0
spencer

Goodbye Digital SLR hello hero 2

Recommended Posts

Who in there right mind wants to jump with 1/2 a ton on there head. yes you have a shit load of money invested on bodys and lenses. Cut your loses and make the switch. Your neck one day might thank you.
The days of having to jump with a kitchen sink on your head are long gone

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Rate of stills is still around one every 1.1 seconds. That might be fine for fun jumps but its not near enough for commercial purposes yet . I deliver around 100-120 stills per tandem package with 80+ being in freefall. The Hero's are not quite there yet but in another model or two they might be.
Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
who wants that many stills for tandems, you could half that amount, remember rolls of 24 and 36. Was the customer happy , yes. 50 is enough. its like pixel counts, When is enough , enough.
Out of your 100 stills how many do you give the customer

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
For fun jumps sure, but for tandems I'd say no....you do realize that its essentially the same as taking a cell phone and snapping photos while in the air.....the sensor, regardless of MP, is still tiny and can NEVER in the near future replace DSLR's. Remember people it's not about the MP, but its about the sensors ability to shoot in lower light.

Sure it weighs a ton less, but the quality just isn't quite there yet. Would you really want to sacrifice THAT much quality & detail for a few pounds? Personally for me its quality over quantity any day, but then again that's just me.
For info regarding lift ticket prices all around the world check out
http://www.jumpticketprices.com/dropzones.asp

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

who wants that many stills for tandems, you could half that amount, remember rolls of 24 and 36. Was the customer happy , yes. 50 is enough. its like pixel counts, When is enough , enough.
Out of your 100 stills how many do you give the customer



Pixel count is only 1/3 the conversation.
Cameras like the Hero are great for what they are designed to do. Delivering high quality photos is not one of those tasks.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Customer gets everyone of the shots I shoot. They walk out with a CD that is almost if not completely filled in terms of the space I have to work with. I remember the days of 24 or 36 and honestly they sucked. I never got photos as a student but a few friends did and they might have had 1 on the whole roll worth blowing up since they photographer only really shot 18ish in freefall to shoot one or two gearing up and a few at landing. Now days I can look at my after photos and usually find 5-6 at least from freefall that look great blown up and another half dozen on the ground that are great ones.

I am there to deliver a great product for the customer. Using a DSLR is the only tool that delivers that for paying customers today.
Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote



I am there to deliver a great product for the customer. Using a DSLR is the only tool that delivers that for paying customers today.



You can deliver a great product with 1/4 of the stills you shoot, Quality not quantity. However GoPro is not capable of delivering that quality yet..

Choose you shot/shoot a burst choose your next shot etc.
I guess the old days of film are still engrained in my thought process. I shoot between 50-100 photos. 40-60 in free fall. there are always many photos that are frame worthy.

You cant choose a shot with a gopro...you can only hope it shot what you wanted it to.
My photos

My Videos

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The quality of printed pictures in uncomparable in favor of DSLR.
If you coud just look at two same 8.5 x 11 prints side by side you could see huge difference.

Shooting tandems, you have to fly real close if you want to have good nice close up shot with gopro.
dudeist skydiver #42

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
leave the real photography to the professionals.
When you had a roll of 36, it sorted the men from the boys. And you really had to anticipate the shot.
Now you can just rattle off to your hearts content, and are bound to get some decent shots. Set your digital to a setting tape your focus and put the sun behind you and bobs your uncle.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
+1
The gopro stills I have seen, and the frame grabs from the other digital video cameras are good enough for "web use" (facebook photos and such) but are not good enough for an 8x10 to hang on your wall. I think they will get there before too long, but right now DSLR's and gopro stills are still in different leagues.

If you are selling them as "stills"... i'd be disappointed as a customer if that was a 50 or 60 $ up charge, or part of a $100 package. For casual pics of your friends and such... the pics are just fine.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
We are talking about the Gopro 2 aren't we?? I am no profesional photographer but the improvements to the new model seem to address most if not all the issues raised here.
•Professional 11MP Sensor
•2x Faster Image Processor
•2X Sharper Glass Lens
•Professional Low Light Performance
•Full 170º, Medium 127º, Narrow 90º FOV in 1080p
•120 fps WVGA, 60 fps 720p, 48 fps 960p, 30 fps 1080p Video
•Full 170º and Medium 127º FOV Photos
•10 11MP Photos Per Second Burst
•1 11MP Photo Every 0.5 Sec Timelapse Mode
Has anybody used the new model for stills yet to give a creditable opinion??
Remember you don't stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop laughing.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
>I am no profesional photographer but the improvements to the new
>model seem to address most if not all the issues raised here.

The lens will not come anywhere close to the quality of a good prime SLR lens. There is a reason people spend money on glass - because it matters.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I used mine today on a few jumps and thought the quality and color looked awesome! I would never use it for a helmet mounted video or still cam though. For hand cam stuff it was great! Helmet mounted video and photography should be with an slr and good glass, along side a sony video cam!


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 " ................

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

>I am no profesional photographer but the improvements to the new
>model seem to address most if not all the issues raised here.

The lens will not come anywhere close to the quality of a good prime SLR lens. There is a reason people spend money on glass - because it matters.


1/8 sensors and even the best 180 degree lens won't replace an SLR lens.
Won't come close to even a fairly poor non-prime SLR lens.

Glass is half the conversation. Sensor, almost the other half. The rest boils down to algorithms, compression, and build.
Glass holds its value well because glass is the constant regardless of sensor, althorithms, compression, and build.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote





You cant choose a shot with a gopro...you can only hope it shot what you wanted it to.



x2. Exactly.
This gopro is said to be shooting a photo every 1.1 seconds. Call it 1 second, and you're getting 55 of the tandem in freefall. That's about how many I shoot but choosing your shots is important. A photo every second you could lose that exact expression right as their feet leave the airplane, you could miss a particular pose the customer is doing in freefall and expecting you to capture.
As others have said it is quality over quantity, but as stated by others, quality is better with DSLR and to add to that, quantity can also be better as I can shoot 3 fps instead of 1 fps.
While I like the idea of just shooting a gopro for video and a gorpro for stills on a smaller setup with less weight, it's not professional. Keep it as light as possible, jump a canopy that opens nicely most of the time, and what I found that works the best for the neck - do some neck stretches, head rolls, and work out daily

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Starting next year at my DZ all tandem video guys will be REQUIRED to have a CX-100 or similar and a DSLR (Rebel) or similar. My neck took a beating this year so I'm still trying to find something a lot lighter than my 50D but still up to the quality.

Owners of these new iphone4s and gopro2's claim they're as good as a DSLR but when you put them up side by side it's absolutely night and day. It's like comparing build quality between Kia and Porsche.

-Michael

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Take a look at these exit photos taken with the gopro2.

Team Dysfunction Images

b images had their curves tweaked. Think they look good pretty damn good. After all my medical bills for my neck, I don't feel the weight of a 50d (etc) with a 15mm prime is worth the quality difference for a tandem customer. Now for commercial (non-daily) use that is a different story. To each their own though.

I guess it all depends what is an acceptable product for your customer and conforming with the other photographers at your DZ. With that said, I know a few DZ's that sell GoPro HD photos instead of SLR photos.

Exit 1
Exit 2
Exit 3
Exit 4

With that said, they are a bit grainy vs sharp zoomed in. Looks like it would make a good 8x10 though. Feel free to print one out and let us know.

(Note: I was working during nationals so these photos were taken by Greg Gasson when I mounted the gopro2 to his camera helmet.)

-Trunk
Trunk's Blog
HYPOXIC's Instagram
Like HYPOXIC

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Take a look at these exit photos taken with the gopro2.

Team Dysfunction Images

b images had their curves tweaked. Think they look good pretty damn good. After all my medical bills for my neck, I don't feel the weight of a 50d (etc) with a 15mm prime is worth the quality difference for a tandem customer. Now for commercial (non-daily) use that is a different story. To each their own though.

I guess it all depends what is an acceptable product for your customer and conforming with the other photographers at your DZ. With that said, I know a few DZ's that sell GoPro HD photos instead of SLR photos.

Exit 1
Exit 2
Exit 3
Exit 4

With that said, they are a bit grainy vs sharp zoomed in. Looks like it would make a good 8x10 though. Feel free to print one out and let us know.

(Note: I was working during nationals so these photos were taken by Greg Gasson when I mounted the gopro2 to his camera helmet.)

-Trunk



I can speak only for a original GoPro.
Print the two pics side by side and it`s two worlds (printed on Letter format).

Here, every other new camera flyer uses gopro/contour. Some for video, some for both video and stills. Of course, quality sucks, but the customers doesn`t seem to mind [:/] They don`t know better. Most of the (new) jumpers also see no difference (which speaks volumes by itself) and can`t comprehend it even if it`s shown to them. :|

It got me to the point where I`m also considering ditching FTP/CX/Rebel, lowering my standards and doing gopro (vids/stills). Though I know it would suck, but what the hell? Customers woudn`t notice, almost no other camera guy would notice. Better for the neck.
Still, conforming to majority and lower standards sucks.:S
dudeist skydiver #42

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

I mean you could sell them, but surely nothing I would be proud of as a photographer.



I do feel they are unsharp and are muddled but that doesn't mean it will take unsellable photos. Think about the various angles and framing that you still can do with the GoPro. Sure you can't exactly pick your shot, but at 2 fps you most likely will grab that smile/angle that you setup. Basically what I'm saying is good photographers will produce good pictures bad flyers will produce bad pictures mostly independent of
the tool used.

I'm just showing the tool, it's your personal opinion as if its acceptable for your needs or not. USHPA (Hang Gliding and Paragliding) magazine regularly publishes GoPro Shots. TV commercials, music videos, and TV shows constantly have GoPro footage. Just food for thought.

-Trunk
Trunk's Blog
HYPOXIC's Instagram
Like HYPOXIC

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0