Is anyone using a "lipstick" camera and if so.....

[mysky 1]

Were are you mounting your recording device? I am attaching a link with a picture of the system I'm talking about and perhaps someone could give me some examples. I really like the idea of this system for the idea of having almost zero weight added to the helmet. My neck has suffered enough after thousands of jumps and I really want something lightweight. I'm not filming tandems or aff so all I need is a fun system and I thought this might be an answer. Anyone else using this type of system?

Here's the link- http://www.helmetcamera.com/mainpage/10al.JPG

There are 3 kinds of people in this world, those that know how to count, and those who don't.

[mysky 1]

So do you have any idea of were to mount the actual recording unit? i.e. fanny pack (God I hate those two words), or any other type of pouch?

There are 3 kinds of people in this world, those that know how to count, and those who don't.

[quade 3]

It's a tough call, but I've seen a lot of folks hang a pouch on either their chest strap or just tuck it inside their jumpsuit.

In either case, I would -highly- recommend a quick disconnect of some sort so that if, for any reason, you need to remove the helmet quickly the connection breaks. An RCA type of connector seems like it would suffice.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[mysky 1]

I'm also very interested in using one of these devices with the Archos AV500. However, I have heard that the hard drives often fail above 10,000 ft? I wonder if they have fixed this issue with this more current AV500/700 model?

There are 3 kinds of people in this world, those that know how to count, and those who don't.

[DSE 3]

Dunno about the Archos, but the Nnovia works great with a Sony bullet cam, we only climb to 13,500 AGL/about 17,500 MSL. I've got a Firestore, but haven't figured out how to fly it without making a pouch. It won't fit in the Nnovia case.
The Y/C out/input works well, and if you did have to lose your helmet, it would suffice as a cutaway connection.

[quade 3]

Quote

I'm also very interested in using one of these devices with the Archos AV500. However, I have heard that the hard drives often fail above 10,000 ft? I wonder if they have fixed this issue with this more current AV500/700 model?

Not really certain what the current state of affairs is with hard drive recorders, BUT . . .

Last time I checked (a couple of years ago) the issue was that the record heads of the drives were separated from the drives by a ridiculously thin air gap. Lowering the air pressure didn't give the air the required density (thickness or viscosity) to absorb the vibrations and therefore made them prone to crashes (the real and hard kind).

As far as I know, mini hard drive tech has progressed somewhat, but the focus has been making them smaller and smaller which only exacerbates the situation.

My -personal- feeling is that we're very close to getting solid state recorders of high enough quality and at a price point to be used for general skydiving purposes; school & competition. There -are- some solid state still/video cameras that exist now, but none that I've seen that really are workable for the two mentioned purposes of school and competition.

Until then, I feel the -best- solution is miniDV in a traditional camcorder. I'm not a personal fan of lipstick cameras except in very special circumstances. I really don't like all the extra cables and gack associated with them. miniDV cameras are, to my way of thinking, pretty darn small and packaged pretty well, nearly bullet proof and a mature product.









BTW, I'm fooling around a bit right now with a solid state still/video camera. I can get a hair over 25 minutes of 640x480 @ 30 fps mpeg on a 2 gig chip. Not bad, but it's mpeg...again...almost good enough, but not really. It does have NTSC or PAL composite output, but . . . competition right now -requires- FireWire.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[CaTo 0]

Quote

It's a tough call, but I've seen a lot of folks hang a pouch on either their chest strap or just tuck it inside their jumpsuit.

In either case, I would -highly- recommend a quick disconnect of some sort so that if, for any reason, you need to remove the helmet quickly the connection breaks. An RCA type of connector seems like it would suffice.

I'm using a belly-pouch, whcih is just large enough to hold the sone camcorder (TRV33) and a battery pack for the camera. A cable is going via the inside of my jumpsuit to my neck, were can plug it into the plug of the helmet. The plug is just strong enough to hold the tension of the opening (riser strucks, I am doing crw) and not tight enough to give me troubles when I have to release my helmet

see pictures in the about-section of my web site for more info

Caren

[hexadecimal 0]

I've got a Chasecam PDR 100 solid state recorder. Video quality is very high, it's pretty rugged, and it's not incredibly expensive.

I'll be jumping it this weekend for the first time (only used it on motorcycles and in cars so far), so I'll let you know how it is and maybe post some sample video.

Info here:
http://www.chasecam.com

[DSE 3]

The Chase system is reasonable, but still pretty low in resolution and MPEG 2 compression. They are indeed very tough, having been made originally for racing use.

One other option to examine if you're into solid state is the Sanyo Sanyo HD1 camcorder. It's 1280 x 720 and progressive, and looks about the same as DV when downconverted to SD. Records about half an hour on a 2 gig card, or an hour on one of the new 4 gig cards.
I jumped it once, but was quite unhappy with it as an HD camcorder, but if I was delivering SD, it would barely scrape by.
Super light weight, super battery life without the preview screen open, no LANC, very impressive stills from the lens it offers, very good electronic stabilization. Output via USB 2 only.
Not my first choice, but not my last choice either.

[Unutsch 0]

Quote

... and maybe post some sample video.

please do :-)

Check out the site of the Fallen Angels FreeflY Organisation:
http://www.padliangeli.org