Rudeboy
Member
Hey folks, seen as there's quite a few good photographers etc on here then I thought some may be interested in my other hobby which is Aerial Video using RC quadcopters (drones as some people like to call them), I do what is called FPV (First Person View) flying where the video is transmitted back to the ground and viewed on video goggles that I wear or on a screen so other people can also view the flight live,
Most of the video gear is taken from the wireless security cam industry and then bossted somewhat to give longer range etc, one of my rigs is capable of flying 5km plus from where I am standing and some guys that are using RC Planes/Gliders have flown in excess of 50km's, its the batteries that limits the flight times on the quadcopters with 10-15mins being around the normal sort of flight times,
Movie companies and Top gear being probably the most famous are also using this technology although there using equipment that cost's into the tens of thousands of pounds where as my basic set ups cost around £1000 but it can be done for much cheaper, the industry has taken off this last year with everyone trying to make a quick buck so to speak and because of this the Authorities such as FAA & CAA are now looking into it which may ruin it for a hobbyist such as myself but we will see.
anyway here's a pic 2 of my copters and some video from them,
if you want to see more then by all means check out my Youtube Page or Facebook Page, search for Rudeboys FPV,
If anyone wants more info then feel free to shout up and I'll do my best.
This one is a Team Black Sheep Discovery Quadcopter, it has 2 camera's fitted, the smaller camera (FPV Camera) on the right is what I see through and is the picture to my goggles, the other is a gopro which is in a gyro stabilised gimbal so no matter which way the copter is leaning the camera remains level, it can also be adjusted manually from my controller on the ground to tilt up or down, it also has a camera switcher so I can switch from FPV cam to gopro live out to make sure I'm getting exactly what I'm trying to record.
This one is my Sky Hero Spyder X8, it is a lot bigger and has 8 Props 4 above 4 below working in a coaxial configuration, it can easily carry a Sony NEX type camera and being coaxial is very very stable and can be flown in higher wind conditions.
Some video, this ones from the Discovery from the local Lotus Gardens.
And here's the Spyder on its maiden test flight
This is from one of my Night Vision Rigs which basically is kitted out with Infra Red LED's and the onboard cam has had the IR Filter removed, this also lets you see the info I see in the goggles, all my rigs have and On Screen Display (OSD) and GPS which relays back info like height, speed, distance from take off point, battery powery and control signal strength as well as a few other things.
I hope its okay to post this and if its in the wrong section then feel free to move it, also if you do a search on youtube for FPV you'll find lots and lots of video's some of the guys out there are doing some spectacular video's thats far better than mine,
and as I said if you want to more then feel free to either comment on here or drop me a pm.
Most of the video gear is taken from the wireless security cam industry and then bossted somewhat to give longer range etc, one of my rigs is capable of flying 5km plus from where I am standing and some guys that are using RC Planes/Gliders have flown in excess of 50km's, its the batteries that limits the flight times on the quadcopters with 10-15mins being around the normal sort of flight times,
Movie companies and Top gear being probably the most famous are also using this technology although there using equipment that cost's into the tens of thousands of pounds where as my basic set ups cost around £1000 but it can be done for much cheaper, the industry has taken off this last year with everyone trying to make a quick buck so to speak and because of this the Authorities such as FAA & CAA are now looking into it which may ruin it for a hobbyist such as myself but we will see.
anyway here's a pic 2 of my copters and some video from them,
if you want to see more then by all means check out my Youtube Page or Facebook Page, search for Rudeboys FPV,
If anyone wants more info then feel free to shout up and I'll do my best.
This one is a Team Black Sheep Discovery Quadcopter, it has 2 camera's fitted, the smaller camera (FPV Camera) on the right is what I see through and is the picture to my goggles, the other is a gopro which is in a gyro stabilised gimbal so no matter which way the copter is leaning the camera remains level, it can also be adjusted manually from my controller on the ground to tilt up or down, it also has a camera switcher so I can switch from FPV cam to gopro live out to make sure I'm getting exactly what I'm trying to record.
This one is my Sky Hero Spyder X8, it is a lot bigger and has 8 Props 4 above 4 below working in a coaxial configuration, it can easily carry a Sony NEX type camera and being coaxial is very very stable and can be flown in higher wind conditions.
Some video, this ones from the Discovery from the local Lotus Gardens.
And here's the Spyder on its maiden test flight
This is from one of my Night Vision Rigs which basically is kitted out with Infra Red LED's and the onboard cam has had the IR Filter removed, this also lets you see the info I see in the goggles, all my rigs have and On Screen Display (OSD) and GPS which relays back info like height, speed, distance from take off point, battery powery and control signal strength as well as a few other things.
I hope its okay to post this and if its in the wrong section then feel free to move it, also if you do a search on youtube for FPV you'll find lots and lots of video's some of the guys out there are doing some spectacular video's thats far better than mine,
and as I said if you want to more then feel free to either comment on here or drop me a pm.
