World Wide KAP Week 2014

I have been distracted by other forms of AP lately, namely RC flight Aerial Photography, video, building and flying, so WWKW2014 is a great opportunity to rekindle my love of KAP.

Unfortunately Mother Nature had a different idea. WWKW 2014 for me has been 7 days of frustration waiting for the rain to stop, the clouds to disperse and the wind to show up at all.

I could only manage 2 sessions but I'm reasonably happy with the results.

First session was with the PFK Nighthawk in not much wind. I returned to a favourite site, Point Henry,  hoping to capture some shots of approaching rain clouds. Lack of practice meant all I got was water and some beach. Still, that's why KAP is interesting, you never know what you've got.

The second session was again at Point Henry in a late afternoon dash when the clouds dispersed and wind came up.

But even with my largest kite, 2m Rokkaku, it was barely enough. The Rok would fly OK but struggle to lift my lightest manual rig for the Canon S100.

For this shot I tilted the camera up hoping to catch the kite in the frame with the setting sun. Altitude is only 10m or so but it is still a KAP shot.

WWKW discussion on KAP Forum

WWKW Flickr group

SDM - Stereo Data Maker

SDM is a version of CHDK (Canon Hackers Development Kit) designed specifically for syncing 2 or more Canon compact cameras for 3D photography. It also simplifies CHDK for single cameras and Kite Aerial Photography.

In a nutshell, it means a lot of the irrelevant CHDK stuff is gone leaving a much cleaner menu.

Just like CHDK you need to establish your firmware version, download the correct build, copy it onto a freshly formatted SD card, lock the card and you're in business.

Development of SDM seems to lag behind CHDK, probably because developers like David Sykes, another very clever KAPer - see this KAP forum post, need to get a hold of two identical cameras to test syncing function. It's not officially available for the Canon S100 yet but beta versions are easily obtainable. Ask nicely on the KAP forum.

Dave Mitchell's ACID and SDMinst apps are very helpful once again to get it all running.
UPDATE: and his new STICK and ASSIST apps are even easier to use.

The value of SDM and CHDK is the ability to run scripts. These are simple programs written in uBasic language. There are plenty of scripts pre-loaded with CHDK/SDM or you can download more from the KAP forum or CHDK/SDM websites.

uBasic is a very simple and easy to read language that can be edited in any text editing app like Notepad or TextEdit. I used TextWrangler on the Mac. The scripts must be saved as simple text files with the file extension .bas

WindWatcher and HQasem have shared some fancy scripts on the KAP forum.

My basic intervalometer script looks like this:
@title APN intervalometer
@param t interval(sec)
@default t 5

rem single camera, display off
sleep_for 1000
sync_off
turn_backlight_off
sleep_for 1000

rem endless loop with delay
while 1
shoot
sleep_for_seconds t
wend
end

If you want to use it copy the text, paste it into a text editor then save it as APNintvl.bas or whatever you want. Feel free to edit and personalise it to your own needs.

Copy the .bas file into the SCRIPT folder in the CHDK folder on your SD card and it will appear as a choice in the list of scripts.

Here's how SDM appears on the Canon S100 screen:

 Splash screen on startup. Wait for it to go before pushing any buttons.

 Push the Review or Play button to enter <ALT> mode. 

Currently selected script (APN intervalometer) is displayed along the bottom left.

 In <ALT> mode push MENU to bring up the SDM Basic menu

 Here's the Scripting screen where you can load a different script or change current script parameters

This is my intervalometer script set to shoot every 5 seconds. This script also blanks the screen while shooting which prolongs battery life.

CHDK How to get it

Put simply these are the steps...
1. Determine which firmware version your camera is using.
2. Download the correct CHDK zip file from the CHDK website.
3. Unzip and copy the CHDK files onto a freshly formatted SD card.
4. Lock the card, put it into your camera and CHDK is ready to run.

Sounds easy but there are a few hurdles along the way.
The CHDK website has instructions or you can use Dave Mitchells ACID and SDMinst apps to do it all for you.

ACID looks at a photo taken with your camera to determine the firmware version, then searches for any suitable CHDK builds.

CHDK builds come in different states of reliability. STABLE is tried and tested, TRUNK and the rest are like Beta versions (I think). Anyway choose the STABLE one if available, if not try one of the others. ACID can then download the CHDK file to your computer. It will be a zip file.

Unzip the downloaded file and move all the resulting files into a folder. You will need to select this folder when using the next app - SDMinst.



SDMinst formats your SD card and copies over the necessary CHDK files.

Some of the options in SDMinst can be confusing to the uninitiated.
If your camera can use cards larger than 4GB then you can untick "Create Partitions" and tick "Make FAT 32 bootable" That worked for my S100.

Older cameras use FAT16 formatted cards and may need partitions. Luckily I didn't have to deal with that.


UPDATE 8th Dec 2012: Dave has written 2 more apps to make the installation even simpler. What a guy! STICK for CHDK, and ASSIST for SDM.

There's a donation button on his webpages, I urge you to click it if you like his apps.

CHDK overview

OK, take a deep breath and buckle in. It's time to delve into the shadowy world of CHDK or the Canon Hackers Development Kit.

I am a CHDK novice but I find it quite thrilling and subversive.
CHDK means different things for different users, but for me it means I can make my Canon S100 automatically shoot at set intervals by running an intervalometer script. I have mine set at one shot every 5 seconds. Perfect for KAP.

CHDK is a firmware hack that is loaded onto your SD card and over-rides the cameras firmware when it is turned on. It doesn't change the firmware permanently, just while that particular SD card is used and the camera is on.

The correct version or "Build" of CHDK must be downloaded from the CHDK website for your particular cameras firmware. Mine is S100-101b. They are not interchangeable.

Once CHDK is running on your camera you will see extra icons on the LCD. They can be quite ugly and obtrusive but the extra functions given to the camera make it worth while.

Initially it was conceived to give DSLR-like functions (RAW, live histogram, exposure bracketing) to compact cameras but it also allows scripts or mini programs to be run. The intervalometer script is the main reason I use CHDK.

The images below show how the camera screen changes when CHDK is loaded.

Here's my default Canon S100 screen and the normal Canon Menu

The SD card needs to be locked for CHDK to load up when the camera is turned on. This seems odd but that's how it works. With an unlocked card the camera just operates normally.

When CHDK is loaded correctly the splash screen appears first then the S100 screen appears with extra icons overlaid. It is possible move and hide the icons if you want but don't worry about that just yet.

To get to the CHDK menus you push the review button to change to <ALT> mode, then push the MENU button.

This is the Scripting Parameters screen where you choose a script. e.g. Intervalometer, and enter details like the interval e.g. 5 seconds

Now, as long as you are in <ALT> mode the Intervalometer will start when you push the shutter button and stop with another push.

Here's a video demo of CHDK.

That's it really. In the next post I'll cover how to find the correct build, download and copy to the SD card.

KAP rigs - RC Canon S100

The Lumix LX3, a superior compact camera, was soon to be reclaimed by it's rightful owner (wife) so it was time to find a replacement.

Using the camera feature search on DPReview I looked for any compacts with 24mm wide zoom and intervalometer to replace the shutter servo. The only camera currently available fitting the search was the Lumix LX7 weighing 298g, a little too heavy for light weight KAP.

An alternative option was to add intervalometer function to a Canon compact using the CHDK firmware hack. The Canon S100 looked interesting, with GPS, only weighing 190g and A$100 less than the Lumix.

DWI  had the S100 for A$280 which was fine by me. I tend to think of KAP cameras, like underwater cameras, as expensive disposables.

Canon Powershot S100 RC rig - 460g

I am finally happy with this setup.
- CHDK/SDM intervalometer (explanation coming soon)
- Proportional pan and tilt using Turnigy 380MG mini servos
- Brooxes compact picavet and tripod bolt from the KAP shop
- Fibreglass face plant protection bar
- Safety leashes on the camera and tripod bolt

KAP rigs - Manual

Over the next few posts I'll explain 3 different types of KAP rig starting with the most basic manual rig.

The camera mounts onto a simple tilt/pan bracket, which must be pointed in the right direction before launching. Photos are captured continuously using the intervalometer or timelapse function.

 Canon Powershot S100 manual rig - 300g (including camera, rig, picavet and lines)

The S100 is not supplied with it's own intervalometer so the CHDK firmware tweak is necessary. The mounting bracket is 20mm x 1.6mm aluminium.

Camera and rig need to be balanced for the rig to hang perfectly level. Positioning of the tripod mount hole, picavet bolt hole and tilt axis are important.  Here's a page explaining how to find the centre of gravity written by James Gentles, a very clever KAP electronics inventor.

Manual rigs are the simplest and lightest setup allowing KAP in light winds and with the least stress. Great for targeting a specific subject but pre-flight aiming needs to be accurate. The camera must be retrieved to make orientation changes.
This is my favourite rig, very light and simple. In a steady 5kn+ wind the Levi Delta will lift it with hardly any pull on the line. I can walk around to position the camera where I want it and easily wind in or let out line.

GoPro HD2 manual rig - 260g

The GoPro with a tripod adapter bolts directly to the picavet upside down and images are inverted via GoPro menu selection. More than one mounting hole on this picavet allows the rig to be levelled for different camera tilt positions.
This is my lightest rig weighing 260g, used for flying from a dive boat and in light or unreliable winds. The camera is tough and well protected in its waterproof housing and has a fisheye lens. I tend to crop and "defish" the images in Photoshop for a more realistic result.

This rig could be made lighter still by removing the filter holder, but it is needed to hold a flat filter to allow underwater focus.

What is KAP?

Kite Aerial Photography

This what you get when you add a camera to a kite, maybe some radio controls or electronics and lots of shed tinkering time.

Images captured by kite give a rarely seen perspective, on a more intimate or human scale than traditional aircraft aerials.

There is a very active world wide online community of KAPers and some seriously clever inventors producing electronics, rig and camera control scripts and mechanical bits for KAP rigs.

Kites
Big stable kites are needed to lift the camera and rig. KAPers usually have a range of kites to cover different wind speeds and camera rig weights. More about that later.

Cameras
The lighter the better obviously. GoPro, Canon compacts and even small SLRs are popular. Mirrorless large sensor cameras are starting to feature too.

Canon compacts can also be enhanced via CHDK (Canon hackers development kit) and SDM (Stereo Data Makers) firmware changes. I'll write more about these later but basically some very clever programmers have written firmware enhancements which add functions such as intervalometers, RAW, HDR and bracketing.



KAP rigs

There are many different styles of camera rigs for kite aerial photography. Here are a few of the main types.

RC KAP - using radio control to operate pan and tilt and maybe shutter release.

Auto KAP - using pre-programmed electronics to replace the radio controls. AuRiCo (automatic rig control) is what I use. The rig performs a repeating sequence of tilts, pans and shutter releases by itself.

Manual KAP - where you set the camera orientation and shooting interval before launching. The kite needs to be brought down to make any camera changes.