Shooting from helicopter

R

RebelFilm

Member
I have a job coming up where I need to shoot some super yachts from a helicopter. I want to rent a gyro for this, but since I have no experience with gyro's I was hoping to get some input on the subject. Do I need any practise with these to get decent images, say like with a steadicam? Or do you just slap it under your camera and go? I will be shooting with the FS700 with speed booster and the Canon 17-40L and 24-105L IS.

I will be shooting in Dubai, so I need to rent(any places that rent gyro's are appreciated!) and don't have much time to play around and get a feeling for the gyro. If the gyro is not an option I will be shooting slomo with IS enabled to smooth out the shake, but I'll rather have a choice to shoot slomo and normal footage with a gyro. I'll be looking for a KS6 or 8 to rent. Will this suffice for the FS700?
 
A single gyro stabilises in 2 axes - it is normal to use two gyros at 90 degress or one of the new X style gyros. Then you are stabile in three axes

KS6/8 Im sure will do an FS700

They are pretty much grab and go in terms of a learning curve.

Ive only used them in cars BTW.

S
 
You can also look into the Brushless Gimbals steady systems, these are just coming on the market and are very good.

Here is a link to Kenyon Labs, their gyros and kits work great and can be rented,
http://www.ken-lab.com

Shooting from heli is fun but not easy, and the communication between the pilot and shooter is critical. You really need to be a team. Get a pilot you get along with and do some practice before the actual shoot.

Tyler mount
http://www.tylermount.com/Tyler-camer-systems.html
and WEScam
http://www.wescam.com/index.php/products-services/airborne-surveillance-and-reconnaissance/
are the industry standards, but the above Kenyon labs is less expensive and works very well.

These days I actually use remote control multicopters instead of full size. They are much less expensive to fly and actually more flexible. They also have a big learning curve.

You may think about hiring a pro team, then your results are guaranteed. And you don't have to go through the learning curve.

This is one of my current MRs:

S800.jpg

It will fly about 45mph and the video is rock steady.
 
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Wow, thanks for all the input! We will be shooting at open sea, so an octocopter might be a bit to risky...

The Tyler mount looks interesting Olaf! Looked it up and the have a dealer in Dubai, we will go with that option I think. Looks good and cheap to rent.
 
Andrew Stone said:
Hi Olof,

Who makes that particular Octocopter? It appears to be a lot better built than the ones I have been looking at.
Click to expand...

This is the DJI S800 and Zenmuse Z15 setup. It is avery rugged and reliable, but you have to know what you are doing and be very meticulous with all the electronics and battery systems. Many people have big problems wit RC drones. IMHO mostly pilot error. I also fly a lot of RC planes and I am a GA pilot. I have not had any major problems with the DJI kits yet. If you are just getting into it I would start smaller less expensive and learn to fly really well first.

I have over a hundred flights on that particular rig.

It can be intimidating to shoot over water, especially salt water. You know it is a total loss if the kit goes in the drink, including the footage, on land a crash is usually a loss of most of the equipment but you normally recover the footage. I have not had this happen yet (notice I said yet) in the RC hobby crashes are very frequent, and his is young technology. Insurance is very important when doing arial work, both liability/production and equipment coverage. Also make sure to follow local laws or you can be in deep dodo.

All that said it is really fun and you get fantastic footage.
 
You need a combination, something for high frequency vibrations, and something for low frequency vibrations.

A steady-cam or gimbal for low frequency, and a gyro-stabilizer for high frequency, would be the best solution.
 
I agree with Olof. Hexacopter work is perfect for many applications.

Using a Hero 3+ Black, 4K results are amazing , showing no jello with a DJI F550, Naza-M w/GPS, and Zenmuse H3-2D gimbal costing less than $2k total.

Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed!
Scott

IMG_8622-3.jpg
 
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