[jlaffin]

I'm looking for a helicopter to set up for aerial photography. I've done a lot of reading, but there's so many options to decide. Any help would be much appreciated. I'm not sure if I'd be better off lifting my Nikon D70s or buying the much lighter and smaller Lumix LX3(or something like it). Then comes the helicopter; would I be better off with a T-Rex 600 because there are lots of camera mounts built to fit it, or go bigger and get a 700 converted to electric? Will the 700 be able to lift much more than the 600?

Thanks for any suggestions or comments.

Julian

[waylander]

Personally, I'd suggest you also look at gassers.

[mark_]

Jerry's your man...I'm sure he'll chime in.

[tskca]

Julian:

Seems to be a lot of information on Runryder:

http://rc.runryder.com/helicopter/f25p1/

Unless you have deep pockets, going with a TRex 700 electric seems rather extreme. My friend has one.

Ken

[eyeinsky]

jlaffin

How's your heli piloting skills?

Read some of my old post here and on RR:
Here a link: http://rc.runryder.com/helicopter/se...ortby=lastpost

I know it a lot but there is a lot to learn.

I have only have electric heli's now 500, 600 and 700 size, all with fwd mounts custom made.
They vary in there degree of electronic, my largest ship is a stretched Raptor 50 converted to electric. Fwd mount 3 axis gyro stab gymbal, AP 2000I flight stab, Video downlink and a Canon G10 or Sony video camera.

+ YouTube Video

Cheers Jerry

[jlaffin]

Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate the help. I'm leaving right now for the weekend, but will read all this and reply to you guys on Mon. or Tues.

Thanks!
Julian

[tech1]

You have to have an idea what you are doing with it before you start. This will determine the chioces of hardware you will make. Also be prepared to have a few thousand toput into it if things get serious. Not just for the heli. All those little things like stabilizers, downlinks, extra gyro's. The pennies add up pretty fast.

I chose underslung. Sorry, I don't have ground shots. This was taken before pan/tilt gyro's were added. It is a must if you are shooting video. You can get away without it for still photography.

+ YouTube Video

[mark_]

Tech...that is fantastic air to air footage...well done!!
What size is the Bell 47? Nice looking bird.

[jlaffin]

Hey guys,

I realize this could get expensive. I am willing to put in the $$ to get this going. My heli piloting skills are not half bad. I fly a Blade 400 and a T-Rex 250. A stabilization system is not an option for AP in my mind though. Jerry, how do you like the AP 2000i? Would you recommend going with it or is Helicommand a better option?

I plan on doing mostly still photography with it, so I don't have to worry about too much vibration for video.

Next question is what kind of camera mount? Is underslung or front mount more adventageous?

Thanks,
Julian

[eyeinsky]

Julian

The AP2000I works great. I have heard that Helicommand work great too. Helicommand uses video to track movement on the ground in conjunction with 3 axis gyro. AP2000I only has the IR sensor to sense the horizon all gyro have to be added to the pitch and roll channels if you want them. I have tried it, it is not necessary in my case. They both support flybarless system.

Jerry