Dallas Texas HABS / HAER / HALS Photography
Photographer/Author Marfa Flights: Aerial Views of Big Bend Country (Texas A&M University Press)
Petroleum Oil Pics
Good points. Thanks. Yes I’ve been in 172 a few times. For FF digital, I usually shoot with a 28mm on one camera and a 50mm (or a 28-70mm zoom) in the other. The window is a non-issue. My fav personal images are shot the 28mm, and yes, I can clear the strut, landing gear (prefer fairings off), tail, and wing with a good pilot. Does that imply that I can clear the obstructions with a 90mm on 4x5? I can go longer if needed but I love to see the horizon and the earth wrapping below me in a wider shot. 120mm and gyro might be a more realistic compromise.
Back to my question, I was wondering about focal length. I’m shopping for a field camera then will test with my Ken-Lab gyro. It can all be solved.
I’m also concerned about the parallax of 4x5 viewfinder, too. Perhaps there is a solution - makes me wonder how I can mount viewfinder perhaps to just clear the strut. Or I can get a wider optical viewfinder and mark it with a reference for the strut, etc.
I’m an aviation fanatic so I love all these interesting tangents!
Last edited by pchaplo; 12-Jan-2018 at 22:33. Reason: Edited to stay on target
Dallas Texas HABS / HAER / HALS Photography
Photographer/Author Marfa Flights: Aerial Views of Big Bend Country (Texas A&M University Press)
Petroleum Oil Pics
Here is how Bradford Washburn managed to do it with an 8x10 camera: https://goo.gl/images/N1whhB
Have you noticed aerial cameras don't have bellows. There's a reason because you get it in the slipstream and they're ripped from the camera.
Personally I think a 90 is too wide. Possible a 135 and get the pilot to cross control the plane and roll it to the left. Of course in that configuration you can't fly slow or you'll stall. By cross control I mean right rudder and left aileron or vice versa depending on what side of the aircraft your on.
You might see if you can get access to a 172RG. The RG has retractable gear. Even better is the 177RG Cardinal. It's basically a 172 RG with retractable gear, no wing strut and a slightly bigger window. Many have constant speed props allowing for more flexibility in flying.
I'd forget the gyro. Those are mainly for motion picture and will only get in the way. Actually I'd forget 4x5 and shoot a Pentax 6x7.
A couple of points that may be useful... last photos I took from a 172 were in the late 70s so maybe the design has changed, but the door windows could be opened in flight, and if the one screw restricting the opening angle is removed, the window will open and stay open up against the underside of the wing. I have shot with a SG keeping the bellows out of the wind. Secondly, when operating from an aircraft carrier (not the 172 of course :-)), we had a cardboard box of Topcons with a 100mm lens — loaded with TechPan in the ready room. Just grab one on way out to man up for the flight and photo any shipping seen, mission permitting. So, I will guess we would go about 300-350 knots along side a ship at about 500 feet. The purpose of the photos was no doubt different than the OP’s, but the images were sufficient for their purposes (shooting through a quite optically imperfect canopy.
I'm assuming these are similar to what you're going to shoot but in a rural area?
I shot these in 1980 from an Instrom F-28 Helicopter with a 4x5 Pacemaker Crown Graphic and 135 Xenar. I used TX film packs because there's not much room for a bag of holders. It was a very hazy day with clouds in the sky.
Dallas Texas HABS / HAER / HALS Photography
Photographer/Author Marfa Flights: Aerial Views of Big Bend Country (Texas A&M University Press)
Petroleum Oil Pics
Dallas Texas HABS / HAER / HALS Photography
Photographer/Author Marfa Flights: Aerial Views of Big Bend Country (Texas A&M University Press)
Petroleum Oil Pics
Slippery analogy: some vertical photography that approximately satellite views is more like high-altitude precision bombing, low-altitude obliques are more like strafing.
Dallas Texas HABS / HAER / HALS Photography
Photographer/Author Marfa Flights: Aerial Views of Big Bend Country (Texas A&M University Press)
Petroleum Oil Pics
This thread has me looking at lots of interesting sites.
'Big' Wild Heerbrugg which is also an interesting name. Massive Stereo and complicated. History in the link. Seems the A8 was the best machine for 3 decades. Must still be Top Secret with no picture included.
I'm a big camera nut, but you knew that. The 1937 Model R3 shooting camera image shows the 2 tilted planes using one massive lens. Scroll way down.
http://www.wild-heerbrugg.com/photogrammetry1.htm
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