Canon Camera Hackers Manual

Contents

8.3 Motorized flying platforms 2338.3 Motorized flying platformsOther flying platforms are usually motorized and include RC-controlledmodel airplanes and helicopters. For photography, RC-controlled paraglid-ers are an interesting option. They fly more slowly and give you more timeto take pictures. Normal aircraft, in contrast, require lots of attention dur-ing flight. Taking pictures at the same time can be quite demanding—itcan 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 itscommercial cousin, the AirRobot. Multikopters can operate autonomouslyor be RC-controlled. Each device consists of an array of vertically orientedpropellers (3–8) powered by lithium-polymer accumulators. Sensors and acontrol unit keep the craft stable in the air; the device can even autono-mously follow a predefined path guided by GPS. Once positioned over anobject 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 exposurecontrol. On small diaphragm-less cameras such as the Canon Digital Elph(Ixus) that are not equipped with such a mode, this can be achieved byusing a script (section 5.7.4). Also, it will probably be necessary to switchthe Image Stabilizer (IS) off because it usually worsens the problem. In anycase, tests should be made to find out the best shutter speed and whetherthe image stabilizer can remain active or not.8.4 Other unattended operationsThe remote operation of a camera is not limited to kites and other airbornevehicles. Any kind of remote-controlled vehicle can be used as a cameraplatform—on land, sea, in the air, or in space. Often such vehicles are usedto 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 alsofor stationary use. Surveillance is one application area. The camera is in-stalled in a certain position and takes pictures at regular intervals or whentriggered by motion. Multishot techniques are also candidates for auto-mated shooting sequences. The creation of large panoramas such asGigapixel 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. Shootinghundreds of pictures manually is simply too boring and too error-prone.