Lens for filming from helicopter? Vegas Strip.

Wassup fellow Nikonites! I will be taking a helicopter ride in Vegas in August and I would like to film the trip, I am not sure on which lens would give me a great video shot in the helicopter with enough zoom and sharpness that can handle the lighting in the helicopter but that would capture the skyline clearly. I currently have No VR lenses so I am not sure how they perform, can some of my fellow nikon lovers help me out here? There will be no flashes or lights allowed on the helicopter so I know that a lens with a strong low light capability would be needed. I am looking to spend around $800 maximum. Thanks in advance.

I've not shot from a chopper, but based on you having a D7000 and a budget of $800, I'd suggest a AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED. They go for about $600.

VR has little to no effect if you are on a chopper although some lenses such as the Nikon 16-85mm VR zoom lens has an active mode that you can set when riding on a moving vehicle. Depending on the time of the day, the better or ideal lens would be a wide angle lens. Bob Krist and Joe McNally have done this with great success. Here is a documentary video to give you an idea.

Funny you should mention taking pics from a helicopter. My buddy and I are in a business called New Heights Photography, and we use a hexacopter (remote control). My buddy Andy flies the hexacopter, while I handle the picture taking. Here are a few shots of what we do, and one picture of me handling the remote console taking the pictures. I was too close to the 'copter when it was landing, so I'm not exactly in focus! lol

Funny you should mention taking pics from a helicopter. My buddy and I are in a business called New Heights Photography, and we use a hexacopter (remote control). My buddy Andy flies the hexacopter, while I handle the picture taking. Here are a few shots of what we do, and one picture of me handling the remote console taking the pictures. I was too close to the 'copter when it was landing, so I'm not exactly in focus! lol



View attachment 12923

View attachment 12924

View attachment 12922

Camera Maker: NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model: NIKON D700
Lens: 17.0-35.0 mm f/2.8
Image Date: 2012-06-29
Focal Length: 17mm (35mm equivalent: 17mm)
Aperture: f/5.0
Exposure Time: 0.0008 s (1/1250)
ISO equiv: 200
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: shutter priority (semi-auto)
White Balance: Manual
Light Source: Fine Weather
Flash Fired: No
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined
Photographer: Jack Thomas
Hexacopter Pilot: Andreas Isaak
Copyright: New Heights Aerial Photography
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.0 (Macintosh)

Those are some nice shots @ fotojack! How would it look at night? with less light? The video would be at night but the Vegas skyline should definitely allow for some great shots, more interested in the video aspect though. @Gqtuazon those shots they took of US Bank were awesome and would be exactly what I am looking to capture, I am not sure what lens they shot with though and he is using a d3x a lot more power than my 7k. Can you advise, thanks.

Ask Graham Uden, he knows!

Aerial Photography Challenge - feat. Graham Uden & Porsche 964 Speedster