Motorized Flying Platforms; Other Unattended Operations - Canon Camera Hackers Manual

8.3

Motorized flying platforms

Other flying platforms are usually motorized and include RC-controlled
model airplanes and helicopters. For photography, RC-controlled paraglid-
ers are an interesting option. They fly more slowly and give you more time
to take pictures. Normal aircraft, in contrast, require lots of attention dur-
ing flight. Taking pictures at the same time can be quite demanding—it
can be a job for two people, one acting as pilot, the other as photographer.
Multikopters are in a different league altogether; they are floating air-
bound working platforms for all kinds of tasks. Examples are the Mikro-
Kopter DIY project (www.mikrokopter.de/ucwiki/en/MikroKopter) and its
commercial cousin, the AirRobot. Multikopters can operate autonomously
or be RC-controlled. Each device consists of an array of vertically oriented
propellers (3–8) powered by lithium-polymer accumulators. Sensors and a
control unit keep the craft stable in the air; the device can even autono-
mously follow a predefined path guided by GPS. Once positioned over an
object or a scene, the photographer can concentrate on taking photos—
the Multikopter takes care of itself.
With all motorized crafts, there is the problem of vibration. It is neces-
sary to choose a short shutter speed and to use shutter priority exposure
control. On small diaphragm-less cameras such as the Canon Digital Elph
(Ixus) that are not equipped with such a mode, this can be achieved by
using a script (section 5.7.4). Also, it will probably be necessary to switch
the Image Stabilizer (IS) off because it usually worsens the problem. In any
case, tests should be made to find out the best shutter speed and whether
the image stabilizer can remain active or not.
8.4

Other unattended operations

The remote operation of a camera is not limited to kites and other airborne
vehicles. Any kind of remote-controlled vehicle can be used as a camera
platform—on land, sea, in the air, or in space. Often such vehicles are used
to take pictures in areas where humans can't go or areas that are too dan-
gerous.
Unattended operation is not only useful for mobile platforms but also
for stationary use. Surveillance is one application area. The camera is in-
stalled in a certain position and takes pictures at regular intervals or when
triggered by motion. Multishot techniques are also candidates for auto-
mated shooting sequences. The creation of large panoramas such as
Gigapixel images can and should be performed autonomously by the cam-
era in combination with a robotic panorama head. The creation of time-
lapse videos is another candidate for unattended operation. Shooting
hundreds of pictures manually is simply too boring and too error-prone.
8.3 Motorized flying platforms
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