low percentage of usable images
I am just starting out. My very low number of acceptable shots is perhaps what everyone experiences?
Most shots do not have a level horizon and a good percentage are either blurred or out of focus (I can not tell which).
I will set the focus to infinity next time to see if that helps - the shutter is already at 1/500.
The camera does swing about a bit even with the Pivecet setup which I assume is unaviodable?
Comments appreciated-
F.P. Anderson
Most shots do not have a level horizon and a good percentage are either blurred or out of focus (I can not tell which).
I will set the focus to infinity next time to see if that helps - the shutter is already at 1/500.
The camera does swing about a bit even with the Pivecet setup which I assume is unaviodable?
Comments appreciated-
F.P. Anderson
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In this Discussion
- admin April 2007
- blbarnes April 2007
- broox April 2007
- Bruce too April 2007
- Christian April 2007
- ebwolf April 2007
- flyingcamera April 2007
- FPA April 2007
- Jones Airfoils April 2007
- Kappix - Ramon April 2007
- Scott Armitage April 2007
- Simon H April 2007
Comments
I've done some session during the winter with low angle suns and the percentage of OK-shots is approx. 5%, if not less.
My cameras are always on automatic and when there's enough sunshine it works OK for me.
If it's a focus problem, such as your AF sensor not being able to establish where to focus due to contrast or patterns or whatnot, then by all means preset your focus to infinity or (on some cameras) "mountain landscape".
There's usually little need for a camera to focus when kapping--not unless you are using a long lens with shallow depth of field.
For me, one of the joys of kapping is the specific lack of a level horizon. Afterall, in the wind, the kite may be swaying a bit in the wind, and the lack of level horizon helps capture an essense of that. Perhaps Iike the notion of a plane or bird schwooping in to bank is what I like in KAP with its unlevel horizons.
You'll pretty much never see a level horizon. That's what Photoshop is for.
I use Olympus cameras and, for whatever reason, have to crank the aperture down to f8. Fortunate, my Stylus 800 shoots at ISO400 with little graininess. So my camera lives at aperture f8, ISO-400. Most of my pictures are taken between 1/125s and 1/1000s.
The camera is rarely steady and it's a good exercise to set the camera in video mode and watch the results.
-Eric
http://www.jonesairfoils.com/html/store/KAPFeather.htm
Level horizons and more CRISP usable images are possible before you hit Photoshop. Lousy shots are not something you have to accept to start with. Use the KAP Feather with a Brooxes/Gentles picavet and PeKaBe blocks. Nothing else compares. There is no longer a reason to wait for your camera to finish swaying or letting it fill up your card with unusable pix while it deals with inertia. I know some people are in denial about it, but they aren't getting more pix on their memory cards. No matter, all things in their time. I can wait for objectivity to prevail.
re: Feather, Is it Mike? Jones, at any rate I use one of the Brooxes setups but not the PeKaBe blocks - do you think those alone would help?
The kit I have make a full 360 rotation with a wide angle lens, would you feather not show up in the frame?
F.P.
I must ask how close to the kite are you hanging the rig? Should be at least 75 - 100 ft for best results, sometimes more. And what kite are you using?
Absolutely, set focus for infinity and lens for wide angle.
The blocks by themselves make the rig more compliant, but shouldn't do much for what sounds like excessive movement. If that's a common problem, the Feather should dampen it.
Is anyone on this forum still shooting film for KAP--let's say at least in the past six months?
please check out some of my kap photos, thanks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7761395@N02/
You should submit your pix to the KAP group on Flickr -- good stuff!
Yes, my name is Mike. I highly recommend the PeKaBe blocks. They might seem pricey but when you have them you don't think that anymore. Also get the Broox/Gentles picavet cross. The blocks, picavet and KAP Feather will give you a rock solid rig you probably didn't think possible. The KAP Feather includes kit so it is not in the field of view typically with a 28mm P&S. If yours is a bit wider, you can adjust your tilt frame slightly to accommodate.
In reviewing the images blown up I believe movement is the culprit. Even though set at 1/500. Some parts of the scene are more blurred than others. Whom is to say that 1/500 is really 1/500 too. My Hasselblad 1/500 is more like 1/350 and with digital P&S models I believe the shutter and aperture might even be accomplished by the same mechanism.
I shall try an even faster shutter with manual focus in the future. From what you have all said the tilted horizons will be something I shall have to adapt too!
Thanks much-
F.P. Anderson
That said, other kappers definately DO strive for level horizons, perhaps as if the aloft camera were an extension of them as if they were composing from the ground.
It all depends on what your objective is in pursuing KAP: technically perfect "conventional" composition or the joy of what comes about through the randomness of KAP--which by chance may yield an occassional level horizon.
I must say that my favorite KAP photos on flickr are those that provide "different" compositions that show colors and textures in a surprising and unexpected way.
Also, Picavet results may differ a lot depending on its design. Have a look to James' study on his web site.
http://www.gentles.info/KAP/PICAVET/experiment.htm
I have good rig stabilization on pendulum with stabilization devices, and with the Picavet III. The "III" is for 3 holding points and it really does a big difference in gusty winds compared to the conventional Picavet. Here are the descriptions on my web site.
http://becotus.chez-alice.fr/rigs/anglais/&suspension.htm
Note that weight of the rig is a variable of any suspension, but is less noticeable on damped pendulum and Picavet III.
Just to mention also that during years I shot with a Konica Hexar set at 1/250 and the average results of level horizons and good pics were from 20% in the worst wind conditions up to 80% in even winds. Furthermore, my night kap pictures are shot either 1/30 or 1/60.
'scuse me while I step outside.
Reading the "other properties" available on most Flickr postings (provided the poster didn't Save for Web..., which strips EXIF data) is very educational.
Gusty winds are guaranteed to give a high percentage of blurry pictures.
http://www.brooxes.com/
I think Scott K.'s comment is particularly on the mark and would like to second it. I recall fretting about blurred exposures in my early KAP days but then the blur issue seemed to go away. As experience built I think I intuitively learned a number of techniques to reduce motion blur.
1) Perhaps the most useful product of experience is developing a sense of whether the conditions will yield useful images. I probably avoid many blurred images by deciding not to fly if winds are too strong, conditions are too gusty or it is too dark.
2) It helps greatly to select a kite that is well matched to the winds. I generally select the smallest kite available that still has sufficient lifting power. My favorite KAP flights often involve a near slack line between the ground and the cradle. Low line tension yields a stable, slowly drifting cradle.
3) While taking photographs I am flying the kite 99% of the time as opposed to tying it off somewhere. My halo reel is always in hand. I spend a lot of time inhaling and spooling out line to manage line tension. This often involves using the ground surface for temporary storage of spooled line.
4) I use radio control for all of my photographs. As Scott says, the ability to control the moment of exposure allows me to shoot when the cradle is calm and to avoid shooting when it is moving.
I took a moment to go through the images from my KAP session last Sunday on the UC Berkeley campus. I flew a Canon SD800is below a 7.5-foot Carlisle Kiteworks Rokkaku. The winds varied between smooth and gusty. When the wind was smooth it was generally well matched to the Rokkaku and I would have a catenary droop in the kite line between the cradle and the ground.
I went over to campus with the idea of taking shots to play around with stitching panoramas. This session was a blitz with 500 images taken during an hour-long flight. The camera was set for ISO 200, automatic focus, automatic exposure, and matrix metering.
My first cull through the set flagged 44 images (~9%) that were out of focus or poorly exposed. The remaining images were technically fine (focus and exposure) and of varying merit regarding composition or panorama stitching. The next culling looked for images that were
I simply no longer KAP in strong winds and rather than even matching a kite to the wind, if the wind doesn't match my small delta, I simply don't bother. That said, I'm in the interesting position of having to fall back on one of my kites used more for r/c kap while on holiday, a J15 parafoil. A great KAP kite but a firm puller. Now my little AutoKAP rig is less happy flying on a tight line. Normally my little delta will drift the rig up on slack line with fingertip line tension. Luckily though I've more light in Crete than in Scotland and I'm still getting loads of sharp images. But the fun is not there the same as with the delta. ( I left it behind in my hallway....)
For r/c flying and tight line flying I agree - the key things are still important, good conditions, good control, and all the usual stabilisation approaches, picavet, pekabes, etc.
I only use two kites and do not fly the Premier PS 14 when the wind is more than 18mph.
Link below to a very short video of a Kap session back in March, 246 images, 1 blurred and that was during launch.
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-4288838474695990308&hl=en-GB