When to start??

[bkoch 0]

Hey,

I'm interested in flying video. I want to start making skydiving at least pay for itself. Any ideas on what to buy? Where to buy it?

Also, I jump a Tri 160. Is that a good canopy to have while jumping a Camera?

Brad

[vdschoor 0]

Quote

Hey,

I'm interested in flying video. I want to start making skydiving at least pay for itself. Any ideas on what to buy? Where to buy it?

hmm.. you want to have skydiving pay for itself? Get a tandem rating, cause flying video will not pay for your skydiving my friend

Anyways.. what to buy, where to buy it... that's a really broad question, it all depends on what you want.
I would start off deciding how serious you want to get, that determines what kind of setup you are going to buy.... Do you want to go all out, get yourself a Flat Top Pro, if you just want to be able to do stills and video and nothing fancy.. look around for another camera helmet, read these forums and make up your mind as to what helmet you like, and what will work for you.

Where to buy it? There's a whole bunch of really good gear stores that will get you setup with the camera helmet, cam-eye, ringsights and all that..

In the camera department, go with a Sony video camera at least.. don't go with other brands.. why? Read these forums to find out.. sony is THE brand that people use in skydiving..

For stills.. make up your mind on which system you want to invest in, Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Kodak, Sigma,.. etc.. I am a Canon guy, but there's enough people that jump Nikon and other systems..

Most important after that is to be really current on your jumping before you strap anything on your head, and be really familiar with your gear.. It wouldn't hurt to use your camera on the ground for a month or so so you know the ins and outs of your gear.. Just walk out to the swoop pond or landing area and film your friends landing, try different things on the camera make sure you know where all the buttons are, BEFORE you strap it on your head.. The same thing goes for the still camera.. know your gear before you jump it!!

Where to get your camera gear? I am a loyal B&H Photo customer (www.bhphotovideo.com) but there are a lot of good camera stores around too..

Quote

Also, I jump a Tri 160. Is that a good canopy to have while jumping a Camera?

Brad

I started off jumping cameras when I had my Triathlon 190, a great canopy overall but I got rid of it after it slammed the #$^#$% out of me once and I had a sore neck for two weeks.. Overall a 7 cell canopy like the Triathlon (or the Spectre) is a great camera flyer canopy...

Again... be safe, get really current and most importantly.. be a proficient flyer in the discipline you are going to be filming..
If your bellyflying is only so so... get some more belly jumps in before filming RW formations.. If your freeflying is only so so.. get some more freefly jumps in before starting to film freefly jumps..

Be safe!

Iwan

[bkoch 0]

Thanks for the reply.

So how much would all this stuff cost me brand new and used, since I am starting from scratch?? Is it a good idea to buy used?

-B

[vdschoor 0]

Quote

Thanks for the reply.

So how much would all this stuff cost me brand new and used, since I am starting from scratch?? Is it a good idea to buy used?

-B

Hmm.. you know.. I don't really want to add up what it costs.. ha ha.. cause that would be a really harsh reality check for myself too..

You can go the used route, most of my stuff was new when I bought it, but I have bought some backup cameras used off of eBay, you just have to be careful who you buy from.

For me, this is roughly the equipment that I use for freefall stuff, you can find the prices on the internet and add them up for yourself

Bonehead Flat Top Pro
Canon Digital Rebel
Canon Elan 7E
Canon EF 28mm F2.8
Sigma EX 15mm F2.8
Sony TRV17
Cam Eye
Brent Finley's cross sight

I have a bunch more that I use for ground stuff, or special jumps but I think this is the minimum setup that I needed to get into the tandem video rotation (we had to have a film and a digital still capability last year, we have now switched to digital only)

Iwan

[FlyinseivLP2 0]

Don't agree with you that video can't pay for your skydiving. It paid for mine for about 5 years and that was at small DZ. Of course it depends on what type of video you are doing, how much you put into it and other factors. But surely shooting video can pay for your skydivng.

[Superfletch 1]

I don't know if I can agree with this statement myself. I would put it more like this... Flying camera will pay for flying camera. :) I make money shooting video, but I usually end up spending the money I make paying for more video and camera equipment. I suppose you could make money shooting video but you would have to do a whole lot of it and not have any camera accidents and such. It is real expensive to fly video and do it right. If you want to make money skydivnig then get a tandem rating. That's where the cash is at, otherwise, good luck making enough to at least pay for your jumps and such. My .02

Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher
D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I
Videographer/Photographer

[vdschoor 0]

Quote

I don't know if I can agree with this statement myself. I would put it more like this... Flying camera will pay for flying camera. :) I make money shooting video, but I usually end up spending the money I make paying for more video and camera equipment. I suppose you could make money shooting video but you would have to do a whole lot of it and not have any camera accidents and such. It is real expensive to fly video and do it right. If you want to make money skydivnig then get a tandem rating. That's where the cash is at, otherwise, good luck making enough to at least pay for your jumps and such. My .02

That's what I meant.. If I compare what I spent on equipment, maintenance of the equipment, wear and tear on your OWN gear all that together, it helps pay for some of your skydiving, but for me certainly not for all of it...

Iwan

[rhys 0]

i don't agree either you can only speak for yourself, it really depends on where you are. i ean around 50k a year doing tandem video/stills only. i have an a.f.f. rating but havn't started using it yet.
i could do my tandem rating and earn a little more but that would be soul destroying.

i don't agree that sony is the best for skydiving anymore there are plenty of good cameras on the market and sonys cameras are increasingly less skydiver friendly. i would however suggest a sony(older model) trv 18 if you do go for the top mount as they are the most user frendly cameras i have used. don't get a touch screen you will spend all your ride flicking through menus. external buttons are the best.

pentax mz50 is a great camera for skydiving. there is an easy accessed on/off switch so you can turn your camera on with your helmet on and check if you arent sure. the battery indicater actually gives you plenty (more than 10 jumps) warning that it is running out unlike the canons that tell you when you take the first shot then just die completely.

a great cheap fish eye lens to star with is called a mz-zenitar 16mm, they only cost us$125 and make very nice photos especially if you have good scenery around. they are a fully manuel lens so you will have to learn about f stop etc. wich is a good thing rather than having the lens do all the work for you.

another great function on the pentax mz50 i just remembered is you can change the shutter speed easily(in freefall) with a quick tap of a swivel button, great for when you go through a cloud layer.

good luck, go hard and listen to everything anybody is willing to tell you. do 'research' and don't nessecerily buy something because heaps of people use them. people are like sheep alot of the time. ask people what they don't like about a product and try and get what is best for you.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[DaGimp 0]

as you can see, you will get 50 diffrent opinions with every technical aspect of anything just to show you cost of a set up.........cause unlike iwan i have already come t orealize how much mine cost.

BH Flat Top Pro-$560
Cannon Digi rebel-$1000
Sony TRV-22-$650
Royal Lens .5 Wide Angel-$180
Cam Eye II-$45
Articulated Ring Site-$125
Newton Ring Site-$125
550 EX Speedlight Flash-$450
Off Shoe Cable-$60
Tongue Switch-$30


total for my camera set up....at time of purchase.

$3225


and that dosent count, helmet paint job, new lens, filters, replacement bite/tongue/blow switches, gafers tape, audible altimeters........

"Professor of Pimpology"~~~Bolas

[ltdiver 3]

Quote

$3225


and that dosent count, helmet paint job, new lens, filters, replacement bite/tongue/blow switches, gafers tape, audible altimeters........

And 2nd rigs, 'cause everybody and their uncle want you to do video/still of them (for free)...



ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[DaGimp 0]

Quote

Quote

$3225


and that dosent count, helmet paint job, new lens, filters, replacement bite/tongue/blow switches, gafers tape, audible altimeters........

And 2nd rigs, 'cause everybody and their uncle want you to do video/still of them (for free)...



ltdiver

yeah well...i didnt get into rigs, camera suits, batteries, chargers, film (if shooting film)........

the list goes on forever

"Professor of Pimpology"~~~Bolas

[quade 3]

There's a very old joke about the "secret" to making a small fortune in aviation . . . applies to camera flying as well . . . start with a large one.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[DaGimp 0]

Quote

There's a very old joke about the "secret" to making a small fortune in aviation . . . applies to camera flying as well . . . start with a large one.

very true......now dont get us wrong, not all of us do it to make money.....yeah we would like to....but most of us actually enjoy flying video....if you dont enjoy it, you wont push yourself to be better at it.

"Professor of Pimpology"~~~Bolas

[vdschoor 0]

Rhys,

You're obviously at a busier dropzone than I am, and probably doing this fulltime.

Regarding the camera brands.. I got into this a little over 2 years ago, and had some very experienced camera people as my mentors, and this is the story they told me, and I had very good experiences sticking to that.. So that's what I passed on to the topic starter.

I know some people make a decent living out of flying video, I also know some very well known camera fliers that struggle to make ends meet living just off of skydiving... and that's where my comments come from.

If I could MAKE 50K a year skydiving, I'd retire from my dayjob right now...
Did you take all the wear and tear on your equipment into account? 2nd rigs, repacks all that...

[NSEMN8R 0]

Quote

i could do my tandem rating and earn a little more but that would be soul destroying.

Why??

[lewmonst 0]

is that american dollars? or what is the equivalent in american dollars?


peace
lew

http://www.exitshot.com

[DaGimp 0]

lew.....not to get off topic....but is that you doing the tandem in your avatar?

"Professor of Pimpology"~~~Bolas

[ltdiver 3]

Quote

lew.....not to get off topic....but is that you doing the tandem in your avatar?

With her mom, no less!

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[DaGimp 0]

sweet...never knew she was a TM....

Quote

The picture's really cool

let me guess....you took the pic?

"Professor of Pimpology"~~~Bolas

[ltdiver 3]

Quote

sweet...never knew she was a TM....

Quote

The picture's really cool

let me guess....you took the pic?

I wish! But, sadly no.

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[BETO74 0]

Whaoooo... thats pretty impresive considering you have 2000 jumps divided by 3 yrs in the sport thats 667+/- jumps a year times $60 average earning per jump = $40,020

Thats if all the jumps you made were Tandem video no fun jumps or anything beyond that.

I don't do tandems for a living more than to pay for the beers at the end of the day so take it for what is worth.
I will say you will have to do a well rounded skydiver meaning do tandems even pack jobs AFF to make that kind of money.

http://web.mac.com/ac057a/iWeb/AC057A/H0M3.html

[lewmonst 0]

Quote

Quote

lew.....not to get off topic....but is that you doing the tandem in your avatar?

With her mom, no less!

As Lori said, yes, thanks. I'm really proud of my mom, not just because she jumped, but because she really is an awesome person. So it's that much cooler to be able to take her in the sky with me. That was and will probably be my favorite jump ever.
Gimpy I've been doing tandems since last August, I've done about 180 so far. Good stuff.

Lori, you can come shoot photos of me anytime :) And I'll shoot some of you.

peace
lew

http://www.exitshot.com

[ltdiver 3]

Quote

Lori, you can come shoot photos of me anytime :) And I'll shoot some of you.

Cool!

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[rhys 0]

Quote

In Reply To
i could do my tandem rating and earn a little more but that would be soul destroying.


Why??

at my dropzone if you get your tandem rating then that is what you do. you become a full time drouge whore you get grumpy and have to watch the photographers fly their bodies while you hang underneath a drouge. when the photographer has photos only from 15k then yopu have to mwatch them freefly for 15-20 seconds while you hang under a drouge.

this is just my opinion as many find tandems fullfilling.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

• Quote

[rhys 0]

Quote

is that american dollars? or what is the equivalent in american dollars?


peace
lew

hi lew,

that is in new zealand dollars we get 72 cents u.s. for our dollar at the mo. i think? you do the maths

drouge whores get a bit more

blue skies

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

• Quote