KiteCam -Self sailing videos

[delmarrey]

Thought this might be an interesting video/idea to share......................_/)

YouTube - Singlehanded sailing kitecam compilation

[Trim50]

That is simply outstanding! I need to know what kind of camera he uses and how he is able to zoom in and center image from a distance.

[Microship]

Nice work! I don't know how he did it, but my approach would be a wireless waterproof camera oriented to look back down the line. Zooming would just be the distance between kite and boat, and centering for the compilation would be the result of editing out the bad bits.

Wireless video is cheap, and sealed cameras are small and light - see Supercircuits and other sources. I'd probably be inclined to use a separate sealed camera and a low-power transmitter in a homebrew enclosure with battery for both, keeping weight to a minimum. These folks have lots of suitable kites; I use one for kayak propulsion.

Cheers,
Steve

[liberty16]

Excellent song, too.

[johneri1]

ain't it spectacular (not to mention the sweet Dana 24)

[David M]

Very cool! It would be really neat to see it done from a very fast boat like one of the faster racing trimarans.

[delmarrey]

Beats hiring a helo!

I would imagine the camera was mounted on the string facing down the string.

[gettinthere]

I suspect the camera was mounted to the bottom of the kite frame.
Framing was probably by trial & error; remote control pan & tilt would add complexity, expense and most importantly, weight.
There was no zooming, only letting the kite line in and out.
I've seen this several times over the past year or so, always fun to watch.

[maxingout]

Very impressive footage.

It appears that this is shot with a very wide angle lens which is extremely forgiving. A wide angle dampens motion in the picture and makes apparent centering of the sailboat in the picture easier to achieve.

The curved horizon in the pictures is the type of changes you see in pictures shot with a wide angle.

[imagine2frolic]

I keep running across this video, and never tire of it. Looks like he sailing out of the Berkeley Marina. I also believe this fella did the Transpac too...............

[Morgan Paul]

Imagine, I am the same, I just watched it again and I no what you mean. It is amazing he lets the kite out and you see him steering the boat. It is just COOL ! .