bdrake529

Oh yeah... (very pleased, smug grin on my face). Brian Drake

Yes it is and here. Brian Drake

Could you share anecdotal description of how you use this for jumping? What jump craft are you in? Do you have to hold the device up to the window to get a signal or can you just turn it on and forget it? Thanks, Brian Brian Drake

This was shot with an HC-5 in Night Shot mode, with the Night Shot light on and an additional non-IR headlamp mounted directly below camera. I tweaked the color/brightness a bit in IMovie. Brian Drake

Is the Wintec WBT-201 still the preferred "puck" logger or has something better come along? Better would be better antenna for more reliable reception in Twin Otters. Better could also be > 1 hz through Bluetooth even if reception is same as WBT-201. Brian Drake

Those are actually ok specs (1hz, 2.5 meter accuracy). I'm more interested in seeing how it acquires connection in the plane, and how well it maintains it while traveling at over 100 mph through the air. Thanks, Brian Brian Drake

Cool. I don't have an iPhone. This App looks to be free. Would someone be willing to download this App, and do a jump with it, then report back on the results (even better, post a KML or GPX file)? Brian Drake

Does anyone know about the ability of the GPS in the iPhone 3Gs? I'm curious if it could be used as a jump logger. How would it compare to the Wintec WBT-201 or even the Foretrex 201? Brian Drake

Could you explain this please? I know practically nothing about electricity. Brian Drake

I have a video iPod cable. 3.5mm 4-pole "headphone jacK" on one side, split(3) RCA component output on the other (Red, White, Yellow). I've got the 3.5mm plugged into a Hypeye D Pro, where the debrief cable plugs in. I've got the Red RCA (the Hypeye debrief cable maps differently than the iPod) plugged into the "Video In" of an LCD viewfinder. I don't need the audio. Can I simply cut off the two unused RCA cables? Will this "short out" or otherwise damage anything? Brian Drake

Thanks Spot, that's what I needed.

Looking through the samples, some of the footage is in 4:3 and isn't as impressive (like the BASE stuff), while the 16:9 stuff really makes me go wow! Is this mixing GoPro SD with GoProHD footage. Will the HD have a 4:3 SD option? The 16:9 footage makes me want to buy this now. The 4:3 footage, not so much. Brian Drake

Damn, that does actually look pretty good. And I must admit, if it's genuinely good quality, I'm going to be a bit pissed off. Camera helmet - $500 Various RAM mounts - $75 CX100 - $430 Opteka 0.3x - $100 Hypeye D - $100 CX100 Box - $100 If this little bitch can accomplish essentially the same thing (cool mounting positions, good quality footage, wide angle), with more variety in mounting locations (due to size/weight), I'll shell out for it, but I won't like it. Please Spot, tell me something bad about the GoProHD to make me feel better... Brian Drake

Spot, I have FCE and VoltaicHD. Ever since I got FCE, I've been using it instead of Voltaic and haven't compared convert speeds (I'm not trilled with FCE's speed but don't remember being thrilled with Voltaic's speed and at least FCE lets you log, though I'd give that up if Voltaic was truly faster). Cineform Neo is more than I'm willing to spend. Is Revolver noticeably faster than FCE/Voltaic? Is there a cheaper than Cineform, but faster than FCE Mac solution out there? Thanks Brian Drake

That would really rock. How about a double wingsuit rodeo wedding? Bride and groom would be riders. Make that triple wingsuit rodeo. Minister (or whatever) would be riding third. Brian Drake

Anyone attending to wingsuit? I'll be there. Brian Drake

"Now you just need a belly[check], toe[check and ankle check]" Nose of the canopy? Not interested. Anyone who saw my BASE videos knows that all that hassle of rigging isn't worth it for only 3-5 seconds of footage (j/k) "Why not get seven angles per jump?" I've got 3 cameras (4 once I fix my stuck-in-night-shot-from-sliding-with-me-down-a-mountain-while-hiking-to-a-jump HC5), so I could get a bunch of angles per jump. But I mainly stick to 1 "specialty" angle and 1 normal (forward facing) helmet cam on most jumps. No need to get too crazy. Believe it or not, but excessive drag is something I at least think about (if not always act on). Reserve problem? Chin to the chest keeps the camera in-line with my torso, and not covering the reserve flap. Should be ok. But Jarno's right, I don't usually jump that angle with skydiving gear. Only did yesterday to see what was happening back there with the wing mount. Actually, come to think about it, that's the only jump where I've used that rear facing mount with skydiving gear (I tested it out of a balloon with BASE gear before taking it off a cliff) and I don't have plans to do it on a regular basis. Thanks for the safety concern though. Brian Drake

Today's tests Brian Drake

Sort of. The Pro-Track has more jump information (averages of fall rates at different alt zones) but only records 119 seconds. The Viso will record for each jump: Exit Alt Deploy Alt Freefall Time Max Freefall fall rate Max Canopy fall rate It will record longer than 119 sec jumps. For the last jump in memory, it will allow you to replay the entire jump, displaying for each second either the alt or the fall rate. This gives you the most detailed jump "profile" of any free-fall logger I'm aware of (sans computer download). But you only get it for the last jump. All other jumps only have stored what I listed above. It has a "slow" setting which accommodates wingsuits on most jumps. On the few instances where you flare out too fast and "trick it', you can use that last jump playback function to figure out your true freefall time. If the N3 had the same "playback" function, it'd be hands-down better, but until it does (download update?), that's the one edge the Viso has (plus it's cheaper than the N3). Brian Drake

Hey! I resent that. Brian Drake

I spent about an hour tonight trying to modify a rollerblade wrist-guard into a mount base glove like Glen suggested, but didn't have much success at keeping the mount in the position I want since there was a continual rotational torque on the soft material of the "glove". Then I tried something that just may work. And I feel stupid for not thinking of it first. Using my mid length RAM arm, I simply held that in my hand, allowing me still to pinch the gripper. The wrist strap is still there in case I drop it, and for after deployment. Attached are pics. Also attached is a screen grab (I haven't yet adjusted the lens hood on my Opteka 0.3, so there's some vignetting). Though not exactly the angle I want (my body should be horizontal across the screen, not an angle), it gives the general idea. The "hold a stick with a camera on it" approach is what I'm going with for now, but I'm still going to try some of the other ideas I've thought of or have been proposed to me in case this doesn't work as well in practice (high speed wind) as in theory (my living room). Thanks again everyone. Keep the ideas coming! Brian Drake

Lurch, The RAM arm is less for aiming and more for elevation. If I mount directly on the wingtip gripper, it's possible that once the wing inflates, it will obscure the entire (or most of the) camera view. There's also the height of my rig which will take a lot of screen real estate (I plan to have a Razor or Hybrid L/D with a Feather in it by next year, but it's still some height off my back) so the elevation is meant to "see over" that too. Brian Drake

I plan to have this pointing at me, across my body to whatever is to my right. Thus the "virtual wingman" thought. The "high speed passing" will be at least 6+ feet away from the camera. That + is a big + as I'm not skimming inches from rocks (not yet). So probably 10 ft or more from the camera. Brian Drake

Thanks Spot. That's about what I found on Google too. The application isn't glaringly obvious to me. Further elaboration would be helpful. Monkey's given me a cool new idea that I'm going to try to make a 3D model of in the next few days. Glen, the glove w/ tiller idea has potential too. Worth investigating as well. Thanks everyone. Brian Drake

I'm an HD snob now. The GoPro is a fun camera, and I like the various, creative angles you can get, but the quality is crap. Perhaps the upcoming HD version will be better, but I highly doubt the quality will be in the same arena as the CX100. ...and if I'm going to risk my life skimming past rocks, I'd better get the best looking footage possible or else that risk is in vain. Brian Drake