Camera settings HELP!

[camerakev 0]

Any help would be appreciated,
Im flying the Sony HDRCX405 and getting a bit of wave through the screen on play back. Everything inside the plane and under canopy is awesome but that little bit of wave in freefall is frustrating. any advise?

[jtiflyer 0]

happens on a lot of action cameras too I believe its referred to as "rolling shutter". I solved it on my sony action camera by adding a 2 stop Neutral density filter in front of the lens.

[lienbacher 1]

It is indeed rolling shutter. In less technical terms, you are experiencing rather heavy vibrations on the camera in freefall, which causes these waves due to technical limitations of almost every modern camera (some more, some less).
Before trying to solve it through settings or nd-filters i would try to solve it by getting rid of the vibrations, which is not the easiest but the most effective way. It could be the fit or shape of your helmet or the way the camera is mounted and/or exposed to the airflow. More information on your setup and what kind of jumps you wanna film might help. It might very well be that your camera vibrates like crazy on a headdown jump and is fine filming on your belly - or the other way around. Lots of possiblities

[mathrick 2]

Not sure if CX405 has one, but if so, disabling the image stabilisation might help. Not all Sony cameras have a stabiliser up to the rigours of freefall, and for those that don't, enabling it results in the dreaded jellocam.

"Skydivers are highly emotional people. They get all excited about their magical black box full of mysterious life saving forces."

[Anachronist 2]

jtiflyer

happens on a lot of action cameras too I believe its referred to as "rolling shutter". I solved it on my sony action camera by adding a 2 stop Neutral density filter in front of the lens.

Could you explain how a ND filter accommodates rolling shutter? Vibration makes sense because the rate of image capture isn't fast enough to capture even frames if there is a lot of vibration, but I don't understand how a filter would change that at all.

Not doubting you, I just don't understand.

[CTSkydiver 0]

Anachronist

Could you explain how a ND filter accommodates rolling shutter?

A ND filter forces the camera to use a slower shutter speed since less light is being allowed into the lens.

I'll let someone else explain why a slower shutter speed reduces the jelly-cam effect. I'm still a bit fuzzy on that.

[jtiflyer 0]

CTSkydiver

***Could you explain how a ND filter accommodates rolling shutter?

A ND filter forces the camera to use a slower shutter speed since less light is being allowed into the lens.

I'll let someone else explain why a slower shutter speed reduces the jelly-cam effect. I'm still a bit fuzzy on that.

bit fuzzy on it myself I just know it works. DSE would be the man to explain this. If I remember correctly its a matter of a few things coming together to create a perfect shit storm

[mathrick 2]

Uhh, I must have all the things backwards about how digital cameras work, because I'd expect slower shutter to result in more jellocam.

"Skydivers are highly emotional people. They get all excited about their magical black box full of mysterious life saving forces."

[RMK 3]

He's correct; higher shutter speeds give more "rolling shutter" effect. See this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecV7oo68vAc

Re vibrations, a couple years ago (Sony CX6 then CX12) gave good video in flat or head-down, but had rolling shutter problems in sit-fly (I had one and never found a solution for sit-fly videos)

"Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

[camerakev 0]

I fly video for a 4 way team and an 8 way team so all belly, the occasional tandem video I order the ND filter, paid extra to get it here before this weekend but it never came. instead of forcing the camera to slow the shutter speed, I just went into set up and slowed down quite a bit (from 60 to 30) if it looks good there Ill kick it up a notch to 40, then 50, untill the rolling shutter comes back. Im hoping for good results as Im doing video for a SHIT HOT 10 man team at a local 10 man speed competition tomorrow.
I also have a friend who thinks he has the 55mm ND filter and hes shooting one of the other teams. Ill try to post video from different shutter speeds and w and w/out the ND filter.
Thanks for all the great thought and ideas.

[Anachronist 2]

Interesting thanks, yeah I suppose if the shutter speed is closer to being in time with the vibration it reduce the jelly-cam action (kind of like a timing light works); I had never thought of it that way.