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[bohemian]

The Dream:  That my wife and I float from a tethered hot-air balloon at an elevation over our property that enables us to see the mountains around us that are just out of view from the ground (building a lookout tower tall enough to clear the forest seemed a spendy and complicated option).  I estimate we'll have to be 75-150' up, given that hiking that much uphill on neighboring land provided the inspiration.  A passenger balloon requires a pilot's license, and a fair amount of expense - so....

Trial Balloon time - I ordered a 10' diameter helium balloon under which I wish to mount a controllable camera.  There will be a tether to the balloon, so running wire up that is feasible (though total weight the balloon has to support is the limitation - it will lift approx 40# including the tether line and other wiring).  I'll gratefully welcome the advice of real user's and those familiar with available technology as far as suggesting which camera(s), but please understand that my goal is to be able to obtain as excellent an image (or video) quality possible, and perhaps some choices of telephoto lenses.  I'd rather pay more for exactly what I want over 'saving' money and being frustrated; so maybe it's okay to entertain the 'cost is no object' mindset when offering suggestions - at least I'll be able to choose from a range of products.  I'm probably not in the market for an Imax 360'-view camera like the kind they mount under a plane or helicopter (or hot air balloon!)... I'd really appreciate your suggestions!
Thanks.

[Brian H]

This is a web site where the users had modified X10 cameras in things like model planes and helicopters.
May give you a rough idea on what X10 cameras can do. Sounds like you may want to go for a better resolution.

http://www.rc-cam.com/

[dave w]

My suggestion is: Don't think about X10. They are security grade cameras, not Hi Def grade.

[HA Dave]

From what I've seen on YouTube when people float balloons They are using (although not expense) little HighDef video cameras.

You wouldn't be able to view live. But after the balloon was lowered you could put it's memory card (they use camera memory cards... not tape) in a player, computer, or digital picture frame to view the "show".

[bohemian]

Thank you for responding!  I'm realizing I've discovered the tip of another technology iceberg so it'll be a few days for me to get up to speed on what's available, in order to better figure out what it is I want to accomplish.  I looked over the rc-cam site and the utube balloon vids, that's pretty much what I had in mind, but with finer camera control from a relatively fixed point.  The live feed and ability to move the camera in response to something I might see is a feature I prefer, so that may limit my options accordingly.  And I hadn't even considered night-vision (or infra-red or other freqs) until I popped in here...
Thanks again.