Popular Photography - February 2015 USA
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PAUL SOUDERS<br />
Within a few weeks of purchasing<br />
my first drone capable of flying<br />
my GoPro, I realized that I needed<br />
to fly a bigger camera with greater<br />
resolution. I initially decided to<br />
use a Canon Rebel SL1 with a<br />
20mm f/3.5 Voigtländer pancake<br />
lens, then I soon graduated to the<br />
lighter Canon EOS M ILC with an<br />
11–22mm f/4–5.6 Canon IS STM<br />
lens. After submerging that camera<br />
in a river during my most recent<br />
unanticipated landing, I switched<br />
over to a Sony NEX-5 with a 12mm<br />
FLY THIS<br />
Quadrocopter/FreeFly<br />
Systems Cinestar 8<br />
($7,415, street) A professional<br />
heavy-lift octocopter with a maximum<br />
payload of 12 pounds, it can lift large<br />
high-resolution cameras, such as<br />
a full-frame DSLR or RED video rig.<br />
Each arm has a heavy-lift motor and<br />
15-inch propeller. And with its 6S<br />
16,000mAh LiPo battery, this drone<br />
can fly for nearly 20 minutes.<br />
Rokinon f/2 lens. All of these cameras<br />
use an APS-C size sensor with<br />
a 16MP to 18MP pixel count and<br />
cost less than $1,000. As much as<br />
I would like even more resolution,<br />
I simply cannot justify the risk of<br />
flying my expensive Canon EOS 5D<br />
Mark III or Sony a7R camera bodies<br />
(though Copeland is willing to fly a<br />
Nikon D4s and a $42,000 RED Epic<br />
on his octocopter).<br />
There seems to be a new drone<br />
every day, so it’s easy to become<br />
overwhelmed by options. First<br />
decide whether you need one that<br />
is ready to fly (RTF) or if you’re<br />
willing and able to build one.<br />
When I researched how much it<br />
would cost to buy a medium-size<br />
hexacopter, I realized that I could<br />
assemble one for about half the<br />
price. I didn’t know the first thing<br />
about soldering or programming a<br />
radio control, so I made mistakes.<br />
Unless you have a lot of free time,<br />
I would encourage the RTF route.<br />
Drones require a fair amount of<br />
can make a critical<br />
difference. If I am get-<br />
SUNSET<br />
HIPPOS<br />
Souders<br />
captured<br />
these hippos<br />
at the Moremi<br />
Game Reserve<br />
in Botswana<br />
using the same<br />
gear as with<br />
the elephant<br />
on the previous<br />
page; 1/400<br />
sec at f/2.8,<br />
ISO 100.<br />
CHAD COPELAND<br />
In addition to a drone, a<br />
motorized gimbal is required to<br />
stabilize your gear, especially if<br />
you’re planning to shoot video.<br />
The basic gimbal for my ILC costs<br />
about $400. It keeps my camera<br />
level and I can control its pitch to<br />
point my lens toward the horizon<br />
or almost straight down. The<br />
more robust MOVI gimbal, which<br />
Copeland uses for his larger<br />
video cameras, costs more than<br />
$5,000. I also travel with three<br />
or four spare batteries, so that I<br />
can land, swap them out, and get<br />
back in the air again quickly.<br />
48 POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY FEBRUARY <strong>2015</strong>
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