Newbie with CX-150 - need advice

[240d 0]

I have been waiting a LONG time to do a balloon or hovering helicopter jump. I will have the chance this Thursday to jump out of a hovering helicopter onto a beach! I'm very excited and want to get this on film. I JUST bought a CX-150 with a Liquid 5 wide angle lens. I did a search for "CX-150" and found that people are using the standard mode for steady shot and manual focus. Does anyone have a check list for all the different features? Which format should I be recording in HD/STD? Will face recognition for the still photos affect the video recording?

Any advice for a first timer jumping this camera from a hovering helicopter?

Any lessons learned, tips, advice, help will be greatly appreciated. I am very excited about this opportunity and would like to do everything I can do to prepare for a good video of it.

[PharmerPhil 0]

Well you have the jump numbers to consider starting to add a camera. But adding a camera for the first time on a unique skydive kinda violates the "only-one-new-thing-at-a-time" rule. I would strongly advise using the camera (a lot) on jumps you are already familiar with first. Too many new distractions for one jump IMHO...

[240d 0]

I understand you point of "only one new thing at a time".

Can you make recommendations for just the camera then? We will be making "normal" free fall jumps as well.

[Cyrus79 0]

Here's a list of feature settings written by Trunk for the CX-100...I'm assuming most will apply to the CX-150.

http://www.gethypoxic.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/61-cx100.html

[Icon134 0]

I hate to say it but your best bet is to talk to other local videographers for advice...

Although I'm sure you have looked at it there is also a lot of great information about camera flying in the FAQ at the top of this forum...

as far as settings go there's really no end all be all answer to the settings that you have to use.

The link posted above written by Trunk has a lot of good information.

things like SD/HD all depend on what you plan to do with the footage after you shoot...

For example: At my DZ in Ohio I always shot in HD whether I was shooting tandems or fun jumps... however in at the current DZ they can't work with HD footage and thus I have to switch over to SD... There's nothing inherently wrong with shooting in SD but I perfer having HD footage... and have a computer that can work with it...

As for other settings:

Most people disable autofocus but it has to be done every morning since it resets every 12 hours.

I believe most people disable face recognition/Smile shutter as it can affect autofocus as well.

Finally, This sort of thing (camera settings) is discussed regularly so you might try searching for ideas...

Finally, have fun and be safe.

Scott

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...