How to - Kite Aerial Video

Kite aerial video with the Fei Yutech WG wearable 3 axis gimbal. I've tried various ways of doing video with a kite - and I've been lucky to get 30 seconds of watchable video from half an hour of footage because the camera swings around so much in the gusty winds I get around home. This time I'm giving the Fei Yutech WG gimbal a run on the picavet mount and I think it's worked beautifully.

[@AndrewNewton]

That really works John, great stuff. I'll share it with the KAP chaps

[@fredericsidler]

So fun. So clever. Great work !

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

That pulley on the big carabiner is a GOOD IDEA. I use a small plastic 'gizmo' which has a pully on it, and is designed to be used on a clothes line. However, I have to hold it manually. That belt clip thing looks MUCH BETTER.

[@ClintHalliday]

Wow. That gimble certainly works!

[@AllenShuler]

Nice video John I'm looking to try this myself.

[@danokitemanotoo1791]

Great video M8! I haven't done KAP in the digital age, but I used to do it with 35mm film cameras BITD. Just bought a nice digital point & shoot with 1080p video to get back into it now that I retired from firefighting!

[@quedecree]

Cheers Dano!

[@matthewtraver6704]

Incredible!

[@Crotoua]

Nice tutoriel and. footage, thanks

[@outandabout100]

very impressive. Thanks for sharing

[@ramsdenboard]

Great informative, video.

[@cterrell1343]

lovely quality video, thanks for sharing that. I'm hoping the kite I'm making will be stable enough to do some video from and it's useful to know about this and see the results. Best wishes.

[@larsflieskites]

Thank you for posting this, I have bought the same gimbal and was hoping someone else had practical experience with it :-)

[@DFWJon]

How much did you pay for the gimble, if you don’t mind me asking. Looking to buy one and I want one that is decent and not some Chinese garbage.

[@larsflieskites]

@@DFWJon O got it used for a small amount, but it does its job well :-)

[@outandabout100]

Very good information provided. I've tried to do videos after watching this clip. Hope you like it

[@cloudybongo]

Hi, I've been having a bit of fun trying to develop a mount that combats the wild swinging of video KAP-ing as you describe. It's been quite succesful and I think I can improve it a bit more but this just blows it away! I think I'll need to get myself one of these...! Thanks for posting the demo. cheers, B.

[@cloudybongo]

I'll reply to myself... lol. I did buy one and it's the best accessory you can have if you're serious about kite aerial photography/videography!

[@quedecree]

Fair enough. I talk to myself often.......:)

[@kbunited]

I know this is an old video, but this is the video that sold me on the gimbal. I recently got a hohem XG1 gimbal and the results were similar. One thing I have noticed so far on my gimbal is that in all locked mode the gimbal drifts slowly in clockwise direction. Is that an issue with yours? It's the only annoyance I have with it, but all in all it works compared to a non gimbal flight. Nice video and tutorial by the way.

[@quedecree]

Cheers and thanks! Interesting about the drifting gimbal - I haven't noticed that but it's been a few years since I put a camera up on the kite. I have noticed a tendency for a camera with a built in stabilizer to try correct another stabilizer or panning device's motion resulting in jerky footage. My current Osmo Action is a huge leap up from the gopro I used in this video. Time to give it a flight methinks.

[@kbunited]

@@quedecree thanks for your response. It would be interesting to see a video with your Osmo action as compared to this video. I used a hero 7 white and I think it worked great. I have three KAVs on my page and you can see on my most recent two videos that the gimbal did not maintain its original orientation (lock mode) from beginning to end. I read somewhere that some gimbals has a pan drift of 3 degrees per minute. I even tested it out on a flat surface and the gimbal rotated really slowly in a clockwise direction in lock mode. It's the strangest thing and I am not sure if it by design or just a bug in the gimbal. Anyway, I look forward to seeing a new KAV from you in the near future. Cheers@

[@quedecree]

@@kbunited I should have some time on my hands shortly so I'll give the Osmo a whirl perhaps with and without the gimbal. Hey, here's a thought about the slow drift of the gimbal....it's the Earth rotating!! Nah, that's one degree in four minutes, but a fun thought!

[@kiteflyingdownunder....car6272]

Thanks for sharing your experience with the gimbal. It's very impressive the quality of video you achieved. It's as good as these quadcoptors.

[@ianvirco5897]

My thoughts exactly Carl, and it doesn't have a short flight time because the battery charge. Kite flyers - 1 quad copters - 0 !!!!

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Ian Virco → DAMN SKIPPY!!! 《grin》

[@outandabout100]

Bill I've been watching this clip again and again. Thanks for all information. I found it so interesting. What height was this kite?

[@quedecree]

I had about 150m of line out so maybe 100 - 120m high. Who's Bill?

[@cloudybongo]

Bill's, me...! I think just a mix up of names! The gimbals are surprisingly tough or perhaps I was just unbelievably lucky!!! take a look at this kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJ7NqmiFatKegZY

[@witoldklimkowski1204]

I think it is possible to rotate camera through feiyu on app. Did you try it? Do you know what is the remote control range? Is it working over wifi or just bluetooth?

[@quedecree]

As far as I am aware, my feiyu doesn't have bluetooth/wireless connectivity. I can remotely rotate my Ziyun phone gimbal, but I haven't done any range experiments with it.

[@grahamlack3302]

John fantastic footage did i here u say that the gimbal can rotate if set to do so.

[@quedecree]

+Graham Lack Thanks Graham. You can set the gimbal to follow your heading but to get it to rotate by itself you'd need something like a gopole scenelapse 360 which is basically a one hour kitchen timer - although they're not very strong and won't rotate an SLR. Or a Syrp mini genie perhaps.

[@grahamlack3302]

Aaahhh thanks for that John i try with something lighter

[@forfengeligfaen]

Haha I tried a similar setup today. I was super scared to fly the camera on the gimbal without any protection. I think my gimbal was in the wrong mode (pan and follow?) because my footage is not nearly as good.

[@quedecree]

I know what you mean - any sort of crash could be very expensive. But if you get your kite into stable air first, then attach the mount and camera - it reduces the anxiety a lot!

[@WelshLad.]

You could use a transmitter and reciever to remote pan and tilt it

[@quedecree]

Yes - you can set the gimbal to follow both pan and tilt but still smooth them out. I have a remote rig that I've used for still photography but I haven't tried the gimbal on it. Yet. :)

[@Voyagerss77]

where is that? New Zealand, Australia or USA ?

[@quedecree]

+Voyagerss77 Central Victoria, Australia.

[@cloudybongo]

A few more tests and problems resolved, these gimbals are just the business for KAP-ing! kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpOzmXdsqq2HrJY Thanks for the post, I wouldn't have been put onto these things otherwise!

[@KoScosss]

Reopened video w headphones- voice is only left channel.

[@quedecree]

+KoScosss Yes. My video editor didn't seem to be able to center the audio - I'll have to try something else next time.

[@skydragon4ever]

Why don't you put a 360 Remote controlled motor, so you can spin it around in the air?

[@quedecree]

I made one with some Hobby King bits and pieces that I could control with a transmitter - it worked but it was a little clunky. One day I'll try something like an DJI osmo pocket wirelessly linked to a smart phone or a similar setup. Cameras and gimbals keep getting better, smaller and smarter all the time.

[@borisdamole]

what weight line are you running?

[@quedecree]

+borisdamole 250lb on the Ultrafoil and 500lb on the Kapfoil 5. Probably overkill on the little Ultrafoil - I think 150lb would probably be just fine.

[@borisdamole]

+quedecree thanks!

[@anzaeria]

Those "horrible curved horizons"? It's a fisheye lens. May as well embrace it!

[@LeDruide0]

I tried to take the same system, but it seemed unlikely that I could easily alleviate and modify this system which if it works perfectly remains very heavy. By opting for the Feiyu G4S I managed to remove the tube (which serves as a handle) to replace it with a Lipo via aadaptateur house for fixation. the edit system allows to have a live video feedback while keeping the possibilisté via a radio control to rotate the Feiyu G4S in every way. france-webcams-kap.fr/img/matos/france-webcams-kap.fr_IMG_4338.jpg The Lipo allows a longer duration of use while feeding the radio control receiver and TX801 transmitter for the FPV. france-webcams-kap.fr/nacelle-Feiyu-G4S.php #FranceWebcamKAP france-webcams-kap.fr #Cerf-volant #KAP #Photo #Vidéos

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

quedecree → Are you aware of - or already a member of - Cris Benton's KAP forum? arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/discuss/index.php?p=/discussions

[@quedecree]

Yep, I'm not a regular visitor but do pop on from time to time.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

quedecree → Roger that....