lewmonst

yep. my only chop was a stiletto. And I have had a few hard openings on stiletto's. most (200ish) were just fine though. I still don't understand why you'd want to sell an Odyssey and Sabre2... peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

do you have a wide angle lense on your camera? i ask because if not, the wind getting into the box might be enough to blow it open. Those elastics aren't that strong. A lense though that is flush with the front of the box would prevent that possible problem. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

whoa. since you are obviously too cheap to buy a good camera helmet... I think you'd be better off gaffertaping the camera to your helmet without any box or screws or straps. I've actually seen it done succesfully. Really, it was a normal open-face helmet, and the only thing holding the camera one was a whole lot of gaffers tape. better yet, buy something from bonehead. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

well said lori. btw, if you want to hear the rapid fire of a 20d, i'm jumping it all this week in perris. have i mentioned lately that I love perris? ok, peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

my thoughts exactly. http://www.exitshot.com

Bwahhhhhhhh!! Conjours up visions from the past! Poor Opie, notice how long this thread has gone on, and not one word from him..He must be MIA I think he's just not that into this thread. http://www.exitshot.com

So, THAT'S what he means when he keeps saying, "You're not on the team!" Thanks for all of your help, Lew! um, well, that's kinda confusing though. Cause I am on the team. He even mailed me the team t-shirt... hmmmm.... eh, whatever Opie's deal is, I still love him like a brother. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Opie's in the closet. http://www.exitshot.com

Yeah, I saw that one too. It's not what I was looking for either, but I think that you might be able to combine the two adapters to get the E3 to N3... but that's expensive. I'm still hoping someone (um- duece?) actually know of a direct adapter that will work... duece, beuller?, duece? bueller? peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

that? That doesn't look right. I though we used a N3. So wouldn't we need an E3 to a N3 (no T's)? peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

I must have missed this thread. I tried to get "GETHIGH" but was rejected, twice. I even talked to the license bureau and explained my bumper stickers and the obvious skydiving references. The nice woman went back to the board to plea my case, but they wouldn't bite. I wasn't suprised. I settled for "YW8 JUMP" which, sadly, still stumps some people. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

no. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

The more negative you have, the higher potential quality of the photo. I posted the following in this old thread about aps cameras. Basically, APS is a gimmick created by Camera/Film companies to make processing/printing easier on them, and convince the general public they are getting "better" pictures by making it easier for the consumer. The film cartridge appears similar or slightly smaller in size, but trades some of that size for ease of use in the mechanisms in APS cameras that wind and unwind the film... Reality is, APS is worse becuase the actual negative size is smaller. 35mm film is 24mm x 35mm (840mm^2) and APS negatives measure 16.7mm x 25.1mm (419.17mm^2). Therefore, the 35mm film negative has twice the negative area. the actual film is available in APS and 35mm in the same type/quality of film. So you will get twice the quality in the same size print out of a 35mm negative vs. and APS print, without cropping. That's why wedding photographers use Medium Format (around 2.5 times the area of 35mm), in order to make enlargements, 8x10 or larger and have excellent quality. If you want quick, light and easy, go APS. if you plan on enlarging photos to 5x7 or larger, and have a good eye for quality, go 35mm. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

yes, thanks. My rod is still in. I had thought for those first 8 months I was going to have it all removed. My mind was set on it and I went to the doc specifically to plan the removal. After a good 15 minute argument, he convinced me to leave it in. He said, "Why do you want it out?". I said, "Incase I brake it again." He said, "You aren't going to brake it again." I said, "What if I do?". He said. "You won't." I said, "But I'm still skydiving and doing all the things I did before, so the risk for the same injury is there." He said, "Even if you have the exact same accident, you won't brake that femur. You will brake every other bone in your body before that one. Besides the fact that it is now the strongest bone in your body with almost 50% more bone mass at the fracture site, there's a titanium rod to add strength as well. It would take an accident so much worse now to brake that leg, that if that happened, the rest of your body probably be destroyed anyway. And the rod they put in was a little short, and deeply embedded in the femur, so to get it out would take as complicated of a surgery as it was put it in. And that risk isn't worth it unless it's causing you problems" So, it took me a while to let that sink in, but I accepted that. I also asked another orthopedic surgeon about it, and he agreed it was safe to leave the rod in and continue skydiving. They did both say that if it ever did start causing me problems I should get it out. My insurance right now wouldn't pay for that "elective" surgery anyway, so that's where I'm at. Rod is in, I've done ~800 jumps since, gotten a tandem rating and am back running 3+ miles comfortably. And I don't set off the airport detectors. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Mine was femur and pelvis, so I was non-weight bearing for 6 weeks... but this was my ordeal... walk? eh, 6 weeks, but it was shaky and stairs were difficult run? 3 months, but it was a slow run and kinda painful jump? 4 months. could have jumped after 3, but waited for the perfect conditions and confidence to return. 1 year? I'm adding that benchmark, I'd say about 95% recovered. full recovery? ha, full recovery? I'm not quite there yet, being ~16 months past. Now, I'd say 98% recovered. I can do everything I could before, still just slightly weeker in the muscles and every once in a while i feel pain, especially after 7 tandems... I did have one of the screws removed after 9 months. That put me out for a few weeks, but eventually i was much better off because it was irritating. I doubt I'll ever fell 100% recovered, but I'm quite happy with 98%. I wasn't ready to play volleyball again after 6 months, so i doubt you'll be up for gymnastics in march. work hard in therapy. Do lots of muscle building on that side, in your hip flexors, quads, hamstrings and everything involving the knee... good luck http://www.exitshot.com

Yep. I'm loving it. I haven't jumped it with a flash yet though... peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

A tandem would be relatively safe for him. Have him tell the tandem instructor about his ankle, and they will likely plan to slide in on their butts. I've used Active Ankles before, and recommend them. Check with the dz you would plan to go to, but many places have tandem weight limits. Ours is 230. Peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Once you understand layers, photoshop is WAY easier. I used to teach a photoshop class, and the best analogy I had was that layers are like transparencies used on a overhead projector. You can draw different objects on different transparencies, show one or the other or several at a time. move them and edit them individually. Once you flatten them though, it's like permanently gluing them together... That won't make you an expert, but it did help a bunch of 13 yr olds. and here's another crack at your avatar... just cause it takes like 2 minutes... peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

post it as an attachment and someone will fix it http://www.exitshot.com

Yep, the Canon Powershot Digital Elph series is really nice. I have the S410 (4.0 mpix) one, and I love it. I can carry it in my coat pocket to parties and stuff when I don't want to lug my big fancy SLR, and it does short mpeg movies which are easy to just copy on the computer and play. Now, the SD20's are really sharp and come in different colors, ooh ahh. Depending on how much you want to spend, I'd recommend any of the Elph series... I know Best Buy and Circuit City carry some of them. Good luck! lew http://www.exitshot.com

Very cool. Now if we can get the locator page to pop up at the top of searches on google and such, above skyride... Nice work w. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

I understand. Thanks for lookin. I shortened my line for you. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Wow, that's rude. If you ask for advice on a public forum, you're going to get it, whether it's what you want to hear or not. If you don't want to hear the free advice from someone way more experienced in the sport who also owns a gear store and deals with skydivers in your situation all the time, your missing out, and you just shouln't post. You don't have to do what she advises, but you also don't have to be rude. No one will want to help you with this attitude. Like she said, you can just figure it out the hard way with trial and error. Is your profile correct? 331 jumps in 6 years? With an average of just 55 jumps/year, I'd recommend you listen to GravityGirl. That's my advice, coming from a camera flyer, who's jumped both those canopies. I know what third and fourth choices she has in mind for you... Maybe you can ask her to explain why. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Don't take this personally, but why would you spend $1400 on a video camera to take still photos? You can get a 6+ Mpix SLR digital still camera for under $1000? The 350 is a great video camera and you will get high quality video out of it. I suggest you keep it for video, and get a digital rebel for stills. If you thought you could do video and stills from the 350 at the same time, well, you can, but the stills are no better than a frame grab which is at most 640x480 and not suitable for printing at all. The technology is not there yet, you still need a seperate still camera from video. (You'll get 3mp stills when only using it in still mode, which again brings the point back to, why buy a video camera to do stills...) A question about your business, do you have an office/store of some sort that the customers go to before and after the trip? Or do they just meet you in the middle of nowhere? I think it would be easier to set up, maintain, and sell stills if they were in an office space somewhere. If not, what kind of printer and power inverter do you plan on using? A lot of high-end printers are sensitive to the type of power they receive, and the cheap power inverters give a square wave power supply. High end printers need a true sign-wave power supply. If you get a cheaper printer, which I do not suggest, you should price the prints accordingly. I suggest anyone selling photos, sells photos that are high quality and won't fade. There are plenty of printers to chose from... I'm loving my kodak 8500, but it's a big investment as well. That rafting company i was refering to had 3 8500's and sold prints for $20/page. Be careful about cutting corners with equipment when you are trying to be a professional. You will learn the hard way that professionals us professional equipment for a reason. Save your receipts, and buy the Extended Service Plan to cover accidental damage... Good luck peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Having a couple hundred jumps on both at the same w/l, I agree. I would say though that the difference in recovery arc is more than "slightly". CF2's get back from a long spot easier and opens better, but the Katana dives longer. In neutral flight (no toggle or riser input), the CF2 is not as ground hungry as a Katana. That's why I'd agree. Not to tangent from the topic at hand, I've seen some great pilots pull off nice long swoops on Sabre2's. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com