Kiwi Photographer puts Nikon on Radio Control Buggy - and gets great shots of Lions

[Colin Southern]

Thought you folks might enjoy these shots:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRY4-feFZZY

[Donald]

Impressive.

[Colin Southern]

Not bad for a Nikon eg? (and a Kiwi!)

[Colin Southern]

A national news article on it ...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/946768...n-buggy-camera

[flashback]

I can't be the only one that saw that coming, can I? I mean, cats, remote *toy*, curiosity.
But a really interesting experiment. Now on to a hover drone for those really close up, dynamic shots.
Colin...didn't you say you were into 'copters?

[Colin Southern]

I can't be the only one that saw that coming, can I? I mean, cats, remote *toy*, curiosity.
But a really interesting experiment. Now on to a hover drone for those really close up, dynamic shots.
Colin...didn't you say you were into 'copters?

I thought it was quite interesting to see how they played with it just the way a "regular domestic cat" would have.

A drone would make for an interesting perspective, but I'm not sure how they'd react to a RC helicopter; the smaller ones that I fly (450 class) are pretty unstable and noisy, and the bigger ones ... just not sure. The bigger ones certainly make for a great camera rig (we even have them with 2 man crew and gimbal & gyroscopic support) -- still pretty noisy though -- and not sure what the animals reaction would be.

[John 2]

Enjoyed that Colin. Don't think I'll be risking my camera any time soon though.

[Colin Southern]

Enjoyed that Colin. Don't think I'll be risking my camera any time soon though.

I see that they had it in some kind of protective case

[pnodrog]

I see that they had it in some kind of protective case

Lion with a canon camera. Obviously Nikon photographers are smarter than canon owners or is it just that a Kiwi is smarter? ..

[ajohnw]

I thought the picture quality was poor. Should have used a 1D C so he could have shot 4k video as well and an EF 85mm F1.2 to get the perspective right.

You need to get one of these to go with your kit Colin probably with a motorized F2.8 zoom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAf47RAjq9E

John
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[shreds]

This Canon one was even better….the keyboard got splattered with coffee watching this:-

http://petapixel.com/2013/12/02/guy-...-professional/

[shreds]

Not only are the drones noisy they create a down draught too, so it would probably disperse the lions. Drones have their place but it is probably not in this scenario.

Me, I am quite happy to be this side of the screen.

[ajohnw]

There would be no need to get close with Canon's best long lenses. The electric types are fairly quiet actually.

Forgot to mention that if he had used an 85mm on the buggy there would be more time to beat a hasty retreat.

John
-

[Colin Southern]

Lion with a canon camera. Obviously Nikon photographers are smarter than canon owners or is it just that a Kiwi is smarter? ..

Meh - the 5D series is Canon's disposable series of cameras

(I'd they'd used a 1D series the animal rights activists would have complained about the damage to the cat's teeth!)

[Colin Southern]

This Canon one was even better….the keyboard got splattered with coffee watching this:-

http://petapixel.com/2013/12/02/guy-...-professional/

Ouch.

Came close to topping that one day; almost dropped a 1Ds3 & 16-35/2.8 onto pavement when I didn't realise that the arca swiss mount was only clipped into the head along one side (in the dark). Lucky I caught it

[Colin Southern]

Not only are the drones noisy they create a down draught too, so it would probably disperse the lions. Drones have their place but it is probably not in this scenario.

Me, I am quite happy to be this side of the screen.

Probably depends on the drone. Some are about the same size and weight as a pack of cigarettes and relatively quiet -- only a low-quality camera though. I've seen a video of a medium sized one interacting with a moose, which was quite happy to check it out once it got used to it.

[Colin Southern]

There would be no need to get close with Canon's best long lenses. The electric types are fairly quiet actually.

Forgot to mention that if he had used an 85mm on the buggy there would be more time to beat a hasty retreat.

John
-

Problem is you probably wouldn't be able to focus them.

[ajohnw]

These things have even had live video links added and motor driven focusing etc I would have thought 1D's had continuous AF anyway.

Lots of people who play around with this sort of thing use a small keyfob type camera on small helicopters - some record to one of the HD standards and give surprisingly good video. I only fly the tiny ones - slightly cheaper to smash up.

This area is a bit of a growth industry eg

http://www.aerialworx.co.uk/


I believe noise levels relate to prop size and speed. No doubt the military etc have that well sorted out.

John
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[Colin Southern]

These things have even had live video links added and motor driven focusing etc

The Align T-Rex 800 Trekker has a gimbal system that will take any DSLR -- it's a 2-man crew to operate it though. I didn't say it can't be done ... it's just expensive

I would have thought 1D's had continuous AF anyway.

For servo AF mode (stills) you need to acquire focus with the centre AF point first - after that it'll track the subject whilst the shutter is 1/2 down (or AF on). Not sure what it does with video (don't ever use it) (talking 1D X here)

Lots of people who play around with this sort of thing use a small keyfob type camera on small helicopters - some record to one of the HD standards and give surprisingly good video. I only fly the tiny ones - slightly cheaper to smash up.

They're fun, but they're hardly professional quality. Here's one I shot a while back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14X7vfNYt6A

This area is a bit of a growth industry eg

http://www.aerialworx.co.uk/

They're talking about using drones for all kinds of things, from delivering pizza to Amazon.com products -- time will tell how useful it will be. At the moment there seems to be 2 classes - amatuer (like mine), and professional (big bucks). The legalities are still being sorted too - hose who regulate the airspace aren't too happy with a lot of RC pilots doing commercial work.

I believe noise levels relate to prop size and speed. No doubt the military etc have that well sorted out.

John
-

RC Helicopters are all pretty noisy up close -- some noisier than others.

[shreds]

Don't own one, but the Octocopter, is the one I have 'played' with and is near enough the bees knees. Need this quality copter to lift the D3 and is a two person operation.

Certainly a commercial type drone at near enough £5-8k when you add all the bits in. It needs to earn its keep! And don't forget to add your camera and lenses cost too!

Terrific fun though. Dependent upon the country, there are lots of rules regards flying this sort of beast, mind.