Four At Once: Volcano Quartet Erupts On Kamchatka

anavictoriasaavedra writes "A unique show is taking place on Kamchatka these days: Four separate but nearby volcanoes are erupting simultaneously on the Russian peninsula. A Moscow film crew has produced an awe-inspiring 360-degree video of the natural fireworks." The video is well worth watching and panning around in. There are also a bunch of high-res still photo panoramas.

Comments

Beowolf cluster

[jfdavis668]

of volcanos

Re:Beowolf cluster

[ColdWetDog]

You laugh. This planet is pretty active. Although a quick perusal of recent Alaska activity doesn't show much unusual stuff, we've had a RM 7 and 6 quake on Queen Charlotte / Fairweather fault that's been quiet for the past decade or so (a blink in the geological eye). Time to get off my ass and bolt down the diesel tanks some more.

The fun thing about today's technology is that we can actually see the actual magnitude of volcanism on the planet in pretty much real time. Never had that ability before.

Re:Beowolf cluster

[ackthpt]

You laugh. This planet is pretty active. Although a quick perusal of recent Alaska activity doesn't show much unusual stuff, we've had a RM 7 and 6 quake on Queen Charlotte / Fairweather fault that's been quiet for the past decade or so (a blink in the geological eye). Time to get off my ass and bolt down the diesel tanks some more.

The fun thing about today's technology is that we can actually see the actual magnitude of volcanism on the planet in pretty much real time. Never had that ability before.

I live on the Ring of Fire. I'm aware on a daily basis of the threats to my welfare, though I'm less than an ant on a beachball to the forces of plate tectonics. If it happens, it happens. If I survive, maybe I'll move somewhere safe ... say, New Madrid, Missouri. (c:

How the heck is the camera mounted ?

[Anonymous Coward]

In that 360-degree video, how on earth is the camera mounted to the helicopter ?

Re:How the heck is the camera mounted ?

[Anonymous Coward]

The camera mount is visible in the first, second and last segments if you look into the window where the photographer is closest to the camera, and its also visible from the shadow in the third segment. You can also see him winding in the camera at the very end.

The camera(s) in use likely have overlapping fields of view that allow for the mount itself to be eliminated from the picture. Couple that with what looks like a smudgy part of the opened window / door through which the camera is sticking out (right in front of the handle) and you've got your pole mounted camera sticking out with the tripod itself simply masked out.

Dumb place to mount the camera

[Picass0]

There's some type of long armature and a camera mount. The problem is the helicopter is taking up a large portion of the 360 view. They should have placed a mount under the copter instead, preferably one that could be extended during flight.

Re:Dumb place to mount the camera

[sabt-pestnu]

Probably for the same reason they don't simply hold the camera and chopper in place and rotate the world. It takes more effort to rotate the chopper, or even the camera. And even if you went to the effort, it would be incredibly difficult to rotate the chopper around the camera while moving in any direction, and harder still (because you are, after all, subject to air movement) to keep the image steady. And finally, even if you did all of the above, there are limits to how fast you can rotate a chopper.

Instead, a common solution is to have a lens that provides a 360 degree view, with various degrees of distortion. (Panomorphic lenses) Note that in many cases it is 360 degrees around a single axis, with only a limited field of view along the other axes. Some variations use mirrors, others appear to be extreme versions of the fish-eye lens. (Example.)

Another solution appears to be having either a reflector or the camera itself rotate, stitching the continuous stream of images into a series of 360 degree images. ( Android phone example, mirror rotation example)

And yet a third solution is to simply have cameras pointed in every direction at once. (Example)

Kick-ass technology

[RogueWarrior65]

I would pay money to have this camera rig on every KCAL 9 high speed chase video feed.

Re:Open Door Policy

[CanHasDIY]

Is it a good idea to fly around an active volcanoe with the helicopter door open? Aren't there generally toxic gases about?

Well, it is Russia.

They're probably safer having the window open; those potato-and-vodka farts can be pretty damn toxic themselves.

Priorities

[wonkey_monkey]

Is it bad that all I'm wondering about when I watch the video is how they made the camera's mount invisible?

Re:Priorities

[filthpickle]

not nearly as bad as me wondering why they filmed the helicopter and not the volcanoes for around 2 minutes before I realized you can move the camera.

Computers are my forte.

Re:Open Door Policy

[Alain Williams]

I was more worried about the silicates that could get into the engine. Do you remember what happened when the volcano in Iceland blew up a few years ago? -- the one with the impossible name.