Camera GPS

[JontyR]

Good evening,

I am looking to build a camera rig and require gps data to be included into each of the images. I know that it is probably an easy question given I am going to be using Canon, so the obvious answer would be to use a GP-E2 receiver....however!

The plan is to build the rig using 6 Canon EOS 2000d units.

I need to have a single press (auto-focus and shutter release) for all 6 cameras. I believe Hahnel produce the Captur system which you can run a single trigger and multiple receivers.

I then need to add Exif information to every 6 set of images.

I will be running an external DJI RTK Base station, the ultimate desire would be to plug in an RTK receiver which would take data from the base station...but Im guessing this isnt possible? That way the GPS would be consitent with the UAV and also given the camera will be used inside there is more chance to gain stable exif data if it is picking up from a base station. I also have a second base station an Emlid Reach RS+ which I could I guess use.

Does anyone have any experience in this field?

Thanks in Advance.

Jonty

[Gad-Westy]

Sorry if I'm missing the point here spectacularly. But is there any reason why you cannot just fit a small GPS datalogger to the UAV with the cameras? Ensure the timestamps are synced and then you can combine the GPS data with each images exif later on automatically in software.

[JontyR]

Gad-Westy said:

Sorry if I'm missing the point here spectacularly. But is there any reason why you cannot just fit a small GPS datalogger to the UAV with the cameras? Ensure the timestamps are synced and then you can combine the GPS data with each images exif later on automatically in software.

Thanks for the reply...but this is for a ground based camera rig not the aerial one. The drone has built in RTK and so automatically adds in the exif data directly to the images.

Where I will be filming will have zero gps as it is in an historic building with 3ft thick walls. So the hope was to keep the gnss base station externally and for it to talk to the camera units in the same way it communicates with the uav.

[rst99]

Can you tell us a bit more about the application and why you need indoor positioning?

I don't understand how using GPS position from an external antenna helps you position the internal cameras.

Are you doing a spherical tour, photogrammetry or the like?

[JontyR]

rst99 said:

Can you tell us a bit more about the application and why you need indoor positioning?

I don't understand how using GPS position from an external antenna helps you position the internal cameras.

Are you doing a spherical tour, photogrammetry or the like?

Yes it is for photogrammetry. Conventionally I have used target points which I have brought onto grid with a total station and GNSS, however I was wondering whether running RTK on the camera would work in a similar way to the drone and so reduce the number of targets required.

[rst99]

I would say your original method with targets acquired by total station is the best way.

You have no GPS indoors. So GPS it completely out.

I am curious about the camera rig with 6 cameras. Is this to speed up the capture or to capture sphericals as an add-on.

Personally, I would use a single camera with a wide prime lens. For best reconstruction varied viewpoints and good overlap are required, so a rig may add more issues (and complexity) than it solves.

See here for Historic England's best practice: HE Photogrammetry