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About APAP stands for aerial photography. It is an exciting and fun hobby where you take pictures from the air using various means, typically an airplane, helicopter or long pole, controlled by radio. Until recently, the field of AP has been for those with big budget. Big helicopters with large cameras were the only options available to people wanting to enter AP. With the advent of cheap, light weight, high quality digital cameras and wireless video systems, smaller platforms have become ideal for aerial photography. Until now, trying to do AP with a smaller platform meant cobbing together a homemade solution. Not any longer. We offer light weight gimbaled camera mounts for various applications. AirplaneYou can mount a camera onto an airplane and take pictures as you fly. We typically use a slower flying electric airplane like the GWS Slow Stick. Electric airplanes are well suited to AP use because they are clean, vibration free, and quiet. You can use a trainer type gas plane, but appropriate caution needs to be taken to keep oil and mess off the camera. Advantages of an airplane are ease of learning to fly and ease of taking to high altitude. The bigger the plane, the more payload it can carry. The Slow Stick performs best with a light camera. HelicamYou can mount a camera onto a helicopter as well. We offer mounting systems for various smaller electric helis. Size of heli dictates the carrying capacity. Main advantages of a heli are its the abilities to hover and fly in small spaces. The main disadvantage is the steep learning curve and high cost of equipment. With the advent of smaller electric helis and advance in pilot assist technology, both of these have become easier to deal with. Pole cameraThis is where you use a camera mounted onto the end of the long pole, typically reaching about 30 feet, but sometimes as high as 40 feet. The longer the pole, the more unwieldy it is to handle. To ensure safety we recommend a good quality fibreglass pole like the Hastings Hot Stick. Another great option is Wonderpole. These sticks generally run for $200+ used and about $500 for a new one. MFJ 33 foot portable antenna can be used too, however they're only good for 25 feet or so due a flimsier top section. They generally and cost under $100. Great for quick low level shots. Many people run all three platforms. If you only want to use a single platform, heli is the way to go, but it has the highest learning curve and biggest investment. Our products section has more information on each platform, so be sure to visit them.
camera selection I would say get the lightest best camera you can afford, but I always recommend going with nice refurbished 5-6 mega pixel camera for your first AP camera. Tests have shown that , when you are dealing with point and shoot camera, you do not gain much image quality over higher pixel camera, and these older cameras can be gotten for great price. one of the best in small camera is Pentax optio series. Main reason is the ability to use IR switch. light weight and good quality pictures. Of course, with bigger platoform, bigger load capacity will open up whole range of bigger camera. One thing to keep in mind, is that the bigger load will reduce flight time and may make it harder to fly. Always use good judgment not to overload the airframe.
video down link lets talk about wireless video down link system a bit here. if you decide that you need one, there are several vendors that sells these item. what you want to get is 2.4ghz system with 200mw power. the issue is that you will need HAM (amateur radio operator) license to run these system in US. if you are running short distance heli or pole, some of the pinhole wireless camera have low enough power so you don't need HAM license. With good patch antenna and eyetop centra LCD glasses, you can have usable downlink system that is fairly affordable. You may ask, Do you really need video down link? Even without wireless down link, you can take great pictures. Only downside is that you will waste more shots. the key to good AP, is use high quality camera and take several shots slightly farther away and bit higher. use Sport mode or high shutter speed. you can crop it and still end up with very nice image. oh yes, with pole camera, you may be able to get video down with video out on the camera and hard cable.
Copilot Copilot is a pilot assist device made by FMAdirect. It is available as stand alone or with 8channel receiver built in. it uses IR sensors to actively monitor and make corrections to keep your aircraft or helicopter level. It cost about $100-200, but very well could be worth the investment. If you are flying alone, it takes lot of attention to fly and take pics. Combined with video down link and virtual eyeglass, you could take pic and fly. Otherwise, I would recommend a separate camera person to help take pictures.
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