RC Airplanes + Digital Camera = • Non-Gaming • Photography • Eurogamer.net

sam_spade 2 Dec 2004 21:06:45 15,745 posts
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Cracking photos

Although, what the hell do you have to put in a man's drink to get him to put a digital camera in a flimsy toy?

Precision-Auto 2 Dec 2004 21:10:31 345 posts
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wow, i can't believe they got results that good just from sticking a camera on to a RC plane?

How would you press the capture button?

Gurgy 2 Dec 2004 21:12:21 2,924 posts
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Wireless remote release or delay timer ?

Or tape shutter release button down whilst in continuous shooting mode.

Edited by ReGuRgIt8oR at 21:13:08 02-12-2004

sam_spade 2 Dec 2004 21:13:00 15,745 posts
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Remote Control? I presume there must be a little device they put on it.

ssuellid 2 Dec 2004 21:15:25 19,142 posts
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Just use a standard wireless servo - like the ones that control the plane.

Zeitgeist 2 Dec 2004 21:15:55 811 posts
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They are flying a remote controlled plane around the sky and you wonder how they get the shutter to open, are you kidding me?

Those are incredibly good photos tho, wouldn't mind doing that where I live just to see what it looks like up there.

bainbrge 2 Dec 2004 21:17:54 1,687 posts
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otto wrote:
Remote control is usually infrared so bloody difficult to trigger from the ground. Taping shutter release down, hmm, crude but probably effective. They'd be a bit limited in time though in that case, wouldn't they?

it isn't infra red, its RF- like the controls on the aircraft?

ssuellid 2 Dec 2004 21:19:23 19,142 posts
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You buy a 6 or more channel Futaba radio control system and you have one for throttle, tail, flaps, etc and one channel for the camera servo. They use FM - search for Futaba for more info.

Precision-Auto 2 Dec 2004 21:20:45 345 posts
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I seem to remember actually, that the RC plane nut who lives next door to me was able to trigger a guy parachuting from his plane by pressing a button on his controller - so i guess like somebody else said, they do it by using a servo like the ones that control the plane itself.

st3ph3n 2 Dec 2004 21:25:30 2,833 posts
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otto wrote:
Boy, some of them are great!

Stick my D70 on the back of a remote controlled plane and it'd never leave the ground.

Someone came into the office today with an old Sony Mavica 1.6mp camera with inbuilt floppy (which had just broken, hence them bringing it in). I nearly laughed myself hoarse looking at it.

I had to go and get our IT department Sony 5MP effort to get its memory stick just to test if the Mavica was still working. It was about 1/5 of the size and weight of the old one.

You'd be lucky to get the Mavica one up in a cessna never mind an R/C plane.

Great photos sam. Makes me want to go and get a plane and a cam myself.

Edited by st3ph3n at 21:26:03 02-12-2004

Precision-Auto 2 Dec 2004 21:25:40 345 posts
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Who else is inspired to run out and buy one of these(and foolishly crash it straight way) after seeing those magnificent photos?!

/sticks hand up!

Anyone know a good uk site to get a beginner set up?

ssuellid 2 Dec 2004 21:27:19 19,142 posts
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otto wrote:
The remote for my camera is infrared.

You just mount the servo to press the shutter button.

ssuellid 2 Dec 2004 21:29:07 19,142 posts
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Precision Auto wrote:
Anyone know a good uk site to get a beginner set up?

Best place to look is probably here: -

http://www.bmfa.org/

Precision-Auto 2 Dec 2004 21:31:43 345 posts
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ssuellid wrote:

Precision Auto wrote:
Anyone know a good uk site to get a beginner set up?

Best place to look is probably here: -

http://www.bmfa.org/

thank you!

Phattso 2 Dec 2004 21:40:39 27,426 posts
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Precision Auto wrote:Anyone know a good uk site to get a beginner set up?

My fianc�e, bless 'er, got me one of these last Christmas. I think you can get them cheaper than that price, and there are simpler (therefore cheaper) models available also.

It's perfect for beginners - it has an assist mode whereby it basically keeps itself level if you release the controls. I flew that maybe half a dozen times before I was hooked and decided to get hold of a more advanced unit. Long term I'm looking to build my own.

Be warned, though - you can spend a fortune on these things.

/edit: btw - awesome link there, sam_spade.

Edited by Phattso at 21:42:06 02-12-2004

ssuellid 2 Dec 2004 21:45:04 19,142 posts
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I'd start off with a ready to fly or 'almost ready to fly' kit as some of the 'simple' DIY kits used to be a total bastard to build.

mal 2 Dec 2004 21:53:24 29,326 posts
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Wow, that shot on the first page by Dark Overlord. The way that the atphospheric effects along with the sky being over-exposed, plus the JPEG aliasing the colours makes that shot look like something out of Outrun 2. Except it's got a whacking great nuclear power station in the middle of it!

mal 2 Dec 2004 22:29:49 29,326 posts
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Yeah, I seem to remember someone doing straightforward aerial shots by pointing a camera straight down off a balloon. Can't remember how they got the camera back down to earth though!