Image Stabilization for Helicopter

L

lawrenceingram

Active member
Hello,

I've been reading through some other threads, but just thought I'd see if anyone had any specific experience shooting from a helicopter and could suggest some type of image stabilization. I'd really like to make sure the footage came out smooth, but see that most people are recommending against using the OIS on the HVX200 for moving shots. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Lawrence
 
yes .i have a ken lab ks8 and use it everytime i am in the heli,or shooting off a boat or a ski. don,t bother without one. also if you can put on a wide lens and shoot at overcrank of 60fps. if you can . also hang from bungys if you can . once you lift off you will forget half of what you wanted to try.
 
Wow,

Thanks guys, that's really helpful. I suppose the KS8 is what I need. Not sure how I would go about rigging it with bungies, but I suppose the first thing I need to do is find out which aircraft they're going to be using. I was actually thinking of doing handheld footage, but If I can somehow rig it outside the aircraft, it would be great.

Lawrence
 
And they have rentals! That's perfect for me since I'm on a tight budget. . . my CEO/Wife has frozen all spending until I actually make some money!

But this project should pay off if I can do a good job.

if you can put on a wide lens and shoot at overcrank of 60fps. if you can
Click to expand...

They are wanting a shot of their facility to show its size in order to highlight the legitimacy of the organization. Do you think a wide lens would be appropriate, or would the standard lens be best?

Thanks again guys, great suggestions!

Lawrence
 
A gyro is nice but it's not necessary. I've used the bungy method and that worked too but kind of cumbersome. I shot from a photo helicopter last year and it was very smooth. I do agree that shooting 60fps is good.. and shooting with OIS isn't a bad thing. You don't need a gyro unless you are shooting telephoto shots. If you are shooting wides and establishing you'll be fine without one.


Here, this was all shot handheld with no bungies with the stock HVX lens:

http://www.electriccowtheater.com/CCVIDEO/CC/demo.mov


cheers and you'll be in for a fun ride. We did some darn stunt flying with the wakeboarders. Our tail was actually in the water for a few shots... crazy but so fun..
 
Here, this was all shot handheld with no bungies with the stock HVX lens:
Click to expand...

Wow, that was GREAT! What beautiful footage. I've flown a lot of helicopters to rigs (I work offshore as well), but never with a camera, so I'm really excited. And it's always nice to get tips from guys who've been there with the HVX and will even share footage. I won't be shooting the shot until mid-August, but I'll post back to let you guys know how it went.

Thanks again,
 
Forgive the probably newbieness of this question, but I can't seem to find a tyson mount. Is that something I need when using a gyro, or can it just fit to the bottom of the HVX?
 
A Tyson mount is probably something that clamps onto your ear...
Click to expand...

That's HILARIOUS! Sorry, had to have a chuckle for that.

Thanks, that is it. I was going to try renting one of the ken-lab gyros and just hand-holding the camera (I don't have any fancy mounts or handles). Can anyone tell me why I would be better with a Tyler mount?

Lawrence
 
Here, this was all shot handheld with no bungies with the stock HVX lens:

http://www.electriccowtheater.com/CCVIDEO/CC/demo.mov
Click to expand...
I'm guessing you didn't switch off the OIS, because I think that would be a big mistake. I would suggest shooting with a fast shutter speed and OIS on and then using Virtualdub and the "DeShaker" plugin to stabilize it further. The fast shutter is to prevent motion blur, which would be out of place in the stabilized footage.
 
Justyn said:
A gyro is nice but it's not necessary. I've used the bungy method and that worked too but kind of cumbersome. I shot from a photo helicopter last year and it was very smooth. I do agree that shooting 60fps is good.. and shooting with OIS isn't a bad thing. You don't need a gyro unless you are shooting telephoto shots. If you are shooting wides and establishing you'll be fine without one.


Here, this was all shot handheld with no bungies with the stock HVX lens:

http://www.electriccowtheater.com/CCVIDEO/CC/demo.mov


cheers and you'll be in for a fun ride. We did some darn stunt flying with the wakeboarders. Our tail was actually in the water for a few shots... crazy but so fun..
Click to expand...

Very nice promo Justyn. IQ was outstanding.

JohnG
 
Justyn said:
A gyro is nice but it's not necessary. I've used the bungy method and that worked too but kind of cumbersome. I shot from a photo helicopter last year and it was very smooth. I do agree that shooting 60fps is good.. and shooting with OIS isn't a bad thing. You don't need a gyro unless you are shooting telephoto shots. If you are shooting wides and establishing you'll be fine without one.


Here, this was all shot handheld with no bungies with the stock HVX lens:

http://www.electriccowtheater.com/CCVIDEO/CC/demo.mov


cheers and you'll be in for a fun ride. We did some darn stunt flying with the wakeboarders. Our tail was actually in the water for a few shots... crazy but so fun..
Click to expand...

Great footage. Were you shooting 1080 or 720?
 
I'm pretty sure that it was shot Fast shutter. I shot all the nautiques stuff at 1/500th or 1/1000th and it was all 720p 60fps.


Thanks.
 
I just got done with a helicopter shoot. I forget the name of the gyro but it was in the skyfox for fox29 news and it costs just a hair under how much the chopper costs
 
Thanks for all the info guys! I'll have to wait until I get onshore tomorrow to download the clips (not even up to dial-up speeds out here). But something like a 1/500th shutter speed and 720p60 sounds like it'll be the best option. My client is willing to pay for the gyro rental. Should I go ahead with that, or just go without? If it will make it any better, I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

What do you guys think? Gyros or no gyros?

Lawrence
 
I'd say get it if they are paying for it, but if you could pocket the money.. then I'd say to go without it. Either way though you should become familiar with the extra weight and how it feels. I've shot a couple of times with one and it was a bit weird. Make sure too, that you allow the gyro to get up to speed before shooting. I think like 5 minutes is needed... There's a few websites that give you feedback on the best way to deal with the gyro and battery stuff.


cheers and good luck. It's a ton of fun up in a chopper. Bring some gaffers tape as well.. to tape your seatbelt closed. In our situation I was hanging outside the chopper, standing on the skids with just the seatbelt holding me in.. hmmm, that was pretty friggin awesome. The other thing that i noticed is that things don't seem as scary and or crazy when you have earphones on or earplugs in. When you hear the raw sound of the chopper, that's when the immediacy of the blades and everything else kind of hits ya...


The other thing to consider is your P2 offloading and such. I did have a friend who had problems using his firestore on a chopper.. and I really wasn't able to use my P2store so I had to carefully pick what I wanted to shoot. If y ou can borrow P2 cards then that might be advisabel.


cheers
 
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