parachutist

Whether hard or soft links are used; the parachute, slider, bumper, and lines are the same in both cases. So the same heat gets generated, and those grommets rest in the same place in both cases: about 2" above the links. I have no desire to actually use soft links on tandem mains because they'd need to be replaced every reline. Paying for SS links once seems more reasonable. I'm just saying the melted risers seem like a non-answer to the question because there's already a solution available to that issue.

Clearly a slider bumper should have been used to separate the grommet from the link and riser. That's all that comes to mind when I see these pictures. Am I missing something? Chris

Icarus mains were coming stock with soft links a year ago. Has that changed? I install used Sigma ty-4 bumpers to protect the links and risers in this config. They're stiff enough to keep the slider up and off the goods.

Honestly, it took quite a while to break even for all the time and $$ spent on tooling and design needs. Part of that was because I didn't know how to be more efficient yet. Now I know ways to optimize designs better, reducing tooling fees by a lot. It's been a great learning experience for me. Chris

I appreciate everyone's input about my gloves. I know what you're referring to here Tony, and I have been thinking the same for a while. New versions of the double-cam back covers are near completion. They're as easy to remove as the single-cam housing's back cover. I'm just waiting on a couple small tweaks to the molds, then test, then shoot. I'm hoping to have a large batch of them on hand at PIA, free to trade out for anyone who brings in old back covers. It'll still be a bit of a hassle when your GoPro freezes in the plane, because you still have to remove the housing's back cover and keep track of it, remove the camera, then its batt cover, then its batt. (So now you're holding on to at least 5 separate parts and trying not to lose any). But at least now it will require only an easy push on the tabs to release them, without sacrificing camera security. I've considered adding a pushbutton circuit break between the battery and its connectors on each of my cameras because 2 of them need batteries pulled every time I charge them, or they won't take a charge. Chris

Looks like the Gopro is still in Wide mode there. Flying underneath someone in freefall is a very bad idea.

I have no idea if it would help or not. A previous poster was saying that an ND filter fixed his shake problems on a Sony Action cam, and he suggested it may do the same for a Hero when the Hero is set to the Med FOV. Chris

I didn't even see that issue because I've been using the 2-second photo rate. Another issue with my AZ1 in time-lapse photo mode is the LED Recording indicator doesn't light up while it's shooting pictures. There's a tiny red LED flashing on the back side, but not the one on top.

That looks great. Was the anti-shake option enabled, or just the ND filter used? Any GoPro'ers in Med mode?

And many poor outside videos have been shot with GoPros. Very few videographers are good enough to maintain the 3 foot distance required between them and the subject. That's what's required to use a GoPro in its native wide angle mode. Otherwise the student takes up only 10% of the screen, and you get a poor video IMO. So there's the option of using Med setting to eliminate the need for being right on top of the subject... but all the shots I've seen in Med setting looked unsmooth. People are texting in this thread about possibilities of smoothing that out, but I'd like to see a good freefall video shot in Med on any GoPro. Maybe the ND filter can help. Any presenters? Chris

My take on it: No. Like you mentioned, you can use the Med setting to eliminate the superwide view on a Hero, but then any camera shake is magnified (literally because you're now zoomed in). A Sony CX deals with that using digital stabilization, but the Heros don't have anti-shake, so the video looks jittery compared.

PM sent

The Gopro 3/3+/4 body shape has been out for about 2 years now, with millions sold worldwide. The AZ1 just got released several weeks ago. Design, testing, and manufacture of accessories takes time.

urgh, details? The Sony remote doesn't have a power on/off button for the cameras. And it's bigger because of the remote viewing screen. Chris

Without. If you use steady shot, you can't have the 170 degree FOV. When steady is enabled, you're limited to 140 degrees. I tried one jump uding steadyshot just because I was hopeful, but I only had the student's head and shoulders in the shot. It wasn't wide enough for HC use, IMO. Chris

Ok, after I get some SDXC cards I'll switch to the XAVC S mode, and upload some raw footage. Until then, here's a youtubed jump from today, shot in mp4 mode: http://youtu.be/vMJxiRAksp8

ok, thanks for that... new cards are on order

The value of a remote used to control 2 Hero cameras: I have a pocket with a clear window + button-pressing holes sewn onto the front of an upper leg of my tandem pants. If I hit the power button on the remote, it powers both cameras on. If I hit the record then both start recording at the same time, and my hand isn't in the picture for start/stop button pressing. Since it's installed in a pocket, there's no extra bits to get lost. I just install it into the pocket each morning with a fresh battery charge. Some benefits include: 1/2 the # of button pressings required each jump, and more heads-up awareness when pushing the buttons (know where they are, so there's no need to look at anything except a quick glance to verify the blinky lights are on or off), and more pro-looking clips without fingers up-close in the shots. The Sony cam/remote setup doesn't seem to be as useful as the Hero version =\ Chris

Have you been able to record in XAVC S? It seems none of my cards are fast enough. Mp4 works in all settings, but when I try XAVC I just get a blinking error light. Here's one of my failing cards: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sandisk-extreme-plus-16gb-microsdhc-uhs-i-class-u-1-memory-card/9386049.p?id=1219014149535&skuId=9386049 Chris

If you need some refresher aff training and jumps, and you're willing to drive a little N, we can probably work out a much better deal than you're quoting, including use of modern rental gear

I somehow don`t get the point? simply put it on a metal base (or case) with the tripod screw and place this on a quick mount onthe glove? You can do that, as some already do. However some prefer a tool that's specifically made for the job. It would meet criteria that aren't all designed into the OEM housing, Such as: - low snag risk - easy access to camera ports & card slots - stable mount that helps eliminate shake - allows quick removal of camera - easy replacement of lenses, because they get beat up - impact protection of the camera - ability to have 1 or 2 cameras The stock waterproof housing is pretty snagproof until you mount it using their quick-release mount. Then it juts out front beyond the mount, creating a snag zone under the front of the camera. You could eliminate that hazard by mounting the housing flush to the glove with a tripod screw, instead of using the quick-release mount. But then you can't remove the camera from its housing without taking the housing off the glove (the waterproof housing's door latch is on the bottom). Sometimes you need to pop out the camera fast and replace a dead battery or reset the camera because it failed for some reason, etc.

Will do

I'm playing with 1 right now, with remote, and IMO the remote's too big and in the way to be useful with a HC system. Also you have to power on each camera using the power buttons on the cameras, instead of on the remote... so I'm thinking the remote doesn't give you much advantage for the sony. Maybe superglue a flat bar across the two record buttons on the two waterproof housings or something 8-] one button rules them all. these Sony's do power on when you hit the record button, and they're powered & shooting in about 3 seconds... another reason why I think the remote's unneeded & in the way Chris

It'll be another couple weeks before I can post any. All my jumps til then are team coaching, so I can't upload the footage.. and they're canopy-only til then, anyway, so no real freefall testing here yet. Friday I shot 45 minutes of footage on one battery charge. It didn't die, but the battery indicator showed it as being on its last bit of juice. That was better battery life than I expected. Maybe this Sony is more efficient than others. Chris

My Sony HDR-AZ1 arrived in the mail today. I've been going through all the settings in the camera and remote for the last couple hours, but haven't put any jumps on it yet. At this point I think it's the initial real Hero competitor. Volume of the camera seems about the same as a Hero, with a different shape. Same for the waterproof housing. Access to the USB plug and the Micro SD card slot are very much like the Hero: there's a small plastic flap. Just peel it back and pop out the card. The waterproof housing and the stock mounts for this camera do not have an up/down adjustment. That eliminates a big part of the snag hazards compared to GoPros... and it should help a lot of those "oh my camera got knocked out of adjustment so I lost the shot" complaints. Also the lack of that up/down assy makes this housing seem much smaller than that of a GoPro. The next big questions for me are focused on how long will it last... how long will the card slot work, how long will the battery work (for time between charges and total life). IMO the remote control isr equired in order to navigate the cam's menu system and change some settings. On a Hero you can get around in a cam menu directly using that cam's buttons and LCD screen. Not so on the HDR-AZ1. It's easy to use the remote for this, so not a big issue, but I prefer the Hero camera menu system. Using the remote to start/stop the camera... Hero still has the HDR-AZ1 beat because you can turn on many linked cameras remotely with a GoPro remote, then start all of them recording with the remote. The Sony camera must be manually turned on/off, and a max of 5 can be linked to one remote. I'm playing with mount ideas for singles or doubles of this Sony model, but I'm thinking the waterproof housing with a hole cut into the back for quick card acess will work great for helmet and glove mount options. Sony changes body styles too fast to sink much $ into manufacturing a custom housing for one of their cams IMO. Chris