Introduction
Welcome to the PV2 Kite Aerial Photography Site. The purpose of this site is to explore the use of the CVS (pharmacy) PV2 single-use digital camera for kite aerial photography (KAP). This camera is manufactured by Pure Digital and is also sold under the name Dakota at other retail stores such as Ritz Camera.
Background
One Friday afternoon a few years ago, while working on a less than challenging project for a large telecommunications company, I began surfing the web waiting for the weekend to begin. By chance, I came across Charles Benton's KAP site. I was amazed that such beautiful aerial photos could be taken with a camera suspended on a kite string.
When I clicked on the pages of his web site that explained the equipment and the techniques used obtain the photos, I soon realized that kite photography was neither simple nor inexpensive. Most of the photos were taken with a single lens reflex camera that was mounted on a specially constructed camera platform called a cradle. The cradle holds the camera and the equipment needed to swivel it up and down and pan left and right in addition to triggering its shutter. All this is accomplished using a radio control transmitter on the ground and radio control receiver that is mounted on the cradle that actuates series of servomotors to control the camera’s position and shutter. The camera platform is, in-turn, suspended from a specially constructed Picavet suspension. The purpose of the suspension is to keep the camera level with the ground regardless of the angle of the kite string. Finally, the suspension, cradle, camera and control equipment are lofted into the sky using a very large kite.
Simpler Approaches
After experiencing the reality check just described, I decided to pursue a simpler approach, realizing that these simplifications would likely also compromise the quality of the resulting aerial photos or maybe even the feasibility of the entire project. Yet, I was still sufficiently intrigued by the KAP concept to pursue it farther, fortunately so did others. I came across several KAP sites using simpler equipment and techniques; among them are Hetherington's KAP site, and Ghostcat’s site. These and other KAP related sites are listed on the Links page.
The common thread evident in these simple approaches is that they use cheap disposable or point-and-shoot film cameras, simple timer mechanisms to control the camera shutter and smaller kites because of the reduced weight being lofted. The primary downside of these approaches is that there is no control over the camera. Wherever the camera happens to be pointed when the timer goes-off is what it will photograph. Also, for each subsequent shot the camera has to be hoisted down to the ground in order to wind the camera and to reset the timer for the next shot.
Enter the CVS PV2 Camera
Having seen the CVS PV2 single-use digital camera advertised in a CVS insert to my Sunday newspaper, I immediately began to think that this camera might be a good candidate for simple KAP rig. It is:
• Cheap - $15 with my CVS card, not be the end of the world if kite and
camera crashed.
• Small - The size of a pack of cigarettes
• Light weight - Only 5 oz including batteries
• Reasonably rugged
The PV2 camera, as it comes from CVS, does have some disadvantages:
• It’s single-use, that is, you take 25 pictures and return the camera to CVS
for processing. CVS prints 25 pictures, creates a CD, charges you an
additional $11, and keeps the camera.
• The PV2 camera’s self-timer is permanently set to only 10 seconds and
taking subsequent timed shots requires pressing the shutter and display
buttons for each shot.
• The resolution is only 1.1 mega pixel
Fortunately, there are several websites devoted to PV2 camera hacks that modify the camera's firmware to permit a user to download the digital pictures to his computer and reuse the camera over and over again. There is even a hack that permits continuous shooting and adjustment of the camera's timer interval to a minute or more. Thus with only an initial press of the On/Off button the camera will automatically take 25 pictures spaced one minute or so apart, perfect for KAP.
What's Next
The remaining web pages show:
• How to modify the PV2 for use in KAP
• How to build a simple cradle and suspension
• The kite used to loft the KAP rig
• Aerial photos taken using the PV2 camera
• Links to KAP and PV2 camera sites
Welcome to the PV2 Kite Aerial Photography Site. The purpose of this site is to explore the use of the CVS (pharmacy) PV2 single-use digital camera for kite aerial photography (KAP). This camera is manufactured by Pure Digital and is also sold under the name Dakota at other retail stores such as Ritz Camera.
Background
One Friday afternoon a few years ago, while working on a less than challenging project for a large telecommunications company, I began surfing the web waiting for the weekend to begin. By chance, I came across Charles Benton's KAP site. I was amazed that such beautiful aerial photos could be taken with a camera suspended on a kite string.
When I clicked on the pages of his web site that explained the equipment and the techniques used obtain the photos, I soon realized that kite photography was neither simple nor inexpensive. Most of the photos were taken with a single lens reflex camera that was mounted on a specially constructed camera platform called a cradle. The cradle holds the camera and the equipment needed to swivel it up and down and pan left and right in addition to triggering its shutter. All this is accomplished using a radio control transmitter on the ground and radio control receiver that is mounted on the cradle that actuates series of servomotors to control the camera’s position and shutter. The camera platform is, in-turn, suspended from a specially constructed Picavet suspension. The purpose of the suspension is to keep the camera level with the ground regardless of the angle of the kite string. Finally, the suspension, cradle, camera and control equipment are lofted into the sky using a very large kite.
Simpler Approaches
After experiencing the reality check just described, I decided to pursue a simpler approach, realizing that these simplifications would likely also compromise the quality of the resulting aerial photos or maybe even the feasibility of the entire project. Yet, I was still sufficiently intrigued by the KAP concept to pursue it farther, fortunately so did others. I came across several KAP sites using simpler equipment and techniques; among them are Hetherington's KAP site, and Ghostcat’s site. These and other KAP related sites are listed on the Links page.
The common thread evident in these simple approaches is that they use cheap disposable or point-and-shoot film cameras, simple timer mechanisms to control the camera shutter and smaller kites because of the reduced weight being lofted. The primary downside of these approaches is that there is no control over the camera. Wherever the camera happens to be pointed when the timer goes-off is what it will photograph. Also, for each subsequent shot the camera has to be hoisted down to the ground in order to wind the camera and to reset the timer for the next shot.
Enter the CVS PV2 Camera
Having seen the CVS PV2 single-use digital camera advertised in a CVS insert to my Sunday newspaper, I immediately began to think that this camera might be a good candidate for simple KAP rig. It is:
• Cheap - $15 with my CVS card, not be the end of the world if kite and
camera crashed.
• Small - The size of a pack of cigarettes
• Light weight - Only 5 oz including batteries
• Reasonably rugged
The PV2 camera, as it comes from CVS, does have some disadvantages:
• It’s single-use, that is, you take 25 pictures and return the camera to CVS
for processing. CVS prints 25 pictures, creates a CD, charges you an
additional $11, and keeps the camera.
• The PV2 camera’s self-timer is permanently set to only 10 seconds and
taking subsequent timed shots requires pressing the shutter and display
buttons for each shot.
• The resolution is only 1.1 mega pixel
Fortunately, there are several websites devoted to PV2 camera hacks that modify the camera's firmware to permit a user to download the digital pictures to his computer and reuse the camera over and over again. There is even a hack that permits continuous shooting and adjustment of the camera's timer interval to a minute or more. Thus with only an initial press of the On/Off button the camera will automatically take 25 pictures spaced one minute or so apart, perfect for KAP.
What's Next
The remaining web pages show:
• How to modify the PV2 for use in KAP
• How to build a simple cradle and suspension
• The kite used to loft the KAP rig
• Aerial photos taken using the PV2 camera
• Links to KAP and PV2 camera sites
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