skydiveoc

I should have been more clear on when I am manouvering...not on landing approach so much but in the pattern or higher...1000 or so when it is turbulent or sheering. josh

I have found that aggressive " S" turning keeps the wing pressurised and less susspeptable to cell closure and collapse while my co-workers come in straight and gentle but seem to be effected by turbulence more. Any thoughts here?

re metering: i am firing from the hand and not using the viewfinder so the metering technique is out. I either use shutter priority at 500 or M with an f stop around 20. I will try to go sub 200 though on the shutter speed. I am close...close enough to get taken out from time to time! Ideal distance is about 8 feet. josh

hey phreezone, is it much wider at the 12 than the 15mm fisheye? josh

im talking about the 12-24 wide-zoom. not the 24 fixed. josh

im practicing some landing shots with my digi rebel with 420 speedlight and am having a hard time with backlit conditions. I am using sigma 15mm fisheye. With strong, low backlight (late in day), subjects are staying dark. There is alot of subject movement so I am shooting with a shutter speed as high as 500 so I guess the flash isn't reaching them. any advice?

what do you set iso when using flash? what is fastest synch speed you can go with with the greatest flash range?

ill be putting it on a digi rebel. i already have the 15mm fisheye and am looking to get a bit wider. josh

So you are familiar with the 2200? Do you feel your Kodak is superior? Is dye sub thermal? josh

I use epson 2200 and am happy. You can go up to 13 X 19. I would like to explore thermal printers as i hear they are superior but pricey. josh

i use one for hand cams. heavy, but wider and sharper than my collegues. josh

best quality and low profile to not really commenserate. best quality = Century optics, but it is bigger and heavier and more easily damaged. far superior piece of glass than others though, and i have seen them compared side by side. josh

anyone have any design ideas or know how to rig one up? josh

Yahoo Birddog! In my opinion, an already professional HIGH PERFORMANCE canopy pilot / experienced tandem master can pull it off every time. The bad part about the tandem hook is that you're going to have all the new blood / new school tandem masters trying to copy you. Ive seen it and it is scary. IMOH, you should have at least 500 surge landings minimum before you try to send a turn. That means, your first 200 will probably be straight in, then you start to figure out the canopy enough to try a surge for 500 times or so before you'll be ready for a more aggresive manouver. You should also be VERY current, full time skydiver like birddog to land like this.

Wondering if anyone has ever jumped a 182 wide body with a converted engine, PPonk 260 hp is the most affordable.

Ive tried Andrewwhyte's technique and I though I was the only one to try this! Glad to see it works for you. It does suck with biggies. Also, doesnt work well with Vectors for me. We have Sigmas and Strongs. The Strongs are more narrow, fit better, and attach higher up at the lowers (disadvantage for student control though). I have trouble getting the Sigma tight down low with this technique. It is definitely better on the knees and back. Makes a diff when you're on tandem number 15 of the day and the pilot has tp make repeated go arounds. It is also hard to spot with the door closed.

Im in agreement with riggerob. Seated, back to the wind works best for me with a backloop recovery. Since Ive been doing this, the only time ive been taken for a ride is when I tried the standard dive out! It can be tough with really big guys though, so with them I try a lazy front roll out, stall it 1/2 way around in the sit then back loop it back over. Since I do this one with the bigger ones, I never get stuck on my back or side. The back loop recovery has so much power you almost always have a belly to earth window for recovery. This one's great gfor hand camers too!

how about focal length shortening like on the pc 110 and pc 105/109? josh

The diamond .3 and others like it (waycool) get grainy and blurry toward the edges. They also seem to do weird polarizing things to light when backlit or lowlit. The C.O. is sharp all the way to the edge and does not cause any polarization when backlit. Drawbacks: it is heavier, much larger causing more weight your already fragile lens mount pins. Also the price. I use it with a PC 330 and get outstanding results. Just dont bump it!. I support the lens threads with a good 3 layers of gaffers. It is definitely a sweet piece of glass but might not be the best choice for a new camera flyer. Wait for 500 vid jumps then upgrade.

There has been a lot of speculation on this site about wide angle lenses and despite what you may have heard, I can tell you with a great deal of certainty that a Kenko 0.42 is MUCH wider than a Sony 0.6 You've probably already checked out Paul Quade's very informative site where he has several examples of wide angle lenses -but-, the Titanium 0.45 he uses as an example is, at least in my experience, a very low grade poor quality lens (I chucked mine at a speed limit sign from my bike at 140 mph). And just as Quade points out, the Sony 0.6 -is- wider than the Titanium 0.45 (it's not a Kenko lens) As Quade also points out: There -are- differences between manufacturers -but- it has been my experience that both Sony and Kenko are pretty accurate when it comes to the specifications of their products. So, for shits and giggles, I took a few pictures of my Jeep using a Kenko 0.42 and a Sony 0.6 just to illustrate the difference. First, I took my Sony TRV-30 ( 37mm lens mount) and attached a Kenko 0.42 and backed away to a distance where the entire Jeep is in frame (6.5 feet). Then I swapped lenses to a Sony 0.6 and snapped another shot. After that, I backed away to 10 feet and took another picture with each lens. As you can clearly see from these shots, there is a HUGE difference. As for what lens you should use - Since you're just beginning, my advice would be to start without using a lens at all. Once you get to a point where you can consistently and accurately judge distance and center your subject, move on to a Sony 0.6 and then on to the Kenko 0.42 or any other wide angle of your choice. A few things to keep in mind before you buy a new lens: The diameter of the lens mount, the use of an adapter or step-up ring (moves the focal point further away from the CCD), and the size of the CCD chip in your specific camera, ALL have an effect on how the lens will perform with your specific camera. Personally, I use a Kenko 0.42 for Tandem Video Video shot with Kenko 0.42 and a Sony 0.6 or no lens at all for 4-way and larger formations. Keep in mind that shooting without a wide angle or even zoomed in, can produce some very cool results - Shooting a tandem opening from above and falling past them as the canopy inflates, is one of my favorites. Hope it helps, Z

Century Optics are for professionals who know how to take care of a $300 lens. Not for learning but if you are doing commercial tandems with a century, all the other students will say "how come my video isnt as sharp as his?" fogging...keep your camera out of AC long term and away from the cold door as long as possible. dont sit next to the door when its humid out and keep the door shut as long as you can.

i think this glove would be greatly improved by angling the mount 20 degrees or so to the right. as it is shown, the cam is pointed 90 degrees to the arm. bringing it to the right would require less effort for the TM to "curl" his arm for the shot, thus reducing the image field. josh

People may argue of the cheaper cost of the racer and strong rigs in comparison to Sigma. Owning both Strong and Sigma systems, I can say that the replacement costs and wear is greater with Strong, quickly using up that savings in about 2 years. Stong bags are overengineered and pricey while Sigmas are...bags. Ive replaced 4 Strong bags in 2 years at $140 per while no Sigma bags at $60 per. Seems to be more wear points on the strongs than on Sigma resulting in more maintanence costs. My vote for canopies is Sigma then Icarus. Everything else seems dated now.

Yes I love Sigma mains too and I think they have less pressure than my Icarus 365 and have more bottom end punch. But...I have chopped 5 in the past two years and 0 Icarus chops. All due to tension knots. Anyone have similar numbers?