When is a helicopter more suitable for aerial photography or aerial video than an airplane?

If a low altitude is more suitable for creating a particular photograph, the helicopter may be the best option. FAA regulations require that a fixed wing aircraft operating over urban areas maintain a minimum altitude of 1000'.

While helicopters are generally more expensive than most fixed wing aircraft used for aerial photography, for some assignments involving multiple photographs in a small area, a helicopter might be more cost effective.

A number of very stable mounts are available for helicopters that are suitable for film and video as well as for still photography requiring an exceptionaly stable platform, are generally not available for fixed wing aircraft.

When minimizing aircraft forward motion (as opposed to vibration) is important to creating a photograph, a helicopter or airship might also be a more suitable option. This becomes an issue when particularly long focal lengths are used, or for low light aerial photography.

What is the difference in quality between shooting on film and shooting with digital cameras?

Among the issues to consider in making a choice to shoot with digital capture or film are the nature of the imaging project, turnaround time, and the size of the final output.

Digital capture can help expedite the production process. We have completed projects where the assignment arrived on the same day that the final imagery was delivered. When very rapid turnaround is critical to the project, digital acquisition is often the ideal solution.

When it is known at the outset that the final product will be a large mural or backlit display, please let us know. We may recommend shooting with a very high resolution aerial digital mapping camera, or in some instances (if your budget is more limited) film, to ensure optimal quality for your project.

What are the imagery delivery options?

We will deliver imagery in any form that you request. Generally our clients request digital files or some form of print or transparency output.

Digital files can be delivered via email, if small enough or compressed enough, via ftp or via CD or DVD. If requesting digital files, it is useful for us to know the size of the file you need. You can express this in the format: inches x inches at dpi (e.g. 30" x 40" @ 150 dpi).

Prints can also be delivered on a large variety of media. Photographic prints using archival processes are designed to provide you with a print that resists fading over time. Other processes include inkjet processes can output to photo paper and many other surfaces, and laser output.