Titan 2 IR S95

SOLD

This one-of-a-kind item has been sold. Check the products page for similar items.

This package is fully prepared for flight and configured for high quality dual-camera kite-photography for infrared plant analysis. It includes everything in the Titan 2 Rig kit and the Picavet or Pendulum Kit (choose suspension above). Also included are two Canon PowerShot S95 cameras, and a timer to precisely synchronize the shutters of both cameras. The Titan 2 Rig and suspension are configured and prepared so all components can be quickly mounted and connected for your first flight.

One Canon S95 has had its infrared block filter replaced with a Wratten 87 polyester filter so it captures only pure near-infrared light. The Canon S95 10 MP cameras included are used -- they are my personal cameras which I have used to take several thousand photos. They have been treated well, show little wear, and are in good working order (I am upgrading to the S100). Each camera has a spare battery, for a total of four batteries. The S95 has an excellent feature set for kite and balloon photography:

  • 1/1.7" sensor (72% larger area than most small PowerShots for less noise and better light sensitivity)
  • Shutter priority mode reduces motion blur (lock shutter speed at 1/800 second and aperture is automatically adjusted for correct exposure)
  • Manual focus (lock focus on infinity)
  • Crisp, fast lens (f/2.0 at the wide end) with iris diaphragm
  • Custom preset (save all the settings for aerial shots and return to them anytime)
  • Proprietary batteries make this a lightweight camera (four batteries included, with two chargers)
  • Aluminum body (most small PowerShots are plastic)

To precisely synchronize the shutters of the cameras, an external timer is included. This is a modified MK111 timer, a 3D printed timer housing, a battery case (for 4 AAA alkaline batteries, not included), and cables to carry the 5 volt pulse from the timer to the USB ports of both cameras. Each camera includes a 4 GB SD card with CHDK installed and configured for synchronous remote shutter release. With the cameras connected and turned on, flip the switch on the battery case and the cameras will start shooting in perfect synchrony every seven seconds (adjustable from 2 to 60 seconds). CHDK runs automatically when the camera is powered on. Instructions are provided for modifying the settings.The SD cards will each hold about 1000 full resolution (10 MP) photos.

Also included is a single-camera tray which allows either camera to be flown solo in a lightweight rig (no electronics are required).

Typical flying weight of entire rig and suspension with cameras and batteries: 700 grams.

Below is an example of a normal and NIR photo taken by the S95 cameras for sale here, and the derived false color IR image and NDVI images. Click, then right click to examine the high resolution images (25% of the originals).

s95_4panel3k.jpg
A photo pair taken by this rig (RGB and NIR) and the false color IR and NDVI images derived from that pair. The resolution of these images has been reduced from the originals.

img_1882_2k.jpg
A pure near infrared photo taken by the IR converted S95 included in this package (reduced resolution).

The process of carefully adjusting the focus of the NIR converted S95 in this package is described in this note at Public Lab.