The adventure this far has taken me from first flights with a Webcam in 2002, through fully steerable 2Mpixel and 5Mpixel rig, to a SLR with Fisheye Lens.

The main disadvantage of 5Mpixel RIG04 is the 38mm effective lens, KAP lends itself to wide-angle lenses. It is however very difficult to find a >5Mpixel camera, that weighs 200-250g and has interchangeable lenses or lens extensions. RIG05, a SLR and Fisheye, was an attempt to make a rig for 360º panoramas, but the weight of the rig made it's flight window too small. For these reasons I wanted a lightweight wide-angle and fisheye rig.

There are few current production 250g wide-angle cameras, so I purchased the best I could find, a second hand 4Mpixel Nikon 4300.

This camera with the addition of the adaptor ring shown right can accommodate a number of telephoto and wide angle lenses.
I purchased second hand a 24mm equivalent lens (left). This gives the opportunity for some wider angle shots. A Rig for this was never built, instead 24mm wide angle was achieved by using the Nikon 8400 in RIG08.

I also purchased second hand a 8mm equivalent fisheye lens. This lens has a 183º field of view, producing a circular image. Its primary use is for generating 360º  panoramas.
The Nikon 4300 can't use the gentled IR shutter release, however it can be controlled via a serial link using the  gentled serial. Having purchased what I consider a flexible KAP camera for wide angle photography, now the rig. With different requirements I choose to build two rigs for the wide-angle and fisheye lenses. Read RIG07 for the wide-angle solution. Read on for the fisheye...

Remembering that weight is paramount, the Fisheye lens is 210g, and the camera is only 238g (without battery), and the object of the fisheye is to take Panobubbles. This means that the camera doesn't need to be steerable - it points straight down. With all this in mind RIG06 takes many of the minimal ideas of RIG05 but goes further with a smaller camera and lens, as well as a smaller radio control system. 

With no servos, and no video downlink (we'll rely on taking lots of pictures to get the fisheye framed) we can dispense with the full proportional RC receiver. 

I purchased a keyfob transmitter and hybrid receiver with a range of 100m - fisheye shots are taken relatively close to the ground so this provides a light and serviceable solution (Maplin N87BN). 

The range is "guaranteed" by using a much longer aerial than specified and tying the aerial with a snap lock up out of the picture to the kite line. 
On the right is the hybrid encased in heat shrink to make it more robust. Also inside the shrink is a regulated supply using an LM2940 low-drop-out regulator. 

So the gentled serial connects to the socket on the left (partially hidden by the shrink). On the right is the battery connector, camera power (batteries are shared), and the aerial wire.
The bracket for holding the camera and receiver doubles as the picavet, so everything is compact and lightweight.

The general shot on the left shows how ungainly the camera becomes with the fisheye connected. 

Note the connections in the foreground to the camera power and serial port.
This aerial view shows the battery (left) and the hybrid receiver (right) attached with Velcro to the Picavet Cross.

Connection to the Camera Power, and serial port, both on the far side of the camera come from the heat-shrunk Hybrid Module and Power Supply.

I opted to use external batteries, this also saves weight as one battery is shared between the camera and receiver. Switching off the LCD monitor, and having the camera on 30second auto-shutdown, ensures the 5xAAA batteries last up to an hour. 
Total all-up weight 590grams.

First flight at Cairnpapple Prehistoric Site (where else?) on the 7^th March 2005. 

Postscript: A subsequent flight at Granton Harbour at over 60m failed to take any pictures - receiver out of range - there were pictures at the start and finish of the flight, but none where I wanted them. Blast!

With memory so cheap these days, an alternative to the "hybrid" was designed which relied on the gentled serial shutter timer, that takes a picture every few seconds. This gets a slightly lighter and cruder solution for those memory-decadent flight days.

Both options are interchangeable and shown right (The white squares are velcro for quick change). The intervalometer version also reduces weight from 25g to 10g thus making the all-up weight 575g.

James Gentles May 2005 HOME PAGE KAP HOME PAGE