A New Eye in the Sky

After a loooong time – spent mainly resting after the phenomenal experience of organising the International Kite Festival IKF Slovenia 2022 in Murska Sobota – we went back to our beloved Ljubljana Marshes. We wanted to get back into the KAP game, to check out the behaviour of a new delta (called Cindy in honour of Mrs Lauper-Thornton) and especially to test a new camera: an Insta360.

As the area near the village of Ig is a prime archaeological site – there are remains of four distinct prehistoric pile dwellings here, now part of the UNESCO world heritage site Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps – we lofted the Pentax IR mod camera for some kite aerial reconnaissance, and our regular Canon A810 to check it out.

Multispectral shot (near-infrared, green, blue) of the river Ižica. Modified Pentax WG-10 on a Rokkaku kite.
River Ižica menadering slowly in the shade of the trees. Canon A810 on The Spark rokkaku.

The near-infrared check did not reveal much, and the top-down shots by the Canon were just like all of those we did before, so we were expecting a lot from the Insta360 …

… and it performed.

A view across Ižica river and the cornfields of Ljubljana Marshes towards the village of Ig and the deep forests of Krim, Mokrec, and others beyond. Insta360 on the Cindy delta

After some fun with the camera smartphone app – damn technology! – the little big machine was in the air and shooting away at the Marshes … the incredible angle of view, the Leica lens, the one inch sensor … The views through this incredible eye in the sky are truly amazing:

Across the Marshes towards Ljubljana and the Alps
The Marshes
An intrepid KAPer
Ig village under Krim mountain
River Ižica
Why Cindy delta is named Cindy

All in all, the Insta360 camera proved to be a great KAP asset. The image quality is great, the wide angle of view is perfect for both lower-level, precision shots of smaller targets, and for expansive views from high above. Looking forward to doing more KAP sessions with it! 🙂

1 thought on “A New Eye in the Sky”

Leave a comment