Ultra lightweight KAP cameras?

Sunday, 27 March, 2016

I briefly commented on KAP cameras when looking at the PhaseOne iXU180 - a great medium format camera for medium weight UAV use. But at the lighter end of the market, for use on quadcopters, small fixed wing and kites, what to use?? The key to answering this question is what are the parameters for the camera. For me, they boil down to this:

-low weight
-wide field of view
-big sensor


Low weight is obvious - small UAVs have a relatively low lifting capacity. Wide FoV is generally good as these devices are often relatively low to the ground. And even at a drones maximum licenseable limit in the UK (~120m), that still limits what is visible. So wide is good, as long as the lens is of good quality and minimises distortions. As bigger sensor as is practicable - this maximises light capturing capabilities and so means you’ve got great latitude when flying and specifically, working at an aperture of f8 with as fast a shutter speed as possible.

So what’s around? Well, when I last looked a few years ago there was actually very little choice and somewhat surprisingly that remains the case. For a lightweight camera, fixed lenses (rather than interchangeable) are the best route to go, which means a camera designed for street photography. The limiting factor here being focal length. In terms of sensor there are options around both APS-C and full frame. So my short list currently is:

Ricoh GR2: an APS-C sensor (16MP), extremely light (250g) and a fixed focal length is equivalent to 27mm (for a full frame camera). This is ideal for aerial work. It has an intervalometer which means you can set it to take photos at regular intervals, but no IR port for remote control.

Nikon Coolpix A: also APS-C (16MP), light weight (290g) and wide angle 28mm equivalent lens (this does have an IR port but no intervalometer).

Fuji X70: very new, APS-C 16MP X-Trans sensor (not a Bayer colour filter array and so generally better colour reproduction), 28mm equivalent focal length, weighing in a 340g.

Sony RX1: 24MP full frame sensor with fixed 35mm lens. Its expensive, slightly heavier at 480g but offers significantly better optics, resolution, dynamic range and sensitivity. At a price!!

A conclusion?? Well the comparative review by DPReview finished with a great quote:

a considerable portion of its [Coolpix A] thunder is stolen by the Ricoh GR - a camera that achieves the unusual trick of being a touch better in almost every respect while also being significantly cheaper