PharmerPhil

Yes, you can see pics of paratroopers with first aid pouches tied to their helmets. I haven't seen one with two yet, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Tried to find a camera helmet thread, but didn't see it. Anyway, I haven't posted here for many years, but I had to put together a new camera helmet for use on the 75th anniversary of D-day jumps in Normandy in a couple of weeks. You have no idea how hard it is to find a real, WWII-era GoPro.

Love it!

Ditto. I use FCP6 at home, and FCP7 at work (Vegas at the DZ for Tandems only). But I know there will come a day when Apple won't support FCP legacy editions, and/or it won't work in newer computers. We just got the Adobe Suite at work, and it is an easier transition than going to FCPX. I still need to spend some time with it to get up to speed though. They don't have a simple "Share to DVD" function like FCP does (at least not that I have found). But the rest of the suite is very nice to have too (Photoshop, Encore, etc.)!

No, I haven't gotten a shadow line, although my flash coverage isn't as wide a my lens. In freefall though, there often isn't anything at the extreme edges of the frame to be lit by flash. Yes it is mounted with a hot shoe adapter that is bolted to a custom-made quick-release system that matches my camera mounts.

Here are two shots of my current set-up on a SkySystems Wes Pro. Canon DSLR, Sony CX150 or CX100, and Canon 420 Flash with remote flash extender cord. Takes me about a minute to add it to my non-flash set-up.

I don't know. But I'll bet SkySytems could answer that. Good luck.

I have a large head (some would say a fat head): 7-5/8. I use a SkySystems Vapor Wes Pro, and it fits great!

I had a Canon 15mm lens once that stopped taking pics at certain times, and it was hard to determine what was causing it. I finally determined that it was related to the aperture (I think it was at wide aperture settings). I believe the blades were bent or sticking. I temporarily "solved" the problem by shooting at higher ISO (I think) to keep the aperture smaller until I could get a replacement. Note: This was a couple of years ago, and it may have been at smaller apertures, but the problem is probably the same, just the solution was reversed, i.e., lower ISO.

I regularly use a 16GB stick that came with my CX100 on e-bay. No problems at all.

We just bought the whole Adobe Production CS6 suite (including After Effects, Premiere, Encore, Photoshop, etc.) Student/Teacher edition for $380. I think even B&H lists the suite for $400.

A TI at our DZ put a GoPro on his head set to automatically snap stills of videographers. Got this one of me just after exit. Photo by Keith Murray.

It depends to a large degree what the subject matter is. I find noise most objectionable in large areas of the same color such as a big blue sky, or anywhere there is a large amount of dark colors or black. Unfortunately, these things occur a lot in tandem freefall pics.

It sounds like maybe you may be trying to play back in real time over USB? If so, that won't happen (with any computer). USB is used to transfer whole files from the camera to the computer. It is not used in this case to stream videos on playback the way Firewire used to work on cameras.

I've been biting my tongue watching this thread, but the last two pics confirm what I have felt all along. Including the drogue in the shot, particularly from the top, doesn't add anything of value to the customer's product. Maybe people are just trying to impress themselves and other jumpers with their "cool" shots. But you should always keep in mind who is paying for the video and what they want. They want themselves featured first and foremost. Most, if they even see the drogue, are simply confused by it and have to have it explained (how many time have you heard their friends/family ask "the parachute comes out right away?"). Flying up and around the tandem can show varying angles, which I feel can make it interesting and break the monotony of a single angle (ala handcam), but flying so far up that you see the drogue and completely lose the shot of who is jumping doesn't add anything IMHO and wastes valuable shooting time. Flying below to show the drogue is slightly less detracting insofar as you can at least still see the customer's face (given a wide enough angle lens and proper exposure). But shot from the top? Not in my, or most customers' opinions. BTW, that first shot is definitely taken from the death zone.

Keep in mind that the stills and video will never match exactly because of different aspect ratios. When I can, I prefer to use a wider still lens. 1st because you can always crop it, secondly, if a hand or foot goes out of frame for a few frames on video it is no big deal, but I usually wouldn't want that on a still image.

"Their" product. Just saying... And ditto to having the customers walk away with their video the same day they jump. Anything else should be the rare exception. Cost, customer satisfaction, immediate gratification etc. Our manifest makes little manila envelopes (2-1/2"x4") for each load with the customers' names on them, along with the name of the videographer/TI. We drop the cards in the envelopes and leave them for the editor. This way, when he/she edits the video, they have the name for the video/DVD. When the editor is done, he puts the re-formatted cards in each videographer's bin. Until then, no one can touch the envelope/card so the card doesn't get inadvertently re-written.

+1 Truth! It's a shame this has to even be said, but a bigger shame that this advice is rarely followed in skydiving.

I hope you have a thick skin, cause it is late, and I've had a few. But here goes: With all due respect, i just watched the first minute of the video, and it would all end up on the cutting room floor. Nothing useful, memorable or worth posting even on social networks. When I'm a minute into a youtube/fb video and I haven't seen anything that interests me, I just move on. I think most people are like that. And the gratuitous, I'll just spend 20 seconds videoing stickers on my helmet? Really? And the extreme wide-angle fish-eye with zero resolution outside of the center 5%? Back to the vid... I got to the first useful footage at 1:30, but only because of the subject. The super wide-angle, face is too small, and "I think I'm being cool by holding a camera up in the air and moving it..." has to go! 1:46. Really? Look at it. Very, very small distorted faces you can't distinguish against a very oddly shaped plane. I'm at 2 minutes and I have so far seen only a few seconds of footage that is at all worth keeping. Back to the vid... 2:00 to 2:30. Okay, finally something the student will want to see. Although the awful distorted, fish-eye, bad resolution makes me want WAY better. The next minute and a half was mostly useless and boring. The best of it could have been edited down to about 5-10 seconds. At 4 minutes we got what the student is really looking for (but took way to long to get there). The freefall footage is okay for handcam. I liked how he kept the plane in frame on exit. Better than most exit handcam footage (but not as good as most outside video I usually see). Freefall: Okay, here's where that obnoxious fisheye lens pays off... a little. In freefall you can see the student, sky and ground. And the instructor's arm (the "star" of all handcam footage) is only a third of the frame. Of course, you could get all of that, sans forearm, with a good outside videographer. Canopy footage: Here's where handcam shines. It is simply footage the outside guys can't get. Although this footage isn't unlike any other I have seen (IMHO, it went on a little too long though). The best vids combine this canopy footage with outside vid for the rest of the skydive. Landing: Okay as far as handcam goes, but not as good as outside footage from a good outside videographer with a TI who lands close. But neglected to turn the student towards the Sun before shooting the ending shots. Just black, backlit faces. And again, the super-wide made the student's face become small and insignificant. Overall, I think this should have been half the length, and then might have been a decent video as far as handcam goes. But not near as good as good outside vids I have seen from many outside videographers. BTW, I could rip into many, many outside videos with at least as much criticism. But I think what many videos lack is looking at the vid from the students perspective, and understanding when and how they view and SHARE their videos. Everyone want to show off their video. But making something that makes them proud, shows them off, and making something they can show their friends without their friends walking out before the freefall even begins seems to elude many videographers/editors. But as I say,... IMHO! Some day I'll post one of mine so others can similarly rip me a new one! It's late. I'll probably regret this post (and hear an earful) in the morning.

This has been asked several times on this forum. And each time, everyone recommends what they use themselves. And in most cases, they have always used the same type of switch. I'm in that camp too. I have used a blow switch for 12+ years and I love it. The one thing I would add is that I have used the same blow switch for thousands of jumps without a single failure, whereas everyone I know who uses a bite or tongue switch has had to replace them several times. My too sense...

What is everyone saying the delivery format will be for 4K consumer videos? Just files/streaming? Or is there some sort of Blu-ray/4K?

FCS 6 and 7 don't edit these .mts files natively, but converts them to a more robust format on ingest. (FCX says it does, but I haven't used it). To use them with FCS, you have to keep the original hierarchy of the files from the card (either use the original card, or copy its entire contents to a drive). Then simply use "Log and Transfer." This converts them to another format, usually Pro-Res. If you only have individual clips on a drive, and not the original card/folder, use MPEG Streamclip to convert them to another format first. This is a great utility to own for all sorts off file conversions (Mac or Windows), so get it anyway, it's free.

I agree that if you are just creating archives, or if you have a whole bunch to do, nothing is easier than a stand-alone DVD recorder. However, it you want to get it into your computer for editing first, you cannot use the CX100. You could use several older Sony DV cameras, just make sure they have A/V inputs. I have used an older TRV-38 or a TRV-900. Then you just capture the firewire stream into your NLE. If I have to do this now, I use an older Hollywood Dazzle, bidirectional A/V to Firewire converter. They may be discontinued, but there are comparable items at B&H. In my experience, the quality of the VHS tape it usually the limiting factor quality-wise. I currently have one on my desktop for some Hi-8 tapes I am editing this week.

Get in the tunnel with a willing partner, and try flying in the burble they create. It is a good, controlled learning environment.

Kinda simplify things doesn't it? I mean, did you come to this forum for comments? Or to show off what you already decided was "cool?" I don't do wing suit jumps, or have a camera on the back of my head like this. But people here who do those things are saying it isn't safe (and with apparently good cause and reasoning). You can listen or keep your head in the sand.