Morg

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Posts posted by Morg

  1. 50 minutes ago, husslr187 said:

    yes my shutter will release, even out of focus. sometimes I get one shot out of focus on exit but I have a faster lens and a smaller focus zone. might just have to be that you have to keep playing with your settings until you get something that works for you, the camera, and that lens. one thing that would be really helpful if you’re not familiar with cameras besides a gopro is use it on the ground after hours. play with it take pics of plants, people drinking, sunsets, naked women, sports activities, ect. learning how it acts on the ground might change how you act in the sky

    Thanks Mate. 

    Yeah that is the frustrating part the camera functions amazingly on the ground but struggles in the sky. By faster lens are you referring to the fact your lens has a wider aperture, does that effect focus speed? I would have thought shooting at a wider aperture would have made focus more critical due to the incredibly depth of field. 

     

  2. 15 hours ago, husslr187 said:

    I had a few thoughts in no particular order I posted below. I would suggest trying these on a non paid jump if possible

     

    with the shutter speed at 800 likely the only thing changing much is the iso with an F4 lens. what you could try is setting it to manual 1000s, f4 ap, and iso auto. i suggested the shutter to be a little faster that way the camera can adjust the iso up if the photo is too dark. aperture at f4 is as open as it gets and you could tweak that a little if you want. the difference from being setup outside the door and freefall isn’t much. if you do shooting of the tandem inside the plane you could keep your shutter priority settings the same then switch to manual before exit. if you do this I strongly suggest you keep the shutter at 800 or higher in case you forget to switch.

    is your shutter switch on single or continuous? if continuous is the drive speed high, med, or low? if high or medium maybe bump the speed down to give the camera a little more time to work.

    as far as focus zone if you can spare having the camera focus in a smaller area it would help but I understand the need to have it wide.  about the only thing i can think of is setting up a flexible point and widening the zone in the area you’re most likely to shoot but I can’t remember at the moment if flexible point is a setting on my A7iii only or if my 6000 could do the same

     

    Thanks mate

    I have been running it beside a gopro on stills to be able to test some settings. Had some better results with your suggestions, switching it to Low burst speed, still getting a couple out of focus on the exit though

    Do you use release prioty AF? As in will your shutter release even when shots are out of focus? 

     

    Cheers

    Morgan 

  3. 40 minutes ago, husslr187 said:

    try to set the camera to do the as little “thinking” as possible that way it’s only job is to focus on what you point it at. are you shooting in manual mode? I usually start around 800/thshutter, 3.2ish aperture and iso at 100. I’ll would take a few photos on the way up to check and adjust my settings.  where is your focus zone? I usually set a small focus zone in the center to keep the camera from hunting for a subject through the entire photo. what lens are you using? kit lens was too slow for my liking. prime lenses seemed to focus faster for me I tried a few but ended up with using a sony 20mm pancake lens with an ultra wide converter on it. 

     

    Edit: i have a 6000 but its not far off from the 6400 and can probably use similar settings 

    Thanks mate yeah. I think whatever settings work for you should work for me! A600 and a6400 aint to different. Maybe if you have time to read the following and let me know exactly what AF settings you use :)?

     

    I am using the 10-18mm sony f4 wich cost a pretty penny so im hoping I can make it work. On the ground the focus is lightning fast, I dont think the speed is the issue.  I think it is just having an issue choosing the point. 

    I shoot shutter priority with 1/800 and end up with similar settings to what you mention. I like shutter priority because I like the exposure to change from being in the door to when we are in freefall, shooting tandem that is.

     

    I have tried all the focus zones and haven't had much luck with any. I was hoping with the sony ( I switched from Olympus ) It would be smart enough that I didn't have to use a centre focus point, because I want to frame some of my shots so the subject is not always in the centre. Tandems it generally works with things in the centre but for other stuff, especially canopy flying its nice to frame the subject to one side. 

     

    At the moment im using. The following settings.

     

    Focus zone - Wide

    AF-C

    Prefocus - on 

    Release priority - Balanced

    AF with shutter - 0n

     

  6. Yes thats my thoughts exactly regarding the drag, and just the axtra bulk in general of a protect or snowboard helmet. Snowboard helmets can be a bit snaggy to.

    So yes very interested to hear your review! The only review online are typical marketing BS that just list a whole bunch of features.

    Anyway take a look at these. They are a ski helmet but a racing variety, they look much more streamlined then say a snowboard helmet or a protec. They are also impact rated just not for air sports.

    https://www.amazon.com/POC-Sports-Skull-Helmet-Araldite/dp/B01GTNNIYQ?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01GTNNIYQ

  7. Does anyone own this helmet? What do you think? In what way is it better than a good ski helmet?

    As far as i can see the main disadvantage of a ski helmet is the fact its a little bit bulky, when skydiving helmets are generally low profile and streamlined. Otherwise they are pretty great multi purpose protection.

    I travel and hate carrying three helmets! I want something i can use comfortably for skydiving, paragliding, skiying and potentialy some base. The tonfly looks great, but the price is hard to justify.

  9. Cheers for the info guys. I haven't
    Quote

    been on here for a few days.
    Had a look at the a6000s and they seem pretty great.

    However ended up going with am olympus em-5 mk2. Seems fairly untested in the skydiving world so hopefully it was a good decision :).

    Autofocus is fast and it should be able to replace my DLSR for non skydiving video jobs as well as being a great all round camera for travel snaps etc...

    I will post some pics and a bit of a write up once I get it setup in a few weeks :).

  11. Hey all, Im looking to upgrade my setup from 2 x gopros and add a higher end stills camera.

    I have a bit of canon gear currently (60d, 11-16mm tokina, 18-55mm kit lens and a bite switch). However with the 11-16 mounted, the 60d becomes very heavy.

    The obvious option for me would be to grab a cheap 100d body and off I go. However I feel that it fills a similar role to my 60d and its hard to justify owning 2 bodies of similar specs (weight excluded). Hence my desire to maybe step into the 4/3 mirror-less range, any investment I make will be into a range of lenses and gear that fullfills a completely different role to my current setup.

    Looking into these cameras I can't seem to find anything with good manual focus. I have seen that people are getting good results from their GX1's but at the camera store today I was told the more modern GF7 will get superior images at a similar price. However it has even less manual focus ability because the kit lenses has no focus ring at all.

    I guess I really want to now if you guys flying mirror-less cameras are using auto focus or not? If so is it any good and what kind of problems are you having? Will it focus in low light, sunset loads etc....

    The setup is for shooting tandems, but I want to branch out into other disciplines as time and experience allows.

  12. Hey everyone

    Thanks for the positive comments! Don't worry the 'gravity' of the situation was not lost on me. I fucking shat myself that day. In other things I have done like motocross, when things go bad Ive always had time for that 'oh shit' thought before I crash. This happened so fast that it was all over before my brain even registered it happening. Fucking scary shit.

    The longer i spend skydiving the more I realise there is so much to learn. Which is the best thing about it.

    Though to be honest i think in any sport if you fuck up this bad and no one gets hurt, its something that you will make sure never to fuck up again.

    And in regards to track, i think it was probably 20degrees off maybe combined with the track of the other group might of been a contributing factor. However to be honest there was not really any proper tracking involved as I was moving away from the other jumps whilst trying to keep them in sight. As mentioned this was the wrong thing to do, just clarifying that there was dick all tracking...

    I reviewed the whole video to establish the facts i posted earlier. I just never uploaded the full version as I did not know any of the jumpers that day. Coming from a filmaking background I never post any videos of other peoples faces without knowing they give me permission. Its probably no big deal in this instance, just something that was always drummed into me and a rule that has to obeyed in any commercial production.

  13. Haha good point, i kind of regretted posting the video at first...

    Its kind of funny about what you say about inexperienced jumpers behind you. Im sure rightfully so the people in front of us would have been furious. Now me still as an inexperienced jumper is going to be paranoid about who's behind me!!!!

    Its interesting that it seems with most incidents I watch and read about there are a number of variables that have to be combined to cause an accident or close call. So you can pretty much do the wrong thing and repeat the same mistakes hundreds of times unknowingly or without caring. Until one day those factors combine with another and cause an accident.

  15. Ok well i was trying to avoid posting here as I dont want to get embroiled in any online arguments about wearing cameras etc.. Anyway I guess if I posted the video I might aswell post some facts to allow you guys to understand it better.

    - I was on a three way, nothing to do with filming i was just doing a 3 way for fun and happened to be wearing a camera.
    - We left about 4 sec separation
    - The other 2 were falling way to fast for me and I couldnt catch them.
    - I decided to move away but keep sight of them (i keep looking back at them) whilst heading perpendicular to jump run. I think this was the wrong decision, I should have either stayed with them or just tracked away completely. Also I feel by focusing my attention on them I was less aware of other airspace and did not see the jumpers below me.
    - And yes I didnt wave off, another mistake.

    Anyway those are the facts, I am the first to admit Im not the most skilled skydiver and you can pick apart my dive as much as you want. There are a few mistakes that I made throughout. However many of these are irrelevant as It was the previous group which we drifted over and I did not see. As I tracked perpendicular to jump run and opened at planned height I feel this was caused by a combination of not enough separation and freaky bad luck.

    Thanks to the guy who uploaded those stills of the jumpers in free fall below. This scares me I'm surprised I'm the only one who had a close call.

    Its interesting how I used to think the sky was so big and empty, now I seem to notice traffic everywhere... I think my eyes have been opened a little after shitting myself on this jump.

  17. Quote

    Nobody's listening to you, Dave. Look at these geniuses, even immediately after your post: "You can't beat these prices!!" - all they want is cheap jumps, instant gratification and no thought process. And, since it's virtually guaranteed that they're still young enough to be bullet-proof, they don't have to worry about what happens at 600 feet on the way up. Hey, they're wearing parachutes, right?



    Thanks for your patronising comments. Would I be smarter by default if i was old, cynical, and cared what people said on the internet?

  18. Hi
    I did my AFF there last year. It was fast paced and challenging as I'm sure any AFF is. I found the people who live at the DZ to be very helpful with getting my A license, learning to pack etc.. I loved my time there and plan to go back. I have only been to a few other drop zone's since but their equipment appears to be the best so far. Whats more their equipment hire is cheap and includes packjob's :).

  20. Thanks guys! Sorry yes I should narrow it down a little. I will probably be ready around the end of september. And should be heading south by then (running from the cold haha). So maybe to narrow it down the west coast California or Arizona and mexico are probably the most practical locations. Thanks grimmie i will do some research on those ones.

    I have read good things about lodi... only 2 hours drive from the coast looks promising :)

  21. Oh yes sorry if this is in the wrong section. Also i have done a search and didn't find any recent discussion on this topic.

    To add to my post we are very serious about doing this, we have chosen to slog it out for 3 months in a gold mine and earn some coin, primarily so we can spend the following 3 months doing nothing but jumping, scuba diving and paragliding!

    Also im a freelance film maker and competent editor etc... Not sure if these skills could come in handy at a drop zone?

  22. Ok i know some people are probably ready to berate me already after only reading the title to this post. But heres the deal. Me and a friend are leaving to work in the Yukon next month and plan to work there (gold mining) for about 3 months before travelling down through the US and into Central America.

    We both want to get our skydive ticket somewhere along the way. Personally I want to find a good drop zone with a great community where I can hang out for 3 - 6 weeks do my A license and as many quality jumps as possible (goal is 50). I don't want to just do my minimum requirements I want to obtain the experience and confidence to continue jumping through my travels (will purchase gear during course). I also love the idea of training and hanging out in a foreign country with other passionate and adventurous people. I did my paragliding course 2 years ago in Chile and found the whole experience very rewarding :).

    Anyway I would love some opinions from you guys on firstly the best drop zone around as far as community and facilities go. It would be fantastic if it was coastal (we scuba as well) and even better if there were good paragliding sites close by. And secondly the best value for money drop zone around (better value equals more jumps and more experience for me). The none for profit ones sound good, I don't mind (actually I would enjoy) helping out and working around the drop zone, i think this would be a great way to learn more about the sport and experience skydiving fully!

    I found one of the best things when i did my paragliding course was hanging out with other pilots and instructors at the end of the day, helping out with the gear and just generally becoming as immersed as possible,

    Look forward to your responses :)