Choose a camera for aerial photography

Image from Ebay seller Goodwill Maine

Reposted and updated from parts of https://publiclab.org/wiki/balloon-mapping-materials and https://publiclab.org/wiki/camera-selection

Philosophy: these days, you can just go for the cheapest camera and get decent image quality.

1. Search for a used 10mp+ camera for as little as $10, typically between $20 and $40 on Google or Ebay
2. Make sure the camera has a continuous shooting mode so that when we send it into the air with the button mashed down, the camera will continue taking photos every second or so.
3. Consider what kind of battery the camera has: when buying a used camera with a proprietary rechargeable battery, there is always a chance that the battery will be worn out and unsuitable for long flights of interval shooting. This is especially true if the camera is a very old model. The Canon A490 takes standard AA batteries which is helpful when simply being outside might prevent you from recharging the custom battery.
4. Buy the camera!