4dbill

Awesome, not just from skydiving point of view, but in general production. That's the baddest helmet I have ever seen!

The sample footage from the motorcycle ride sucks. The whole point of 3 axis gimbal is to get impossibly smooth shots, and the footage provided by the Kickstarter guy is unviewable, thus unusable. There are some amazing silky shots from drones mounted 3 axis gimbal cameras. It's all over the web. I would love to see some of you guys/ladies try creating your own for skydiving. The parts are relatively cheap nowadays. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/RC_PRODUCT_SEARCH.asp?strSearch=gimbal+gopro 4DBill

I have not jumped awhile since I am away overseas, but I still come pop in here once in awhile to see what everybody else is up to. With all the advancements in video technology, I am surprised to see that none of you have tried mounting a 3 axis gimbal system on your helmet yet. Sure, it’s not practical, but the footage would be spectacularly smooth in certain angles, much like National Geography helicopter shots. The system they make for GoPro is relatively small. If the whole set-up is covered with some kind of clear dome, it might work. The brushless motors can probably handle the normal vibration during freefall with a bit of tweaking of the controller programming, or am I being overly optimistic? Thoughts? 4DBill 4dbill.com

I don't know about being an "expert" but I did make a significant # of jumps with T2i before switching to Panasonic GH2 recently. Almost all my jumps were on my belly with 18-55mm kit lens stabilization ON and they turned out pretty good, but you might get different results if you sitfly and/or head down. I would try with OIS on first and see if you see any weird vibration on the footage. Good luck with your new toy. In a default setting, it does not give you spectacular footage, but after you learn all about shuttle speed, f-stop, picture style, composition, color correction/grading, you are going to get cinematic quality to your videos. After around 6 months of practice, I was finally able to get the look I was going for. http://youtu.be/a-qEb0HG83w If you have the time, you can scroll though my blog and see the progress I have made on T2i. The footage in the beginning was not so hot, as far as filmy look is concerned, but it gets better progressively better. Oh.. really cool thing you can do with T2i/T3i, along with other high end camcorders, is that you can shoot at 60 fps and simulate super slow motion during post. http://youtu.be/mv4XQKm9wHI Good luck, and we look forward your posting on Youtube!

I do not know if this is exactly what you are looking for, but I usually look up when I open, catching most of the opening. I slowed it down to 15%, just for you.

Many dropzones, including Lodi, are limiting turns to 90's for overall safety. The burning question, then, is how much speed can you squeeze out of of a 90 degree swoops? The world's first 90 Degree Swoop Meet was held at Lodi in 2009 with impressive results. http://4dwireless.net/lodi90/results.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSZBhSk61jA Now, it's back, for the second round! It's pretty much guaranteed to be faster, longer and more fun! Details: http://4dwireless.net/lodi90 Facebook Events page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=221449971232230 Please join us for the bragging rights of being the world's best 90 degree pilot, or simply show up for guaranteed fun! Extensive discussion about performance 90 degree turns has been discussed at, http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=3701266;page=1;mh=-1;;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC See you there! Bill www.4dbill.com

Life sentence is a total BS! It was 100% self defense. If it was YOU and your family in the store, you would probably think it's totaly justifiable as well. It sounds like the wounded dirtbag was still moving. What makes you think he was not reaching for a hidden gun? This is the reason why so many douchbags rob small stores. They know that their chances of getting away is very high. In somewhat of a related topic, Just google "flash mob robbery" and you will see groups of young hoodlums ripping off stores in masses. They know they can get away easily with such little resistence from the owner/staff. If every store was had a gun behind the counter, with properly trained personnel, it would eliminate most of such crimes. Yea, sure -- it's easy to play Monday quarterback seeing the video afterwards and say blah blah. If somebody points a loaded gun at me with full intent of killing me, I am going to shoot first until he is dead, weather it takes one or 20 seconds, one or multiple guns. Armed robbers need to feel that their chances dying is high as soon as they enter the stores. Bill http://4dbill.com

DSE, I am not here to debate what format is better, because we know you have interest in Sony and you think it is the best. You are doing a fantastic job of representing them. That's fine. No argument there. You are entitled. This thread about FCP X, so instead of concentrating on why Apple sucks compare to Sony, we should be discussing the new features of FCP X, because no matter what, some people will be using it, for whatever reason. FCP has been working just fine for me and thousands of other users for years. I have nothing against any other NLE programs, but Apple/FCP is what I have, and I really don't have an incentive to switch. Sure, if somebody gives me the latest notebook with Premier or Vegas loaded, I will use it. I jump an old Velocity 120. It works for what I need/want it to do. I really don't have a great reason to switch, unless somebody buys me another canopy. Personally, the biggest frustration of FCP workflow was color correction, because the process was so tediously slow. Since real time color correction, without rendering, is now implemented on FCP X, I am tickled pink. It will give FCP users more incentive to try many more combination of color correcting/grading. Just like every digital photo could use a little enhancement with Photoshop, every footage could use color correction/grading. True Grit, surely, would not be such a visual delight without the fantastic artistic work of the Colorist, but that's a different topic.. I also like the Smoothcam feature of FCP 7, but often find it quite unusuable due to the noticeability of rolling shutter effect when the footage is stabilized. I am hoping that the new feature will fix that to an acceptable level. When Smoothcam works, without the rolling shutter effect distraction, the result is simply fantastic, making the camera work looks like it's mounted on a gyroscope. Everyone has different needs. FCP X will not work for Rich Harrington and Jeff Greenberg, but it will work for many others. To simply say it's a poor choice for everyone is silly. Bill http://4dbill.com

It seems like most FCP 7 editors hate the new FCP X upgrade, probably because it looks and feels so different than what they are used to. I just got it installed on my MacBook Pro, and real time color correction is godsend! No more adjust, render, tweak, render, more tweak, render. Also, the rolling shutter correction looks pretty exciting, especially for GoPro and DSLR shooters. Bill http://4dbill.com

DSE, I, too, personally do not care for Apple since they are more about projecting sleek image than having an actual meaty content, but MacBook Pro what bought a couple of years ago for a job, and it's the tool presently use for editing. It does the job well for what I use it for. There always is something better beyond the horizon, but instead of focusing on its weaknesses, I utilize it fully for what it CAN do, because my resources are not unlimited. Obviously, DSLR/FCP combo is not your preferred choice, if you had one system to deal with, but it gets the job done well for thousands of editors, including me. It's not the fastest, but it really doesn't have to be. My Acura Integra gets me to/from DZ. It’s not very fast, and I don’t have the latest GPS that tells me the most efficient way to get there according to the latest traffic report, but I am content just getting there and back, reliably and smoothly. In other words, it gets the job done, well within my spec. Shooting and editing is all about the final product. Will most people make better movies, much faster, if they use Sony camcorder/Vegas vs. DSLR/FCP? Most likely not. Creating good movie is not all about whipping out a quick tandem video in 4-5 minutes. I, as in many other hobbyist and semi-professionals, have one camera and an editing station. It’s all about the final product. Does FCP produce sucky product compare to Sony Vegas? Not really. Is it really THAT much slower the Vegas? Not really. Many many beautiful shorts and movies are created with Apple FCP. I don’t think too many of those editors felt held back, either in limiting artistic expression or by time constraint. OP was complaining about Canon’s choice of file encoding and Apple’s choice of file conversion. They are set in stone at the moment, and there is nothing we can do to change them. It should not, however, prevent us from creating excellent products. There are many choices of tools out there and we should use them as best as possible. We all have reasons for choosing, and one isn't necessarily better than the other, especially if both get the job done well within the expectation. Oh.. isn't it against the forum rule to bad-mouth an ex?

1. Technically, yes, some quality is lost during conversion from *.mov to ProRes for FCP, but can you REALLY tell the difference? 2. For quick and dirty edit, you can drop the *.mov files directly into FCP. You won't be able to scrub real time, but no conversion! 3. I like conversion (Log & Transfer) because I can trim the footage accordingly, keeping only the good stuff on the hard drive. It really doesn't take that much time, unless it's for tandem, where every second counts. Bill http://www.4dbill.com

Internet streaming of live video camera is quite common for home/business security system, but it’s limited to only a few viewers. If you want to have hundreds/thousands of viewers access the video at the same time, you’ll need some sort of streaming server. Google will reveal many companies who specialize in such service for pretty hefty sum. There are, however, free advertisement based servers -- USTREAM, Livestream, Camstream are some of them. I used Camstream video streaming server, to set up the Lodicam.com last year. It’s not perfect, but it’s FREE! 4DBill http://4dbill.com

I do not consider myself an expert in the video technology, but I know what is pleasing to my eyes. Please show me a relatively large sensor camera that shoots 1080p, 24 fps with interchangeable lens and editable custom profile that costs less than $1000 that looks almost as good as film. Until 3k/4k/5k+ cameras are affordable, I believe DSLRs will continue to dominate the low budget artistic and Indi film market. Like you often say, it's just a tool. At this time, however, there really is not an alternate device that produces a cinematic looking footage as good looking as DSLR or 4/3 for reasonable cost, that does not look videoish. Both of us trying to predict the future. I guess only time will tell. Let's make a bet. This year, a HDSLR shot film "Like Crazy" won a grand prize at Sundance. Another "Hell and Back Again" was shot was heavily modified Canon 5D, so it techically does not count as a DSLR, IMO. I predict that TWO HDSLR films will win next year. Oh.. I would like a case of Corona please, DSE.

Somewhat off topics, but.. I respectfully disagree, DSE. I think DSLR film making is growing even more. It's a best way to achieve the big budget film look, for low cost. It’s now commonly used for documentaries, music videos, shorts, TV shows and Indie movies. I was not at NAB, but there seems to be more DSLR accessories than ever before. For artistic skydiving shoots, it’s the best camera choice, IMHO, for under $1000. I am going to throw in micro 4/3 here (Panny GH2), even though technically it’s not a DSLR. They are wonderful flexible, especially with lens choices and profile settings, just as using them for for still pictures. They are the wrong tool for fast turn-around tandem videos, but for someone who wants to take it beyond the ‘comcorder’ look, it’s pretty close to Godsend.

Final Cut Pro X is supposed to have native editing of H.264 clip, which translated to being able to drop 5D/7D/T2i/T3i footage directly into the timeline and be able to preview/edit it realtime without rendering. I have to see it to believe it. This would be big time saver since the present method consists of converting the footage into ProRes via Log and Transfer. I personally can't wait for the new version since I spend a lot of time color correcting/grading, render, color, render, etc. X is supposed to be able to do that realtime, again, without rendering. We'll see.. 4DBill http://dslrforvideo.com