Folks,
having read through some of the advice regarding taking pics in near space ( https://balloonchallenge.org/HABPhotographyHow-to-1.pdf and http://www.daveakerman.com/ ) I have bought a Nikon Coolpix A10 (16MP / USB / 5x zoom / 160g / image stab.)
Some of the boys in our science club were hell bent on using a GoPro but they were out of our price range (£200-400). Also, only the more expensive models had comparable resolution ( https://gopro.com/support/articles/hero ... comparison )
The other apparent benefit is their robustness - apparently they can endure extremes of temperature. However, Gopro website says 'We do not have any official extreme temperature ratings for the camera'.
Does anyone have any strong opinion on the Gopro / no Gopro issue and/or comments on which parameter(s) are best maximised when choosing a camera. Our primary concern is getting a 'wow' picture after so much effort getting the thing up there!
I am slightly worried that the camera might not support gphoto2 but was unable to find up to date info and the vast majority of Coolpix cameras listed DO support it. It would seem silly to remove this functionality for a newer brand. You know what they say about assumptions though......
regards,
Stuart
-
sblair1290
- Posts: 30
- Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2016 1:56 pm
Re: photography
I'm not a fan of Gopro lens distortion, but mainly I'm not a fan of their reliability. The Hero 4 Black can overheat; the Hero 3 (in particular) can hang up just because it wants to. For a similar view and quality, but much less money, and much more reliability, the "Gitup Git2" is a good option.
For better quality, but at a higher price, Panasonic make some nice action cameras.
For still images rather than video, the simplest and cheapest good-quality option is a second-hand Canon Powershot that uses AAs, meaning that they can be run from Energizer Lithiums. Most powershots can be used with custom "CHDK" firmware, which can then be used to run an intervalometer script to take a photo every few seconds.
Some cameras can be used with gphoto2 but then you're reliant on the Pi and the USB working, so I don't recommend that route. CHDK tends to be more flexible if you want to fix the focus (which you should if possible), and exposure (ditto).
Plus of course there's the Pi camera, which is pretty good though suffers a bit from having a small sensor and a simple plastic lens.
Dave
For better quality, but at a higher price, Panasonic make some nice action cameras.
For still images rather than video, the simplest and cheapest good-quality option is a second-hand Canon Powershot that uses AAs, meaning that they can be run from Energizer Lithiums. Most powershots can be used with custom "CHDK" firmware, which can then be used to run an intervalometer script to take a photo every few seconds.
Some cameras can be used with gphoto2 but then you're reliant on the Pi and the USB working, so I don't recommend that route. CHDK tends to be more flexible if you want to fix the focus (which you should if possible), and exposure (ditto).
Plus of course there's the Pi camera, which is pretty good though suffers a bit from having a small sensor and a simple plastic lens.
Dave