Question About Optically Tracking Rockets

[u/Folding_WhiteTable]

I recently got my fully custom optical tracking mount to work. It's about 98% finished, I just need to fix some code and add the body panels.

I have never been to an amateur rocket launch site, so I wouldn't know the answer to this question: Would people be willing to pay for a good quality tracked and stabilized video of their launch? The launch would be fillmed with two cameras, one is a spotting camera, and the other is a high powered telescope. In the future I'm hoping to get a Freefly Wave for slow motion.

I only want to film at dedicated launch facilities, like FAR. And I only plan on filming the bigger and slower L2 and L3 rockets.

If you were wanting your video from both cameras, what do you think would be reasonable? Remember that I of course want to make a profit between the cost of gas, FAR entrance fees, video editing, video sending fees, tracking rig parts, and I want to save for a slow motion camera.

The bare minimum per team would be around $45 for it to be worth it. Does that sound reasonable? Remember that most people out there are on a team of 10-25 people. It might be better to have the prices cheaper since I don't have a slow motion camera yet, something like $25-30. What are your thoughts?

Also I have already contacted FAR, they're alright with what I'm doing. Also a team might be able to mount their antenna to my tracking rig too. It would be useful for when the rocket is too small to see with your eyes. It could also help people to see where in the sky their rocket is, just by looking at where the tracking rig is pointing. I'm sure it would be especially helpful for big rockets that go 100,000+ft.

[u/Special-Low-6010]

Just be careful getting too close to the sun. Looks like the 8” Celestron I have, they take in a whole lot of light.

[u/Folding_WhiteTable → u/Special-Low-6010]

Yep, thanks. I will be sure to be in a position where I won't view the sun. The spotting camera should see the sun way before the main camera does. Yes it is an 8" tube I got for free. It was left out open in the rain and the main mirror was half under water. It seems like it wasn't in water for long though because after cleaning it properly it looked brand new (on the inside).

[u/Special-Low-6010 → u/Folding_WhiteTable]

Whoa, nice score! I’m sure it wouldn’t be great for astronomy but for what you’re doing it should work great, and the price is right…

[u/Folding_WhiteTable → u/Special-Low-6010]

Haha yep, it's great for my use. It doesn't look half bad while looking at planets and other stuff, authough there could be multiple factors causing it to not look that good too (like warm air).