PharmerPhil

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>I dont think sticking a helmet in someones face is very comfortable for them or me.

A few tips for that:

1) Keep the camera low. If it's at chest level it's not very intimidating.

2) Zoom in a bit.

3) Make sure your manual shutter release is accessible so you don't need to get "below" the top of the helmet to take stills.

Disconnecting and reconnecting cameras leads to rapid failure of the LANC/shiutter release port, and can lead to alignment and mount problems.

These are good tips. But I don't like relying on zoom for ground interviews though. First, zooming and holding a camera hand-held is not easy. But more importantly, if the camera is close to you and far from your student, the student's voice will be very low, and yours loud. I like holding the camera low as you mention, but having it equi-distance between us and engaging the customer with my eyes. That way they are having a conversation with another person, and not staring straight into a lens. (See attached photo)

P.S. Shooting tandems has greatly improved my hand-held shooting in general. And having the camera mounted to the helmet makes it easier for me to get a steady shot (more mass, two grips, tha ability to anchor it against your head or chest for a zoomed shot). I have had news crews use my hand-held landing shots rather than their cameraman's tripod or shoulder shot because mine was steady enough, and a tandem videographer obviously has more experience in tracking this shot.

Wow that's expensive! I guess that's Euro-pricing. B&H has Sony Mini DVs for US$2.20 each. US$2.15 each for ten or more, $2.05 each for 50 or more, and I know there are cheaper places online.

If it is anything like the A1U:

Menu -> Camera Set -> Date Record.

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PharmerPhil, looking at the pics of your setup, I was thinking of putting a similar foam support in front of my CX100, under the 5050 pro. But then I noticed that it would interfere with the mic inputs. Are you using an external mic or does the foam simply not interfere as much as I think it will?

The foam is not for support of the lens, but is there as a windscreen for the microphone. It is a piece of "pick-and-pluck" foam from a pelican case (open cell). And while I haven't done any real acoustical testing of it, I don't notice any coloration of the sound. It certainly sounds better than microphones closed up inside camera boxes. It is very helpful for doing ground interviews on breezy days, and even under canopy (I usually congratulate the tandem student by name with a thumbs up right after opening).

I do have a lens support forward of the foam, and this is a rigid piece of nylon or UHMW. It is about 8mm thick and sits at the front edge of the lens. It not only supports the lens, but also keeps a line from being able to go under the lens and get snagged.

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I have to ask, did you build that little wood stand just for your helmet? Stained and varnished and all?

Well I did have the leftover wood lying around (notice the bottom is a single wide piece of oak), and it does make working on the helmet easier, and it was off-season anyway...

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Shouldn't it at least see the flash card as a folder when it is connected via the fire wire?

No.

The HC9 doesn't record video to a flash card. It records to a DV or HDV tape.

(edit: it records still images to a flash card)

It would help if you tell us what software and computer you are using.

FWIW, the HC-9 only transfers video via firewire as a stream, the CX100 only transfers video via USB as files (it doesn't even have Firewire). Maybe when you connected the CX100 somebody changed the input to USB and you haven't changed back?

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...but I would like to see a picture of FTP with it and I would be sold.... How would it stand on FTP`s vertical forehead.

Here a pic of my set-up with the Schumacher bracket and a HypEye mini tucked inside. It's not a FTP, but instead a Vapor which also has a vertical forehead. This set-up is very low profile, swivels out of the way if wanted, and has nylon screws. Plus, with the traditional mounting posts, I always had this image of that post being a skull puncturing device during a violent collision. That image alone makes me prefer the articulated bracket.

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so, i get on the plane as usual, just before exit, i switch and push, and i should be good to go!

Oh sure. Nobody's ever gotten in trouble with that attitude before. monkycndo speaks the truth. You would prove yourself a fool to ignore his advice.

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Do I have to shoot in HD to get it to work in FCE??

I have never imported SD footage from these cams, but the owners' manual says:

"Standard definition video recorded with AVCHD camcorders cannot be accessed in the Log and Transfer window."

I don't know if there is another way to import SD on this program but I suspect there is. Have you tried just using the "import files" (under the "File" menu) and directing it to the actual files?

Is it an Intel-processor-based Mac (required for AVCHD)? Are you shooting your CX-100 in HD? What version of FCE are you using?

I don't use Final Cut Express, but if it is anything like Final Cut Pro (probably) here's how it works...

In the log and transfer window, in the upper left, there is little icon of a folder with a plus (+) sign in it. Clicking this lets you navigate to wherever the files are.

Or, simply drag the entire "BDMV" folder into the log and transfer window, and all associated clips will show up there.

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do you have a suggestion on how to do it!?

Each helmet is different, but here are a couple of examples of how I blocked off a similar snag hazard on a side mount. The first photo is a large, thick nylon washer that I shaped on a bench grinder to fit the contour of the box. Then I ran a bolt through the box, washer, and helmet. The second I just filled in a smaller gap with hot-melt glue. Not pretty, but fairly effective. You would have to give up the fancy quick release, but I would think making the set-up safer takes priority over convenience. Particularly at your jump numbers.

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Do you guys "Seat" your tapes?

I used to do that in the old days of analog audio cassette tapes. It definitely made a difference then. However, modern video tape recorders wrap the tape around a helically-scanned head, and use a pinch roller to maintain tension across the head (old analog cassette tapes had the pinch roller only and operated at much slower speeds). So I never felt it was necessary or tried it with DV/HDV video tapes. With analog, non-helically-scanned tape, it only affected tape speed and so created wow and flutter, not drop-outs.

I could see how with modern helically-scanned tapes it would cause the data channel to totally miss the head if it did change speed (i.e. drop-outs). This shouldn't be much different between DV and HDV, except that with HDV, or any other long-GOP format, the drop-out is much longer (1/30-second vs. 1/2-second) and hence more noticeable.

I won't say it doesn't make a difference, but I haven't tried it or felt compelled to try it yet. I can see the theory behind it though and would adopt it if it was proven to make a difference.

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Over the winter/spring, 4 of us at Eloy,..

We compared our various issues to see if there was any consistency or if a correlation could be deduced between us.

Maybe the correlation has to do with Eloy. Dryness? Dust? Static electricity?

I haven't had any problems with my HC-5 or A1U, and I use Sony's basic consumer tapes. I did get a couple of drop-outs on my V1U at a non-skydiving shoot (fortunately I shot enough b-roll to cover it). But considering the hours I have on all these machines, I can't really complain.

I used to wonder about this. Although the form-factor of a flash would lead you to believe that it has a horizontal spread, in rudimentary tests I have done it doesn't seem to be that way. I would be curious to hear anyone else's experience with the flash's spread.

Regardless, if you are just looking for fill flash in freefall for tandems (and are not trying to light up the ground 2-plus miles away), I would think you would only be interested in in lighting the "sweet spot" in the middle; and it shouldn't be a problem either way.

I may be wrong but,...

If you are planning on shooting HD, I am not sure Final Cut Pro version 4 supports AVCHD. If it doesn't that would mean either upgrading your software, or shooting in SD (fcp is currently at v.6, and v.7 is right around the corner).

BTW, "a (lot) longer" is relative. When I import 5-1/2 minutes of AVCHD video, it takes me about 2-1/2 minutes to import and transfer to Final Cut Pro 6. That is still better than twice as fast as tape-based media (not counting rewinding, or plugging in cables).

Search. It has already been discussed on another thread.

FCP will import and convert files from a disk, but you have to keep the original file folder structure (i.e., everything in the "BDMV" folder). When I import approximately five and a half minutes of footage, it takes around two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half minutes to import and convert (better than firewire DV at least). Once that is done, the editing is super speedy as there is no more long GOP content to deal with.

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Can you switch the still and video? If you mount the still on the other side the Dbox mounting area will extend beneath your stills and help prevent snaggage.

But then you stand a good chance of shearing off your HypEye connector, or your SLR connector. Or both...

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I don't get this. Are you saying that zoomability is a high priority? Do you use the zoom in freefall? If not, on the ground you can just walk towards and away from your subject (fast) instead of using the camera's zoom button

Yes. For me shooting tandems zoom is a very high priority. Without it, I limit all of my shots to just wide angle, and I find that very boring.

No, I don't use zoom in freefall, but I use it a lot on the ground and in the plane. Walking towards a subject to get a certain framing with a w/a lens is not the same as the image you get from a distance with a longer lens (i.e., don't confuse image size with perspective).

Besides, you can't always walk to the cockpit to get a cool close-up shot of the pilot's hand on the throttles (or whatever you call them) during take-off. You can't walk to a higher altitude to get a good shot of the tandem pair coming down under canopy when you are on the ground. You can't/shouldn't walk closer to the runway to get a great shot of the jump plane either landing or taxiing towards you.

If it was just freefall it wouldn't matter. But IMHO shooting a tandem involves getting a lot of good footage before and after the freefall portion of the skydive, and I would prefer to not be locked down to a video that only includes totally wide or nothing.

One thing the low-profile, single-element lenses give up is the ability to zoom. That's a non-starter for me for tandem work.

My feelings exactly.

Yes. If it is truly to be an OTA broadcast, then the whites would have to be within legal limits. Although I believe most broadcasters have filters to ensure this regardless of the source.