Best HD Video Camera for Flight Videos

Long ago I had reason to learn some motion picture matte-box tricks which might be adapted to this problem. If you positioned a neutral density gel in front of the camera lens with a cutout in the shape of the panel, brighter light from outside the cockpit would pass through the filter but the dim reflected light from the panel would not thus allowing the correct exposure for each. Gel filters are just thin plastic sheets of high optical quality available in a wide range of colors and neutral density "stops". Of course, matte-box tricks requires the camera to be securely mounted.

Hi Bill, I've done a lot of this over the years with large format still (film) cameras up to 8x10 view cameras. The problem is these little video cameras have tons of inherent depth of focus such that you would see the edges of the ND gel pretty sharp even with the gel almost on the lens. This techniques depends on the gel being out of focus so that it blends in. It would also be difficult to get everything lined up with out a monitor. To solve this, there are a myriad of graduated filters on the market like Cokin, Tiffin etc. (ND on the top blending to clear on the bottom). It would not wrap around the panel like cutting a gel, but would make a more general effect that might work. Here is a plus for the Replay. Replay offers an adapter that facilitates the use of a filter. Might take some custom work to make a small graduated filter thought.

Good thoughts though. I have tons of old ND gels hanging around. I'm going to experiment a little. I might be able to mount a hinged graduated filter over the front of my GoPro mount.

A photographers job is always battling with real world light which can be 20 stops of range, and figuring out how to capture into the cameras 10 stop range. There are lots of solutions. Reflectors, HDR, supplemental lights to fill shadows, polarizing filters, graduated filters, waiting for different daylight, shooting overcast days, changing angle to the sun. Probably forgot a few. ... Aaron