Make My Camera an "Extra Small" Please!

There's only so much real estate on or around your head for camera gear. The average Joe/Jane tandem camera person will fly a helmet with a 35 mm SLR and a miniDV video camera. Each camera can be mounted any number of ways, but the sum total of their weights is still enough to make your neck tired. The more advanced camera flyers involved in record jumps, night jumps, etc. are attaching more equipment in addition to the usual video and still cameras, such as lights and battery packs. Suddenly, the weight of the helmet goes from 5 or 6 pounds to 15 or 20 pounds. Aside from all the weight issues, there are the dozens of stories of snag incidents. The more junk you bolt to your melon, the more your chances increase for a line snag.

It's pretty cool to see an expert camera flyer with a finely configured helmet, but it's still scary to see the number of potential snag hazards and the amount weight balanced on that camera flyer's neck. Enter the "lipstick" or "bullet" camera. The bullet camera is simply the imaging sensor of a standard video camera mounted inside a groovy little metal tube. It has a lens at one end and a cable at the other. Most of the models available are only 50 to 70 mm in length and roughly the diameter of a nickel. Nowadays, the picture quality is basically equivalent to any miniDV consumer camcorder on the market. Some models include the ability to change lenses, filters, and mounting hardware.

First, a word on resolution and media (as in, recording media: tapes, DVD's, memory cards, etc.). We won't go into the bits and bytes or the exact specifics, just the general terms and numbers. (If you're a video expert, forgive the simplicity or lack of depth.) The standard format for video storage on today's small camcorders is "miniDV." The newer video recording technologies in camcorders are DVD disks and "microMV" tapes. DVD is great quality, but the jury is still out on whether a DVD camcorder will hold up well in freefall. The microMV tapes are tiny, to say the least, but microMV uses video compression to allow it to store an hour of video on a dinky little tape. The compression in microMV compromises the quality of the picture. The quality of microMV lies somewhere between miniDV and VHS. The miniDV standard stores frames of video at a resolution of 720 pixels by 480 lines. It, too, uses compression to store video, but doesn't sacrifice as much quality as microMV. miniDV is still a great choice overall for skydiving video. It's small and it provides great video quality.

Television in the US and some other countries is based on a standard called, "NTSC." NTSC defines a television screen's resolution to have 525 lines from top to bottom (the number of pixels across isn't really an issue here). The closer your camera gets to saving 525 lines of resolution, the more your video will look like a professional or "broadcast" quality picture on an NTSC television. For more details on the standards that define different video formats, do some searching on Google.com.

In order to replace your miniDV camcorder, you're going to want a bullet camera that at least matches the resolution and picture quality of your miniDV camera. There are several different resolutions available in bullet cameras. As of the writing of this article, 380 lines and 480 lines are typical. 380-line cameras contain 20% fewer lines of resolution than 480-line cameras. If the picture quality isn't that important to you, you might be interested in a 380-line model. This would be equivalent to a VHS, microMV, or maybe even a Hi8 recording. The ideal camera for the best quality is a camera capable of 480 lines of resolution (matching miniDV). The size of the little image sensor chip in the bullet camera also makes a difference in the clarity of the picture. Many lower resolution cameras use a quarter-inch chip. The better quality 480-line cameras use Sony's new third-inch chip, which is also happens to be capable of very low light and infrared (or "night vision") imaging. The bigger the image sensor, the more accurately it can differentiate between pixels in the picture that's coming through the lens. This equates to better contrast and color in the video. This is precisely why you see bigger lenses and imaging sections on professional cameras. A bigger imaging CCD is just like having more megapixels in the digital still camera world.

There are a couple of tiny cameras available specifically for skydiving Ranging in price from $360 to $900 and up, each with their own selection of accessories.

The "monkeyKamera," by monkeyKam, is based on Sony's ExView CCD chip and has an imaging resolution of 480 lines. It's the same chip technology found in late model Sony single-chip CCD camcorders. The monkeyKamera starts at $359, according to the web site. The other camera is the "SportsCam" from Mike Swain. The SportsCam is a "board" type mini camera that has a resolution of 380 lines of full color ("board camera" means that the circuitry and lens of the camera head are all mounted on a little circuit board in a little black box). The advertised price for the SportsCam is $899 and up. These tiny cameras weigh no more than 6 or 7 ounces and takes up very little space on your helmet. They add no noticeable weight in freefall.

The camera "head" (the bullet or the little black box with the lens) provides a video signal to an RCA-type connector, which is connected to your camcorder's A/V input jack. An extension cable runs up from the camcorder to your helmet. The connector at the collar or base of the helmet allows the cable to break away in case your helmet is lost in action.

Your camcorder is usually carried in a belly pouch and run in "VTR" or "VCR" mode. Camera kits typically include the hardware required to rig the camera head to most any helmet. Also included are a battery pack (batteries not included), connectors and cables, and even a pouch for your camcorder (check the manufacturer's web site for what is included in the base camera kit). Any "fanny" pack can be used for your camcorder, but check with the camera manufacturer for any custom built pouches they may offer. For instance, the "monkeyPak" from monkeyKam is a belly pouch that holds your camcorder, batteries, and switches for controlling the camcorder and bullet camera. The monkeyPak is specifically designed to make using your camcorder in a belly mount configuration easier. It gives easy access to the CamEye button and monkeyKamera power button, as well as a clear vinyl window that makes it easy to watch your camcorder's screen without having to remove it from the monkeyPak.

The bullet camera requires its own power. Power is usually supplied by a battery pack. Most bullet camera battery packs use 8 AA batteries to provide 12 volts of power to the camera head. In tests, Duracell NiMH rechargeable batteries purchased at a local retail store were used to power the monkeyKamera and were found to last over 10 hours of continuous use! In an average skydive, the camera will probably only be turned on for a few minutes, so a fully charged pack of batteries should last for weeks and weeks, if not months.

When flying a bullet camera, there's nothing new to learn, except for your procedures in the airplane. The CamEye is a great tool for controlling the camcorder without having to remove the camcorder from the belly pouch. An LED indicates the status of the camcorder (on, off, or recording). When you're waiting for the door to open, connect your helmet to the belly pouch cable, don the helmet, wake up your camcorder with the CamEye, turn on the bullet camera, wait for the door to open, then click the CamEye button to start recording and zip up your suit.

If you wish, you can even rig the CamEye to the outside of your jumpsuit through a button hole (or grommet) OR you can even wear your belly pouch on the outside of your suit. In this author's humble opinion, it's wiser to wear the pouch on the inside of the suit. Less is more on the outside of your suit and around your rig's handles, when it comes to safety.

Save your neck! Try a bullet camera and see how comfy freefall video can be. :)