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Wing Cameras!!!!!!

PerfTech

Well Known Member
The "BEST" Wing Cameras!!!!!!

I have four different sports action cameras (GoPro, Drift HD-170, Contour and Origon Scientific ATC-9000) and have written reviews on all of them. The best and most for your money without a doubt for shooting from an aircraft platform is the Drift HD-0170! It has a preview screen, Rf remote control with more than enough range to cover the entire aircraft, great photo and video quality, the best mounting system, a movable lens and all the features of the other cameras as well. All that is required to mount this unit is to drill a couple of holes in one of the supplied mounts. I drilled three holes on two center distances and this allows me to mount the camera in a multitude of different locations simply by removing and replacing two existing screws,(Front top of wing looking foreword, front bottom looking foreword, rear top of wing, rear bottom looking back, wing tip looking at cockpit, Top or bottom of V/S looking foreword or back plus many other locations that virtually cover the entire aircraft). The location can be changed in about one minute or so. The tiny R/F remote is a must as the I/R remote models require pointing directly at the cameras lens. I will post a short video link here for review that clearly shows the video quality, stability, Etc. This was shot at 200 MPH. If anyone is interested or desires more information just let me know. Regards, Allan
http://vimeo.com/22471547

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Impressive video quality. Did your testing involve capturing any intercom audio? Pictures are great, but without corresponding audio half the story is left untold, IMO.
 
The tiny R/F remote is a must as the I/R remote models require pointing directly at the cameras lens.

What remote comes with it? Is the R/F remote an optional part? I looked at their website and did not see it mentioned.

Thanks,
Tom RV-7A N175TJ Flying
 
How does this camera do recording the prop arc? I know that lots of them (i.e. my hi-def iPhone 4 camera) get really funky horizontal lines.
 
Pardon me for being Captain Obvious, but no one else has mentioned something kind of important from the original photo ....

Doesn't the camera, mounted on the top of the wing, act as an effective lift spoiler? Why wouldn't you mount the camera on the bottom of the wing? I think there's lots of ground clearance.

Look at any military aircraft. The top of the wing (low pressure) is clean, and the bottom of the wing (high pressure) is where they hang all the junk off of.

The location of the camera, with spanwise flow at high AOA, might affect aileron effectiveness. You might not like how it stall/spun.

Aerodynamics is funny business. Something which looks trivial - say a simple wing root fairing - can make a big difference. You really don't know until you put it in the wind tunnel (or fly it, obviously).

Same thing with the camera mount on the vertical fin. It probably disrupts the airflow over the rudder. Significantly? I dunno. All I know is that the L39's that I fly have vortex generators on the vertical fin to try to reattach the airflow to the rudder. Also, the weight of the camera probably lowers the flutter speed of the vertical fin.

Just be careful at high alpha or high speed with this camera config, ok? You really don't know what you've done to the wing, ailerons, vertical fin and rudder. A friend of mine is dead now because his vertical fin came off his RV-7A, and I really don't want that to happen to you.
 
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How does this camera do recording the prop arc? I know that lots of them (i.e. my hi-def iPhone 4 camera) get really funky horizontal lines.

Recent discussion on another plane site revealed the fact that a filter can make the prop more normal looking in videos. Borrowing from that other site:

"A neutral density filter (sun glasses for a camera) lets in less light and slows the shutter speed.* The ideal shutter would be around 1/60 second, or about half the 30fps video frame rate, and you won't see the prop at that speed.**This will probably take a pretty dark filter; I would start with a 0.9 and see what happens."

Mike
 
why not tuft it?

Pardon me for being Captain Obvious, but no one else has mentioned something kind of important from the original photo ....

Doesn't the camera, mounted on the top of the wing, act as an effective lift spoiler? ....

The location of the camera, with spanwise flow at high AOA, might affect aileron effectiveness. You might not like how it stall/spun.

Aerodynamics is funny business. Something which looks trivial - say a simple wing root fairing - can make a big difference. You really don't know until you put it in the wind tunnel (or fly it, obviously).

Just be careful at high alpha or high speed with this camera config, ok? You really don't know what you've done to the wing, ailerons, vertical fin and rudder. A friend of mine is dead now because his vertical fin came off his RV-7A, and I really don't want that to happen to you.


hey, got this fancy camera on there, put some tufts behind it, and look out the window! ....should tell us what the airflow is like, right? :)
 
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Pirep on the Drift X170 for what it's worth

Just did a quick trial of the NOT High Def Drift X170. Otherwise seems identical to the HD170, and the remote seems to work from all angles, at least in the house, as long as it's line-of-sight.
Kinda dissapointed with the video quality, certainly not that great for recording tuft testing as intended....or even driving in the car. it's so blotchy it's almost hard to watch.
I'll be returning this to Costco, and getting the HD version.

warning; video is just me throwing the thing on the dash, so excuse the rattling around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRGG2Kgrkvg

Overall like the camera FEATURES, although the menus take a bit of getting used to. If the camera is oriented right, you can see the status light change from green to red when you hit the remote.

It seemed to record fine on a class 4 SD card, but again, it ain't HD data quantities being transferred to it!
 
unexpected consequences

... A friend of mine is dead now because his vertical fin came off his RV-7A, and I really don't want that to happen to you.
Wow - sorry to hear about that. Do you have details that we might be able to learn from?
 
Drift HD170

Allan, I noticed from your video it was quite jerky. It lacked the smoothness of a normal video. Is this normal with these cameras or is it because of the slow frame rate?
 
I have the stealth Drift HD170 and have been using it now for a couple months. Turns out the firmware version it was shipped with wasn't even the stealth FW which provides several different frame rates and other updated features. Went to the Driftinnovation website and downloaded the latest F/W and have much better performance now. You might want to check your F/W version to see if it is up-to-date..
 
Allan, I noticed from your video it was quite jerky. It lacked the smoothness of a normal video. Is this normal with these cameras or is it because of the slow frame rate?

My video is perfectly smooth! I think your graphics card in your computer isn't sufficient to play high definition video. The frame rate is not slow at 30 per or optional 60 frames. That is what happens when I try to look at them on my little boys low end computer. Regards, Allan
 
Sort of related to Wing Cameras

My first camera system will still be SD until they get better digital video interfaces & capabilities.

Cockpit: Panel mount - 4 channel SD DVR (SDHC card) and 10.4" XVGA monitor, camera control via RS-485, also bullet cam #1 on top glare shield, passenger side, adjustable in azimuth. Audio to DVR from intercom system.

Left Wing: Bullet camera #2 fixed on access cover beneath wing facing forward.

Right Wing: Bullet camera #3 fixed on access cover beneath wing facing aft.

VS: Bullet camera #4, top tip fairing, facing forward, wide angle lens.

Final video & audio in post production.
 
Drift HD 170

Hey Allan, When using the wireless remote, (camera mounted on wing or tail). How can one tell if the camera is recording?
 
Hey Allan, When using the wireless remote, (camera mounted on wing or tail). How can one tell if the camera is recording?


The camera has a small green led on it but I cant see it from the cockpit. The remote has two buttons, on and off. I always push two times and the camera hasn't missed a beat as of yet. I tested the remote in my shop and it performed flawlessly up to 75ft or so. Regards, Allan
 
What software are you using to edit the footage from the Drift?

What does it record as?
 
This might have been up for discussion in a another thread, but the new contour plus seems to be a very nice wingcamera: http://contour.com/products/1
Remote viewfinder (via bluetooth cellphone), and I asume remote on/off. External mic connector. 170 degree angle etc.
 
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This might have been up for discussion in a another thread, but the new contour plus seems to be a very nice wingcamera: http://contour.com/products/1
Remote viewfinder (via bluetooth cellphone), and I asume remote on/off. External mic connector. 170 degree angle etc.

I?m using "Contour GPS", bluetooth is only for set, is good.
Full HD is ok, video editing with Vegas pro 10.

http://www.vimeo.com/25080794

Sorry for my english
 
Here is one I took yesterday using the countour GPS. I have it set at Countout 720HD which give me 15 minutes per GB....

Cammera mounted at the acro Sight device using an old Garmin 496 yoke clamp and some Zip Ties.. The Hammerhead inside view is using my old VIO POV....

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSpzehM9bJk
 
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Buen Video Roberto! Felicitaciones! Me sorprende que no te hayan hinchado las pelotas aca en este Froum por hacer esos vuelos razantes! Saludos!


Bueno, es el primer post en este foro...
De todas maneras no hay gente, es sobre pistas o campo... chan!
 
Hey Allan, When using the wireless remote, (camera mounted on wing or tail). How can one tell if the camera is recording?

You cant and thats the frustrating portion if you were counting on your video (who doesnt!!!) my VIO POV has a remote control with a mind of its own,,,,,I have changed batteries, reprogramed, changed channels, etc, etc....FRUSTRATING!
 
I bought a Drift 170HD a few weeks ago and made an under-wing mount for it and screw it into place with the tie-down ring. Works great with one exception: The remote won't work with it there. Apparently, it won't transmit through the wing, so the only solution is to turn on the camera before start and just waste digital space recording taxiing, run-up, etc.

One question for you video tech gurus, though ...

My 8-minute test video was going to take over 3 HOURS to upload to Vimeo. I tried searching for compression and editing tutorials there, but couldn't find anything substantive.

Is there a good, easy-to-learn-and-use, cheap (FREE?) video editing program that people use to edit and post videos? As many weird videos as there are out there on YouTube, it must not be all that difficult.
 
I bought a Drift 170HD a few weeks ago and made an under-wing mount for it and screw it into place with the tie-down ring. Works great with one exception: The remote won't work with it there. Apparently, it won't transmit through the wing, so the only solution is to turn on the camera before start and just waste digital space recording taxiing, run-up, etc.

One question for you video tech gurus, though ...

My 8-minute test video was going to take over 3 HOURS to upload to Vimeo. I tried searching for compression and editing tutorials there, but couldn't find anything substantive.

Is there a good, easy-to-learn-and-use, cheap (FREE?) video editing program that people use to edit and post videos? As many weird videos as there are out there on YouTube, it must not be all that difficult.

I never tried Vimeo but my Youtube took 37 minutes to load this PM....It will probably be taken down later due to music rights......
 
Is there a good, easy-to-learn-and-use, cheap (FREE?) video editing program that people use to edit and post videos? As many weird videos as there are out there on YouTube, it must not be all that difficult.

Windows Movie Maker Live isn't too terrible and is relatively easy to use. You won't get the best/coolest edited videos, but it'll do enough to put it up on YouTube..

This video is nothing impressive, but I was playing around with Windows Movie Maker editing..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zYLd5nLG94&feature=channel_video_title
 
Windows Movie Maker Live isn't too terrible and is relatively easy to use. You won't get the best/coolest edited videos, but it'll do enough to put it up on YouTube..

This video is nothing impressive, but I was playing around with Windows Movie Maker editing..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zYLd5nLG94&feature=channel_video_title

I know I'm in the minority but I actually like your video better than most of the others as BOTH the video & audio are flying related. The only thing I would suggest is to add a little narration through use of the intercom to let people know what you are doing.

An added benefit is no copyright violation.
 
I bought a Drift 170HD a few weeks ago and made an under-wing mount for it and screw it into place with the tie-down ring. Works great with one exception: The remote won't work with it there. Apparently, it won't transmit through the wing, so the only solution is to turn on the camera before start and just waste digital space recording taxiing, run-up, etc.

One question for you video tech gurus, though ...

My 8-minute test video was going to take over 3 HOURS to upload to Vimeo. I tried searching for compression and editing tutorials there, but couldn't find anything substantive.

Is there a good, easy-to-learn-and-use, cheap (FREE?) video editing program that people use to edit and post videos? As many weird videos as there are out there on YouTube, it must not be all that difficult.

The free, easy ones I know of are:

MAC: iMovie
PC : Windows Movie Maker Live

That said, I use Sony Vegas.

For Vimeo, go to http://vimeo.com/help/compression . On the right side of the page are exporting tutorials for many editing programs.

In general Vimeo servers are slower than youtube, but there are advantages to Vimeo over youtube (no 10 min. time limit, etc.)
 
The free, easy ones I know of are:

MAC: iMovie
PC : Windows Movie Maker Live

That said, I use Sony Vegas.

For Vimeo, go to http://vimeo.com/help/compression . On the right side of the page are exporting tutorials for many editing programs.

In general Vimeo servers are slower than youtube, but there are advantages to Vimeo over youtube (no 10 min. time limit, etc.)

Thanks for the comment on my video..

Here is one I did on Vegas, but I am still learning how to use it.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm2noCXoh8c&feature=relmfu

What type video does the Contour record in? My GoPro HD records in .mp4 and Vegas 9 has trouble with it, I have to dumb it down for the program and then edit it.. Gets old..

I'm looking at the Contour as I like the idea of the remote..
 
This might have been up for discussion in a another thread, but the new contour plus seems to be a very nice wingcamera: http://contour.com/products/1
Remote viewfinder (via bluetooth cellphone), and I asume remote on/off. External mic connector. 170 degree angle etc.
Not according to the local dealer... On-off is still manually done on the camera itself. Seems pointless to offer bluetooth connectivity without offering bluetooth controls as well.
 
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