Picavet
$30.00
Price includes US shipping.
This is the ready-to-fly version of the KAPtery Picavet. It attaches easily to the Redstone, Aerobee, or Titan 2 rigs (but by itself has no easy way to attach a camera). Includes the Picavet cross, two stainless steel KAP-snaps for securing the Picavet lines to the kite line, 30 feet of 50 pound braided Dacron line, and everything is assembled and ready to attach to a camera rig.
The Picavet is the most popular camera suspension system with kite aerial photographers. It is less useful for balloon photography when the flying line is near vertical. The Picavet has two clip-on attachment points to the kite line about five feet apart, and the Picavet lines pass through four eyes on the Picavet cross. These multiple attachments reduce rotation of the rig and swinging of the rig along the axis of the kite line. The three inch shaft between the cross and the rig acts as a moment arm and allows the mass of the camera to level the rig.
Assembly and use instructions are here.
Assembly time: none
Also available in kit form.
Weight: 80 grams.
Above: The camera rig stays steady and level regardless of the angle of the kite line (my hands).
Above: The star on the top of the cross allows the Picavet shaft to be quickly locked in any of 15 positions to shoot oblique photos in any direction.