Estes Rocket purports 1150 feet

[ccbdav]

I have searched the forums and YouTube, and I have a handle on safety procedures and expected outcomes in worst-case scenarios when launching a model rocket while flying the Phantom.

Given that, do you have any suggestions for filming the launch and keeping the rocket in frame when going up?

Thanks for your help!

 

[RocketBrew]

Catching a small Estes rocket will be difficult.
This video shows what a mid-power rocket looks like, you have to look closely to see the smoke trail. A black-power motor in an Estes rocket won't leave much of a smoke trail to follow.
I hope to get back out to a launch and try some more angles and heights to capture something interesting!

 

[Rothgarr]

I've tried recording rocket launches, too (my boys and I fly Estes rockets every few months). The resulting video is very underwhelming and not worth it in my opinion. We have, however, taped one of those "spy cameras" to the rocket (facing down). Most of the time it spirals too much to see anything clearly but every once in a while it's decent.

 

[RocketBrew]

We have, however, taped one of those "spy cameras" to the rocket (facing down). Most of the time it spirals too much to see anything clearly but every once in a while it's decent.

Back in the day, we spent a lot of time and effort to build a payload section to hold a camera, with an outboard cowling mirror to get those launch shots.

Now you can get just as good or better video from one of those eBay spy cameras taped on the body with electrical tape!
Works much better with larger models, rather than the small Estes stuff.

With the Chinese GoPro knockoffs, folks are now willing to put them under the rockets too!

 

[ccbdav]

Nice vids! Thank you so much for the info!

 

[Clipper707]

On my bucket list: Boun Bang Fai. (Lao rocket festival)

 

[jadebox]

I've posted a number of rocketry videos taken from my P2V and P3P on youtube. You can find my channel at:

Roger Smith

Getting good video of model rocket launches is difficult because the rockets are small and they move quickly. My best advice is to film many launches and edit the video to show just the best ones.

I try to vary the angle between each launch by moving the quadcopter to a different location for each rocket flight. I tend to not try to follow the rocket on its way up since it's almost impossible to do. Sometimes I will follow the rockets as they come down under parachute. But, even with the nice FPV from the P3P that's also difficult.

One thing I try to do is include people in many of the shots. I think it makes the videos more interesting than ones that just show the rockets, So, most of the time, I fly the 'copter out in the recovery area facing towards the participants.

I usually record in 4K, but produce videos in HD (1080p) resolution. This allows me to crop the video and center on the action.

I usually hover to record the launches and, even though the video from the P3P is pretty darn stable, I apply Adobe Premiere's "Warp Stabilizer" to the clips.

But, I've started to experiment more with having the 'copter move while recording the launches. Using the POI feature where you can program the Phantom to circle around a launch pad produces a nice effect. I used that a couple of times in the follwoing video. Since the original video was in 4K, I was able to appy a "digital zoom" during editing, so that it sometimes looks like the 'copter was spiraling around the POI instead of going in a circle.

-- Roger

 

[N017RW]

Nice.

As a big fan of Space and especially Apollo, slo-mo is the only way to really enjoy the Saturn V.
Thanks for that.

I appreciate the skill and dedication to build any 'fly' such a model but in real-time it just looks hokey.
Again, nothing disparaging to the folks who took the time to make it happen. It must be a great static model!

 

[Rothgarr]

Back in the day, we spent a lot of time and effort to build a payload section to hold a camera, with an outboard cowling mirror to get those launch shots.

Now you can get just as good or better video from one of those eBay spy cameras taped on the body with electrical tape!
Works much better with larger models, rather than the small Estes stuff.

What cam did you use for that first video? The quality is WAY better than the crappy video my "spy cam" key fob captures.