How Can I Take Good Pictures From My RC Helicopter Camera?
With technology advancing at the speed of light, RC helicopters are getting more affordable and better. RC helicopters with cameras are becoming more widely available to the general public, thanks to which users have a world of possibilities before their eyes. Here’s everything you need to know about taking good pictures from RC helicopters with cameras.
What Types of Helicopters are There?
The type that’s most relevant to our piece is photography helicopters, which are used by photographers to capture high-quality images of people, animals, landscapes, and more. Another type is professional helicopters, which usually come with good cameras and can stream live. Some movie scenes, music videos, and documentaries feature footage from this type of camera.
If you’re a beginner, we’d recommend an entry-level option like a hobby helicopter. This is one you can use to spy on your neighbors or, if you aren’t the type of person who’d do that, to have fun with in your back yard.
Finally, there are racing helicopters that are aimed at reaching maximum speeds, which have cameras as well. The camera helps you pilot them around a course.
What Should I Look For?
When purchasing an RC helicopter with a camera, there are two important aspects to take into account. The vehicle should be capable of flying well and should be equipped with a high-quality camera. A device with an HD camera is perfect for photographing events from the air. If your ambitions aren’t as lofty as that, you don’t have to invest as much money. It depends on what you want to use the helicopter (and its camera) for. For example, do you want to record only images or video as well? Some RC helicopters can record audio too. The latest models can record image, video, and audio. As with everything, quality comes at a price.
What Are The Uses Of RC Helicopters with Cameras?
There are many uses, from creative to purely practical. For example, you can use your RC heli’s camera to check your neighborhood or see if you closed the gate to your house.
How Do I Get Good Pictures?
Practice makes perfect. Beginners should focus on adjusting the throttle. To see how the helicopter moves in the air, add a bit of pitch with a joystick after you get comfortable with flying. To practice, you can pick a few spots on the ground and work on landing on each point. Mark the landing places with rocks or pieces of paper and practice moving from one spot to another.
What are the Best Cameras?
The best cameras are high-res and manufactured with light metallic bodies because this is the most durable material. Look for devices with inbuilt gyroscopes because these help the helicopter stay steady, obtain clear images, and maintain an uninterrupted live view. Another thing to look for is (where possible) multichannel infrared control.
What Should I Watch Out for?
There’s a limit to the directions your camera can see in, so the likelihood of a crash is always there. If your helicopter crashes into something, you’ll need to fix it after you go get it, wherever it may be. Return to land is a very useful feature for an RC helicopter to have because it alerts the pilot of a weak battery. Some of these models automatically return to home when there is a low battery. This saves users the hassle of looking for a heli that dropped down somewhere.
Read about landing correctly here.
Finally, check if the local law allows you to use an RC helicopter with a camera. In most states, it is illegally to fly an RC device higher than 400 feet or within five miles of an airport.