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Build Your Own KiteCam

Posted by michael on from the sacrifices-necessary-in-the-cause-of-Science dept.

wally writes "Paul Mutton successfully managed to kill an expensive digital camera taking aerial photos using a kite, parcel tape and some bubble wrap. The geek explains the ups and downs (excuse the pun) of his attempt to take some aerial photographs with a friend using a Casio EX-Z3 digital camera attached to a kite in good ol' Blue Peter style bubble wrap and parcel tape. Paul did however manage to take 2 or 3 pretty photos of Kent University before his precious camera speed to the ground at a speed with enough force to render it quite unusable. Out of bits left intact was the flash card and a 30 second clip leading up to the crash. Remember children: Don't try this at home!"

3 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. camera fund by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I hate to be a dick, but I'm not going to donate money to this guy's "camera fund". If it had been stolen or something, that might generate some sympathy - but the dude damaged his own camera in an idiotic "Tim the Tool-Man Taylor" sort of way... Next time... well... don't do that.

    1. Re:camera fund by GoRK · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not to mention that he's trying to raise the money to replace the camera. The last time I dropped an $800 digital camera from a kite, it only cost $100 to have repaired and it was equally as trashed as this dude's.

    2. Re:camera fund by GoRK · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes. Actually it wasn't my own camera but a friend's Canon PowerShot G2 (back when that camera was still worth $800). We were both getting into the hobby together.

      I had trusted the bridle knot that was already tied on the kite when I bought it and never retied it myself. It gave way and dropped the camera rig about 150 feet, and the kite folded and landed about 1/4 mile away. Luckily it was not a frame kite or I probably never would have seen that again either.

      Everyone who does KAP accepts the risk that sending up their equipment entails. Most of us choose to either minimize the risk itself or minimize the cost of the equipment that goes up.

      In my case, I was going for option #1. The rig I was using was designed to take the brunt of the impact off of the camera. Despite the fact that the camera fell 150ft onto hard, dry dirt and gravel (construction area), repairs were limited to a thorough cleaning, refit of the lens assembly, and new plastic outer housing. The rig did its job and completely mangled itself in the fall.

      This fellow really did neither. He was using the wrong kind of kite (power kites are not designed for lifting), the wrong kind of rig (big unaerodynamic sphere of bubblewrap that tumbles uncontrollably), and the wrong kind of shock absorbsion in the event of a disaster. Bubble wrap cannot take much of an impact at all without a hard outer shell (ie cardboard box). A couple of pounds will easily compress a few layers of bubble wrap as this article clearly indicates. He would have had much better protection with a few inches of closed cell rubber padding instead.