Aerial settings for XH A1?
 

Just getting up to speed with the XH A1 and would appreciate any input re. good settings for capturing aerial footage.

We'll be flying in a GlaStar with the door removed:

http://www.glasairaviation.com/photo...nalbum001.html

Great little plane for aerial work as it does low/slow very well. Good field of view shooting forward given the position of the strut which is further behind than in most high wing planes.

Footage will be used to combine with ground video/stills to create a DVD for a regional biking event. We'll be doing some test runs next week so any insights as to where to start with respect to cam settings would be appreciated.

If you're following the event from the plane I'd shoot all auto with the OIS on. Also put a ND filter on the lens, I use a B+W ND 0.6. This'll make it easier to just add/remove one ND on the camera instead of fumbling around with the two of them.

The wind flow will be terrific I'd just use the camera mic with a small thin towel wrapped around it to help stop the wind. Use the viewfinder and resist zooming right on the bikes too much. In the menu you can select the + to centre on the bikes. Make sure those on the ground know to wave as you fly by.

And the cam strap securely wrapped around me. Good luck.
Cheers.

As mentioned above, leave the OIS on and do not zoom in much. The more you zoom in, the shakier your shot will be. Also, don't lean out the window because you'll be in the air stream. The pilot will need to tilt a little probably when flying over the target so you can shoot more straight down. It also helps if he can go upwind of the target and then you shoot as he's drifting back over it with the wind. That's always smoother. I disagree about shooting on auto. Your iris will be changing on you if clouds come over, and you definitely don't want to be on auto shutter or auto focus. It's a good idea to use the camera strap or some means of tying it to your body or something in case there's a big bump and you drop it. One time when I was doing aerials it was unusually rough so I hooked a bungee cord on the camera's handle and to an overhead area where the seat belt was attached, and that helped.

Speaking of seat belts, you'll have to loosen it way up so you can twist around and lean out a bit (but don't get the camera into the air stream), but it's a good idea to keep it attached. And, I always make sure they have barf bags.

Hi Allan,

Appreciate the input. What's your line of thought re. the ND filter? I've not much experience with ND filters in video.


Good point. I've done a fair amt. of shooting from sport planes using a consumer type cam and always tape over the mic given that audio is pretty much pointless.

I did a shoot awhile back where we shot racing boats on a large lake. Learned about your zooming advice very quickly there.

I understand what you're saying about auto settings. Seems to be a trade-off with either route. Auto might work best for those quick 5 second shots when you're crossing over the route and don't have time to reset. But other shots with the sun ducking in and out of the clouds...

Ideally I'd like to find a preset specifically for: "Bike rally, mid-spring, northeast US". :-)


Never say never I suppose but so far, even after some pretty extreme manueavers shooting the boats, the ol' stomach has held up well.