Another crazy keychain camera mount

This one positions the camera 6 inches below the rocket looking up at the motor. I figured I might get a cool video if I didn't incinerate the camera. Since the camera was pointing upward I used a D12-7 motor so that I would get a couple of seconds looking towards the ground before the ejection charge. As expected, the rocket tipped about 20° as soon as it cleared the rod but then flew pretty straight on that trajectory. The only problem was that the tape holding it to the fin tore off when the parachute deployed and the rocket whipped around.

[video=youtube;-YwlQI3FTbM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YwlQI3FTbM[/video]

Dude, that's awesome!

I love alternative camera angles. I tried a boostercam on my Blood Atonement launch, but the angle didn't capture much. I'll be trying again in the spring. I was hoping to get good pics from the booster of the staging event and the sustainer pulling away before the booster tumbled.

closet astronaut said:

This is crazy ironic, just last nite I was thinking along these lines, after seeing your other camera perspective thread.

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Go for it! That only took me about 5 minutes to slap together. I also added about 10 grams of nose weight just to be safe. Now I'm thinking about building a rocket with a permanently attached camera mount below the rocket.

Marc_G said:

Dude, that's awesome!

I love alternative camera angles. I tried a boostercam on my Blood Atonement launch, but the angle didn't capture much. I'll be trying again in the spring. I was hoping to get good pics from the booster of the staging event and the sustainer pulling away before the booster tumbled.

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Here's a cool shot of staging that I got from a normal camera location on a CC Express last summer:

That's nice!

I've got a couple cool staging pics posted here in the LPR forum as well, from the traditional strap-on location. I was hoping to get dual footage (looking up, looking down) and capture the same instant. I'll work on it some more in the spring.

That is very cool Nathan

I had been thinking of doing something similar...glad to see it works pretty well!!

FC

Way cool..Kudos

Nice footage!

Couple of questions:
1. How was the flight path? Was it reasonably straight? I'm thinking from the weight imbalance, as well as the drag imbalance, of the camera that the rocket would tend to arc, rather than fly straight up.
2. How did recovery go? It looked like the rocket got back to the ground really quick after the ejection charge went off. Was there a chute problem?

DaveCombs said:

2. How did recovery go? It looked like the rocket got back to the ground really quick after the ejection charge went off. Was there a chute problem?

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the camera broke loose on the ejection charge / chute deploying. That is why the camera alone came down so fast.

DaveCombs said:

Nice footage!

Couple of questions:
1. How was the flight path? Was it reasonably straight? I'm thinking from the weight imbalance, as well as the drag imbalance, of the camera that the rocket would tend to arc, rather than fly straight up.

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It immediately pitched over about 20° as soon as it cleared the rod but then flew pretty straight in that direction.

DaveCombs said:

2. How did recovery go? It looked like the rocket got back to the ground really quick after the ejection charge went off. Was there a chute problem?

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The tape that was holding the camera mount (piece of balsa) to the fin tore off and the camera free fell to the ground. The parachute opened but one shroud line ripped off so the rocket also came a little faster than normal but was undamaged. A frame by frame analysis showed that the camera was still attached immediately after the ejection charge but became detached when the parachute deployed and the rocket whipped around. I used a D12-7 motor so it had started descending and was moving pretty fast at ejection charge, which is the reason for violent parachute deployment.

Nathan said:

Here's a cool shot of staging that I got from a normal camera location on a CC Express last summer:

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That is just severely cool. I love the fact that the booster is still flaming as it drops away.

Wow, that's brilliant! I don't know how I missed this thread before, but now that I've seen I may just have to try it myself!

Color me amazed that your rocket was stable and that the camera stayed with it.

This thread makes me want to do a scratch build just for crazy camera angles

Bubba02STi said:

This thread makes me want to do a scratch build just for crazy camera angles

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Your not the only one thinkin that---just too damn cool !!!

SteveA said:

That is just severely cool. I love the fact that the booster is still flaming as it drops away.

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Yeah, after some of the fiery shots I've gotten of staging and ejection charges I'm surprised that these cardboard body tubes don't just burn up. For example, here's a shot from a different launch at the moment of ejection charge, from the nose cone looking back at the flames shooting out of the body tube. The other stuff flying out is cellulose insulation (aka dog barf).

Nathan said:

Yeah, after some of the fiery shots I've gotten of staging and ejection charges I'm surprised that these cardboard body tubes don't just burn up. For example, here's a shot from a different launch at the moment of ejection charge, from the nose cone looking back at the flames shooting out of the body tube. The other stuff flying out is cellulose insulation (aka dog barf).

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When I first glanced at the thumbnail before reading your post I though it was a CATO!

Spectacular shot!

That was amazing. I would have been afraid the engine blast would have damaged the lens.

Hmm, would mounting a dummy camera with equal mass on the opposite fin balance the tipping effect?

Nathan said:

Yeah, after some of the fiery shots I've gotten of staging and ejection charges I'm surprised that these cardboard body tubes don't just burn up. For example, here's a shot from a different launch at the moment of ejection charge, from the nose cone looking back at the flames shooting out of the body tube. The other stuff flying out is cellulose insulation (aka dog barf).

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Wow..from the ground looking up you just never imagine that intensity.

BABAR said:

That was amazing. I would have been afraid the engine blast would have damaged the lens.

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So was I. But right now I have 4 of those DVR-808 #16 cameras so it wouldn't be a disaster if I lost one. Coming up soon I'm going to do a similar launch with a lawn dart rocket (cut off the motor hook and glue on the nose cone so it will eject the motor and come straight down). If the camera survives the impact I'll post the video. Yeah I know, launching a rocket with no recovery system violates NAR safety code. I'll be doing that launch very early on a weekday morning when there is no one in the big park that I use for launching rockets.

BABAR said:

Hmm, would mounting a dummy camera with equal mass on the opposite fin balance the tipping effect?

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Yes it would, at a cost of additional weight and drag. See my nose cone camera mount with a dummy camera mounted on the opposite side: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?46945-Keychain-camera-with-a-different-perspective

JohnNGA said:

Wow..from the ground looking up you just never imagine that intensity.

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From that picture you can see why if your nose cone fits too tight, your rocket WILL explode.

Nathan said:

Yeah, after some of the fiery shots I've gotten of staging and ejection charges I'm surprised that these cardboard body tubes don't just burn up. For example, here's a shot from a different launch at the moment of ejection charge, from the nose cone looking back at the flames shooting out of the body tube. The other stuff flying out is cellulose insulation (aka dog barf).

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That's crazy! I have a couple of those key chain cams and I have a couple CC Express' as well, I can hardly wait until it warms up here and try them out. Hopefully I can get as awesome of stills during staging as you have. Would you mind if I used your images in some of my rocketry classes? I do a session for 4H group leaders and if they were to see these, maybe it would give them ideas of how to entice or enhance their rocketry sections?

Wow keep those images coming! They're great!

Steve

SteveA said:

...Would you mind if I used your images in some of my rocketry classes? I do a session for 4H group leaders and if they were to see these, maybe it would give them ideas of how to entice or enhance their rocketry sections?...
Steve

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Feel free to use my pictures in your 4H classes. I would be glad to help to get kids interested in model rocketry. I started building rockets in 1967 when I was 10 years old.

Nathan said:

Feel free to use my pictures in your 4H classes. I would be glad to help to get kids interested in model rocketry. I started building rockets in 1967 when I was 10 years old.

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Thanks! I too started when I was ten, but about six years after you. I teach rocketry out of my library and through 4H and I think if kids and the adult leaders could see these images, it would really get the gears turning for potential projects and a better appreciation for the near limitlessness of rocketry.

Thanks again and I look forward to seeing more of your great videos and stills!
Steve

Cool video!

TA

Good stuff, Nathan. I like your out of the box thinking about camera placement. Definitely creates a rocket video that is different than the run of the mill point down the body tube stuff.

kj

now That's a cool view. Especially on the way down. Looks kind of like you're following some kind of homing missile

I may have to do something like this HPR. No wait, I WILL. That was awesome!

Right now I'm working on two more camera mounts. One of them is a better version of this one, looking upwards from below, except this one will position the camera 12 inches behind the rocket and rotated 90° so that the image will be right-side-up. It will also be better constructed and will attach to the fin with 2 small plastic screws instead of tape. The first launch of that camera mount will be on my Big Daddy. Probably in a few days, if it ever stops raining here.