FS700 on helicopters

chromeboy007

chromeboy007

Well-known member
Hello,

I've been asked to plan a possible helicopter shoot of a real estate asset. I've never even been on a helicopter before so I don't know how shaky it is. My main concern is the subtle shakiness of the machines on the aircraft might cause the jello effect on the FS700 footage. I have seen some helicopter footage shot with the FS100 and the jello is quite visible. Perhaps it was the helicopter not the camera. Maybe some of you have some experience with that?

If using a CMOS censor camera is risky then I would rather use a 3CCD or something else...

Thanks.
 
Oh I would love to hear some pro feedback/advice on this subject. There are a lot of factors at play.

I recently did did a shoot over NYC with a hmc150. I will tell you it was a rather shaky ride for camera control, and the footage was fairly "meh". The biggest factor was out of my hands.....dark clouds rolled in as we were walking out to the helipad. I've tried doing some simple stabilization in fcp bit it's pretty much crap.

If I go up again it might be with an fs100 so I'd be curious as well on tips.

@ the op, do you think you'd be shooting through the windshield? That does help to crummy up the shot. I was not in a position to be rolling down any windows. : )

its a a fun gig and I would recommend it to anyone who gets the opportunity.
 
The helicopter company I'm talking to now said we can shoot with the doors opened, and they have 'harnessing equipment' to prevent me and my gear from falling out the doors. I'm thinking a gyro rental is needed as well to stabilize the shot.

I wonder if a photographer would need a gyro as well.

Most of the aerial stuff on the net now is all RC copter stuff, which is cool but it's not so easy to find info about real helicopter work.
 
what I really would recommend: don't do it with a helicopter, hire a octokopter crew.

First of all: a helicopter is doing a lot of wind, you do not want to have it for real estate footage. You also don't want to shoot from that height were wind is no problem anymore. With a kopter your will also get much better and more dynamic footage. It will be cheaper also.

There are helis where you can remove the door for shootings. I would highly recommend to use a gyro. A photographer can minimize shaking by short exposure time (1/2000) but I would always rent Kenyon stabilizer. Maybe a brushless gimbal will work too but I don't have experience with this gear.

Good luck (and have a look at the heli seat before)
 
I've done photography from helicopters, always with the door off. Usually an R44, which gives you a pretty smooth flight with the right pilot. Stills photographers don't need stabilizers during the day, but it is absolutely critical to have some sort of gyro system for video. Aircraft always shake, it's just the nature of how engines work, and unlike cars you don't have the ability to balance on the ground to separate the shock.

As for the UAV option (octokopter is a trademark used by one company that manufactures a certain type of UAV), most real estate companies will shy away from this due to its being illegal. I'm a UAV operator as well, and the bigger companies are not too keen on fines and liabilities. I wouldn't realistically worry about the downwash if you aren't landing on the property. Plus, it's a great opportunity to get your first ride on a helicopter, so I wouldn't argue.
 
Cassius said:
...most real estate companies will shy away from this due to its being illegal. I'm a UAV operator as well, and the bigger companies are not too keen on fines and liabilities...
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that's interesting to hear! For commercial use here in Germany you need an official license and you have to register your flights which is no big deal if your are a pro. So my experience is different from yours. Assumed that you are acting like a pro, having your license, insurance etc.. the estate companies rather shy away from attracting attention of a heli flight over their client's property, not to mention that the heli bill will exceed UAV fee (sorry for wrong expression)

If you are tough cookie you will manage your first heli flight in life time and you will be cool enough and concentrated on shooting too. My first flight was a shoot for stills photography which is way easier to handle. I was very excited and nervous. Don't underestimate the stress sitting at an open heli door and looking through the camera's eye..
 
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A couple years ago we shot a promo for a helicopter tour company. We shot a bunch of footage (from a Robinson R44) of another helicopter pacing us. Additionally, we shot some scenics and takeoff and landings from the ground and air. I was shooting with a shoulder form factor ENG style camera (3 ccd) so no jello efect. It would have been nice to have something smaller. (We did have 2 doors off.) Cramped quarters aside, a gyro stablizer would have made all the difference in the world.

I had a second shooter on board with a 5d mkII. Jello city but managed to get some usable footage. Not nearly as much as I would have liked. Stills were great.

So my recommendation, rent a stabilizer rig. Maximize your shooting time while in the air and get as much usable footage as possible.
 
Loads of great (and detailed!) advice here: http://www.cinematography.net/edited-pages/[cml-pro] filming in helicopter.htm

Hand Held seems to be the advice, possibly with some sort of gyro-stabiliser as well. I really wouldn't shoot on anything without a global shutter of some sort - like a 2/3inch CCD camera (PMW-500) or an F55 (not an F5!) - as the you'll have problems at least with some shots and tome is money, although shooting with a really high shutter speed might help.

If the producer/client doesn't want to spend the extra money I'd probably try and explain to them the risks of using a CMOS camera - if they still insist, I'd be tempted to walk away as they'd most likely still blame you for any problems.
 
We shot this whole commercial with an FS700 on the helicopter. It really comes down to the amount you want to spend and how good of a pilot you are.
 
Cassius said:
I've done photography from helicopters, always with the door off. Usually an R44, which gives you a pretty smooth flight with the right pilot. Stills photographers don't need stabilizers during the day, but it is absolutely critical to have some sort of gyro system for video. Aircraft always shake, it's just the nature of how engines work, and unlike cars you don't have the ability to balance on the ground to separate the shock.

As for the UAV option (octokopter is a trademark used by one company that manufactures a certain type of UAV), most real estate companies will shy away from this due to its being illegal. I'm a UAV operator as well, and the bigger companies are not too keen on fines and liabilities. I wouldn't realistically worry about the downwash if you aren't landing on the property. Plus, it's a great opportunity to get your first ride on a helicopter, so I wouldn't argue.
Click to expand...

Robinsons are actually some of the shakiest/vibratiest helicopters to shoot from. But they are also the most common helicopters people train on, and are relatively cheap to buy, so they are very pervasive.
 
20130830_132546_resized.jpg I used this with NEX 5 mounted on gyroscpic gimbal. Got some good results and far cheaper than helicopter, which is a waste of time without gyroscopic mount. Also can be quite freaky when hanging out of a door and exposed to the elements, particularly when you take your eye away from viewfinder!
 
i have shot alot out of the heli . just got my fs700 and don,t have footage yet but... when i do it will be with the 24/105 image stableized canon lens . i have a kenyan ks8 and it works great . also use a strap system to bungy cord mount to take the weight. always shoot at least 60 fps. and tie and tape everything down. the gyro needs 12v power supply so i take a small car battery with me . some of the helli have 12 available but don,t count on it. takes 3 or 4 min to get the gyro spinning up to 20,000 rpm . my footage is up on my site www.hdimages.ca it was shot with a hpx170 .
 
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