What's a Balloon Cam?

To take pictures from high up I bought a 1.2GHz wireless pinhole camera from CyberGuys.com

I attach the camera (powered by a 9V battery) to a 3 foot latex balloon that I found at Party Depot for $4 empty, $6 filled with Helium.

I also bought a few extra balloons and a cylinder of helium so I could fill my own. It's more expensive that way, but since the latex balloons leak down over a couple of days, you can start with a fresh balloon without having to make another run to Party Depot.

Then I attach the balloon to a fishing rod with heavy line and wait for the wind to calm down. On the ground I have the 1.2GHz camera reciever and my Archos AV420 video recorder to record the fun.

So for under a hundred bucks you can capture really neat photos, like this one of our old house in Aloha.