Tandem Handcams The battle!

[skydiveoc 0]

The guys that dont understand the hand cam dont see the cash TM's are now making is now respectable. I mean, I do handy's and I make $1500 - $2500 per week. And thats only doing 15-30 tandems per week. Compared when I was making maybe $800 being a AFF, TM, Vid full time staff member using my own equipment( except for tandems.)

With the PC 330, 350 and 1000, stills are now a reality and will only get better. I use this camera with a century optics lens and my 4x 6's come out pretty sweet. Every vid that doesnt sell I spec stills and sell almost 75% for $25.

It is only a matter of time before there is a PC camcorder with a 6 MP still grab from video and there is your video and stills.

As far as getting some work for the guy in Ohio, try and market the single tandem student for the combined view. Couples almost always want to go together and will settle for the handcam.

josh

[PhreeZone 19]

Nothing is grabbing at higher then NTSC resolution of 720*480 off any DV tape unless you are shooting in HD-DV. Megapixels only matter if you switch out of video mode and into stills mode. Not very practial to do in freefall since it will turn off the video. The captures from an old PC 1 are the same quality as a new PC1000 (minus some filtering on chip to boost sharpness). Increasing your megapixels to capture off of DV tape is a complete waste of money.

Lonnie, I feel for you. I've still got an 8*10 you took of me in the water at SGC on my wall.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[riggerrob 627]

Agreed, I never thought about pushing old-school videographers out of business when I started doing hand-cam, rather I was just trying to make a living. Trying to make a living as a full-time skydiver in Canada is not easy. Even when doing tandems, PFF, rigging, IAD, sweeping hangars, etc. I am not getting wealthy.

For example, last year I made $10,500 doing tandems.
This year - if I sell 1/3 of my hand-cam videos, - I will make an extra $4800, just enough to pay off my credit card debt.

On a good day, I can more than double my pay just by selling a few handy-cam videos.


The other reason I do handy-cam is that we are always short of videographers. I does not matter whether it is a slow Wednesday or a busy Saturday, we always get more requests than we have old-school videographers.

Our best outside videographer and I have agreed to share footage for the "ultimate video" but none of our students have "anted up" for his $90 fee plus my $70 fee.

[tdsnyr99 0]

Lonnie, We've been friends for a long time. My question is why are you letting Chuckles run you out? I'm pretty pissed about this whole thing. More so because you're letting Chuck stay there and take over the video concession and you not doing anything about it.....................Get him out!! If you remember I did it last year.........T

[diverds 0]

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none of our students have "anted up" for his $90 fee plus my $70 fee.

$70 for handcam? I've seen some really cool handcam angles, but on it's own I could never justify charging a customer that much. At our dz $85 gets you outside video on DVD with quality editing including music and personalized titles, and still pictures to boot. This whole handcam thing gives me the same feeling as Skyride does. "How can we make more money by giving our customers less service?"

Skydive Radio

[velocityphoto 0]

I'm working on it but the dz isnt ! We all want rid of him ,i just can't believe rodger let's him crap all over us and get away with it ! It's degrading to us . Billy told him the other day that nobody likes him ,too funny!

A friend will bail you out of jail , a REAL friend will be sitting next to you in the cell slapping your hand saying "DUDE THAT WAS AWSUM " ................

[linestretch 0]

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none of our students have "anted up" for his $90 fee plus my $70 fee.

$70 for handcam? I've seen some really cool handcam angles, but on it's own I could never justify charging a customer that much. At our dz $85 gets you outside video on DVD with quality editing including music and personalized titles, and still pictures to boot. This whole handcam thing gives me the same feeling as Skyride does. "How can we make more money by giving our customers less service?"

that's canadian dude.....conversion rates equel out

my pics & stuff!

[FlyinseivLP2 0]

I like the idea of trying to sell to the tandems with no video at all. We have to many of these for some reason. How much would a glove for my TRV 19 cost?
I don't want to push any video guys out, just make some extra cash when they don't wan't video and maybe an extra $10 to add that view to their outside video.

[NSEMN8R 0]

Well, if you're sure you want to sell your soul and ruin your dropzone, you could ask riggerrob to make you one He did mine for $180. I've only had it for a month or so and its paid for it's self over and over already. Plus it's a cool as hell toy. I wear it on all kinds of jumps freeflying, wingsuit...coach jumps...even outside video jumps. Sometimes the video sucks but sometimes you get some pretty cool shit. I had some nasty spinning line twists last weekend that made for some pretty interesting video. Handcams rock.

Actually, it sounds like velocityphoto has more of a problem with someone being a dickhead than with handcams. Hope it works out for you over there man..

[velocityphoto 0]

You hit it right on the head bro! It's not so much the hand cam as it is 1 of our asshole tm's!

A friend will bail you out of jail , a REAL friend will be sitting next to you in the cell slapping your hand saying "DUDE THAT WAS AWSUM " ................

[velocityphoto 0]

Yo tommy! I see your profile says 1500 jumps? teee heeeee wonder what this means??

A friend will bail you out of jail , a REAL friend will be sitting next to you in the cell slapping your hand saying "DUDE THAT WAS AWSUM " ................

[CTSkydiver 0]

Well, damn. I'm pretty surprised none of you hand-cammers have bothered mounting a still to the other hand. You got two, don't yah? Can't you squeeze a few more bucks out of the jump? What'd I read earlier, $25 for a 4x6 print from a video source? Wa-hoo! Bleed 'em, dude!

[riggerrob 627]

that's canadian dude.....conversion rates equal out

[riggerrob 627]

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I like the idea of trying to sell to the tandems with no video at all. We have to many of these for some reason. How much would a glove for my TRV 19 cost?
I don't want to push any video guys out, just make some extra cash when they don't want video and maybe an extra $10 to add that view to their outside video.

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Good points.
Officially, I "spec" all my own tandems and sell to about 1/3 of my customers.
On slow Wednesdays - when there are no outside videographers - manifest sometimes tells me: "strap on your camera because this student already paid for a video."
When we have enough outside videographers, manifest usually sends them with other TIs, but we always run short of outside videographers on busy days.
Feast or famine ... can't win.
Hee!
Hee!

PM sent

[NSEMN8R 0]

Great idea!

Hey Riggerrob-- Can ya sew me up one for my 300D? I wonder if conceptus would make me an extra long tongue switch?

I know what you mean though. What kind of people would actually try to make money off of their customers? We all better be careful or people are going to think we're all some kind of capitalists or something.

[riggerrob 627]

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Great idea!

Hey Riggerrob-- Can ya sew me up one for my 300D? I wonder if conceptus would make me an extra long tongue switch?

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As soon as I figure out what a 300D looks like.
Hee!
Hee!

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[riggerrob 627]

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Well, damn. I'm pretty surprised none of you hand-cammers have bothered mounting a still to the other hand. You got two, don't yah? Can't you squeeze a few more bucks out of the jump? What'd I read earlier, $25 for a 4x6 print from a video source? Wa-hoo! Bleed 'em, dude!

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You are third person to ask about mounting digital still camera on your wrist.
The difficulty is that we are competing with first-rate digital SLRS, which produce great images and are finally fast enough to work in freefall. Unfortunately digital SLRs are just too big to share a Handy-Mount with a MiniDV video camera.
Still features on MiniDv cameras are lack the resolution of digital SLRs.
I also looked at cigarette pack-sized point-and-shoot cameras, but they will not accept after-market lenses and are far too slow for high speed sports (i.e. 3 seconds between frames).
In another 2 or 3 years, we expect that digital point-and-shoot cameras will be small enough and fast enough fro Handy-Mounts. Alternately, by then MiniDV cameras may take good enough still pictures to eliminate the need for a second camera.

[AggieDave 6]

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Alternately, by then MiniDV cameras may take good enough still pictures to eliminate the need for a second camera.

Stills from video are limited by the video, they're not going to get to the resolution folks will want for nice photos.

So as the ability to act as a still camera independent from the video improves, you have a chance...if you want to reach over and hit that little-assed button on the side of the camera every time you want to take a picture.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[stratostar 5]

Did you ever stop to ask your selfs why is it that EVERY DZ in the state of ohio and some in Indiana and MI have run Chuck "inbreadhillbillyjackass" B.
off their dz's!
Maybe you should point this out to your dzo.
Not to forget all the students he has hurt over the years and stupid stunts while doing TDM's.
This guy should never have got a TM rating, but thanks to a dzo who just signed off his paper work, we (well you) are stuck with this clown.
You should call around and ask you would be surprised to hear some of the unsafe shit he has done or,
I guess you could just shoot him and be done with it.

~

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[velocityphoto 0]

Hey bro we know all about him and his bullshit ! It's our dzo that let him come back to haunt us! (inbread now that's funny)
I know he got K O'D at xenia for his bull.just wish i coulda been there to see it..

A friend will bail you out of jail , a REAL friend will be sitting next to you in the cell slapping your hand saying "DUDE THAT WAS AWSUM " ................

[stratostar 5]

Gee wiz an unsafe dickhead now with a video on his hand, that will make him safer, NOT! Oh well at least
there will a record of some kind the next time he breaks someones leg or hookturns into a parking lot.

I feel for you man having to be in the same state let a lone the same dz with old chuck'o.
I hate to say it but it sounds to me like the dzo (I've never met him) is stupid or just fucked in the head, it would be a good idea to find a new home dz
if the dzo let him back and puts up with his crap, well that says a lot, he don't care, sounds to me if you like it or not, stay or go.
If chuck'o is (as I know he is) pissing off and driving everyone on staff nuts (nobody can stand him!)
Then ALL of you need to pack your shit up and leave
And let your dzo and chuck'o do all the work.
In one week your phone will be ringing,if it's not well then you'll be better off and happy jumping where your 8yrs of loyalty might carry some weight, maybe.
If not you know what they say, "can't beat um, join them", I think you can sign up for a class to be more like chuck'o, but you have to drive to Kentucky!

`

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[velocityphoto 0]

So ol chuckles broke a someones leg? I'd love to hear this story?And hooked it into a parking lot,i take it this was a demo he did it on ? He's got a crossfire 139 he just got ,maybe he'll hook it into the ground for a crowd pleaser.He seems to think he can swoop now.

A friend will bail you out of jail , a REAL friend will be sitting next to you in the cell slapping your hand saying "DUDE THAT WAS AWSUM " ................

[stratostar 5]

So ol chuckles broke a someones leg?(quote)

Seen him bust two in one day from flairing to high.
And at least 3 others that I have seen first hand, all were tdm's.

And hooked it into a parking lot (quote)

Yep 3 yrs ago at the richmond boogie last load of the day dipshit was out deep (TDM ) and didn't take any of the MANY out's that are around, but kept on running
down wind till the last few feet then hooked the TDM into the day parking lot (full of cars) and stopped just short taking out one.
Then that night he got into his C-206 and took off in front of the fbo on the taxiway got airborne and did a 180 and buzzed the party at about 100ft off the deck. Not cool to do at a city owned airport when the mgr is watching EVERYTHING and taking notes.
Need less to say he won't be getting ANY work there anytime soon, however he could jump there, but everyone hates his guts and can't stand him, won't work with him or jump with him or ride in the same plane with him!

He's got a crossfire 139 he just got ,maybe he'll hook it into the ground for a crowd pleaser.He seems to think he can swoop now. (quote)


Or more like take out someone under canopy because the dude has and always will have his head up his ass, with out a snorkel even for fresh air.
I sure wish you luck with your losing battle, you can't win with a dumbass like chuck'o and you can't tell a fool their a fool!
So till your dzo sees the light you should get out, travel, see the world, or just your little corner of it and have some fun, life is to short to have your corn flakes pissed on by some turd.
Stop in over at SWC I know you would get fair work
Yea a long drive I know, so what.....


~

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[riggerrob 627]

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So ol chuckles broke a someones leg? I'd love to hear this story?And hooked it into a parking lot,i take it this was a demo he did it on ? He's got a crossfire 139 he just got ,maybe he'll hook it into the ground for a crowd pleaser.He seems to think he can swoop now.

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His cousin used to work at Pitt Meadows.
The boss loved him because he did lots work for free (carpentry, mowing the grass, etc.).
Some students loved him because he had the 45 minute IAD course down pat and all of his students passed every level, regardless of performance.

The rest of the staff hated him because he never tightened his leg straps before take off, introduced a wide variety of new PFF hand signals, never flew the regular landing pattern, etc.

Funny how I procrastinated about finishing my first Handy-Mount until the boss fired him for breaking a spectator's arm.
... don't know why that took so long ...

Idiots get fired in the long run. Our challenge is to maintain our professionalism when every bone in our bodies wants to choke the life out of the fools.

[clint 1]

I doubt that they will get sick of it. The money is GREAT and it's not work.