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| Built at: Mai.26.2002 Last update: Dezember 06, 2004 |
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Diese Seite ist auch in Deutsch verfügbar. |
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I want to have a small, easy and handy camera for the coat pocket. My new choice is SONY P5 with a weight of 187 grams without accumulators. With this low weight and the small measurements it is an ideal camera in my opinion for the kite aerial photography. My "old" SONY DSC 505 had a very good 5 x zoom lens from ZEISS. Unfortunately, this camera was a little shapelessly and with 475 grams also a little heavy for the installation into a kap-rig. Therefore a new, easy and small Rig for the 3.2 mega-pixel camera had to get built. | |
Small, heavy and
easy to use KAP-rig |
| Used material: I have used different aluminum profiles from the hobbyist market for the new rig again. These profiles have a high strength, a wall thickness from 1.5 to 2 mm and are very light:
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Some pieces of the
used material. |
Camera frame:
I have started the making of the new rig with the camera
frame. This frame is made out of 40 mm x 20 mm x 2 mm angle
aluminium which I have screwed together with small M2 screws.
After the assembly of the frame and the installation of the
triggerservo I have relieved this frame as far as possible to
reduce its weight.
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The camera frame
hade a weight in the rough |
After the work the scale shows a weight of 52 g. |
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Camera: Canon EOS D30 |
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| Outer frame: The camera frame hang in a further outer U-frame. This outer frame later carries the external power supply for the camera and the receiver as well as the receiver, the antenna and the servos for tilt and rotation. This frame is made out of a aluminium square pipe with 20 mm of x 20 mm as well as two aluminum profiles with 13.5 mm x 10 mm and 16.5 x 10 mm. Here also large parts were removed to save weight. On the left side you can see the switch for the power supply of the rig. |
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The outer frame
with the two servos for rotating |
Tilt servo:
At the right side of the outer-frame there is mounted
the tilt servo. With this servo the camera frame can be tilt so
that photos with outlook on the horizon, down to the vertical
position of the camera are possible. A bearing is located in the
left side of the outer frame from a synthetic material screw and
a brass washer. The camera frame must be very carefully weighed
out with the assembled camera so that an easy activity is
possible by the tilt servo.
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The bearing of the
camera frame is made out |
With the tilt-servo
at the right side of the |
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Camera: Canon EOS D30 |
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Rotation servo: A customary servo can execute a rotation of approx. 90 to 100 degrees. So that the camera can be turned by 360 degrees, a transmissions must be switched between. At the servo there is a gear wheel with 48 teeth and at the hanging shaft there is one with 12 teeth. By this translation a rotation of 360 degrees is reached. Unfortunately, the rotationspeed also increase around the factor 4 so that this movement must be used very delicately at the transmitter. Because the big gear wheel only concerns 90 degrees, the superfluous part has been removed to the save weight. If the rotation servo moves now, then the hanging shaft rotates 360 degrees. If the complete Rig hangs on the hanging shaft later, the complete Rig turns itself around this shaft. |
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Rotation servo
with the gearbox 4 : 1. |
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The hanging point of the shaft must be very carefully weighed out so that the Rig doesn't hang at an angle with the camera. To this I have provisionally fastened all required parts with rubber rings at the outer frame and determines the right hanging point with a needle. | |
I have found the
exact hanging point |
| Triggerservo: The triggerservo presses the trigger of the camera with his Servoarm directly. To the protection of the release key of the SONY P5 I have glued a 4 mm plasticcap on the Servoarm. My older SONY DSC505 showed clear wear and tears in the place in which the servo pressed the trigger down. |
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The triggerservo
is a MS-X2 from Multiplex |
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Antenna: The antenna of a remote control receiver consists of a piece of flexible wire. Because you cannot recognize the view of the camera by some distance any more, I have fastened a stick at the Rig from 2 mm of coal fiber. This stick always points to behind . The antenna wire is fastened at this stick. So I can recognize the look of the camera by some distance and the hanging wire cannot reach in front of the objective of the camera. For the simple transport of the rig the stick can be removed over a 4 mm plug. |
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The antenna is
fastened at a coal fiber stick |
| Common power supply for camera
and receiver: To reduce the weight, but primarily to save the expensive Li Ion accumulator of the SONY camera, I have supplyed both, the camera and the receiver, from a common NiMh accumulator. The power supply plug used by SONY was a little problematic at this. In a separate article I describe the external power supply of the SONY P5 with NiMh accumulators. |
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Four NiMh-Cells
with 1500mAh supply the |
Suspension at the Kiteline (Picavet):
The camera, or better the KAP-Rig must be mounted to the
kiteline. There you have to look at something, too. The camera
always has to hang horizontal, so that the horizont is not
crooked. The camera mustn´t swing, so that the pictures are not
blurred. As we were children, we often put the ear at the
kiteline to hear the wind sing. That is because the line is
vibrating by the wind. That will bring blurr to the pictures, too.
All this reflections have brought the result to a suspension gear,
which is taken from most of the KAPers, the Picavet
Total weight:
The Rig # 4, complete with the SONY-P5, has a weight of
only 462 gram. With this weight it is lighter
than my old camera SONY DSC-F505 with 475 grams alone. By the
lower weight the new Rig also can be flown with a smaller kite or
at less winds.
Die Gewichte im einzelnen: |
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| Camera SONY DSC-P5 without akku | 187 | gr |
| Akku, 4 cells NiMh 1500 mAh with three pin plug | 83 |
gr |
| Camera frame with triggerservo | 52 |
gr |
| Outer frame with tilt- and rotation servos, switch, gear and suspension-shaft | 118 |
gr |
| Receiver and antenna | 22 |
gr |
| Rig in use: The ready made KAP rig # 4 with the small 16 gram Webra receiver in use on the "Schurenbachhalde in Essen". By the low total weight I could clearly enlarge the wind area with this Rig to lower winds. If the wind blows more strongly, then I simply can use a smaller kite. I already had this KAP-rig in use on the island Sylt but still with the old remote control. The old receiver had a weight of 65 grams so that the rig clearly had a sloping position. The old receiver can be seen in my report on my Picavet. |
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Rig # 4 with the
small Webra receiver in use on the "Schurenbachhalde"
in Essen. |
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Links to other KAPers and more you can find in my Surfers Guide.
I like to be available for questions, suggestions or experience exchange.
I would be very pleased about an entry in my visitor's book.
Manfred
http://KAP-Man.de
Manfred