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After playing with a few mast styles, the heavy duty pneumatic telescoping mast works very well. Its main edge is it can lift 3 to 5 pound camera assemblies with ease. Even 10lbs. is possible. No 'guying' is needed and wind has little effect.
Now I just needed a decent camera head that could handle the larger DSLR cameras. DSLR cameras allow the use of a variety of lenses. The simple kit lens with variable zoom will do an adequate job for the vast majority of photos. Inexpensive and light, they worked well for quite a while.
Better DSLRs demand better lenses. A wide to long telephoto range lens works great for most functions. A very wide angle lens is great for landscape shots and 'Panoramas'. The new "Fisheye" lenses make Spherical Panoramas much easier to capture.
There were no available camera heads that could adapt to all the various shooting needs that were remotely controlled, either with a radio system or wired.
This is my latest version. It does almost everything I want in a remote camera head. The only shortcoming at this time is the inability to change from landscape to portrait orientation on the fly. I had a version that did the rotation, but it was not suitable for doing panoramas without a fisheye lens (could not tilt up far enough).
This version has a decent list of features…
Fully Remotely Controlled, radio or wired.
Live video downlink, radio or wired.
Controlled pan, tilt, zoom, and shutter release.
45 or 60 degree automatic interrupted shutter trigger.
Holds position well for time-lapse or bulb shoots.
Can handle wide or very long telephoto lenses.
Easily changeable Camera specific mounting plates.
Adjustable zoom servo position for different lenses.
Shock absorbing anti-rotation link.
Easily replaceable parts (non-proprietary).
Shutter interrupter disable switch.
All plugs polarized and color coded.
Camera mounts in seconds.
All mounting screws are 'trapped' or stored.
Voltage monitor, handy for long shoots.
All parts 'Lock down', no danger of flying off.
The interchangeable plates allow for balancing the camera and lens. A well balanced camera and mount assembly allows for lower power robot servos for movement and eliminates pole sway induced by the stopping and starting of the rotating mount.
The spring loaded rotation link eliminates all shock being transmitted to camera and lens while mast is being extended and lowered. May be overkill, but it looks great :-)
The zoom servo assembly uses push-pull on the lens. The hinged mount accepts any diameter lens barrel and allows for asymmetric linkage lengths.
The mount could be adapted to the larger 'Point and shoot' cameras. The live video is easier to hookup, but some lack a remote shutter release jack. A servo could be fitted to hit the shutter button??
The camera mount would be great for wildlife photography applications. Set up in the middle of a field, operated by radio control, you should be able to get shots not possible any other way.
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