UKC

I have done some basic (i.e practically non existent) research and come up with the Double Horse Volitation heli as being a good choice. I have no idea what "volitation" means but it's about fifty quid and can be converted to hold a GoPro.

Anyone got any better suggestions, cost not an issue.

Fangs a lot!

In reply to Frank the Husky:

Hire one of these? http://www.robinsonheli.com/

In reply to Frank the Husky:

How stable a platform do you need ? I've never filmed from a helo, but flown both the "toy" coaxial rotor versions and the more serious collective pitch models.

The coax are easy to fly, because they're naturally stable, but they achieve that by swaying gently under the rotor. Might not matter to your application, and the hover stability might be good enough if you only need a static viewpoint.

The CP versions take normal humans weeks or months to learn.

I believe - happy to be corrected - that this is why a lot of photo platforms are quad-copters, in which four fans provide lift, stability and control. Stable and easy.

Y

In reply to Frank the Husky:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/83246699@N00/8519357528/

In reply to Frank the Husky:

It really depends *exactly* what you want to do with it. And where.

You need a rather different bit of kit for say filming a race or making TV to the toy you whiz around the local park steering with your I Phone.

jk

In reply to Frank the Husky:
http://ardrone2.parrot.com/
could be the answer if you don't need amazing quality.

In reply to jkarran:

Is it this sort of footgae you're after?

vimeo.com/50029357

In reply to Frank the Husky:

Ah... just checked out the Double Horse Volitation. I suspect It'd make a terrible filming platform though, far too much vibration, high speed tail wag and generally not easy to fly.

A multi-rotor (quad or hex) platform will generally make a much better camera platform unless you already have good flying skills, need to go fast and want to fly aerobatic maneuvers in which case a properly adapted traditional heli is best.

Personally (and I do have a couple somewhat bigger) I'd get a traditional single rotor + tail heli with full collective/cyclic control, ~18" rotor span, something like:

http://www.fast-lad.co.uk/store/index.php?cPath=21_134_409_219&sort=1a&...

Invest in some nice radio for it and enjoy learning to fly a reliable machine that does exactly as you command, no computers or glitchy radio gear to blame when it goes wrong. Batteries and crash parts are cheap ish in this size and as they store less energy in the rotor head they are a little safer more forgiving of bad landings then their bigger brethren.

As I said before, it really depends what you actually want.
jk

In reply to Siward: Ah! The infamous "drone" footage. Yes, something like that!

In reply to jkarran: Thanks all. I would be using it outside for climbing/exped/"lifestyle" (ugh!) things. Generally slow moving stuff. I need a stable filming platform that isn't going to take pilot skills to operate, just some practice and patience. I also figured it would be great for exploring remote wadis in the Sinai when I next get there..."Is that really a continuous crackline or does it run out 30ft short of the belay?" sort of question when new routing on big cliffs and domes.

In reply to Frank the Husky:

OK. Here's more than is healthy to know about RC helos:

http://www.rchelicopterfun.com/how-to-fly-rc-helicopters.html

My suspicion is that if you buy a single rotor helo, you'll find that you've got two new hobbies (learning to fly helos, learning to maintain helos) and you're not much nearer doing any filming. They're great hobbies by the way - but take a look at the lesson schedule to see if that appeals.

There are also sections on quadcopters and coax machines. Worth a read.

If you're not after ultimate quality HD footage, the double-horse-eructation (which appears to me to be a simple coax aircraft) or whatever it was might well be a fair compromise. No doubt YouTube has got some footage taken from the setup you're considering, so you can judge the quality yourself.

Y

In reply to Frank the Husky: Hi There - I was looking into this and thought I need to know how easy it is to fly a quad copter so bought one of these.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hubsan-Copter-Radio-Controller-Channel/dp/B009M1PO7...

Took me a couple of weeks of on and off flying now its loads of fun - really responsive and accurate in expert mode. I would go quad copter every time. Maybe buy one of these to get the hang of flying then while your getting your self nice and proficient do some re search and figure out what copter kit you could buy that suits your needs - I reckon outlay could be anything from£500 to £25000 ( yes 25k ) and everything in between for multi copters with camera mounts.

Use full links....

http://www.aerialfilmingstore.com/

http://www.buzzflyer.co.uk/quadcopters.asp

http://www.service-drone.com/

In reply to monkeyboy3000:
the quadcopter ebygomm linked to cost around 100 to build.
(its mine)

In reply to Mikkel: Have you made an films with it yet? It looks very cool.

In reply to TobyA:
only very short test in garden, not flown it anywhere interesting yet.
got more videos made from fixed wing plane though.

In reply to TobyA:

Here is a couple of Videos made from an electric powered glider.

vimeo.com/56716827
vimeo.com/56378747

In reply to Frank the Husky: I'll be interested in watching this thread. I've had similar thoughts (but for survey related purposes) and bought a Quadcopter (www.snelflight.co.uk) second hand to learn how to fly these things. If you do, buy or fit a bumper around the blades - cheaper than trashing blades while you're learning! You can stick one of the cheap keychain cameras on it for ideas of footage and vibration.
Prepare for a lot of frustration if you're buying a cheap quad without fancy stabilising. I'm slowly getting the hang of flying it in the kitchen (between taking chunks out of my knuckles (the blades are sharp and fast!), but yet to venture outside as it's pretty skittish.
I'm pondering one of the Arducopter hexacopters as a base for a larger unit capable of handling a camera (www.arducopter.co.uk), but I reckon you're looking at the best part of a grand by the time you get transmitters, batteries, chargers and all the other gubbins together.
Best of luck!