Gyro/Camera (for RV air to air pics) update...
 

This morning at sunrise I had Alex DeDominicis? RV-10 in the viewfinder 1,800? above Lake Lewisville - a person in every seat. If Van?s passes on them for the 2007 calendar I?ll display them on the site at a later time (sorry). I shot nearly 500MB of images in the 2nd ?all up? test of the new camera equipment:

- Canon EOS 1D Mark II N camera body
- Canon 2.8 70-200mm IS lens
- Ken-Labs KS-6 gyro stabilizer mount

I?ve found that in absolute STILL air I can pretty easily turn around in the back seat of a RV-8 if I?ve done the following:
1. taken the stick out (before takeoff)
2. taken my shoes off before getting in the plane (stowed in baggage area - clean socks a big plus)
3. loosened my pants belt one notch
4. taken everything out of my pockets (kept in upside down baseball cap stuffed down beside the seat).
5. place the battery pack for the gyro in the left foot well before takeoff (it?s about 3"x4"x9"). Rest foot on top of it during t/o and climb.
6. done some stretching before getting in.

Room for improvement:
1. a thin pillow (to set the camera on while I?m moving around) would be nice
2. a small foam ?deck? to place on the shelf behind the passenger seat (where the RV-8 canopy tapers down to a point) with cutouts for additional CF memory cards, a slot to place the lens cover, a slot cut for tissues and lens cleaner, extra lens, etc.

I?m shooting in ?TV? mode (time value) with the shutter set at 1/60th of a second. The gyro, coupled with the image stabilization circuitry in the lens, keeps the plane in sharp focus (with proper technique) in about 50% of the images - a much higher percentage than without the gyro. AI SERVO is enabled on the auto-focus and the image stabilization of the 2.8 70-200mm IS lens is in ?mode 2? position. After about 15 minutes the back starts to complain...need to do some strength exercises to improve that.

I?m still working out the bugs, but the results are so much better than anything I?ve ever done before I?m pretty jazzed - certainly raising my personal bar.

I can?t give enough credit to Danny King for letting me experiment in the back of ?Beautiful Doll? (and to Ed Hicks and Sam Buchanan for getting me ?really? into photography).

Developing (pun)...

Just curious why you are using 'mode 2' for the IS? If the two aircraft have very little relative speed you aren't panning, then shouldn't mode 1 should be the best choice.

Good question. The two aircraft are actually changing positions constantly. I'm giving thumb up, down, left and right direction to the subject all the time as lighting and background changes warrent - this while we're in a constant turn.

Still experimenting, however. I may find on the next try that mode 1 works better :) . I'm certainly no expert at this and am still learning!

b,
d

IS
 

Mode 2 simply turns the IS's horizontal gyro off. So if you're moving up, down, left, right, and the IS is still doing its thing in the vertical plane, it should work just as well in the horizontal.

Oh, and we're absolutely going to need to get someone in the subject aircraft to get a pic of you all contorted in the backseat :p

One thing I've noticed when I've seen them doing air-to-air shots over OSH is that they always have the photo plane in a slip. I believe the airplane is be more stable in when in a slip though it may just be to get those silly struts out of the way. Fortunately, the RV is a much more refined vehicle.

Boy, the Canon users manual on the lens didn't explain mode 2 that simply! Thanks for clearing that up, Ben. I'll try mode 1 on the next round and try to pick up the differences.

The power of the forums <g>!

Best,
Doug

Dang Doug. Made the big leap to the EOS 1D. I still shoot with film. :D

Check out the rudder on this photo:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lcbowen/...51527126253586


Looks like they're slipping to point the nose towards the photographer...


Anyways, good to hear that someone has success shooting from an -8.. I wasn't so lucky in my few tries.. But that should be just an excuse to keep going back up and trying more ;)

canopy reflection
 

Just wondering, how do you get rid of the reflection from the photoship's canopy. On my RV-8, there doesn't seem to be any good place to point the camera that doesn't show some reflection of the canopy.

bruce
N297NW

Hi Bruce,

Keep the lens close to the plexi and the camera needs to be between the photo ship and the subject, preferably in the shadow created by your back. And, Photoshop can take out a lot of glare.

At least that works for me <g>.

b,
d

Canopy Reflection
 

As an old Air Force Aerial Cameraman; we used to make up a cone shaped "lens shade" of black foam and tape it to the lens.

It's soft enough to be pressed against the canopy, blocking the reflections. A little trimming might be necessary to make it fit the curve of the canopy.

Mannan Thomason
RV-8 N161RL
33.1 hrs. Out of Phase 1
Still grinning!