Aircraft-mounted videocam mounting 1

[Botanist]

Newbie, non-engineer, here.

I wish to mount 2 Sony HVR-A1U HD videocams in the rear compartment of a Cessna 185 amphib. Weight and stability are the primary important factors, so the cameras will be mounted on short pedestals permanently bolted to a plywood base. I believe that vibration will be the single greatest impact on image resolution so I am looking for a (cheap!) way to minimize vibration.

The airplane cruises at between 2250 and 2450 RPM so I believe that the dampening method should be most effective in that range and harmonics of that range.

It looks to me like a fairly dense vibration-absorbing mat placed between the plywood and the airframe might be the most cost-efficient solution.

Is this the right approach? If not, where should I look for a solution?

If this is a reasonable approach, what qualities should I look for in vibration dampening material? Do manufacturers know about the frequency attenuation of their materials? How is it reported?

Thanks in advance for your patience and assistance,

Botanist

 

[Botanist]

Our cameras record HD video. The cameras are internally stabilized.

We're going to try the vibration-damping pad first, as price is a more limiting factor for us (at this time) than performance. If the quality is not what we're looking for then we'll seek funding for a more elegant solution.

My thanks to you all for the patient, insightful comments.

 

[IRstuff]

Internally stabilized, how? If it's electronic image stabilization, you're going to lose some resolution. That's because the process of stabilization requires interpolation to generate the stabilized pixels. The interpolation generally causes a big hit in resolution.

Usually, mechanical stabilization within a typical camera is a more lower frequency affair, since its primary purpose is to remove operator shaking, which doesn't have much high frequency content.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[ccw]

If there is an avionics shop around your aerodrome, check with them and their junk pile. Some of the older avionics gear was mounted on Lord Kinematic Isolators to minimize microphonics induced from airframe vibrations.