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the helicopter
Shooting aerial photography with an rc helicopter requires relatively large airframe. In order to lift a heavy digital slr camera such as the Canon 50D, you need at least a 600 class helicopter. To meet my specific needs, I chose the Align T-Rex 600ESP. The T-Rex 600ESP is competitively priced, of high quality, and most importantly comes with a torque tube tail drive. The torque tube has advantages over a belt driven tail. Belt drives can create slop in the tail blades which can cause unwanted tail wag, or the oscillation of the tail from left to right. The torque tube will never stretch or wear out and provides a solid connection between the main gears and the tail blades.
The Trex 600 in stock form.
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the camera gimbal
The gimbal is the device that supports the camera on the helicopter. There are many different options available for all types of helicopters and cameras, so I researched for many months before picking my gimbal. There are usually two types of gimbals, front mounted and underslung. The front mounted gimbal is supported on two booms infront of the helicopter while the underslung mount positions the camera below the helicopter between the landing skids. I ended up choosing a front mount with vibration isolation features The gimbal uses small shock absorbers and vibration isolating lord mounts remove most of the high and low frequency vibrations that are present on an rc helicopter. The gimbal itself is a 2 axis (tilt and pan) unit powered by servos and controlled from a separate transmitter from the ground.
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