Auto Camra for Balloons

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Inexpensive Automatic Balloon Camera for Taking Aerial Photos

This shows a disposable camera rigged with balsa wood and rubber bands. It is hung from helium balloons You can buy a small tank of helium at your party store for about $20) by a "hang thread". The hang thread is tied around a "slow fuse". The rubber bands push the "shutter lever" down on the shutter. A length of "stop thread" prevents the lever from pressing the shutter. The stop thread is tied around the a second slow fuse. Cut the stop slow fuse to be shorter than the hang fuse so that the camera will snap the photo and then the camera will then be set free to fall to the ground. Light the fuse and release the balloons. Practice with the length of fuse and how fast your balloons rise to determined the height at which your aerial photo will be taken. The fuse used was made from cotton cord soaked in a saturated solution of saltpeter. Soak the cord overnight and then hang to dry. Cut into short lengths this fuse burns very slow. Use only just after a rain. Do not use in dry conditions as the fuse glows and could start a fire if the lit fuse fell onto dry grass.

Camera lifting off

Photo taken with a tethered balloon.