freefallcrab

Hey James - since I converted from Windows laptops to my MacBook Pro I have had a LOT of difficulty importing video into iMovie. If I dont hook up and switch on the laptop, camera, open iMovie in exactly the right order I dont get a download. Sometimes it takes a long time for it all to come together and when I started I gave up too quickly - now I just leave it for 30 seconds or so and the camera is eventually recognised. Are you talking about plugging a USB memory stick straight into a USB slot or putting a memory card into a card reader, then plugging the card reader into the Mac? Use your wings Johnny....

Thanks DSE - I have very recently upgraded to Mtn Lion but not had a chance to process any skydiving video through it yet. There are a couple of other threads on this but your last post pretty much covers it. Use your wings Johnny....

Having got my skydiving video into iMovie 11 and able to edit it, I thought I would post how I managed that in case someone else has the same problems and does a search of the forums. This is what works for me with a CX105E and iMovie 11 on a MacBook Pro: Switch the camera on (I called the video up on the camera screen). Open iMovie and start a new project. Connect the camera to the computer using a USB socket on the computer and the output socket on the camera control panel that is available when the screen is open. When prompted on the camera screen, tell it where the 'video' is (memory stick or internal memory). IMovie will then 'read' available files and you can select which one you want to download. And away you go :) Hope this helps someone. Use your wings Johnny....

This has developed in to an interesting and thought provoking thread - keep it coming. Personal experience is 2 precautionary bailouts but from safe altitudes and no dramas. Many many times have I been squashed up so tight on full loads that I have found it difficult to unbuckle under normal conditions never mind a rapid egress. Curious about AFF students (having not done AFF myself). What is the brief for them? Not much discussion so far about the JM role although it has been covered implicitly. There are lots of JMs out there with relatively low jump numbers and the fact that they are JM means they are probably the most experienced on the load - could prove interesting. I think this thread still have life in it - I hope others agree. Use your wings Johnny....

Thanks jumpnRN, I will check it out. Use your wings Johnny....

Do you have it zoomed in - this will make any other issues even worse. Use your wings Johnny....

Got the transfer working, thanks DSE. Man, this version of iMovie is clunky compared to earlier versions - it took me another half hour of forum searching how to do a stills grab (menu item on earlier version, not so in v11). Better get used to it I guess.... Use your wings Johnny....

Thanks guys, and thanks DSE for taking the time to explain in plain understandable English what I think I had read on other forums but not understood. What might have happened is when the camera came out of the box and I first hit record (great video of my knees under the desk) it was in SD and not HD mode. I might try and delete all those files and then try and transfer the remaining HD to iMovie via the USB (thanks for pointing out that it is a file transfer and not data capture, I hadnt appreciated that. Looks like I got myself a little science project for this evening :) Use your wings Johnny....

Feeling very pleased with myself today with a brand new Mac Book Pro, and shiny new-to-me (thanks Adreas) CX105E so I went and jumped my new camera setup (thanks Laszlo for the CamEye adapter - works just as advertised, excellent bit of kit). Got home, played the jumps back on my TV - looked great. Plugged the Sony into my Mac and iMovie doesnt recognise the camera. Now this is probably a DUH moment as I am a bit of a technophobe but I was suspicious that the USB method recommended in the manuals and on the forums would not deliver the data transfer rates necessary (I always used Firewire on the old PC cameras). There must be a ton of camera flyers using CX100-type cameras and iMovie 11 - so any ideas? Surely I dont need extra software to make this work like suggested on some Apple forums. Is it easier to get the video onto the memory card and insert that into the Mac? Silly me for thinking that this would be plug and play (yes, this is a bad workman blaming his tools! ) Use your wings Johnny....

Joleenk02 I dont want to steal your thread but this is useful to me too as I have just got a CX105E and am trying to fit it to my Bonehead FTP. I was just looking at the Para Gear catalogue and saw the Schumacher mounting plate you referred to and some Cookie boxes that looked good but pricey. If anyone has any other good ideas for mounting the camera I would be interested, I am currently working through the long list of items that came up on a search of previous threads. I would ideally like to get this rigged up for the weekend and not wait for something to ship through the mail but I have neither the resources or skills to do much of a 'Do It Yourself' job. Use your wings Johnny....

I agree with Quade, big wings would be my recommendation too. Thats the advice I was given when I started out doing camera and I am glad I took it. You will not need them all the time, you may not even need them some of the time, but when you do you REALLY do. When the exit goes to rats and your air is taken away from you you might just need the extra wing area to avoid hitting the team (just before your instancts bring your arms in when you are about to hit someone!). I am about to replace my camera suit and although I havent decided which company to approach, whatever I buy will be the option with the biggest wings. I didnt get booties first time round but the extra drive back up the hill could be useful - again if an exit goes funky you need instant max performance to get over the team to avoid a camera bust. Use your wings Johnny....

Thanks DSE, very helpful as always. Use your wings Johnny....

I am finally moving out of the stone age and dumping my box full of Sony PC camera and accessories and looking at CX-series cameras. Still looking for a CX150 although the shops here dont seem to stock them any more as they are discontinued. I saw a 130 yesterday and thought about buying it until I remembered the CMOS/stability issues discussed on here a while back so I put my credit card away. To get to the point, I have seen CX150s on sale on line but sourced from the US and therefore using NTSC format. Is this is still an issue for us Europeans or has the age of digital vice analogue recording and transmission rendered this problem irrelevant? All I want to do is record, edit on iMovie and then share with jumpers who may want to play the imagery on their TVs (yeah ok, and some family stuff of my kid growing up in for his grandparents back home). NTSC/Pal was last discussed on here a couple of years ago but with things moving on so quickly I thought I would check with the experts here. Use your wings Johnny....

Pope - thanks for the comments. If I find any of the cameras you mentioned I will let you know. I will be swinging by the Palm tomorrow so I will look you up. Laszlo - I am going to go for the adapter so look out for my order! This is a really useful thread. No one has said 'this has been covered before, use the search function' (yep, done that) and it is bang up to date with people's latest and current views on new and recent cameras. Thanks for all the input guys and thanks to pope for getting the ball rolling. Use your wings Johnny....

davelepka - thanks I will check it out with the DZ ( I have tor order a bunch of other stuff through them anyway so it wont harm to ask about a Hypeye controller. laslo, thanks - PM on its way. Guys, thanks for all the advice, much appreciated. Use your wings Johnny....