Photography from Phantom

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I use my Phantom to make photography from air. With the GoPro Hero3 in TimeLapse mode. The Hero3 is a great camera, but a bit limited as comes to quality on the jpg´s. I want to have a good camera, that are able to make RAW files and easy to use in TimeLapse mode.

Any good advice in type of camera? Anyone have experience in doing this?
 
Here is a link to an actual camera that is small and the folks at DSLRpros are promoting that they are going to make a mount for it to fit the new DJI gimble. If you're wanting high quality images and video and want to fly the Phantom this sounds like the perfect combination. Downside, get ready to have a pocket full of money. If I could make money with my Phantom and not break the law here in the states I'd most likely invest in something like this.

http://www.dslrpros.com/Products/tabid/ ... fault.aspx
 
the gopro actually takes very decent photos (12Mp). the only thing it can not do is ZOOM. with all of the scare hype going around in the media about a person being able to spy on another person with consumer grade "drone", it actually is a very good thing that the cameras that can be carried by quads like the phantom do NOT have zoom capabilities.
 
I haven't seen the actual size of the gopro's sensor as that's where the performance comes from. It's most likely the size of a good cell phones sensor and that is freakishly small. 99 percent of the digital cameras today between the 200 to 400 dollars can get descent shots during the day with good sunlight but its a whole different story for all other situations. Being a professional photographer I can tell you that there is a huge difference even between a canon XT/T2/T3 series dslr and the more expensive/larger sensor 5D series. Dynamic range is a big feature that digital cameras struggled with early on and they still don't compare to film in the sense. The mega pixel number is more hype in some situations. Its good to have a higher number but there comes a point relative to the sensors size when it can actually start to hamper performance. Many years ago NASA used a 2 megapixel camera to capture all it's space/moon/planet images and the difference there was its size compared to even the our full frame sensor that we see in our 3,000 to 7,000 dollar camera bodies. The cost of the camera is mainly from the production of the sensor and relates to its size. I don't have a gopro hero 3 black so I can't compare the captured jpeg image to say a six year old 10mp image from say a Canon 40D or 50D but I'm sure when it comes to dynamic range (ratio between the maximum and minimum measurable light intensities (white and black, respectively) it would be a noticeable difference as well as overall image quality. For images just used on the web and at a small size the cameras with the smaller sensors can do a fairly good job.

For a comparison between various sensor sizes and to see a great camera that might be incorporated to use with a RC aerial vehicle check out here: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Revi ... eview.aspx

A good explanation on sensor size: http://www.gizmag.com/camera-sensor-size-guide/26684/
 
Excellent reply @freelanceshots! I am also a professional photographer, just bought a phantom mostly for fun. But I see the potential to do more professional photos from air. In my daily work, I use Nikon FullFrame cameras (Like the D800) I don´t expect similar quality possible from the phantom, but maybe a little more. The BlackMagic seem like a good camera for this, thanks for the advice!
 

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Here is an image I took with a GoPro Hero3 Black mounted on my Phantom at an industrial site near Gold Bridge, British Columbia. Work had been done to improve the road, so I needed pictures to show what had been done.

9482139_orig.jpg


This is a classic case of a picture being worth a thousand words!
 
Here is another picture of Terrace, British Columbia taken with my Phantom +GoPro system


UgGQyUOl.jpg


That's us in the field at the bottom.
 
FOR ME TO JUDGE THE QUALITY OF THE GOPRO'S STILL IMAGES I'D HAVE TO HAVE THE ORIGINAL JPEG IMAGE AND ZOOM IN 50 PERCENT TO SEE WHAT'S ACTUALLY BEING PRESENTED. PICTURES TEND TO ALWAYS LOOK GOOD AT WEB RESOLUTION BUT PUT IT UP AT 2000 PIXEL ON FLICKR SO YOU CAN VIEW IT FULL SCREEN (NOT ON A CELL PHONE) AND YOU SHOULD REALLY START TO SEE IQ DROP. STILL IMPRESSED WITH THE GOPRO'S IMAGE QUALITY AS IT'S STILL A BREAK THROUGH IN IMAGE QUALITY FOR SOMETHING THIS SMALL AND EASY TO USE.

SINCE THE GOPRO'S SENSOR IS PRODUCED BY SONY (FROM READING THE LINK MENTIONED) THEN I WONDER WHAT SONY'S OWN ACTION CAM IS USING AND WHY ITS NOT A SIMILAR SENSOR? THE SONY ACTION CAM AT THIS POINT IN TIME IS ONLY USING AN ESTIMATED 2MP FOR STILLS WHICH IS ONLY A PORTION OF THE ACTUAL AVAILABLE SIZE. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS. I'M INTO THE STILL ASPECT OF SHOOTING BUT A SENSOR OF THIS SIZE AT 2MP IS PRETTY MUCH WORTHLESS IMO. I LOVE THE SONY ACTION CAM AS ITS VIDEO CAPTURE IS WORKING OUT PRETTY GOOD FOR ME WITH THE IMAGE STABILIZATION, LENS SHARPNESS AND THE UPDATED 1080P AT 60 FPS. I SHOT MY CO-WORKERS 600 HP OLD SCHOOL NISSAN GTR DURING A DRAG RACING OPENER AT THE TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOR THE INDY CAR START. THE IMAGE STABILIZATION WORKS VERY WELL TO SMOOTH OUT THE ROAD AND VIBRATIONS THAT CAN DISRUPT OTHER VID CAMS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zHMAtC-_1M
 

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