My colleague Brian Poulter shared this video with me, and I’m passing it along for any enterprising young video-savvy photojournalists who might find inspiration for some cool storytelling.

Helicam with Canon T2i/550D over Whitefish from Jeff Scholl on Vimeo.

Testing out a T2i with 14mm lens at 720 60P. Rendered with 2.35 bars and 24 frames for fun.

The video was shot using Canon’s new EOS 550D/Digital Rebel T2i attached to a remote-controlled helicopter. (you can see a photo of the rig here) Scholl’s business – GravityShots – promotes his helicam work. The Canon shoots full HD video, and is in the lower price range for SLR cameras.

The video was apparently shot at 60 frames per second, which allows you to do slow-motion video. I don’t know what it took to set up the rig, or how much practice it takes to fly that kind of set-up.

But it did get me to thinking about the news potential for that type of photography. Imagine a breaking news event on your campus that you can’t get close enough to get quality video or stills (like a fire). I wonder if you could enlist the help of a local RC pilot to get closer with something like this? Or fly that thing over a big event like a football game or graduation or concert. Would make for some interesting yearbook photos, as well.

The potential seems pretty wide. Any thoughts or ideas?

Print Friendly