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 or slots preferably, 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. When you are shooting and want the ground to be the point of interest for your video, you should angle your camera 13 degrees downward for best results. This holds true with just about any lens from 16mm wide to 600mm telephoto. With the typical wide lenses on these small sports cameras, we use this 13 degree setting even when shooting plane to plane as the video looses interest if you cant see the ground or horizon. The tiny R/F remote is also a must, as the I/R remote models require pointing directly at the cameras lens. If you would like to narrate your video from the cockpit the camera has a standard audio jack that interfaces with your headset or intercom. 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
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http://vimeo.com/22471547
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I have just put my HD170 in the same position as Allan, however I have a few problems with it, and need some input.
1) I have mine on a 7A wing, is the 9A wing chord thinner ? as I have to zoom in about 20% so the wing is not in shot.
2) I have a red strip on the front on the wing. When I fly into the sun, all the video has a red was to it, and I seem to get the "jello" effect.
3) If I was to mount it under the wing what downward angle is best , like Vic has done here
4) After only about 1 hr of flying with it on the wing near the fuel cap position, I found the video not very sharp, like it has fog/mist inside it. ( it was a clear day, no rain )