Posted on 05/03/2010 7:02:38 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Crowds cheered Saturday for the University of Washington Men's rowing team as they pulled far ahead of Syracuse and Oxford.
But the little electric helicopter that was speeding low over the water, chasing the rowers, got almost as much attention from the tens of thousands gathered for the race with oohs and aahs trailing the whirring contraption.
So what was it all about?
Well apparently it is a somewhat secretive camera platform. The operator asked photographers gathered at the Conibear Shellhouse not to take closeups of the prototype helicopter that had just been center stage along the Montlake Cut.
This same helicopter was spotted flying high over the Safeco Field grass during pregame ceremonies on opening day.
It appears to be an electric helicopter that provides a unique angle for the Fox Sports Network television audience. The helicopter carries a Canon 5D Mark II HDSLR camera (the same digital camera used by yours truly.) The camera is a digital SLR that also shoots high definition video - many pros in video and film have adopted this camera for its stunning video quality and small size.
So when you take a high-tech RC helicopter - a dream for most 13 year-old boys - and mount a high-quality camera its nose, you get an exciting angle on action difficult to achieve otherwise.
A helicopter chases rowers in the Montlake Cut during the Windermer Cup races on Saturday May 1, 2010. (Joshua Trujillo, Seattlepi.com)
Here is another example of an RC helicopter that can carry a camera as payload.
Draganflyer X6
Guess they didn’t honor that request not to take close ups.
Isn’ it a little dangerous to have this thing flying around a sporting event?
Apple has a helecopter prototype?
I’d like to see that thing used to get bird’s-eye-view shots of a skeet competition. :D
Sadly, it has not helped the Mariner's bats. But I digress.
COOL!
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