Taking Photo's From The Cockpit

[ABO944]

Hello Chaps and Chapesses

Recently started taking the odd picture out the window whilst in the cruise, but wanted a little advice from you all.

Is it possible to purchase some type of tripod / clamp, which you can "clamp" onto the coaming to take foward facing pics ?

Also, can anyone recommend a good digital camera / camcorder which would fit snugly into my flight bag ?

Cheers:ok:

[TopBunk]

Can't help you with clamps, but I recently bought a Panasonic DMC-TZ1 with which I am pretty happy. It meets your requirements being pretty small while offering a 10x optical zoom. It only has a 5MP sensor, but I feel that as an overall compromise the 10x optical was more important.

HTH

[Clarence Oveur]

Have a look at this (http://www.ephotozine.com/equipment/tests/testdetail.cfm?test_id=480) tripod.

[A Very Civil Pilot]

Try a beanbag to rest the camera on the coaming.

[ABO944]

Thanks for the idea's chaps.

A bean bag's a good idea. I take it you mean one the size that would fit in the palm of your hand, not the type for your backside infront of the tele' ?:}

The clamp thingy looks good. Not sure whether it would withstand one of my landings though!

Anyone else care to share which model camera they use. An example of the quality would be nice to see too !!:cool:

[An2]

With regards to camera-tips; What are your priorities?
Optical zoom? Megapixels? General image quality? ISO-capabilities?

Myself, when I'm not lugging around 7+ kilos of Nikon gear, I fancy my Casio Exilim z-1000 a lot! They're very good value for your money.

[F4F]

Well, I always do take my trusty Canon IS800 for the ride... good compromise of size-weight vs quality and zoom (4x).
Years of shooting thru cockpit windows showed how difficult it is to produce quality pictures. For instance, the craft I'm on at the moment has windows that produce strong glare. Also the thickness of the panes and probably the heating elements inside or between them all add to disturb the sharpness of the picture.
Nevertheless, good fun and nice memories to keep :ok:

[extreme P]

Essentially any pocket camera these days with a 5 megapixel sensor will give you great quality. Bells and whistles are a personal preference from there. 3" screens seem to be the norm these days and are a great improvement over the 1.5" screens of a few years ago. Canon and Sony have always been good to me. A neoprene case built for the camera specifically is almost essential. I've been packing a pocket camera round in my flightbag for years with no problems.

[Rubber Dog]

Do a search for the Opticron Car Window Mount. I have looked at one in a camera shop and it would do the job well. It can be clamped to the coaming easily and will swivell to face forward. I will get one myself at some point. It was £38 in the Uk shop.

[TomCat111]

Duck tape!

[NeoDude]

What the hell is "duck" tape anyways? I've heard a few people mention it. Is it the same as "Duct" tape? and perhaps somebody has heard it the wrong way at some point?

Sorry to go off on a tangent :)

[forget]

The things you learn here. :) ----------------

Is it Duct or Duck? We don’t want you to be confused, so we will explain. The first name for Duct Tape was DUCK. During World War II the U.S. Military needed a waterproof tape to keep the moisture out of ammunition cases. So, they enlisted the Johnson and Johnson Permacel Division to manufacture the tape. Because it was waterproof, everyone referred to it as “duck” tape (like water off a duck’s back). Military personnel discovered that the tape was good for lots more than keeping out water. They used it for Jeep repair, fixing stuff on their guns, strapping equipment to their clothing... the list is endless.

After the War, the housing industry was booming and someone discovered that the tape was great for joining the heating and air conditioning duct work. So, the color was changed from army green to the silvery color we are familiar with today and people started to refer to it as “duct tape*.” Therefore, either name is appropriate.

[NeoDude]

What a bunch of knowledgeable folk we have here.

Thanks :}

[Paul Wilson]

So what about the UK equivalent of Duck/duct tape - Gaffer Tape, where did that get it's name?

Just like duct tape but black, and the joke follows

Why is Gaffer Tape like The Force? It's light on one side, dark on the other, and holds the Universe together

[forget]

Gaffer Tape, where did that get it's name?
Well.............. you've heard of the boss on a film set being called the Gaffer-
Gaffer tape is a strong cotton cloth pressure-sensitive adhesive tape used in the motion picture, television, stage (music and theater) and audio visual production. The most common variety is matte black. This matte finish keeps the tape from reflecting light so the tape blends in with the typical stage floor of a theatre.

[NeoDude]

I knew that :D

[Background Noise]

I've used a thing like this for that sort of thing - both for stills and video.G-clamp (http://www.jessops.com/Store/s18042/0/Table-Top-Tripods/Jessops/Clamp-and-Table-Tripod/details.aspx?&IsSearch=y&pageindex=1&comp=n)

[BackPacker]

As most aircraft windows are perspex, and curved perspex is stretched in some direction and thus polarizing the light, does anybody have experienced with using either a linear or circular polarization filter? Good or bad? I remember a linear pola filter made a hell of a difference when taking pictures through car windows, as long as it was oriented correctly. But that was back in the analog days.