DSE

Thx, Pops. I went to Skydive Atlanta while I was there. I'm assuming they were having a bad day. I walked in, nary a word from anyone. I'm not used to that at a DZ, usually it's "Hey, how are ya" sort of thing. Was reasonably busy, but I didn't feel the vibe, so chose not to jump.
RedKite, I've ordered an HC42, and going to rip it apart to lose the zoom feature, and will keep the still and video on/off feature. I wish you could use just a CamEye to start the vid and a vacuum switch for stills.

Figured I'd regurge this thread instead of starting a new one...
While it's not record-breaking, I'm fairly pleased to say that this coming Friday will mark one month from my first tandem jump. Yesterday, I passed my "A" license requirements, and now have 27 jumps in my log book. This does not include two "jumps" when I was dropped from a military round canopy from a training tower several years ago.
I've advanced thru my training SIGNIFICANTLY faster as a result of these fora, I've learned so damn much it's hard to decide what techniques I want to try first.
Awesome forum, awesome people, tremendous information and resource.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart and the top of my canopy.
Blue Skies!

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Too bad the smaller HDV cameras do not have the same options as their resp. big brothers...they actualy enable you to switch between PAL en NTSC recording...sure hope this feature becomes available on the regular consumer cameras (and small HDV cams) soon...

Would save us a lot of trouble..

Don't expect it, not from anything like the A1 or HC3. The reason the Z can do this, is because it has room on the power module for dual clocks and regulators. One runs at 50Hz and the other at 60Hz.
Someday, we might see something that runs at 48Hz, 50Hz, and 60Hz. Canon has this as a purchaseable option for the XLH1, but outside of that...(and it's a HUGE camera)

Tyrion,
The only cam that does both formats currently (that I'm aware of) is the Sony Z1A, and that's a tad big for most camera ops. Can only be mounted on top, no side. It shoots HDV and DV, plus DVCAM in both PAL and NTSC. Be aware that in HD, there is no PAL or NTSC, just frame rate diffs, resolution is identical in both framerates.

PAL is 25fps, and cycles at 50Hz, and NTSC is 29.97fps, and cycles at 60Hz. Today, most NLE's don't care about the format and framerate; the problem is in the output. You can convert PAL to NTSC in standard def easily, but going from NTSC to PAL means you're taking a fairly significant hit in resolution.
Doesn't really answer your question too well, but hopefully helps you understand the diff in PAL and NTSC.
If you're in the Sydney or Melbourne areas, I'll be there in a couple months doing training on HD and shooting extreme sports. PM me for more info if you'd like.

Duh...I gotta second and third the Recode option. It's a great tool for this, particularly their latest version. It will generate the file for you, that Pinnacle 9 will be able to read.
Nero is a good toolkit to have on hand anyway.

I sincerely hope you're tongue in cheek.

The TSA has about as much to do with what's happening in Iraq as what's happening at Ma Fischer's Day School in Podunk, TX.

The TSA is merely another rent in the fabric of what once made America a great country. Fascism has reared its head in America, and appears to only be worsening. Follow the growth and "administration" of Adolf Hitler in the early years (preWWII), it's very similar to King George. Homeland Security is exactly the same as the SS, only Germans were too blind and accepting to see it. The common phrase of the time was "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear." Sound familiar? Seriously, read your history, you'll find this was a common radio broadcast theme in its day. The biggest difference between Hitler, Mussolini, and the current administration is the current administration doesn't have the support of a whole lot of former or high ranking military. From 1920 to 1930, Hitler purveyed the "superiority of Germany." Hmmm....Sound familiar? We're Americans, we're superior, and we're inspired by God's divine right....According to our president, anyway.
The only thing worse than a thief, is a thief with a badge. The only thing worse than a thief with a badge is the administration that put such a thief in place and allows him to stay there.
I'll tell ya, if anyone really believes that the TSA folks are saving us from anything...I've got a lead parachute to sell ya. You can find significantly more creativity and intelligence at McDonalds on a weekend than you'll find in the most high-ranking levels of Homeland Security.

So, this weekend while on travel, I purchased a Sony HC3 camcorder as I needed a second cam at this event.
Decided to pack the HC3 and power supply/battery away with my Z1 in the flight case, and put the empty box in my suitcase. On arrival home, I found the box had been stolen from my suitcase. This means I lost warranty card, component cables, USB cable, and a couple other small items related to the camera. Losing the remote is probably the biggest deal.
Just remember that because they're wearing badges doesn't mean they don't steal. There is a reason baggage losses and thefts have skyrocketed since the TSA was created and activated. It's really a license to steal. I'm sure we'll soon see another bust of TSA workers colluding to steal like we've seen in Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami, LA, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta (where I flew out of), Detroit, LaGuardia, Newark, and other majors. Be sure your gear is insured against airline theft, cuz trust me, the TSA/Homeland Security doesn't pay you back. We're STILL waiting to be paid for on a GL1 camcorder destroyed by them 3 years ago. We only get letters explaining why it's taking so long.
It's impossible for me to comprehend that there are morons that have the ignorant audacity to support the TSA/Homeland Security. So far I've yet to hear one verified story of what bad they've prevented vs a whole lot of nasty inconveniences and embarassments they've caused. Like when they tried to hand-carry a paraplegic through security in SLC, and dropped him on the floor, adding injury to his insult. "Oh, but they're so important to our safety..." Yeah, right. Paying bare minimum wage to people who in mass numbers haven't even graduated high school and can't get jobs anywhere else isn't a deterrent to anything except assuring that many of us will continue to lose our possessions.

We rent the Xdream, and everyone who uses them loves them. The footage we get from them looks outstanding.
Can't say I'm a fan of much than Kenko does, but bear in mind, my experiences with them are all ground-based.

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*** I've always viewed the rig as something not quite as personal. To me the first items to buy would be those items, goggles first, then altimeter, helmet and jumpsuit.

It seems that there is always a rig to jump, someone will let you borrow their rig before they let you borrow their jumpsuit.

This my view also, you just said it more eloquently.
I prefer goggles and helmet which are mine, not scratched nor sweat-stained by someone else. Same with owning altimeter, I know mine works and a fair part of my safety is tied to this device.
Jumpsuit...all 3 DZ's I've taken instruction at have advised me to wait, and so wait, I've done.

You can import the .vob file directly, if I remember right. Pinnacle 9 was never stable for me so I gave up on it a long time ago. Most apps will import the .vob file directly tho. If worse comes to worse, just play the DVD on a player and capture the analog out the same way you capture VHS.

I'm thinking there is a way to customize this, but since it's the holiday weekend, I can't reach the guys in San Diego to find out. I've got mine with me tho, anyone know of a good DZ in the Duluth, GA area? (here for a graduation)

Anyway, I'll play with it more tonight after the Mrs goes to bed, and see if I can come up with ideas.
We've been jumping both of ours like crazy after I've seen what it will do. Just wish it had an audio package, then it would be the ideal small rental/crash cam.

FWIW, my order of purchases is that I bought a helmet and goggles, already had an AltiII from paragliding. I also bought new boots because my old boots were falling apart after 8 years of paraglides.
I haven't purchased anything else yet, although I've got the DZO looking out for a used rig that will fit my requirements. Jumpsuit, pants, whatever will have to wait til I have jump numbers high enough to have an idea of exactly what I need. Til then, I use the generic jumpsuits the DZ has available. I don't know if I want to do RW work or not, so may not even look that direction until after I've done more of it. So far, I'm not interested, but if I was, I'd still be waiting til I had enough numbers to make an informed decision. It's tough not having all my own gear, and while I can afford to buy pretty well whatever I want, it's not the smart thing to do, because I'd likely end up buying stuff I either don't need, or will outgrow somewhat quickly.
Your instructor and DZO are likely the best people to talk with since they know your jump skills and can best help you suit your needs pertaining to those skills.
my nickel's worth, anyway...

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Also double check the age requirement, most places require you to be 18 to do a tandem.

I was informed that FAA requires someone to be 18, don't know if that's accurate, but the main reason behind it is that under 18, you can't sign a contract. Parents can't sign a waiver for their children, either. At least 4 DZ's I've been to in the past month have had this rule. Kind of a drag, IMO, but understandable in todays litigious society.

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I guess I'm the exception... it took me a couple weeks to get my A and a few more to get my B. C took me a while longer due to moving and weather issues. I'd have my D except I'm missing night jumps.

I thought you had to do night jumps to get your C?
Maybe I'm reading the SIM wrong?

Just under a month for my A license (I hope)
I hit my 25th jump today and have fullfilled all the flight requirements, and take the written tomorrow.
but, you need an active DZ, and need to be prepared to take time away from work, I'd guess. Fortunately it's summer, and our DZ can fly until about 8:30 without being post-sunset. Start jumping at 4/4:30, can usually get in 4-5 jumps before dark. Weekends are made for 10-12 jumps.

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I have to agree with the PC-1000 recomendation. It's an awsome camera with 3-CMOS technology. I would try to find one quick, as Sony has discontinued the model (I don't know why) and prices have dropped. I believe you should be able to find one for around 700 or 800 USD. Good Luck!

Sony, like virtually all Asian manufacturers, determines their sales numbers before tooling up. So, they figure they can sell say, 250K units, that's what they build, and then move on. Usually, they're pretty close in estimates, but sometimes, like the HC1 and PC1000, they're way off, and sell more units faster than they're prepared for.

While there aren't any boxes for the HC3 or A1U, given that the entire world is quickly moving towards HD, you might consider one of these. I'd originally had a bad opinion of the HC3 as a jump cam, but after now having around 30 jumps on one (on a friend, not me) I can say I'm very impressed. The HC3 is quite small, smooth surfaces, and I'm sure someone (Bonehead?) will make a box for it.
For ground work it somewhat suffers, having no mic input or headphone out, but outside of that, it's impressive overall.
Additionally, the short focal length of 5.1mm makes it fairly ideal with a lesser wide angle.

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Yes, they are annoying. But I didn't know they were talking about their sweaty nutsacks - I thought they were all complaining about how that little, skinny, pointed seat was going up their ass!!

Are you sure they're "complaining?"

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OK........read some more. You don't have to do anything to be included in the class action. You only have to do something if you want to OPT OUT of the class action for some reason. Says Sony will repair the failed CCD or reimburse you for it if you have already had it repaired. Of course, proof of payment is necessary. As long as your CCD fails prior to Oct of next year you can claim it. Here's the settlement home page.


www.SonyStyle.com/ccdsettlement

FWIW, it's not *just* CCD failure, but rather CCD failure that exhibits one of 6 specific behaviors. This is related to bad CCDs Sony bought from a 3rd party vendor. If you get into the professional video forums, you'll find thousands of posts about this over the past 2 years. Sony is liable for the lifecycle plus 2 years on these cams, which means up to October 31 of 2007. The downside (IMO) is that Sony wasn't required to accept cameras that were manufactured in this time period, to inspect for potential failures. So, if your camera pukes after November 1, 2007, you're screwed. On the other side of the coin, we have several rental VX and PD series cams that meet this list, an d haven't seen any that exhibit the problems.

I'm just the opposite. The more jumps, the more likely I am to sleep well. It exhausts me to have that much adrenaline in my system. That said, I've also been a rodeo rider, motorcycle freak, cliff jumper, and other adrenaline charged sport freak too. After the jump, if I sit for too long, I'm sleepy, so the best thing to do is to get back on the plane ASAP.

Bah...I used bad search terms. Thanks for setting me straight.

I haven't tried taking my rig onto a commercial airline yet, but I fly a lot. My hope is to carry my rig to Australia to jump later this year.
What caveats should I be aware of when carrying my rig on, or should I simply check it in a bag and hope nothing is damaged?
Any other tips would be appreciated.

could be there are differences, but bear in mind as well that the Rebel isn't likely nearly as well mounted/protected as the iPod/MP3 player will be. Folks don't strap their digital cameras to their arm or waist and jog with it like they do with the iPod. The guys at Skydive Hawaii tell me they've jumped their iPods at least 1000 times each, so there is some strong evidence there that the tolerances indicated in other posts are definitely off. Also, removeable microdrives likely don't have the overall strength in the housing that the drives in the iPods/Rio's have. I've never taken my iPod apart, but have taken 3 Rio's apart, and they're very well built compared to the removable microdrives I've got for my computer.

you're over-thinking this, IMO. I just exited student status a couple days ago, but still feel a pang of anxiety every time I walk to the door. But it's just that; anxiety. I don't know how your exit dive will go, but in my case, I poised at the door grasping my ankles, no count, instructor tipped me out as my unstable exit. I did two somersaults and arched. It was the most fun dive I've had yet, and so the next day, on my first dive as a novice, I exited almost the same way. It's exhilarating.
The more you keep talking about how frightened you are, the more you convince yourself you're frightened. Stop doing that. Either you want to fly or you don't. If you do, work on positive mental conditioning, not negative mental conditioning.
Simply sit on the edge of your bed at night and picture yourself walking up to the exit and gracefully entering the sky in which you love to fly.
Enjoy the ride, enjoy the exit, enjoy the freefall, and picture that beautiful stand-up landing under smooth winds, blue skies, and successful finish to your student program.

I liked the work as an artistic effort; I felt the story is lost in the editing though. You'll see my comments on the page.
One suggestion if you're really wanting to get into editing, or become a better editor; Read Walter Murch. That'll take you places.