Camera dudes started shooting digital stills

[efs4ever 3]

At Skydive Houston. This weekend Sir Rodney shot a digital Rebel of me doing a tandem. In one pic I could see the plane and TWO OTHER TANDEMS that exited after me, all in drogue fall. This chit ROCKS.

Of course Rodney was on his back in order to get that shot.

Students get a better deal by getting this stuff on a CD rather than film. Camera guys get to keep their stills rather than give away film that rarely returns prints. Even if they are not computer geeks they can get prints from the CD as easy as film developing.


Can't wait to get my 20D mounted and jumped.

Russell M. Webb D 7014
Attorney at Law
713 385 5676
https://www.tdcparole.com

[ltdiver 3]

Yes, this wonderful digital wave is slowly overtaking the tandem/AFF market. Some DZ's have already switched over. Others give the customer the choice. Others (IMO) still lag behind and continue to choose to only offer their students 35mm film. They prefer to just hand the roll over and be done with it.

There has been alot of discussion on this exact topic. And the more we share on the ease of pure digital set-ups, the more schools will join in on the fun. It's a matter of speed, cost, and understanding to make the tide swell.

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[diablopilot 2]

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There has been alot of discussion on this exact topic. And the more we share on the ease of pure digital set-ups, the more schools will join in on the fun. It's a matter of speed, cost, and understanding to make the tide swell.

One of the things holding some DZ's up is the pay. Most DZ's charge the customer more for a DVD. Camera flyer gets paid the same as the equipment he/she uses to capture the subject is the same. OTH with digital stills not only does the DZ have to invest in more and expensive equipmend, and deal with the slowing down of delivery of product at high volume DZ's, but the camera flyer needs to invest ALOT more money into the tools for the job. I for one would not risk my $2100+ digital camera set up for the same fee I'm paid for film stills. Anyone whos ever lost a camera in feefall will understand that.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[StevePhelps 0]

Two things: I have a digital Rebel. Yes, it was a lot more expensive than a 35mm camera, but I've paid for it already. I offer the tandems and Affs a CD of 25-35 stills after they jump. They can see the images right then. Over 95% have purchased the additional CD for $20.

I also contacted my home owners insurance agency. I put a separate adendum for my camera gear. $40 a year covers all $4000 worth. $0 deductable. They understand that if I make a claim it is likely because it was dropped or damaged on a jump. No sweat they said. Now, I wouldn't want to do that very many times, but at least I'm covered.

[jdhill 0]

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I also contacted my home owners insurance agency. I put a separate adendum for my camera gear. $40 a year covers all $4000 worth. $0 deductable.

Do thjey understand that you generate income with the camera? Lots of insurance policies will not cover "business equipment" unless it is a business policy.

J

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. - Edmund Burke

[StevePhelps 0]

I told them exactly what I do with it, and the most likely way it is to damaged, (bad landing or a jetison - never to be found)

[sdctlc 0]

Quote

Students get a better deal by getting this stuff on a CD rather than film. Camera guys get to keep their stills rather than give away film that rarely returns prints. Even if they are not computer geeks they can get prints from the CD as easy as film developing.

This brings up an interesting line of thinking. A number of DZ's dont provide the extra equiptment to do the prints or CD burn. Add to that, gettig paid the same as a camera flyer its tough to justify investing in this equiptment on top of the digital camera when comparing to costs with shooting 35mm film and then giving it to the subject. The draw back is the fact that you never get to see the poct's (95%) when the film leaves and if you get "the" shot you dont know it and cant do anything with it most of the time w/o going digital......

Next season I am kicking the idea around about digital but most likely will stick one more year with 35mm. The DZ I do most stuff at sends the edited video within a week and I am thinking about tagging along on that idea and sending the film with the video. That was I can get a disk burned at developing, see the shots to see whaat I can do to improve or see what worked very well.

It is something I am kicking around but still dont have it 100% worked out in my head. Anybody do something like this...... Digital is really cool though


Scott

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[chopchop 0]

Yeah.. it does rock.. In Byron, we charge a little extra for digital stills but the customer gets soooo much more.. 36 shots on a roll or between 80 or 90 on a cd. We will stop offering film when Clay (the guy that owns the vid concession) runs out of film. Clay provides a nifty machine that burns the whole flash card onto a cd in a couple of minutes and the cds. We get to take our pics home with us and learn continuously and immediately what to change to make our pictures better.

BTW.. we all grumble when we have to strap on our fim cameras now.. gotta count the shots to make sure we have shots left for landing, don't get to see what we did.. grumble,grumble..oldschool..grumble,grumble..

chopchop
gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking..

Lotsa Pictures

[clint 1]

> Clay provides a nifty machine that burns the whole flash card onto a cd in a couple of minutes and the cds.

What about printing 4"x6" and 8x10" right at the dz? What about printing from your PC camera. Taking a few good shots from the video. I know the quality isn't the greatest but would it be ok? Or really bad?

What is it and where can I find it? How much?

I am really thinking of going digital next year.

How much for the digital Rebel? How many shots per second does it take?

Clint MacBeth
Skydive Moab 435 259 JUMP
M.O.A.B. Mother Of All Boogies Sept 19 - 23, 2012

[ltdiver 3]

Quote

Taking a few good shots from the video. I know the quality isn't the greatest but would it be ok? Or really bad?

It's really bad.

Besides, would you want -your- work and your DZ's reputation to be shown around as a poor quality product?

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[psw097 0]

I use this nifty machine: http://www.micro-solutions.com/roadstor/index.asp

Works great at the DZ and while travelling - doubles as a DVD/MP3 player.

[chopchop 0]

Quote

> Clay provides a nifty machine that burns the whole flash card onto a cd in a couple of minutes and the cds.

What about printing 4"x6" and 8x10" right at the dz? What about printing from your PC camera. Taking a few good shots from the video. I know the quality isn't the greatest but would it be ok? Or really bad?

What is it and where can I find it? How much?

I am really thinking of going digital next year.

How much for the digital Rebel? How many shots per second does it take?

You could print out a few pics at the dz but that would take a little time, picking a shot, hooking up to the printer, etc. With the nifty little machine like the one shown above, you just shove your flash card and a cd in, hit the button and when the cd pops out, hand it to the customer. It does all the work while you do other things.. In Byron, our dubber handles it while we start preparing for the next load.

There is a ton of info on here about the digital rebel. I believe the bodies can be had for around $600 now. They are dropping fast.. If you want to go big, for $1,500, get the 20D.. but that's a whole nother thread..

chopchop
gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking..

Lotsa Pictures

[ffejdraga 0]

Yeah, I have something very similiar.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=312193&is=REG

You plug in the card, and make a cd. It takes about 30 seconds to burn all the pics from one skydive.

I was the only one at my dz offering digital, and it was so much better for the customer and me when i could do it. Even most people who didnt want it because they didnt have a computer switched over once i told them that they take the cd to walgreens/cvs/brooks/osco/walmart in the same manner as their roll of film.

Do it, go digital. Dont hesitate. Cheaper and easier in t he long run. (film about $1.25/roll. Cds cost about $.25 each)

thank you and goodnight!
jeff D-16906

[INSANEDADDY 0]

Quote

At Skydive Houston. This weekend Sir Rodney shot a digital Rebel of me doing a tandem. In one pic I could see the plane and TWO OTHER TANDEMS that exited after me, all in drogue fall. This chit ROCKS.

Of course Rodney was on his back in order to get that shot.

Students get a better deal by getting this stuff on a CD rather than film. Camera guys get to keep their stills rather than give away film that rarely returns prints. Even if they are not computer geeks they can get prints from the CD as easy as film developing.


Can't wait to get my 20D mounted and jumped.




Sir Rodney is a killer Vidiot.....I need to get back up North sometime....Miss ya brother.

You dont't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when.......You can only decide how you're going to live........NOW.
-BASE 1605 Night BASE 227

• Quote

[Jskydiver22 0]

Hey, that looks like a pretty sweet little machine. I think we are actually going to buy one now. I just have a couple questions about it though.

If you have 50 pictures on a memory card from a previous skydive. Can i only load pictures 25-50 on a cd? Or do i have to clear the memory card every time?

--I don't even know enough to know that I dont know--

[ffejdraga 0]

Unfortunately, No.

You can only burn all the pics on the card, no choosing with the one i sent.

The solution is to buy a few 256 or 512 cards (I saw a Sandisk Compact Flash 512 extreme at Costco for $49 the other day...super cheap!!) and keep those on hand for tandems and such...then keep another card on hand for your own work, just in case. I have to 256mb cards for tandems, and one 512, and it is all the memory I have needed so far.

So, when I would make a cd for the students, i would then make one for myself and keep it going. The nice thing about that Alera is that it does multisession, so you just keep one cd (or more if you want extra copies) going until it fills up. It is a really nice feature. I didnt save all the tandems I did, but when there were super good ones witha n exceptional exit, or good facial expressions, I saved those for myself. Once the cd was full, i would start a new one.

The nice thing about digital is once you have made the investment of allt he electronicas and peripherals, you are pretty much set, not spending more money (until the new model comes out that you just HAVE TO have...)

do it.
jeff D-16906