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dvl775

Christmas present advice

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Hi DZ.com gurus, I'm sneakily posting on my husband's account because I need advice on a camera for him for Christmas. Here's the deal: He's got about 500 jumps, never flown a camera, very safe and deliberate skydiver. 99% belly flyer, does 4-way formation competitions (intermediate level). Has his coach rating and C license; working toward D license and eventually AFF, tandem, and pro rating - he would ultimately like to skydive as a profession.

Our family wants to get him a good camera to start with, but one that could also potentially be useful if he decides to learn how to fly camera for tandems to help gain experience and jumps. GoPros are all shiny and popular, but I get the sense that they're not the best for this purpose and I wanted to get advice from those who know. He's got a Cookie G3 helmet but I could probably swing getting him a different helmet if that's not good for camera work. Money's not a big issue - I'd say budget is up to $1000.

Advice on mounts, memory cards, and other accessories would be awesome too! Thanks in advance from a non-skydiving wife who can't wait to see her husband's face on Christmas morning!

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G3s are a great helmet but don't have the option of a cutaway in the event of an entanglement with the camera.
If he is happy to wear an open face then this would be my pick - http://www.flycookie.com/shop/helmets/99/index.htm
The helmet has cutaway options (very important for wearing a camera) and molded plates that allow you to securely fit a camera(s). The plate at the top front of the helmet is made especially for a Gopro so I wouldn't say they are not really the "best for this purpose". I have a Gopro2 and love it. I use it for all sorts of other fun and adventures other than skydiving and would happily recommend it. The new Gopro 3 is what I would buy if I was shopping for a new camera but I don't film tandems. If the long term aim is for him to fly outside camera on Tandems jumps then a different camera and helmet might be the go. There are plenty of others on here with tonnes of knowlege on full stills/video set-ups for jumpers that want to get paid for their efforts.
No matter what camera you get, a G3 helmet is not the helmet you want to be sticking a camera onto if you have a choice.
Your husband is one lucky S.O.B. :)

Remember you don't stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop laughing.

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The G3 is not optimal for any kind of camera work, even recreational. It's all but useless for tandems.
Tonfly Shark, Bonehead FTP, Optik Mantle are all better choices. Skysystems Wes Vapor Pro is a great helmet too.

As far as tandem video, the BEST resource would be someone from your local DZ if the DZ has its own editing/operating system. I'm a fan of any of the Sony camcorders. Many of our guys are shooting AS25's for video (great stabilization, the AS30 is the new model). Some are shooting GoPro2's for stills. A Canon G10/11/12 are all nice for stills too.

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So this may be a silly question, but do most camera flyers have both a video and still camera mounted on their helmets? I ask because the new GoPro Hero 3+ has the ability to take simultaneous video/stills - do other cameras have that feature? Is it a good thing for camera flying? Or should I just focus on a video camera for now and buy him a still camera for another occasion?

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dvl775

Hi DZ.com gurus, I'm sneakily posting on my husband's account because I need advice on a camera for him for Christmas.

Thanks in advance from a non-skydiving wife who can't wait to see her husband's face on Christmas morning!



Assuming that you are in fact posting from his dz.com account (seems to be the case since it was registered in 2009), he may already know what you are up to [:/]

The default forum setting sends an email anytime someone responds to your post :(

Perhaps he doesn't check the email account linked to his profile very often and you can beat him to it and delete those emails and then change his forum setting for him :)

edit to add..Just thought of something else. What happens if he gets on DZ.com and sees this thread started by himself??:$

Blue Skies,
Jason

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I got the perfect solution for you.... A gift card for B&H Photo or National Camera, etc.... Camera setups are pretty personal and usually custome built. I wouldn't try to make camera decisions for anyone. Or, Get ahold of a Jump Suite manufactuer and buy him a Custom Camera Wing Suite Certificate. :)

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

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