PharmerPhil

Last year, my home DZ implemented a rule whereby non-staff members are not allowed on tandem jumps. Off the record, this rule is waiverable by the tandem master (and vidiot), but we don't advertise that fact. Our general feeling is that it doesn't add anything but risk to the tandem passenger, and makes for a much poorer video (usually). If it is someone we know, and we know they won't f*#% it up, we sometimes allow it. But when we are uncomfortable, we can just point to the rule.

BTW, this rule really pissed off a long time jumper who used to bring a lot of tandems to the DZ (and lurk them) and has since taken his business elsewhere. But in truth, he was one of the worst (most dangerous) offenders even though he had thousands of jumps, and many years experience. It as a tough call, but in the end, we decided on the side of safety and the tandem passenger's total jumping experience.

Blah, blah, blah blah blah. Heard it all before, but done both. The OS's aren't "the same." And they make all the difference (or at least 98-percent). MS can try to copy (and they do) whatever Apple did a few year ago and claim "they're just as easy." But it is just a bunch of crap. Out of the box, Mac beats MS-anything everytime. Customized? Well, at some point,...sure... Many super-geeks can make (force) either to work. But that's not the point. Most people will have less hassles using Mac. Simple as that. Just count how many questions/problems/hassles people have all the time (really, all the time! ask me about yesterday) on Windows machines. And I can't count how many times I have watched the best and brightest get dumbfounded by the simplest of tasks using Windows machines. Most people who claim otherwise are just trying to defend what they have always used or have always had their bread buttered by (Win-tel-something or a supplier/supporter). Or, they have never really sat down and tried a Mac (I don't count running boot Camp; that's just wasting money for the worst of both worlds).

BTW Lazlo,

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Furthermore MAC OS X can't even defragment a hard drive

Macs just do it in the background all the time so you just don't even notice it. It's a little thing, but just one of those little things...

And, I also thought that when Mac went Unix (effectively) that they would be besieged by viruses like Windows. But it just hasn't happened. Sure, it could, but it hasn't (ask any Mac user).

BTW, In the interest of disclosure, I own Apple stock. Bought it in 2000 when Wall Street had written it off (pre-iPod) because they didn't understand it. And I don't own an iPod, and don't use iMovie. It's late,... just ranting,... but heard it all/done it all b4.

That's basically how I fly for tandems or other things I'm filming on level or a little lower. However, rather than useing too much leg (which tends to flatten my body position if extended), I angle my forearms and hands towards the ground to keep from backsliding. This position allows me to look up slightly at the student's face, but not so much that you can't see the ground also on most shots (I really like having the ground there for perspective). Attached is a photo of me filming this way. I should add that unless it is very cold, I now fly with shorts and a Tony Suits jacket for shots like this, so the legs really aren't doing that much.

There is another drawback to the compact digital cameras that you should be aware of. Most of them exhibit a severe shutter lag between when you press the button (bite the switch, whatever) and when it actually takes the picture. Sometimes it is seconds long. This can make getting exit shots, completed points, etc. infuriating. I would strongly consider a cheap SLR instead (digital or film).

How do you keep those bubble levels centered in freefall...?

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and why does every think that when you hit exactly 200 skydives...then you will be able to fly a camera the right way...what if some people that have 50 jumps are catching on quicker with learning how to fly then some people with 500 jumps? ...people are making it sound like you wont know how to fly a camera with 199 jumps...but that one more jump that makes you hit the 200 mark will make you a pro jumping with a camera...maybe some people learn quicker...you know?

I guess the most dangerous thing is...you never know what you don't know. I know it is frustrating to hear this over and over again. But look at the jump numbers of the people that are warning you. When everyone with more experience than you is making the same recommendation...well... you have to at least consider it. (This is true of many disciplines, risks, and areas of expertise.) Don't fool yourself into thinking that everyone making the recommendation to wait is full of S%#$, and that you know better. At least consider that you might not...

P.S. It is not that at 200 jumps you somehow know how to jump a camera, it is that you are apt to be able to jump more safely in general, and can (hopefully) handle more risks/variables/etc when you do jump. Learning to actually jump the camera will probably take many hundreds of more jumps. We just had a 200 jump wonder pound in last Sunday (visible brain matter) because he thought he could now handle high-performance landings. He was med-flighted out last Sunday and still hasn't regained consciousness yet (one week ago). He didn't know what he didn't know

I hate being the one to say this (because this always seems to come up on this forum), but is your profile up to date? You described a very complicated dive, with lots of variables, and with strangers. I'm not opposed to any one issue, but combining all these issues with your stated jump numbers is putting yourself and others in danger.

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As a beginner, I reacted by instincts. I could made everything worst for the roll group or for me, I don’t know.

I personally think your jump numbers would indicate that you start videoing very slowly and with less complicated, and hopefully safer skydives. Videoing simpler skydives (2-4 ways, no extra objects in freefall, people you know, complete dirt dives, pulling at break-off, etc.) is a much safer way to hone your skills before attempting a skydive like you describe here...IMHO.

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The downside is with such a limited market there is no way you'd ever beat the big guys on price.

Ya think?

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Other than the fact that the video is horrible, can't be easily edited, and it doesn't work with a top or side mount helmet, it's not a bad choice.

Why don't you tell us what you really think?

We print our own on using ink-jet printers directly to the disk (Epson R200-R260). My design uses a fairly large white area where I write the customer's name using a sharpie. This also help cut down on ink costs.

I almost always use packers (haven't packed in a year or more?), but usually do okay with my Sabre II. (I try to be careful about who packs it though.)

I had a similar issue with my HVR-A1U this spring. I was vidoing a big-way (140+) from the left trail, and one of the divers hit me hard from behind. It shut my vid down for a second or so, but then it resumed videoing. Of course, I aimed for the diver after being hit to make sure I got him on video for the debrief. I think I have had cameras shut off before on whackers but that was because they were being mechanically shut off. This time I think it was a buffer thing, and had something to do with the HDV format, but I can't be sure. I never touched the switches, and it came back on it's own.

I love this stuff. When the plane isn't too full, I will sometimes go to the cockpit to shoot the pilot while doing tandem vids. Start by zooming in on the dash altimeter, then out to the pilot who sometimes does something silly (talking on cell phone, looking at map, sleeping, etc.) This time, when I swung my camera to shoot the pilot, he hauled out a camera and got a shot of me.

P.S. Another good reason to forego those silly boxes for video cameras.

Manual Focus, auto exposure. But in some situations (high noon, very bright overcast, dark skinned people, or looking straight up) I'll set the AE to +1, or just set program AE to Beach and Ski. I don't mind the sky getting blown out as much as having my subject's face too dark. I don't do this for RW though. I use auto white balance on video.

Analog for tandems (Panasonic MX-12 board). Mainly because it is fast and it does what I need it to do for tandem videos. I shoot to edit, so it takes me 8 minutes to edit an 8 minute video. I usually give tandem students their video the same day. If I am not on a back-to-back, they get it within 15 minutes of landing. Only on a very busy weekend do I have to mail some videos out, but they are all complete before I leave the DZ.

Work Flow: Finish videoing on the field, give customer film roll on the field (we use film for tandems), drop rig, edit video, start video for the next student while DVD finalizes, grab DVD for customer, do it all over again. I can do this while the plane is in the air, and meet it for the next hot load.

For RW, I usually just dub right to whatever the team/group has for debriefing (hard drive, DVD-R, VHS) for review only (no editing). If I am the only video for a big-way, I bring my DVDr and dub each jump to that. That way my Powerbook is free for downloading photos. It amazes me that DZs still use VHS for review. Trying to identify who's bad on a big-way using a paused VHS image is silly.

For all other editing, I use FinalCut Pro (FCP3) on an old (6 years?) PowerMac G4 867 (plus a FW800 scratch drive). I was planning on a Mac Pro this summer, but I was hoping for the new OS and built-in Blue Ray first. I might not be able to wait that long. My 867 won't do HDV.

Maybe your poll should include a "both" category.

Over 1500 jumps on my TRV-38, top-mount, no box or neoprene. The only problem is that the zoom sometimes gradually creeps outward when I am zoomed in on something. It is very slow and doesn't happen all the time (and good thing it isn't the other way around). No other problems at all. Glad I never got a box. Woulda just wasted money and got in the way.

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The minute you transfer it to something like a MiniDV (or definitely a standard audio or VHS cassette tape) it can lose massive amounts of quality.

This isn't true. Yes, magnetic drop outs can and do occur due to shedding of magnetic particles or misaligned heads, but unlike analog formats (where drop outs also occur but are irretrievable), most digital storage mediums use what are know as "parity bits." These extra bits in the data stream are a sort of built in error correction whereby the playback device can exactly and mathematically replicate the bits that were lost.

This happens all the time with digital tapes as well as digital disks (CD, DVD, etc.). It just happens so seamlessly that you don't even notice it. The digital data stream coming out of the playback device is an exact duplicate of the original digital data stream. What most people refer to (and notice) as drop outs are actually massive losses of data, including parity bits, which are so large that they cannot be replicated.

I am not familiar with the actual data stream of a MiniDV video tape, but I know in the old days of CDs and DATs (remember them), they both recorded the same format (44.1kHz, 16-bit PWM), but the DATs actually had a longer data stream and included more parity bits because of the higher losses expected due to magnetic particle shedding.

Yes, DV and MiniDV formats are pure digital. Just as digital as optical disks. And actually a less compressed, higher quality digital video data stream than DVD or hard drive camcorders.

BTW, not to be a wise a@#, but I am hoping either your original question was just out of pure curiosity, or the jump numbers in your profile are incorrect.

I can only speak of my experiences with PD. First off, they have great customer support. I currently jump two Sabre II 150s and I love them (1.35:1 loading). Always soft openings, and, if packed properly, on-heading as well. I have jumped four different Stilletto 150s, and each of them was completely different. A couple were great, one (a PD demo) sucked. If I knew I could get one like my buddy's, I probably would. But I don't want to take a chance. A lot of camera fliers like the Spectre (I've jumped a couple 150s), and it really does give great openings. But I find they don't land as well (as fun?) as the Sabre or Stilletto, and they can't make it back from a long spot nearly as well as either (IMHO). If you are videoing tandems (often last out, pulling below your subject) I wouldn't use one just because of that.

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the only force transmitted will be compression, through your neck and spine.

This is incorrect. Unless you start your deployment while in a vertical position (not recommended), your body will pivot around the attachment point. This will cause there to be substantial bending force on your neck. And with a top-mounted camera, yes the force will be amplified the further the weight is from the pivot point. The bending will be fore and aft rather than side to side (like on a side-mount), but it will still be present.

i jump both side-mount and top-mount, and these days I jump a top-mount almost exclusively. But this is more because that is the only way to get the equipment I want on my head. IMHO, either sucks if you get a bad opening.

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In the end, there are two ways I've heard to sight your still vs. your camcorder.

I think this has been discussed before, but here's my take. Do not try to line up the cameras at some specific distance. It is much better to just line up the cameras and the sight to be parrallel at all times. This way, they will always be off by the same distance. I think my video camera lens and my sight are 6-inches apart (vertically). My still camera is right in between them. This means that my sight will always be 6-inches off for the video, 3-inches for the stills. For most shooting distances, this seperation is irrelevant. During a tandem video jump, I will usually get very close (less than 18-inches) at one point of the dive. At that time, I simply line up my sight to be 6-inches lower than my intended point of aim (i.e., if I am shooting their face, I just aim 6-inches lower, like for their neck). I don't usually shoot stills while I am this close, and for any other distances, 6-inches one way or the other really doesn't matter.

The problem with aiming the line of sights to intersect at some point is that the distance between the lines of sight will vary a lot depending on how close you really are. When you are far away, your lines of sight could be very far off. And at those long distances, 6-inches just wouldn't matter.

Just my too sense...

Like I said, I've never had a problem. I go through lots of wet air (rain, ice, clouds), and I try not to have "careless" landings. (I also try to avoid head-butting people and planes either in the sky or on the ground.) But I typically rest my helmet on the camera itself when I put it down, and I'm often in a hurry when I do. Never had a problem.

My guess is that people get a box just because they see other people using them. But I think they are superfluous, and do more to get in the way. I do use a box for my rarely used side-mount set-up (Nvertigo X), but that is really just to protect against riser strikes.

IMHO boxes are a waste of money, weight, and space. At least on a top mount. They also hurt audio pick-up (important if you do tandem videos). I have never used a box for a top-mount camera, and never had a problem. Also, I like being able to access lots of camera controls (focus, zoom, AE comp, LCD, etc.). Save your money and get a quality lens instead. Just make sure you support the bottom of the lens so nothing can get underneath it. I put a block under the lens, and stuff open cell foam between the block and microphone to cut down on wind noise.

D'oh!!!

I just bought one last week (from Paragear) and was suprised at how huge it was. Suprised is being nice. I was actually very dissapointed, because I cannot mount it where my Cam-Eye was (is).

Anybody wanna buy an old-school HypEye...?

That is what I was doing (down converting to DV in camera). But I still edit tandem videos using linear equipment, and all the above-mentioned gripes still apply while down-converting (i.e. slow-mo, rewind jumps, etc.).

I have since gone back to my old TRV-38 for tandems. It is a pretty good camera, and I can always put the HDR on when I'm videoing big-ways, RW, or anything else. The TRV image isn't quite as good as the HDR, but the finished product (post-edit) is better due to smoother editing, no missed shots, etc. (Unfortunately, the weight is about the same.) It is just too bad that HDV isn't currently compatible with my current work-flow.

Here is a theory. One of the custom functions (04 on my 20D, it could be the same on your camera) determines what happens when you press your shutter down half-way. It can be set so that the focus and/or exposure are set. If your mouth switch is wired such that the focus wire is always connected and the switch just closes the shutter contact (i.e. similar to a half-way pushed shutter button; many people wire them this way), your exposure will be set when you turn on the camera. If you do this in a dark plane, it will set and hold an open aperture until the camera is turned off or the wire is dissconnected. It is just a theory (and the problem with it I see is that your good photos do look correctly exposed). But it is a simple check (and fix) if this is the problem.

Or it just could be broken.

Once I had a Digital Rebel fall from my head after a whacker opening. When someone dug it out of the mud across the river from the DZ (they were looking for a chopped main), I got an ERR 99 message. So I'm guessing it means "you idiot, you dropped your camera."

I fixed the error message by bringing it to Ritz Camera (two weeks left on factory warrantee) where they replaced the "light box" free of charge. I quickly sold it on e-bay.