades".. no "text-intros".. no slow-mo's".

I love watching your vids. The two most recent (Lil' Stinker and PT19) I REALLY enjoyed.. even though the cam wasn't mounted on the "model". How was the camera being held Kim? Both models were perfectly centered in the frame on those vids.. and the image was very stable as well.

I wonder if you could devise a C/L "Handle-Cam"??... and also have a cam mounted on the fuse; "inboard-side".. and pointing at the lead-outs/pilot? That might make for some interesting flight-footage editing!!

Kim Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:58 pm

Thanks Roddie!

The irony (at least for my budget) is that I spent a pretty good chunk of money on 3 separate video editing programs from Best Buy before breaking down and trying Windows Movie Maker...which is all I use now.

I make up the title cards and "black pages" on the Paint Program that also comes with Windows, and insert them as photos.

I tried the "Handle-Cam" idea, but it made the handling sluggish. I also had a "Helmet-Cam" I made from a hard hat, but couldn't keep the thing on when tracking overheads!

I settled on holding the camera in my left hand, and just shooting enough footage to splice together some good parts.

I'm wanting to put together a video with several different control liners set to music...I can see it all in my head...just got to do the flying and crunch the footage! I'll probably keep it on DVD though, since I don't feel like getting bounced on You Tube again for copyright violations, and the free music doesn't work for me!!!

pkrankow Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:00 pm

If you use a servo, no one says you have to wire it up. Servos are not hurt by manual motion as long as they are moved slowly. Also the wire can run INSIDE the arrow shaft if you put the connectors on yourself.

Food for thought.

Phil

Kim Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:16 pm

Yeah, I still got an assortment of "servos on sticks", and they'll get used along with the one I just hacked up !!

The wire CAN be run inside the arrowshaft, but that kinda cuts down on how you can strap it to the plane...depending where it needs to meet the extension coming out of the fuse. Kinda hard to explain...

roddie Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:43 pm

Kim wrote:Yeah, I still got an assortment of "servos on sticks", and they'll get used along with the one I just hacked up !!

The wire CAN be run inside the arrowshaft, but that kinda cuts down on how you can strap it to the plane...depending where it needs to meet the extension coming out of the fuse. Kinda hard to explain...

Seems like a good application for the hook & loop wire/cable ties I've seen out there.. "zip it off" to remove/re-position the harness.. without the sticky mess of adhesive tape.

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Micro Video and other Cameras on Model Airplanes..."Rise of the Porcupine!!"

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Hillbillys and High Tech...figuring out my GoPro Camera

Rise of the Porcupine !!!

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