Question - how to shoot a 400mph+ model boat?

SlowSteve

SlowSteve

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Hello all.

When I am not being enormously confused by the world of photography I like to build model boats.

I used to build the very precise replicas of old full sized ships, but then realised they weren't actually much fun to "play" with once you'd built then.

So, a couple of friends and I mixed a load of carbon fiber and titanium tubing together with a couple of minature jet engines and cloned the design of a sharks skin cell, and came up with a set of boats that that we have clocked with a speedgun topping out around 400mph. We run them on a tethered line of 100 foot, so they just spin in a circle. They're loud and noisy and have the ability to burst into flames rather dramatically, which I find a lot more fun - in a "boys toys" sort of way.

However, it would be good if I could get some pictures of them actually going. Right now I get a blur.

I am just setting out to buy a camera kit - I have got my friends Canon 450d currently - and even set at 1/1000 of a second, it's still just a blur. 400mph is nearly 7" of movement in 1/1000th of a second.

Also - the boat appears at entirely random points in the images, which means I have to zoom out to get the full 200 foot diameter circle in the frame.


Can anyone offer any advice on how I might go about getting some better pictures? As I say, I am just about to buy into DLSR's - next week or so - and if there are specific bodies I shlould be looking for, I'll take this into account.

Also - is there anyway I can get the camera within an inch of so of the waterline and keep it safe and dry? I really could do with seeing how much of the hull and rudder is in the water so I can get feedback for the next design - which obviously needs to go a lot faster.

Why go faster? Just because....
 
I have absolutly no advice to offer on taking a shot of this 'boat' so in that respect this is a useless comment im afraid.

But by god does this sound like an awesome way to waste some time & petrol and just generally tinker about in the garage, love the idea and looking forward to seeing some sort of pics of the project! :D
 
Do you mean you are trying to take a picture of the moving boat, with the camera static, as it enters the frame? If so, you're on a hiding to nothing. You need to move with the boat, called panning - go to the Guides section on this forum and read about 'Panning Techniques'.
 
Wow that sounds insame, how long does it take for the boat to go round the circle at 400mph? (just had a go - 0.538 seconds !!!!!!!!!!!)

I think you are going to struggle to photograph this, even 1/8000th sec is not going to give you a sharp image.

Perhaps high speed flash - like the set up used by Stephen Dalton to photograph flying insects - might work but probably not such a good idea near water.

Another thought was some video cameras now have a high speed multi frame per second capability, might be worth looking there.

Do you have some pictures of these boats you could post?, would love to see them.

David
 
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Panning is a good suggestion but there is another technique I use with racing some times. I set up the camera for a shot with the subject in specific known location. As you'll have the boat tethered it not to difficult to predict where it will be. Once the shot is set up I do not use the view finder I watch the subject and use a reference point to snap the shutter. This could be a point on the surface or in the back ground, probably not for the boats but what ever it is tethered to might work as a reference point. I review the images to dial in the reaction time and time it takes to get a picture until the framing is good. Because I'm MF the camera is ready as soon as I press, I might also use a remote release if I'm on a long zoom and big aperture to minimize camera shake. Sounds like a good photography challenge and one I'd like to have a go at.... I'm sure I'm not alone. Best of luck, let see those boats already... pix please?
 
I am more interested in how you managed to clock a 400mph object with a handheld speedgun
 
No advice on the photography but I want one of those boats!!
 
You will also need a camera with a high frame rate. The fps on the 450D is not enough.
 
well it looks like the OP has lived up to his name in responding to his own thread. Guess we'll never get to see the boats after all. :shrug:
 
leftcurl said:
well it looks like the OP has lived up to his name in responding to his own thread. Guess we'll never get to see the boats after all. :shrug:
Click to expand...

I know!! I get quiet excited every time there's a reply to his thread thinking it's the OP with some pictures and each time it isn't!! :(

Come on SlowSteve........show us the boat!!!!!

Neil
 
Imagine it looks something like this, but in water http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T31juxlQuGA&NR=1

As to the photography.... even a 580ex on minimum power (1/35000th) the boat will travel about 5mm (i think?) which will still be noticeable assuming they are pretty small things.

What i'd do is assuming this thing arcs round if you could get a longish exposure upto about 1/2 second and have the camera locked looking back along the path the boat will have taken. That'll give you a nice blur to show the speed then have the flash close in and try to pop it just as the boat passes the camera, the more the boat is coming towards the camera the less the apparent speed will be so you might find it actually comes quite sharp, but you still have the blur trail to give it an element of speed.

You could do it with 2nd curtain sync, but i have a feeling it'd be easier to pop the flash by hand
 
hehe, okay, might need some very waterproof gear for the sort of thing i had in mind
 
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