Suggestions please: Compact camera for pole-mounted downward facing ground cover pics

Hi,

I'm a grad student out doing field work in Arkansas. I'm in need of a small camera to take high-res, downward facing photos of the ground (shrub cover) from up on a 4 meter (about 4 yards) tall portable pole. I'll be dragging this contraption all over a bunch of young pine stands over the next few weeks, and ideally I need to get it all set up and running by the end of the week (so something I can buy at Wal-Mart would be great). I don't have a lot of brick and mortar purchasing options around here, but I might be able to swing a mail order.

The camera will obviously need either a remote shutter release or a 20 second +/- timer function. It needs to be light so the pole (I plan to use an extendable painter pole or something similar) won't be unwieldy. The lens needs to be able to capture a good depth of field to get both grass and 2 meter tall shrubs in focus. I basically need very big, very sharp, color-correct photos. It's going to be hot, humid, and dusty, so the camera physically needs to be somewhat tough.

Can anyone suggest what brands/models I should be looking at? I have a Nikon D70, but it's too heavy for this application. I'm not as familiar with compact cameras. I know this is a canon forum, but I'm open to other brands as well. Sorry to ask in a hurry, but our current sampling method is not working very well, so hopefully this will be an improvement.

Thanks so much for your help!!

Hmmm.... Remote shutter release might be a bit tough on a point and shoot, however most should have a timer of some sort.

As far as rugged goes, what about one of the waterproof/shockproof models like the Panasonics or Olympus'?

I would recommend the Canon D10 and add CHDK software to control the camera. CHDK enables the camera to run scripts see below.

“Scripting - Control CHDK and camera features using ubasic and Lua scripts. Enables time lapse, motion detection, advanced bracketing, and much more.”

http://www.dpreview.co​m/reviews/Q209waterpro​ofgroup/

http://chdk.wikia.com/​wiki/CHDK

Hans

The G11 or G12 would meet your needs providing you are willing to spend that much on this project. The RS60-e3 remote release works with this camera, although the cord is only a couple of feet long, so it would have to be cut and extended.

http://www.amazon.com …tch-RS60-E3/dp/B00004WCID

There may be RF or IR remote releases available, but I'm just guessing. At any rate, the G11 and G12 do have a connection for a remote release, which is why I suggest them as a possible solution.

Hey, friend: I have just the website for you: www.aplanding.com

Go to the PAP (pole aerial photography) section and start asking questions. That's what these guys do all day, and some of them professionally. They'll help you out.

What kind of telescopic pole were you going to use? 4m should be easy enough to get at Home Depot (or mail order). Keep in mind that if you are going to be near powerlines that you don't want aluminum. Stick with fiberglass/plastic of some kind.

Also keep in mind that you'll need to be able to control shutter speed, because at the end of a long pole it's hard to hold still, so upping the shutter speed to at least 600 will be necessary. The SX130 IS might be the call for you.

You can also downlink to a monitor at the base of the pole.

Here's a link to the specific forum at aplanding.com.

http://www.aplanding.c​om/forums/forumdisplay​.php?f=79


This is a picture I took from about 7 meters. I had a monitor on the ground and a fiberglass mast with the camera on top. I hooked up an rca cable to the camera and ran it to a monitor that I plugged into the car, but you can get portable monitors inexpensively that run on batteries. That way you can see what you're shooting.

Oh, and before buying a camera, make sure that you know what it can do in terms of hooking up to a monitor, laptop, etc.

sony nex-5 with an IR remote

the nex-c3 only has a 10 second timer but it's smaller.
http://sonyalphanex.bl​ogspot.com …ex-c3-hands-on-video.html

If you're mechanically inclined you can also rig up a remote control system for any camera and use a servo and arm to trigger the shutter.

Most Canons have a custom timer option capable of taking several shots in succession after a 2-30 second delay. Any of those should work fine and Walmart carries quite a few Canon models.

Thanks for all the great suggestions, guys. The committee finally gave me the go-ahead so now I'm responsible for putting together two pole cams. I need the cameras to be under $200 ($250 including tax and shipping is the absolute max). The pole and accessories are separately budgeted, so they can cost more.

So far, my plan is the following:
Mr LongArm 8' to 23' extension pole
-If holding pole vertical, I'll attach a post level to the pole
-If holding the pole at an angle, I'll attach a protractor.
Pole Pixie Professional Aluminum Adapter + Tilting Mount
Possibly include a Pole Pixie Tall Boy 4" extender
Sub-$200 camera with adjustable timer

Here's the thing, I can't use a laptop because we need to capture 60 nadir photos of the shrub cover in a few hours, including travel over rough terrain. This has to be as light, portable, and fast for one person to use as possible. I figure we get into position, extend the pole, set the timer, raise the pole, steady it, snap the photo, drop the pole, and hoof it to the next point. I can probably work around the person and the pole being in the photo, but if we need to angle the pole out that might be ok. We must have a consistent height and level photo each time.

I need sharp photos, so image stabilization, I guess. The cam may be used in forest as well as fields, so low light performance and color capture is important. We'll be in rough, dusty, maybe damp terrain, so I can't get a camera that we have to baby too much. I know I'm probably expecting too much.

Oh yeah, and they want me to have a purchase list by tomorrow! Any comments or suggestions?

That's quite a lot to think about.

I think you'll need something that has TV on it (time value) so you can set that shutter speed high. With any pole, you'll most likely have some wobble, and Image stabilization will help, but you need a fast shutter speed.

The downside to that, of course, is that if the light isn't super strong, having a shutter speed up around 1000 or more could be trouble.

How do you feel about noise in your images (grain)? If you can handle it, up the ISO and shoot at that fast shutter speed.

In terms of getting deals, you could always go to canonusa.com and find the cameras in the refurbished section. They are (according to just about everyone) new cameras that had to be fixed, most of them right off the factory floor. You can save a lot that way. In fact, right now they have the S90 for $279 (which is barely higher than you wanted to spend).

They also have the SD4000 IS for only $209, and it has Time Value mode that goes all the way up to 2000.


I hope you plan for the fact that a pole will be flexible, especially if you extend weight from it, like a cross beam or protractor. It's going to be difficult to control like that.

Have you talked to the guys at aplanding.com yet? They have been doing this for years.

Finally, there are still inexpensive and creative ways to downlink the camera in order to see the image from the ground. All you need is an rca cable that is the length of the pole, a simple rca adapter wire (usually included with the camera) and a 99-dollar monitor from Best Buy (it's about a five inch screen and runs on batteries).

Good luck.

We're looking at taking around 2600 photos this summer, and possibly another 3900 next summer, as part of our efforts to quantify shrub cover. I'm praying that I'll be able to set up a supervised (automated) classification program to process all the images. If I do, I'll want to minimize grain and image artifacts as much as possible.

I'm considering the Canon SX210IS, which apparently shoots up to ISO 1600. The 1/3 of my images that are most important will be shot in full sunlight, though, so I don't need to pump up the ISO that much to achieve a reasonable shutter speed.

I've posted over at APlanding and I'm talking with them too. I'm hoping to be able to get away without having to buy two sets of remote viewers. As long as I'm reasonably close to my point, I don't really care if I'm a few feet over one way or another - just as long as the camera's close to level.

I'm on a tight budget, but I'm a bit leery of refurb products, although I get what you're saying about the Canon cams' quality.

Just another thought: The SX230 IS has GPS built in to track where you took the photo. Sounds like it might be important.

Unfortunately, that model is about 350 or so.

That's ok, I already have my points GPSed. As long as I keep track of what photo came from where, it shouldn't be too bad.

Good luck. I hope your project is a success.

And someday, when your budget is limitless, check this out:

http://www.draganfly.c​om …elicopter/draga​nflyer-x8/