dynamite

Hi Tom One camera that may possibly answer both questions in this thread in the Ricoh GX100 / 200. It's a small compact that I have been using for tandems this season (GX100). It's not a DSLR and has it's cons, but it produces images that are more than good enough for tandems. I'll post a few here if anyone's interested and have posted some in the past. The camera has a 24mm wide angle lens and can be used with a usb remote switch. I simply spliced a conceptus tongue switch to the Ricoh remote switch. Produces about 2 frames per second 10mp (GX200 is 14mp I think). I use it in full manual but have used it in auto with good results. It's a compact so it has a small sensor so there's a lot of noise above 200iso. I don't use it for 'sunset' tandems or when light is poor. It's a good one to get started, costs about £250 from jessops and you don't have to buy a lens for it. key thing is it's light as fcuk and very small. Would suit your setup. See you one weekend at the DZ and I'll show you. kev

I have found that a chopped off slieve from an old wet suit fits perfectly. Particularly with a Raynox lens. You will need to tidy up the ends but it's easy to do yourself or ask your rigger nicely..

Just to reignite this thread - i have now successfully used the Ricoh GX100 for the last 5-6 tandem camera jumps and have to say it's made a huge difference to the load on my head. I spliced a tongue switch to the ricoh shutter release which connects via the mini usb port. I have had the best results when using the camera on continuous shoot mode which has taken some getting used to. Using this mode I get about 2 frames per second have been delivering 40-80 images to the customer (from a 10K jump). The images it produces are a fine but grainy above 200ISO so in low light i have tried to alter the f stop rather than increase the iso. The lens (24mm equivalent) is roughly as wide as my old Zenitar 16mm on my canon. Having switched from a PC1000 and canon 350D setup to a CX-6 and Ricoh i think i've saved about 500grams from my head or roughly a third and it is very noticable. It feels like i am missing the stills. Sample images below. Not quite the same quality as the Canon as you can see the grain as you zoom in.

Well, contrary to my previous thread, I went ahead and bought the GX100. I solved the buffer problem by using a fast card and using the manual functions. In fact i'm not sure the problem even existed - I think the salesman in the camera shop was trying to sell me another camera! It will happily take just over a frame per second and will shoot on continuous mode until the battery runs out (200-300 frames) or the card fills up. The image quality is good at lower ISOs (80 and 100) but above 200 it starts to get quite grainy. Therefore, it's not great in low light. However the DoF is still quite large when you increase the aperture size. The beauty of this camera is that you can set the ISO, shutter speed and aperture in full manual mode or shoot in aperture or shutter priority. You can fix the focal point too. This camera is not as good as your DSLR (quality or speed) but then it only ways 250grms, is much, much smaller and you have less chance of getting the sensor dirty. I have not jumped this camera yet as i am waiting for the cable releases. As soon as i have them, i will be modifying them to add a tongue switch. In theory i see no reason why you couldn't just use a usb extension cable and operate the cable release by hand. As soon as the cable release arrives and is modified, i'll jump the camera and post the results. If i have the chance i'll jump the camera this weekend and operate it the old fashioned way just as a test.

Sadly I have tested the GX100 and the results weren't great. It has a nice wide angle lens and continuous shoot mode that will shoot 10-15 pictures very rapidly (2-3 fps) but after about 15 shots the camera lags for ages as it buffers the images. I also had a look at the canon G9. That shot 12m pretty quickly at about 1-2 fps with no noticable buffer. I took about 50-60 pics on a continuous burst. Only problem was no remote release. Ricoh is supposed to be bringing out 2 new cameras soon with improved buffers which will hopefully improve things. In the interim i was shown this devise http://www.jacobsdigital.co.uk/index.php?target=products&product_id=70256 Which is essentially a velcro strap that enables you to fit an old style cable release to any compact camera. Looked like a fairly low tech and simple solution.

Actually Ricoh make a point and shoot with a remote shutter release http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/caplio/gx100/ http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_ricoh_caplio_gx100.php The Caplio GX100. It also has a 24mm wide angle lens which can be widened to 19mm with an adapter. The remote shutter is attached through the usb so you can't use it with the attachable view finder. Is this the future?

Hook turn and broken femur for me. I was putting weight on the leg the day after the operation and had crutches for about 6-8 weeks. Fully weight bearing after that. I was in work 1 week after the accident but then i have an office job. I was jumping again after 6 months. Lots of physio mainly consisting of lunge type exercises to build up the quads and the VMO (muscles around the knee) as my metal work went in through the knee. I was recommended to do a lot of cycling but my gym wouldn't let me in until i was fully fit and signed off by a doctor so i missed that. I was advised that the sooner i get weight back on the leg, the sooner the muscles builds up again and it promotes bone growth. It does get better and it takes lots of time and patience. it's 3 years and 400 jumps later now and i still feel it in the winter! However, in the 6 months i was out i made a fortune packing and didn't pay for a jump for months afterwards!

I volunteered in Ghana and loved it - i then spent 6 years working for volunteer organisations organising the programmes and recruiting volunteers. It is an amazing experience and one i'd highly recommend everyone does at some point in their lives. As someone said above, you undoubtedly learn much more, and take much more away than you can ever give. The biggest problem i found was unrealistic expectations. Please go with an open mind. You are not going to save the world nor will everything be like home. The way people live, the things people do in foregn countries and foreign cultures are not necessarily wrong or worse - they're just different.

I have the same issue too with the pc1000. The only remedy i've found is to only switch the camera on at 'door!' or to do a quick shot of the subject on run in. This has also happened to me on the ground waiting for those long tandem canopy descents and i've found that using the record button on the camera, rather than the cam-eye gets the camera going again.

Video of the line dump is here http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=guestpass&id=k4pzx No that's not Ian - he rarely ventures into the sky anymore and when he does it's usually with the aff. It is indeed still grim up north!

I have a video of tandem line dump at the same dz - perhaps a coincidence. I have posted it to skydiving movies and will post the link when it has been approved.

They use both at the DZ - no idea which they used on this occassion.

They use large 'tandem' bungees or double bungee the bite. From where i was the rest of the opening looked fine.

One of my first AFF pics. Complete accident. Student cropped it and put it on this site http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk/phpBB2/album_page.php?pic_id=150

Whoops Clickable http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk/phpBB2/album_page.php?pic_id=125 http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk/phpBB2/album_page.php?pic_id=126

Ever wondered how much bungees stretch on deployment. Check out these pictures I took of a tandem deployment. http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk/phpBB2/album_page.php?pic_id=126 http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk/phpBB2/album_page.php?pic_id=125

Or look it up in the dropzones section here or consult the mag. The airvan is 8-9 place, a bit like a porter or beaver, only much much slower, but that's not important just come jump the helicopter.

That's right folks the MacMillans Mexican Boogie at Peterlee Parachute Club is this weekend! Arrive early on the Friday for race night, come jump the brand new Airvan and a Jet Ranger helicopter on Saturday and then get dressed up in your best Mexican fancy dress for the themed party. It's at Peterlee so you know it will be a good party! The boogie is in aid of MacMillans cancer relief so come and buy tickets for the raffle to win lots of kit and support a very good cause. Here's what's happening: Friday 'Race nite' Saturday Jump the NEW airvan. Helicopter jumps out of the Jet Ranger Accuracy competition. All U cn Eat BBQ. Live DJ. Mexican theme. Party Games. Home made Pinata. Home made Sangria. Kit Prize Draw. Oh it's going to be good so we'll see you there!

I used to jump at a drop zone in Kent - moved to the north east now jump at a place called peterlee - best move i ever made. Is this the peterlee fan club forum? I'm sure if Ian did more than 20 lifts in a day, he'd probably have a little less time, but are we ever going to see 20 lifts in a day up north?

I have a Sabre2 170 and PD160R in a J-1k, it's a little tight but i have nearly 100 jumps on it and never had a problem. Had 1 reserve ride (lineover) and 2 reserve re-packs, no complaints from my rigger.

I think it's all well and good for experienced guys to advise against RSLs but they probably have hundreds if not thousands of jumps, loads of experience and the altitude awareness to be able take time under a malfunctioning canopy. Less experienced jumpers (like me) just don't know how they will react until they are in that situation. The RSL is just another safety device that helps us out if we forget or are prevented from following the cutaway procedures we have been taught. Stick to your reserve drills until you have enough experience to do otherwise. I'm in a similar dilema. I do jump a RSL and AAD. and in my limited skydiving career have had the miss fortune to have 2 mals (another story for another time) my first was at 40 jumps, my second at 70 jumps. On my second mal (a nasty lineover) i pulled the cutaway pad and then had difficulty pulling the reserve rip cord. I believe the reason for this to be that i was trying to pull the reserve pin at the same time as the RSL. This resulted in the risers on the RSL side detaching, probably only a split second, after the others. The result was the reserve opened while i was on my side and gave me twists on the reserve. I'm now seriously thinking about taking the RSL off, now i have a few more jumps and a bit of experience with malfunctions. I'm taking advice.