NHK has come up with this particularly interesting gadget – the Balloon Camera, where it will enable a far easier experience for shooting from high above, offering a bird’s-eye view of the situation without having to hire a crane. I am going to venture a guess that professional wedding photographers in an outdoor shoot or who are in a ballroom with an extremely high ceiling too, might want to consider this as a method to expand their portfolio by offering different kinds of angles for their clients. The camera attached to this balloon will remain stable thanks to a four axis camera gimbal, which is also attached to a balloon, rising up to a maximum height of 300 meters. The motion of the camera and gimbal can be manipulated using a toy helicopter’s remote control.
The camera is able to pan, tilt, and zoom just like normal, while the gimbal’s function is to ensure that the direction remains fixed and stable at all times, so that none of your images turn out to be blurry. It would be nice to see this Balloon Camera cater for dedicated DSLRs and their myriad of lenses, but I guess that such a wish will not materialize anytime soon. The entire balloon can haul a weight of approximately 4kg, and sports a safe landing mechanism that lets it touch the ground safely should its tether get cut. Best to use this in low speed wind conditions though.
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