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Plane or helicopter for aerial video

Purely for fun, I'm looking to get an aeroplane or helicopter, to which a video camera can be attached.

I've heard of tiny cmaeras weighing a few ounces that can capture HD and are dirt cheap too, but I'm pretty much clueless about these and the vehicle, so I'm asking for advice.

Thanks.
 
If you are talking abut a model aircraft then multirotors have taken over the market for aerial photo and video work. The DJI Phantom and Inspire are very popular and work fairly well. I fly a home built DJI flamewheel 550 which carries a gopro hero 2 (with an ND filter to help with rolling shutter) and it records at 1080 but sends a SD signal via a 5.8 mhz transmitter to a monitor attached to my Futaba transmitter which works just fine for framing. I get about 10 minutes of flight time on a pair of 4000mah S3 LIPO batteries.

A DJI Phantom vision w/camera runs about $1,100.

The DJI Inspire is around $3,000.


Purely for fun, I'm looking to get an aeroplane or helicopter, to which a video camera can be attached.

I've heard of tiny cmaeras weighing a few ounces that can capture HD and are dirt cheap too, but I'm pretty much clueless about these and the vehicle, so I'm asking for advice.

Thanks.
 
Depending on where you live there are rules and regulation concerning unmanned aerial vehices. Make sure you know the rules.

A helicopter is a more steady platform, because it can hover and land and take of vertically. A plane always needs horizontal speed to stay in the air: that makes it harder (or even impossible) to film.
 
Thanks for the tips.

I once saw a set-up on a webpage so that the monitor was inside a pair of goggles, meaning that the controller could see exactly what he would see were he inside the plane/helicopter (or from wherever the camera was positioned).

Ideally, I'd love something like that... just a shame I never made a note of the web site and have never come across so a set-up since.
 
Yup, it's called FPV flying and is very exciting. But also problematic should the video transmitter fail. I would recommend you learn to pilot your craft normally before advancing to FPV flying. Regarding legalities, here in the U.S. things have settled down a bit and the FAA seems content, as long as you're not doing it for profit, to fly according the RC aircraft advisory (14 CFR Part 91) which requires the aircraft fly no higher than 400 ft, stay away from manned aircraft, and must be flown line-of-sight, meaning you must have visible contact with the craft at all times. Shooting for money is another matter. Many are doing it here but officially, you need to petition the FAA for an exemption. As of today, only 244 exemptions have been approved.

Thanks for the tips.

I once saw a set-up on a webpage so that the monitor was inside a pair of goggles, meaning that the controller could see exactly what he would see were he inside the plane/helicopter (or from wherever the camera was positioned).

Ideally, I'd love something like that... just a shame I never made a note of the web site and have never come across so a set-up since.
 
GoPro is the lightest weight camera that I'd go for which as at least "semi pro" level quality.

To lift that (and a gimbal, which is very important!) you'd need a reasonably beefy quadcopter.

The cheapest way to go for the max bang for your buck is to get a Cheerson CX-20.
(which is the one I own myself!)
 
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