lenzdude
Heliman
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
My Posts This: Topic Forum | Missing the big pictureThere seems to be a few points missing in the fixed-wing vs. heli debate and that is shooting capabilities.
I've not seen any fixed-wing RC a/c that costs less than say a Joker2 that had enough lifting power to carry a professional camera such as an HVX200A or EX3 including camera mount, stabilization electronics etc. And certainly no a/c the size of a SS comes even close to those lifting requirements. Even a Sr. Telemaster would need some serious upgrades to carry those kind of wing-loadings and even then I'm not sure the platform would be stable.
The other point missed is one of visual composition capabilities. Regardless what size or how slow any fixed-wing a/c is you're stuck with one inevitable fact: You're forced into constant forward flight. That may not seem like a big-deal if all you do is high-altitude work ( higher than 200 AGL) but a heli can offer so much more with respect to camera movement:
- Vertical pulls/rise that doesn't affect the attitude of the camera's angle of view (as if it were on a crane);
- Static rotation (panorama);
- Reverse/follow-me angle;
- Ultra-slow movements in any direction at any altitude...
and a few others.
Is a heli more expensive and difficult to setup than it's fixed-wing counterparts? Yes, of course, but when you factor in the added visual capabilities there just isn't any real comparison, period. |
