arial photography rocketry

[wesd]

Any other hobbie rocketeers on here? I am thinking of building one for launching one of those cheap-o wa-mart cameras, atleast for testing. ANyone else on here fly cameras on model rockets?

I flew them for like 10 or 15 years, and I have been thinking about going back into the hobbie. I have to build a nose cone with some space, for the camera, and some extra padding. I figure I would use 2 seperate shoots one for the nose cone, and the other for the body of the rocket.
I would either have to use a 2 stage D, or a flightly more powerful engine, depending on the final weight of the nose cone, shoots, and rocket body.
Wes
Summer is here

 

[DSLR noob]

That'd be interesting.

 

[jimiismydaddy]

So then what would you do, like a wireless shutter release? Probably not on a cheap camera. Or are you talking video camera?

 

[gmarquez]

So then what would you do, like a wireless shutter release?

You could do what we used to do on the old Estes rockets, and use a long post-boost delay to make sure that the rocket was pointing downward when the ejection charge went off. Then you could have a camera pointing out of the nosecone trigger when the shock cord went taught (nose cone separating from the body), while the nose was presumably pointing down.

Last I looked (last year), Estes was making "E" engine birds, so that might be an easy way to go.

 

[wesd]

Well first of all I would use a cheap camera for the first couple of flights atleast.
For the sutter release I would probobly use a timer to trigger the switch at set intervules. The ready-made camera rockets from esties are triggred when the ejection charge pushes the nose cone out the top, but by doing it that way you are only getting one picture per flight.
I might look into useing an E engine, and rocket I just need to launch from a place where there is plenty of room so I don't lose it in a tree.
Wes