Fuzzy

1 - Safety This includes: A - Knowing where to be (not be) & when B - Knowledge of the tandem gear & harness - being able to do pin checks / gear checks and knowing what handles should be where and when on a tandem C - Knowing that not every passanger co-operates or follows the script so knowing when back off to let the TI do his/her thing. D - Knowing when to book on "Plan B" E - Communication / Consistancy for the TI - the fewer suprises on both sides the better. ----Hope that makes sense---- 2 - Good shots of customer Includes good exit shot, close-up in freefall and some overall shots that include scenery, clouds, & horizon in the right orientation - (belly, sit, or backflying it should be kept simple - blue side up, green side down). I have no problem going for a handshake with the passanger, but it's always pre-arranged with the TI, and in keeping with "C" 3 - Keep It Fun Interaction with tandem pair includes on ground & in plane (on and off camera), in freefall. It's all part of their experience. It may be your 1000th tandem vid but it's their first jump, it should be a blast and they should know you are having fun as well (that it's not just another jump for you). 4 - Having them leave with a product they, and their friends & family will think is cool. It should be something that "you & the DZO" are proud to put your name to and it should be something that will have their friends wanting to do a jump with you doing their video. We get a lot of referals from the video's. If you have done 1 & 4 then chances are 2 & 3 happened as well. The majority of our tandems are done from 9 grand so not a lot of time to play, but when we do get higher the same rules apply. I always consider myself lucky in that I do both video and tandems, figure it's the best of both worlds. I can take someone for their first skydive, or look them in the eyes as they do it. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

Thanks Played around and changed the angle it was sitting at as well (not quite straight ahead but just slightly downward) which seemed to make a big difference. Didn't take much of an angle adjustment to make a big difference. I gotta admit that half the fun is in the learning. Thanks again Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

Just set up the 580EX with my 20D (& Sigma 15mm if that makes a difference) Haven't jumped with this set up yet but it seems most of the test pictures are coming out with the bottom 1/4 or so of the shot very dark - almost as if the flash is being shadowed. These shots are usually taken of something around 6 feet away. Pictures without the flash are fine. The flash has been mounted flat/horizontal, on top of the FTP, raised up about 2", lined up with the front edge of the helmet. Various combinations of camera & flash settings have been tried (to the point where unfortunately I don't even remember them all), but have tried in TV / AV / Manual - Flash in Full Auto (ETTL) - Multi & Manual. Is this just a matter of trying for shots that are too close for the flash? Or is there something even more basic that's being missed? The mount is still in the "mock-up stage" so any and all suggestions greatly appreciated. Fuzzy Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

The wing on the Bev Suit should be routed "IN Front" of your leg, NOT around behind. This is one of the reasons you have such a large gap there. If you do this (put the clip/strap infront of the leg)and still have a large gap then shorten the lower adjustment. As mentioned in my first post, I am unable to reach my hand between the wing and my body/leg. In fact the wing has yet to even get in the way of the deployment, and it is the large wing Putting it in front should also increase the effectiveness of your wing. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

One of the advantages to being from a relatively small dz is being able to control things like this. People (usually) know to ask first but even if they don't it's easy enough to stop some of this before it happens. I have no problem telling someone they can't jump a camera yet, or to back up a little in what they are trying. They read the print outs of things like this incident (a few are kept at the dropzone for just this reason) and seem to understand. My breifings to the new camera guys includes camera suites, and they are told do a couple of solos minimum, with no camera to find out the quirks of it, and they are to do practice pulls and pull high so they have time to get a feel for the swoop cords, see if they can reach toggles etc. They're also warned about swoop cords, gloves, snags. They are told to play with it to find out what it will do to them in certain postions since wings can do funny things if your not used to it. Some people think this is "dumb" or "over cautious" but usually appreciate it after the fact. Anyway, glad to see I'm not the only one who feels camera suits need to be part of progression & treated with some form of respect. Btw: Saw your pic's in the other thread - Very Cool & Nice!!! Thanks Fuzzy Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

This may sound like a dumb question but it's not clear from the picture. Which way were the wings attached, in front or behind your legs. Also how tight did you have the bottom attachement adjusted? From the picture it almost looks like the strap or clips to attach the wings went around behind your legs to the inside attachment, or the bottom adjustment came real loose. Can you just confirm this? I have a couple thousand jumps on my Bev Suit (it's got the big wings) and one of the things I like is that the attachment point on the inside of the leg, and the wing in front of the leg makes that gap much smaller, too small to reach my hand through and get the pilot chute "IF" the wing is adjusted properly. I did find that the lower adjustment if yours has one can come loose / undone in the wind. What I did to stop that was (very soon after getting the suite like after a couple jumps) sew the lower adjustment strap permanently down. Just curious about how you had yours adusted or set up. Thanks Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

What can also work is to get some shots / video off to the side (45 to 90 degrees) sort of a profile thing, and not as steep. That way your not shooting into the sun as much and can still get a good face shot of the passanger when they look at you. I have done this on days with high overcast that has you shooting into a white background. It seems to cut down on the shadow or dark faces and saves having to play with the camera settings. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

My PC1000 is top mounted beside my TRV17. The only issue is it sticks up a little higher than the TRV (Cessna can get a bit cramped). Other than that it doesn't seem to be a problem at all. Can still charge the battery, and plug in video jacks without removing it. The only reason to remove it from the helmet would be to attach firewire, or change battery. Removing it only takes a few seconds, putting it back on is the same. No D-Box, tripod thumb screw and strap has worked for me for quite a while. To make sure the camera(s) are lined up I just have a couple of lines marking where the corners of the camera should be. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

What do you have (if anything) holding the cord on the top of your helmet. It's not clear from the picture if it's strapped at some point, or just held between the camera and flash themselves. Also It looks from your picture your using one strap and a zip tie??? Is that right or is it something else? On a slightly different note, I'm also curious if anyone can list any advantages / disadvantages of mounting the flash on it's side vs flat (if that makes sense). Thanks Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

Just curious Are you using a battery pack, or just the batteries within the flash itself? If just the batteries in the unit, how are they holding up during the course of the day (on average). Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

I've never used a D-box of any kind (all top mounted stuff), and it hasn't been a problem. My camera is held on with the tripod screw and a strap. That said the zoom button on my current vid is very easy to move so but button has been gaffer taped over in a way that "stiffens" it up a bit. It can still be zoomed in and out, it just takes a little more force on the button. This wasn't done for the wind as that never seemed to be an issue, but because moving around / climbing out of the plane (mostly Cessna's) doesn't always make for a bump free scenario Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

My stuff has always been top mounted, with multiple cameras and ring sight. So far no hang ups or other such problems, but also no cutaways while wearing the camera.....yet I do however know of / have seen: Sidemount Systems Two side mounts snagged by risers during cutaways. In one case it broke the box housing the camera (not a D-box, but home made if memory serves right). Also saw video a few years ago of an unstable reserve deployment where you can see the person "hand feed" the freebag bridle past the camera. Although still jumping alot, pretty sure this person has not worn a camera since. Top Mounted A jumpers canopy blew up & ended up with lines flying all over the place, and had to clear the lines away from the camera before cutting away. Can't remember if they had a cutaway system or not. In all cases the people landed without further problems. In the last two incidents, I'm not sure if top or sidemount would have faired any better or worse over the other. I don't have a problem with either set up, but always tell people who ask, to find out and know the inherent problems with either one and be ready to deal with them. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

All I'm doing is getting the lens into cooler dryer air for a couple of minutes. This really does work for me. It may even work without taking the lens off the camera, I don't know, it's just easier for me to take the lens off. All I do know is once I started doing this that sort of fogging stopped being a problem. I have taken one of my Sony .6 lens' apart before (partly out of curiosity & partly to see if I could clean it inside). Wasn't a problem, screwed the cap off took the lenses out & put it back together. Edited to say: I think Sony has more than one .6 lens, The one I'm speaking of is the VCL0625 (??? guessing a little bit here) Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

Like mentioned in my other post that ltdiver linked to, this does work for me. Once the plane is a little higher and the air is cooler or dryer, I take the lens off and let it dry / air out. Works best when sitting near and holding it up to a vent or by the door. It only takes a second to screw the lens back on so this has been a pretty easy fix for me. I haven't tried Cat Crap yet, but am going to try to get a hold of some and give it a go as well, for the front of it. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

Hey Trevor Also sent you a private message. On vacation, but still need to be wired for work stuff so it's not as hectic when we get back If its the lens I think it is (based on the price 75-300 1:4-5.6), I have the same one and us it to play around. There are definetly better (& more expensive) lenses but this one has taken some good pic's for me. If it's a package deal, take a look and see what the regular prices are for it. Edited to say: Like mentioned above, for the price it's been an "ok" lens for me to play around with. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

I'm using Premier 6.5 exporting with the default settings. Never had any problems like your mentioning with stills or video, and just did another one last night. The only "glitches" I noticed was when trying a couple projects in PAL. That said, I have never looked to see what those "default settings" are, and don't know what the differrences between 6.5 and Premier Pro are. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

Thanks -I'll pass that on Interesting about the battery getting a memory. I always thought the info lithium ones didn't have the memory problem. Mine are a few years old and it's never been an issue, although they're the M series so..... Thanks again Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

Mark Remster and the others are right about trying it on first. There is one type of helmet I can't seem to get a comfortable fit no matter what size, but my Factory Diver fits just fine. The dropzones I think your planning on going to have well stocked gear stores. Ten minutes in one of those stores & you'll know for sure what is a comfortable fit for you and what is not. At the prices your going to pay for a helmet, it's better to be sure. You will also save on the shipping and brokerage fees, so much so that you could probably do another jump if not more with the savings. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

A friend recently got a used PC1 (I think thats the model). The problem he is having, is the batteries show fully charged, lasts only a few minutes at best then shuts off due to low battery. He cycles the camera off and on, the battery shows charged but then after a couple minutes the camera shuts off again showing low battery. The person he bought it from recently had it serviced (so we figure it has a clean bill of health), He has 3 batteries which are apparantly fairly new, and it happens on all three. It's the same whether using it with the LCD or just the view finder. We are going to try his batteries on another camera, and like wise try someone elses on his, just haven't gotten there yet. Does this problem sound familiar and does it sound battery related &/or fixable, any suggestions appreciated. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

Here are a couple of pictures of Marks 100th Mark is centre, with blue jump suit and red helmet Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

Mark Congratulations on doing your 100th Stay tuned, I'll post some pictures from the jump in a day or so once I get caught up. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

With the cost of VHS tapes vs DVD writables now, and the fact that they can be done pretty much in the same amount of time, it seemed easier for us to just charge one price, so started doing that last year. We also thought of not offering VHS but didn't want to upset or pass on anyone (or so far in this case the one person) who didn't have a dvd player so have kept it as an option, since we already have the equip it's not really costing anything to offer it. Now I'm wondering what will replace DVD & when Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

We do ours in the same fashion as well, with the exception of having them watch while editing. We used to do that once in a while, but found the distraction / interuptions added to the time it took to finish. Through effects board & character generator to the DVD recorder and generally in 20 min they have the DVD. We do try to encourage them to watch the video at the dropzone, it kind of helps to add to the experience, hearing them laugh helps add to ours

Mark The Senior Rigger who changed your lines is a "Very Good" "Very Contientious" rigger as any rigger should be. The work was done right. There is nothing wrong with the canopy or lines. It is not always the equipments fault. I videoed one of your landings this weekend (a video you saw) and watched some others. As stated in my email to you, the canopy did just what "you" told it to do and when you told it to - in short - it did it's job. Get someone to video some more of your landings. Video debrief is not just for freefall. It can do wonders to help improve with landing technique as well. A video will see something people on-line will not see. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.

Yeah - there was a reminder of that little fact as well. You know, I totally understand the desire to move on to bigger and "better" things, but still maintain a honkin fast 2-way that clicks is much more fun than a sloppy-assed anything else way that, well....... doesn't, but that may just be me. Fuzzy Ambition / Ability: Know the difference.