I am looking to build a system capable of taking photos or video at a distance. I would also like to be able to control the pan and tilt of the camera. What parts would you suggest?
Hi,
If you have your own camera (or lightweight digital video camera) consider the Servocity DDT550 direct drive unit along with three low-cost Futaba servos. To make the unit remote controlled, you would simply need a 2-4 channel Radio Control system. The Hitec Aggressor offers 3 channels: one for pan, another for tilt, and the third for snapping the photos. You can select a video transmitter/receiver pair that best suit your budget. However, the way you attach the unit will be custom, as well as the method to attach the third servo to the camera’s button.
Another option is to consider a lightweight wireless video camera mounted on top of the Servocity SPT200 pan/tilt system with two Hitec servos. The control method would be the same as above. You could use a video capture card (~$15) to save the video and/or images. This option would not need a third servo to take the photo.
We hope this helps.