newshooter12

wow... thanks for the good info.

your welcome jimmy... just burying my head into photo & video tech information to keep myself distracted.

jimmy - from b&h... *Sony - HVR-A1U HDV Camcorder is 2,499.95. Less 500.00 Mfr. mail-in rebate, final cost after rebate is 1,999.95. A1U *Sony - HVR-Z1U 1/3-Inch 3-CCD HDV Camcorder is 4,599.95. Z1U or the alternative and DSE correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't the only real difference between the Z1U and the FX1... the XLR connectors on the Z1U?? *Sony HDR-FX1 HDV 1080i Video Camcorder, 12 x Optical Zoom, Color Viewfinder, 3.5" LCD Screen that you requested is $3,099.95. FX1 matt

you could always build your own cool custom one from your favorite video clips, etc...

depending on what color temp. the light is your white balance will probably be off and make the people look orange or force the background in the other direction. use a dichroic filter to solve the problem. matt

the more i think about the picture the more i believe there is both motion blurr from a slightly slow aperture and an autofocus issue. to really know i'd like to see the original file with the metadata so i could see what setting the camera was on. high aperture would give you a greater depth of field, but still won't fix the focus problem if the camera isn't focusing on the only thing in the sky besides the horizon. it's not so much the lens as probably the combination of settings and your distance from the subject. being closer to the subject would definitely help because then the person would fill more of the frame and the autofocus would have a better chance at getting it right. it just seems like the camera figured that the background was the most consistent area so it focused to that. i don't know the canon camera well enough to say if it has a feature like the nikons do called "closest subject" in the autofocus menus. if it does i'd give that a try. in theory it should focus on the closest subject which would be your HD friend rather then the background.

the second one's subject is just as blurred as the full frame's subject. i'm taking an educated guess that is because the subject actually makes up so little of the frame and many auto focus systems have trouble finding focus of a close subject with very wide lenses like the 15mm, etc... matt

why not just buy a US made product that is pretty much if not exactly the same from: www.royal-lens.com matt

plus if you notice the way the consumer video market works... especially sony. it seems every 6 months there is a WHOLE new line of cameras out. that being said i think the worst part is that each new line seems to have a new type of battery so a few seasons down the road when you transition from using it to save your jumps via firewire to putting it on your head you may be up the creek looking for batteries at a reasonable price.

from the spec list on the link i attached, "Filter Diameter: 30mm" so i guess it's just a matter of finding a good quality lens. matt

check out www.sonystyle.com > Cameras & Camcorders > Camcorders > High Definition Video HDR-HC3 HDV sony's already got it listed... looks like the body is very similar style wise to the hard disc camera they are selling. matt

-does it have all the accessories? -are there any problems with it? -is the battery in good condition? do a search on e-bay to see what they are going for used. then factor in any concerns you have about it. matt

here's a link to a pretty detailed review of the HVR-A1U... http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/articles/A1U/HVR-A1U.htm Under the 'Output' section read this quote... "This camcorder can downsample the HDV to DV on the output, or send a 1080i stream directly to hardware if that's what you'd prefer to do in the recording stage. Imagine being able to take a low-cost HDV camcorder like the HVR-A1U and connect it to an HD/SDI converting system, recording HD/SDI straight into a computer or deck! Of course, like all its predecessors, the A1U also is capable of shooting DV. Just like it's bigger and slightly older brother, the A1U can also acquire in DVCAM, making this even more accessible to professional shooters." Aside from that i see most of the gains in audio options with the removeable mount ontop of te camera. There are a bunch of nice options deeper in the camera, but if you're not going to be using it on the ground with the need for the audio options i'm not sure it'd be worth it over the lower model. matt

nice... thanks for sharing. did you put the letterbox/16:9 look on in camera or in post?

PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER!! Senior Troll will you please cease and dissist?? momma would you please lock this thing he just doesn't know when to quit. matt

thanks jimmy... yeah. i could be nice, but i need to be forward after he PMed me and trashed me. i even asked him if he's a troll and he said yes. but then i tried to narrow down who may be the one making mischief and it's back to stories about how he'll never go there... i have a feeling carbone is right and we'll hear a story around the bonfire or maybe from over where the sunflowers grow... then we'll laugh and have a beer. matt hey is bob one of the "big dogs" you plan on unleashing on him??

ok buddy... a PM trashing our club before, from your information you haven't set foot there, is one thing, but getting on here calling one of the oldest remaining skydiving clubs in the nation crap is something i consider a personal attack. there are a lot of us that make that place work and many more that enjoy it. if you were to judge by the number of times you've heard your "Frontier crap" your copious amount of brain matter may just tell you that you get something more then just a jump or the minimum when you train at our club.

have you made a trip to www.frontierskydivers.com? if you were to pass every level of AFF and not have to rent gear past your check dive i think you'd still be a bit short at $1000 just about every dz i've been to... but you'd be close. i was just shy of $2k by the time i got my A liscence and i did a bunch of solos as well as rented gear after AFF. matt

so i'd be at "half pint" for each USD...

thanks guys. i was figuring on the Euro, but have heard all sorts of info from people that had been there before and after the switch. the ATM card sounds pretty easy too... matt

i guess i should clarify... are both Punts and Euros still in use or is it just Euros only everywhere? matt

the adjustable seat was the best part... i always seemed to like to ride with the seat off.

I'm looking for info about what kind of currency to carry over to the southern part of Ireland. Some have said Euros... others have said Punt notes... i just don't want to get hosed paying through the nose exchange rates over there because all i've got is US currency or travellers checks. what should i use there?? matt

sounds good. glad you got some good results down there... i'll be interested to see some of them. matt

nice work... nicely composed shots with the clouds in the distance during some of your flights. which camera are you flying?? matt