GPS is the right idea, and even better is that DeLorme Topo 7 (which we already have on the pilot's Tablet PC) will marry photos to ground position based on the GPS & camera clocks, and correctly overlay then on the map. It is very slick, works well, but does take some post processing time once on the ground. The presentation and ability to zoom-in is very easy for most people to use. The only thing that might be better is loading it up to Google Earth. Google Earth is already used quite a bit:
- real time for tracking our flight paths
- Fire perimeters from nightly Infrared flights
- other fire info too, but not as much as we have on our moving map topos in the cockpit
Wifi/internet connections on the ground for uploading photos to Google Earth are not assured, but are available more often than not, and getting more common. This year we hope to also be equipped with EVDO and/or 3G UMTS.
Ground and enroute time for me has been around 20 minutes. Delay start to eliminate un-needed pix, save space and maximize battery life is a fine idea, but irrelevant stuff at the beginning and end is also easy to ignore. More difficult to manage is how we circle endlessly. Picking specific views/shots from the overlapping circles will probably be the trickier part. Keeping the photo count down to fit on 8GB cards would be nice because then we could probably afford to never erase a card, leave them behind and keep an archive. Viewing photos on the SD card works ok for me.
We try to be on station for 4 hours, sometimes plus or minus an hour. 1 second photos would be nice, but I'd also be ok with 4 seconds if eliminates an external battery and allows be to fit on a 8GB card. I'm not sure if photos enroute are important. They would give a sense of context and travel. Also we often fly over areas that have just burned, or about to be burned. Eliminating them is fine too. btw, the reason for pointing the camera to the right is the ATGS (Air Attack Group Supervisor-interagency gov't person) is always in the right seat looking out the right window, and my job is to keep the plane banked for his best viewing.
If an external battery is required, then it is required, but hopefully not. If the camera is mounted to an inspection plate, it really needs to be light. Sometimes it will be lashed to a post or seat back. Having multiple pieces with momentum are a problem because we occasionally hit very hard bumps (bangs my head against the ceiling pretty hard).
I'll work on getting my SD990's version number asap