Here’s the first video I shot with my POV.1 camera from my helicopter.
I mounted the camera on the bar between the two front seats, using a camera mount I’d bought a few years back for my camcorder. I pointed it pretty much straight out the front. This is the view someone sitting in the back would have if he stuck his face between the two front seats.
The best I could do for sound was to run a small tape recorder microphone into the earpiece of my headset. This works by picking up all the sound I hear and has the added benefit of muffling the aircraft noise. The microphone goes directly into the Mic port on the POV.1. You’ll hear me and Ed talking about the video and various things around town. You’ll also hear all radio communications.
The original video was 14 minutes long — the amount of time it took to take off from Wickenburg, swing past the west side of Vulture Peak, fly over Vulture Mine, fly past the east side of Vulture Peak (low), and land back at the airport. I edited out about half of it.
I know it isn’t the greatest video, but it is my first try. (Be gentle with your comments.) I’m hoping to build up a little library of clips and someday turn them into something good.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Jonathan S. // Feb 28, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Awesome, awesome video! Thanks for sharing that with us. As someone who desperately hopes to learn to fly helicopters one day, this was a real treat. Thanks for leaving some of the ATC comm’s in there as well.
2 Andy Piper // Feb 29, 2008 at 12:37 am
I think this works well. Definitely gives a sense of being there. Nice video.
Andy Piper’s last blog post..Aggregation using MoonMoon
3 Michael // Feb 29, 2008 at 2:00 am
Nice video! Thanks for taking me on a tour of that place!
4 Maria Langer // Feb 29, 2008 at 6:39 am
Thanks. I think the trick to getting good video from this camera in the helicopter will be positioning it right, flying low, and flying with the sun at my back. I have some ideas for mounting it on the outside of the aircraft. Waiting for a special clamp mount to arrive. What amazes me is how smooth the image is — no vibration! The camera must have some serious image stabilization built in.
5 Michael // Feb 29, 2008 at 7:16 am
You’re right about all that. I’ve been thinking about researching a camera like fhis for quite some time, but it’s always been on the backburner. You’ve done all the research for me - perhaps you should get commission when I buy one? But that’ll come after I get the Lightspeed Zulu…tried them at Heli Expo on Sunday and they are amazing. Looking forward to more of these heli movies you make…any way I’d be able to download any of them? Cheers, Mike
6 Maria Langer // Feb 29, 2008 at 9:06 am
When I put together a “real” movie — that means edited and with music — I’ll probably make it downloadable. Right now, I’m still testing the equipment. Looking forward to making a video of a flight on Saturday for my passengers. Interested in seeing whether I can put a raw AVI file on a CD or DVD while they wait.
7 Bob Lawrence // Feb 29, 2008 at 7:59 pm
As a former old chopper pilot myself, it would have been nice to have this kind of camera onboard while landing on the offshore oil rigs.
Good job..looking forward to more.
8 Maria Langer // Mar 1, 2008 at 3:52 am
Bob, that would be amazingly cool. I can’t imagine landing on a platform; would love to see video from the pilot’s POV for a few landings and departures.
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