New Camera Models & Recent Developments Related to AP

Av8Chuck

Av8Chuck

Member
I've been slowly building larger multirotors with the goal of doing professional AP work for the past nine months. When you look back at the videos over that time frame you can see steady, and remarkable, improvements in cameras, controllers, gimbals etc..

I thought it might be a good idea, actually I think Droider thought it might be a good idea and encouraged me to start a thread about the recent release of new cameras, hacks, lenses and gimbals/supports that might be significant enough to upgrade.

It would be great if some of the usual subjects who are ahead of the adoption curve [you know who you are] could post examples of footage shot with some of this new technology and share a little about your experiences with it so that we can compare.

Good first candidates for discussion would be the GoPro Hero2, Sony NEX-5n, Panasonic GH2 [especially if its hacked, which hack], Red Scarlet, etc., any of these cameras could be a game changer for some of our businesses. This isn't intended to be a PC vs Mac thing, not a one brand of camera vs another, but an honest assessment of what works well, and maybe not so well between peers.

You don't have to write a book, we probably don't need to discuss motors, ESC's and props, unless for some reason it's relevant, a brief description of the camera [shooting mode], technique or workflow that you think could improve AP on hopefully a more professional level.

Although I am starting this thread, unfortunately I don't have anything to contribute at the moment, here are a couple of examples I'm sure most of us have seen, I hope Jeff and Beauregard will jump in with there experiences with the NEX-5n and GH2 to get this discussion started.

This video was shot by Jeff Scholl from Gravityshots

This video shot by Beauregard from Steamboat Aerials
 
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Emowillcox

Emowillcox

Member
AV8
Great idea for a thread. Funny you mention you don't have anything to contribute yet you posted two pretty cool videos with nice footage :tennis:
Can you elaborate on the set ups you used to make these videos?
 

Av8Chuck

Av8Chuck

Member
Sorry, I wasn't clear enough, these are not my videos, the top video is from Jeff Scholl from GravityShots and I believe that it was shot with the Sony NEX-5n

And the second was shot by Beauregard from Steamboat Aerials.

I thought they are great examples of two different cameras being used for the same purpose, architectural aerials. In Jeff's video its overcast with soft, flat light, in Beauregard's video its a bright sony day and the GH2 really makes it come alive.
 

Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
I hope this thread becomes as popular as the 'Show what you filmed' thread..

There are a lot of smoke and mirrors out there.. I know from my own experiences in other fields that IP (intellectual property) is VERY hard earned..

I am very reluctant to relinquish what I have learned from had work and hundreds, nay thousands of hours of hair pulling... BUT to advance sometimes we need to share.. even if it is just a little morsel because from that little morsel huge advancements can be made because it is a trigger that sparks a new thread, a new avenue, a new direction in another mind.. which can help us all..

Sorry if that seem a little deep but I really believe this forum is about sharing.. I respect immensely the hard work that everyone here has put into make this a great forum.. It would be great if it was also an inspirational place

Dave

PS

Av8 thanks for starting it..
The first video you posted on the forum kicked my butt to do better.. just a morsel if inspiration!
 

S

Stacky

Member
Chuck with respect to color rendition and making video come alive especially when viewed online I think a huge amount can be done in post. One thing that seems to be missed in the AP side of things and especially with multi rotor users is color grading and post techniques for video. Good thread idea and I do think the color grading things side of things needs to be included. I have seen some really nice work done along those lines.

One example is the stuff this guy did at a bike park http://vimeo.com/30575127
 

Av8Chuck

Av8Chuck

Member
Droider said:
I hope this thread becomes as popular as the 'Show what you filmed' thread..

There are a lot of smoke and mirrors out there.. I know from my own experiences in other fields that IP (intellectual property) is VERY hard earned..

I am very reluctant to relinquish what I have learned from hard work and hundreds, nay thousands of hours of hair pulling... BUT to advance sometimes we need to share.. even if it is just a little morsel because from that little morsel huge advancements can be made because it is a trigger that sparks a new thread, a new avenue, a new direction in another mind.. which can help us all..
Click to expand...

This is one of the few things I like about the Internet, we're all very geographically diverse, we are not really in competition with each other, especially when you consider percentage wise how few people are trying to do AP with multirotors at a professional level. Whether our business is successful has less to do with competition between us than it does with acceptance of us. If you want to use aerial videography in property videos, for example, can we get realtors to recognize our value proposition and "PAY" enough for it? Every time I see an architectural video posted by Beauregard I don't think of him as competition, I want to offer as much encouragement and support for him as I can because he's knocking it out of the park for the rest of us. In the off chance that someone from Steamboat Springs calls me to do a property video, the first person I'm calling is Beauregard, I'm not going to truck all my stuff there, I'd rather hire him so as a producer he can make me look good.

People like Jeff Scholl and Jago Svensspn have already provided us with hours of inspirational videos, I'm sure there are a lot of others out there, and maybe a thread like this can offer something back. They may be pushing the boundaries of multirotor AP but others on the forums have been developing technologies for image processing, like what Stacky mentioned, color grading and image stabilization, maybe there's a realtor who's been in the business for 20 years and found there way here could offer insights on how to get realtors to pay more for our services.

I often think how much fun it might have been to be around in the "Good Old Days' of cinematography, when DP's where men and PA's were nervous... Maybe these are the "Good Old Days' of multirotor AP.

I hope this thread is organic, it goes wherever people who are actually doing this level of work want to take it, that is targeted at quality AP.

EOS. [End of Speech...]
 
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SYNDK8

SYNDK8

Skyvokker
Setup

I have been filming with Canon 5D, 7D, 60D, Alexa, Red Epic, Sony EX1... for the past few years. All great cameras for specific purposes and situations. Combining what I have learned from the television and filming industry and applying it to APV work, here is what happened when I first saw the SkyJib 8:


  1. Endless nights of dreaming and framing shots in my head and reading this forum and building a custom setup in my mind of SkyJib 8 and Plettenbergs and the AV320 with Retractable landing gear.
  2. GoPro Hero2 gets announced, SkyJib cheque is torn up.
    • 60fps and 120fps, timelapse, that no other camera has YET, for $300 (120 fps WVGA, 60 fps 720p, 48 fps 960p, 30 fps 1080p Video)
    • Canon EOS-1D X just came out and there were no improvements in framerates, (this is another option for AP work, moire and noise is better than 5D Mark ii) New sensor is Digic 5 and there are improvements in video recording. Only time will tell when it sales next year.
    • Nov. 3 Canon might announce 5D Mark III, but the 1D didn't show faster fps options.
    • Nov. 3 RED might announce Scarlet release.

      These are some options I would consider for professional APV work:
    • Sony 5N, 7N, A77, FS100, PMW-F3
    • Canon 1D, 5D, 7D, T2i, T3i, 600D, 60D
    • Nikon D90, D3s, etc. ...(not a nikon guy)
    • Panasonic GH2, AF100
    • GoPro HD and Hero2
    • RED Epic, Scarlet
NOTE

  • Editing and grading videos became super dooper easy with the advent of Adobe Master Collection CS5.5 for both mac and PC, Final Cut is history, sorry.
  • Every editor will add/slow down her/his footage, more fps gives us the ability to slow down or speed up the footage smoothly.
  • 60fps and 120fps slowed down with Twixtor could make it to 1000fps........(depends on the footage)
  • Sandy Bridge motherboard with a 1GB DDR5 Video nVidia card will pump out those sky videos faster.
MY PLAN
GoPro Hero 2 / Canon 5D / Sony 5N + Quad frame + AV200 + with eight Plettenbergs / AXi 2826 plans are drawn up.

  • Motors might be overkill, but plan would be to upgrade in the future to the SkyJib / Cinestar to hold RED EPIC and Alexa.
  • GoPro is the winner for cost and the type of work you will do to market your business on the internet when starting. That is how we all got hooked watching videos online and today's post was no exception.
  • The workflow on the GoPro is simple and allows you to edit footage faster if shooting in 60/120fps, have time to advertise and market your business and get back to flying and improving your flying skills.
  • Canon 5D for night shoots, and Sony 5N because its super light and interchangeable lens and does 60fps.
Thats all for now, and remember ... be a Hero.
 
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SYNDK8

SYNDK8

Skyvokker
Av8Chuck said:
In the off chance that someone from Steamboat Springs calls me to do a property video, the first person I'm calling is Beauregard, I'm not going to truck all my stuff there, I'd rather hire him so as a producer he can make me look good.

I hope this thread is organic, it goes wherever people who are actually doing this level of work want to take it, that is targeted at quality AP.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. I worked on a German Mercedes Small Repair commercial last year in Dubai, and we hired Q4 Systems and that's when I wanted to get into all this fun. And you are right this a niche skill and there is room for everyone to work together.

Work by Q4 Systems

 
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R

rwilabee

Member
I have the GoPro HD Camera. For fun shooting not for business should I be shooting in 1080p 30fps or 720p at 60fps. I may use an editing program to make a nicer video to share with friends.

Thanks
Rich
 

DucktileMedia

DucktileMedia

Drone Enthusiast
Gopro 1080 footage is only ideal because of it's narrower FOV. You really want the 60fps if you can use the 720p mode. I bought a Ragecams 6mm lens and i am not happy with it. Not sure if there is a defect or not but it requires constant manual focusing and the image is no where as crisp as the stock lens.


The Sony 5n and av130 combo are highly impressive. Hard to beat the results I am getting right now. i would really not ask for much more in stability. Someone needs to start making a digital to analog converter that is light and cheap!
 

Av8Chuck

Av8Chuck

Member
I have been very impressed with the image quality of the GH2. This thread was started after a brief discussion about the GH2 hack, I have heard, but not seen, that there is a hack for the GH2 to be able to shoot 1080P60, that has certainly piqued my interest but I can't find it and its a little unclear what the stability of the hack is. If I had a GH2 I would almost certainly try it, I'm not sure I'd purchase a GH2 because of the hack, I'd also be more likely to purchase a GH2 if I could find an affordable lens adapter that enabled me to use Canon EF lenses.

For AP its hard to beat 1080P at 60 fps, add to that the Sony NEX 5n's small light weight design and I agree its hard to beat. A suggestion for someone that has the resources and the time would be to make a lightweight acrylic case for the 5n similar to what's on the GoPro.

Most of the 5n footage I've seen is from Jeff who is one of those guys that makes just about everything look good, its a little like watching Warthox fly a quad and thinking "I can do that..." I thought the AP video of downtown Whitefish was excellent but the 5n appeared a bit contrasty, it would be nice to know if that's the lens. Other aerial video I've seen with the 5n seems to be a little flat. As Stacky mentioned it would also be interesting to know what, if any color grading was done to that footage and test to see how far it could be "pushed." If Jeff has an FTP site and would like to offer up one of the clips from that video I would be happy to test it in Apples Color.
 

SYNDK8

SYNDK8

Skyvokker
Check out Sony 5N and GH2 articles on this site

http://www.eoshd.com/content/3856/sony-nex-5n-review-and-video-footage



here is the website for gh2 hack by Vitaliy_kiselev
http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/50/official-gh2-hack-development-topic

- 25p and 1080/60p (since sensor is already capable of that)
- Uncompressed HDMI output (and maybe even 10bit) and removal of interlacing bug to make compatible with Ninja, etc.
- Higher AVCHD bitrates
- See if the 4MP 40fps burst shooting can be turned into viable video mode - i.e. MJPEG for 2 minutes
- See if 4K2K is possible
- Improvements to colour, like 4-2-2
- Switchable PAL / NTSC frame rates
- 720/120fps if possible!
- Fix the gamma shift between live view and record mode (in live view at the moment it is 16-255 with clipped shadows and crushed blacks)
- Enable AF tracking in video mode and not just live view mode for stills
- Enable crop mode over HDMI output

hack for canon - magic lantern
http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Lantern_Firmware_Wiki
 
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Emowillcox

Emowillcox

Member
I have to agree with Av8 about this that using the forum means that people are spread out. You have a better chance of learning something valuable via the forum then giving up something to potential competition. This is my first forum to really participate in and my hopes were to be able to contribute and then when I needed help people would be there. Yesterday was the perfect example of the forum coming together to help me get my WooKong up and running. This forum has a lot of talented people on here and its great to see them share and contribute here. I look forward to seeing this thread brings to the table.

Droider said:
I hope this thread becomes as popular as the 'Show what you filmed' thread..

There are a lot of smoke and mirrors out there.. I know from my own experiences in other fields that IP (intellectual property) is VERY hard earned..

I am very reluctant to relinquish what I have learned from had work and hundreds, nay thousands of hours of hair pulling... BUT to advance sometimes we need to share.. even if it is just a little morsel because from that little morsel huge advancements can be made because it is a trigger that sparks a new thread, a new avenue, a new direction in another mind.. which can help us all..

Sorry if that seem a little deep but I really believe this forum is about sharing.. I respect immensely the hard work that everyone here has put into make this a great forum.. It would be great if it was also an inspirational place

Dave

PS

Av8 thanks for starting it..
The first video you posted on the forum kicked my butt to do better.. just a morsel if inspiration!
Click to expand...
 

B

Beauregard

Member
I keep wanting to take some "behind the scene" video but it gets pushed for other real projects.. When it slows down here soon I'll do it..

Thanks for the invite to join Chuck..

Cheers,

Cedar
 


Av8Chuck

Av8Chuck

Member
Very cool video. Sometimes its the simple/analog things that can make a big difference, thanks for sharing.

I've been at a trade show for the past week so I haven't had the chance to play with the Hero2 much or look into the GH2 hack much more.
 





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