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Advice needed : Helicopter tour

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  • #1

    Advice needed : Helicopter tour

    I have been offered the opportunity to get a 15 minutes helicopter flight over Copenhagen September 5, and I will take my EP3 camera with me.
    As I have very limited experince with aerial photography, I intend to shoot video.
    I know IS should be off but what lens should I use ?

    My options are:

    45 mm F:1.8 - it is razor sharp but relatively long focal length, works fine with video
    17 mm F:2.8 - Relatively fast but I am not not that pleased with image IQ
    and I don't think it works very well in video mode
    14 mm F:2.5 - I have limited experince with this, but it is a splendid alternative to the 17 mm image IQ wise. Video might be another issue?
    Kit lenses - 12-42 and 40-150 mm will probably work okay if weather is fine. They work very well in video mode.

    Any recommendations and advice will be much appreciated
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

    Sounds like a fantastic opportunity, but well outside my field of experience!
    John

    "A hundredth of a second here, a hundredth of a second there � even if you put them end to end, they still only add up to one, two, perhaps three seconds, snatched from eternity." ~ Robert Doisneau

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    • #3
      Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

      Not much experience but would think a zoom would give you more options rather than relying on the pilot to change your shots? Not sure about IS as there will lots of vibration.
      Ed

      Live life in the slow lane.

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      • #4
        Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

        My two cents (pence), never having been in a helicopter, would be that while you're marvel-ing at the broad landscape below you, don't forget to shoot for detail as well. Not having wings, the in-the-air experience is fairly unique, but as shared images over the Internet, the closer up perspective is perhaps more powerful?
        Since you have fifteen minutes and will be shooting video, my other suggestion would be to plan to cut between interesting bits (maybe using quick dissolves), rather than panning around like a bird. Panning, though common, can be very difficult to make interesting for a viewer. It isn't natural: we glance left, then cut right, but we don't fix our eyes forward and rotate our head. So maybe plan to shoot in such a way that mimics what you'd be doing if you didn't have a camera to operate, and then remove the wobbly bits.

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        • #5
          Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

          I have heard the Lumix 14-45 (with physical OIS switch) is good for video on Olympus cameras since it can use its own stabilisation.
          I hardly use my video but I should really get around to testing this hypothesis.
          Anyway, mine's another voice saying "zoom" : you really don't know what focal length will be right once you're up up in the air. (Of your three lenses I'd stick the 45mm on first, carry the 14mm in yer pocket.)

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          • #6
            Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

            Hi

            I did the 20 minute helicopter flight over Manhattan many years ago using a film camera using Ektachrome 200. I was there for 3 weeks and didn't attempt the flight until 2 days before the end of the trip due to weather conditions and heat haze etc. The helicopter was quite small, room for 6 passengers, fortunately there was only 3 on board including the pilot.

            I was very pleased with the results I used 2 bodies one with a 28mm and the other with a 135mm. There was a lot of vibration and noise I managed to keep the shutter between 1/250s and 1/500s and that worked very well. So keep the shutter speed up relatively high if you can.

            All the best.

            Tom
            "Who is watching the Watchers, watching the Watchers watching us"

            Its not what you see, it's the way that you see it"

            Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/photofxstudios

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            • #7
              Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

              I don't know if it helps but I think that the CAA regulations require a minimum altitude of 500ft when flying above a built up area. Assuming that the Danish regulations are similar you are likely to be a minimum of 200m away from things on the ground.

              It might be worth doing a few ground level experiments at that sort of distance to help you choose the sorts of focal lengths that are most suitable.
              OMD-EM1, 12-40, E-520, 12-60, 50-200, 7-14, 50, 8, EC14, FL50

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              • #8
                Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

                I have had a fun ride in both a Microlight and a Hot air Balloon. Generally we flew at between 300 and 1000 metres in both cases. On the Microlight I used the 50-200 with the E-5 and was very pleased with the results. In the balloon I used a C-5050 which is much shorter in focal length about 28-120 on 35mm equivalent. I felt it was too wide. I would use IS and a higher ISO. You don't say if you will have open windows as reflections can spoil pictures. The only time I was in a Helicopter was a Wessex on a Mountain Rescue in a blizzard. No time for photos.
                Duncan

                Lots of toys.

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                • #9
                  Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

                  Thank you very much for all your replies.
                  I want to enjoy the ride rather than see Copenhagen from above thorugh a viewfinder,
                  this is why I go for video instead of photo (otherwise I would take my E-30 and 50-200).
                  As Stewart G said :
                  " So maybe plan to shoot in such a way that mimics what you'd be doing if you didn't have a camera to operate, and then remove the wobbly bits."
                  I agree, only problem is which focal length to choose.
                  Based on your input I think I will take the 40-150 mm and the 45 mm, both lenses works very well with video and C-AF operation.
                  I will try to get a few interesting sequences rather than a long movie with lots of panning.

                  Your help is much appreciated

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

                    Just an update:

                    It was a VERY interesting 15 minutes helicopter trip yesterday, even though weather wasn't perfect.
                    I chose the EP3 ith the 45 mm set to aperture F: 5.6 shooting mostly video

                    But I couldn't resist shooting a few still shots, I can really recommend a helicopter trip if you ever get the opportunity

                    Photo Slightly cropped but otherwise straight out of Camera


                    Link to Gallery all photos Slightly cropped but otherwise straight out of Camera

                    http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/m...%20Helicopter/

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                    • #11
                      Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

                      Wonderful batch of photos! I think number nine is my favorite, though I couldn't get through the whole collection due to large file sizes and (my) slow load times. The close ups of geometric architecture were wonderful, too. That must have been an exciting ride.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

                        Thank you very much for you kind remarks Stewart G.
                        I have decided to have another go one day in spring, this time I will bring my DSLR and 35-100 F:2 lens and really try.

                        By the way Stewart G: Your website contains a lot of really beautiful photos that I find very inspiring.

                        22. September I will be on a photo safari to a very old car scrap heap in Sweden (link in Norwegian:http://fotoboksen.vgb.no/2007/05/21/...sen-oppdatert/) and I will certainly study your websites for inspiration

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                        • #13
                          Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

                          Fascinating to see the city from that perpective, it looks like a great trip. I recognised a few landmarks - I'm a bit surprised you were allowed that close to the airport mid-flight though!

                          Thanks for sharing them ... John

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                          • #14
                            Took another look, on my phone, and really love the close up stuff. Your upcoming trip to an auto dismantler yard sounds very cool. Looking forward to seeing those photos. Thanks for looking at my site, too.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Advice needed : Helicopter tour

                              Hi Stewart G
                              Just a small update, the trip to the derelict auto dismantler went fine.
                              Except that at time it was raining cats and dogs, so I had to abandon my original plan of using tripod, wide angle and macro, low ISO, long shutter times and large DOF.
                              Instead I used the 35-200 handheld, which meant Hi-ISO and shallow DOF.
                              But it was great fun and I will definitely return next spring and spend a lot more time and hopefully in better weather conditions.
                              Here is on sample and a link to those i liked the best (about 50 photos)


                              Link
                              http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/m...lKirkeGaarden/

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