DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Introduction To Radio Controlled Plane Aerial Photography

Aug 23, 2010 by Udi Tirosh Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Aerial PhotographySome time ago we introduced R/C Helicopter Arial Photography, however Helicopters are not the only thing that flies, in fact R/C planes are cheaper to get in the air.

Although they provide less control they are still a good option to get your camera up high and they are lots of fun to take pictures with.

In this tutorial -manuel- will explain how to apply a similar concept for still and RC planes which are much cheaper.

What do I need?

The first thing you will need is an RC controlled plane. Beginner RC planes are great for RC beginners, they are also very good to start with when it comes to photography. This is because a typical beginner RC plane is easy to fly, it corrects itself, and is easily (and cheaply) repairable. The best known beginner plane (and arial photography plane) is the Multiplex Easy Star which you can see here:

Easystar

There are several reasons that makes this particular plane suited for Arial Photography. It’s easy to fly because it corrects itself, its wingspan is enough to carry a payload around 200-500 gram and the foam has plenty of space for a camera.

This is why I’ve chosen to do my aerial photography with this plane and recommend it as the best plane for all the beginners out there trying to learn fly on their own.

Getting your First RC Plane

You can choose to buy a barebones Easystar and benefit from the freedom of choosing all the electronics yourself or you can just buy a ready to fly starters kit (which I recommend to beginners).

While it is very tempting to start flying right away, it may be a good idea to practice first. (you can do this while you’re waiting for your plane to ship…) You can start with buying a simulator like the AeroFly 5. In the long run this can save you a lot of money in repair bills.

It will not save you from crashing, everybody crashes. The only pilots who have not crashed are inexperienced pilots. A simulator helps you avoid that first crash, though  and go straight into your “second crash”.

If you still have questions, I suggest you take a look at the begging forums at rcgroups. It is a great resource for RC plane beginners.

Aerial Photography

Getting Ready For A Camera

Once you mastered the control of your plane (both with a simulator and in real life), it’s time to add some little weight. It’s not a camera yet, just some added weight to help you get used to the way the plane will behave. The best way is to build it up with 100 grams at a time. Make sure you place the extra weight in/below the center of gravity of the plane. Keep on adding weight until you hit the weight that matches your camera. If you can still fly the plane then it’s time to add a camera.

Aerial Photography

Selecting A Camera and Triggering System

You can practically use every camera as long as your plane can carry it. The Nikon coolpix P5100 is a good
candidate and is the camera used in this tutorial. It is light enough
and slightly outdated so it sells for less than its current more
advanced model

If you go the “Ready to fly” Easystar kit you have less choice when it comes to triggering. This is because the transmitter and receiver only have 3 channels (elevator, rudder, throttle) and you need a fourth for triggering the camera.

However it’s still possible to buy a camera with continuous shooting mode and a big memory card. The other option, as with RC helicopters is to make videos.

The other, more controlled option, is to upgrade your transmitter to a computer transmitter like the Graupner MX-12 or Graupner mx-16. These transmitters give you a lot more channels, so you only have to mount a servo (a small device that makes from an electronic signal a very precise twisting motion. It’s mostly used for controlling rudders) on the camera and you’re good to go.

Graupner MX-12

As far as mounting the camera goes, some people mount it under the wing which is the quick and dirty easy way to go. The plane is not flying that great anymore because its constantly rolling to one side. Others are mounting the cam in the place designed for the cockpit, this makes the plane nose heavy and it’s also not very crash resistance.

I’ve chosen to mount the camera in the fuselage with only the lens sticking out. The camera’s center of gravity perfectly matching the plane’s center of gravity so the plane lies well with and without the camera.

Using this method takes away the need to balance the plane when you insert and remove the camera.

The sequence below illustrates how to mount the camera into the fuselage

Cam mount.

Cam mount

Easystar cam mount

Easystar cam mount

Easystar nose mount

While in the training phase, you may want to trade off quality with a CPL or a UV filter. Those will help protect the lens.

Taking Images (The Flying Part)

When the camera is mounted on the plane and everything is working its finally time to fly. The conditions can vary quite rapidly as clouds go over the sun, and you have no access to changing the settings, so I recommend shooting in Aperture mode with as low aperture as possible. Focus at 8 (mountain symbol, for most P&S), flash off, timer off, and ISO as low as possible (64 for the Nikon 5100). The only exception is sunsets where you may wanna use Automatic ISO if your camera supports that. It will extend your range of acceptable photographs with the sun in or out of the frame.

It is very common for the air to be filled with fog, or for the sky to be over lit, so it is usually best to point the camera a little bit to the ground. This way you capture less of the air and more of the ground.

Another point of consideration is if to have the engine on or off while the shutter moves. If you are shooting in bright light, the answer to this question has almost no impact. But for sunset there is a definite improvement if the engine is temporarily stopped, putting the plane in gliding mode. The blur is significantly reduced.

Aerial Photography

Flying Above Clouds

This is cool, you have to admit. There is nothing inherent in the plane that will stop you from doing this. However, you’re gonna loose eye contact with the plane which will make it kinda hard to control . But there is a way. The trick here is to get a live video feed from your plane, it’s hard but possible. More information here, and some more inspiration & examples on the subject is on this video

Parts Recap – For the plane in this tutorial

  • Multiplex easystar (plane)
  • Mx-12 (transmitter)
  • 3x Graupner C 2081 (servo’s)
  • graupner r16 (reciever)
  • 2100 mah cheapass zippy lipo’s (battery pack)
  • 30 ampère esc (electronic speed control)
  • Cheapass brushless motor
  • Nikon coolpix P5100

You can watch more photos on manuel‘s Flickr stream.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailIntroduction to Radio Controlled Helicopter Aerial Photography Sony adds support for radio controlled flashes to the A7R II with new firmware update This guy built a DIY cablecam using a cheap radio controlled car Default ThumbnailIntroduction to Kite Aerial Photography (KAP)

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Projects

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.net

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

« 13 Photography Lighting Video Tutorials
SyLights Goes Mobile And SLR Allows You To “Pre Check” Your Lighting »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Photographer shares the story behind the iconic Columbia Pictures logo
  • Nikon releases super fast NIKKOR Z DX 24mm f/1.7 lens for their mirrorless lineup
  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy