lewmonst

USPA could easily afford $15,000 for jump footage if ESPN paid the USPA what they should for the 30 minute show. ESPN already knows skydiving on TV does not draw a big audience, therefore it would not draw advertisers to support the segment. I hope this changes in the future, but I don't see it happening. You'd have a better chance probably with a smaller more specialized company like AdrenalineTV. Then again, you'll have a better chance of being on tv if you race lawn-mowers. Why do you want to be on TV so bad? peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Right, but we're talking about ESPN here, and they would be using it to make money. We're not talking about just showing footage to our friends. I agree it's an open market. That person who asked me to shoot them for free also said "well so-and-so will do it for free" and I said "Great! There you go, get them to jump with you." peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

I doubt I'll ever be looking for work in the Netherlands. I'm very happy where I'm at anyway. But I hope it continues to work out for you and your dropzone and it doesn't cause any issues. How much do you pay your TM's? (in equivalent US dollars?) With or without the handycam? peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

And dropzones should give away 1st skydives, to get people hooked, so more people would jump and it would be good for the sport, right? (yeah yeah, I know what you're going to say to that...) Besides that, it's been on TV before, ESPN had skysurfing in the xgames. They've had their taste of it. We've all been over why it's not on xgames anymore and why in general, it is not a spectator sport for the masses. How about asking Joe Jennings, Greg Gasson, Tom Sanders or any of those guys if they would let their footage air on ESPN for nothing? I revert back to what I said earlier, which you left out in your last reply to me: It's about principle and about being a professional. It will cost someone a sale sometime. If they really want the footage, they should pay for it. If they refuse to pay for it, and get it for free from someone else, that's costing the professionals a sale. So like Lori said, you can give them your footage for free, undercutting the real value of it, but I (and several others here) will stick to our principles for the betterment of all camera flyers in the long run. And of all places, ESPN can afford to pay for it. Our footage is professional work and should be treated as such. Giving it away for free, especially to a big network, makes us and our sport look like ametuers. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

You can radio-shack it or buy one of these. The canon digitals, 10D and 20D have the N3 type plug. There isn't such a simple solution for adapting a bite switch yet for these with one adapter... And you meant 2.5 mm, not 25 mm. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Sorry to hear that Jason. I hope justice prevails and you don't have to spend money on lawyers. Believe in Karma. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

I still agree with Peter on this one. Just yesterday I was seriously asked to jump with someone and give them all the footage and stills for free. And I said, "I do this for a living, I simply can't afford to just give it away." And I doubt I could sell that footage to anyone, so should I give it away? No. To me, I doubt I'd sell the competition footage, but I wouldn't rule it out. Even if I didn't sell it though, I would not give it away. It's about principle and about being a professional. It will cost someone a sale sometime. If they really want the footage, they should pay for it. If they refuse to pay for it, and get it for free from someone else, that's costing the professionals a sale. And what's worse, when they get it for free, they will expect it for free. Why should our sport and our work be treated any differently from other proffesionals who's work is on ESPN? peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

I don't like the handycam. I wouldn't want to use it for all the points we've all mentioned already. I agree the bullet cam is better than a wrist mount, but it's still a distraction and all that more to deal with in the plane and on hook-up. It's ok for some TI's, but not for me. Maybe my opinion will change when I have 1000 more tandems and I get an extra $50 for doing it... but not likely. I do like the list of required skills before doing it, for those that are going to do it. I hope I'm never at a dz that pressures TI's to do it. I also hope the videographer's role is never eliminated. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

They all say that. But if it's on TV, someone is making money off it. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Holy mother of god..... for a refurbished old OLD model camera. Wow, never doin biz with that company I guess. Yank Yeah, I was surprised by the price also. Like I said, I don't know if that's changed. At the time, it was the previous camera to the current 330. But now that it's two models old, you'd think it would be (much) cheaper. I don't know. Maybe I'll call them tomorrow. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Last summer they were $999. I'd call them, maybe they'll quote you a better price. At least they come with the normal Sony warranty... peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Yes, I have for several items. It might be per store, and up to the manager... I was told, by the manager at the Ritz in the promenade in Temecula, CA, specifically that as long as it was the same item they carry, they will still sell you a warranty on it even if you didn't buy it from them. They make a ton of money on those warranties, people rarely use them, it's like selling merchandise, so why not. The manager did say "I'm not supposed to advertise this...". But I've gotten a warranty on my 20D, a flash and a video camera, all that I hadn't bought from there. Make sure you talk to a manager or something next time. A sales clerk might not know that, and I also think it might be a recent change in their policy. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

We're the same way. Not everyone has digital or wants to put that $1000 camera on their head instead of the $200 film camera. I would. But I can't until all the camera flyers switch over. It's frustrating. I want to keep copies of my photos and have instant gratification. But not here, not yet. And yes, we've talked extensively about it... peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

B&H. Shipping is cheaper than CA sales tax, and you can still get a warranty from Ritz if you so desire. I don't think you'd have any problem getting it shipped to Perris. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Are you looking to hire someone, ie, pay their slot and/or fee, or are you hoping to find someone who just wants to be a teammate and pay their own way? peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

I made your cool list... wow. SOO true. I still need to throw in all my still photo little things... peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

or the photo forum http://www.exitshot.com

Ryan, You get what you pay for. If you have bargain equipment and no knowledge of how to use it, it will be sheer luck to get any decent results. You can't rely on luck in photography. Come to Perris and I will teach you how to use your camera and lens, no charge. Until you understand the basics of the settings and what they do, you will just be guessing. And as you only get one guess per jump, it will cost you far more than if you just invest in a good lens. Being a photographer isn't cheap. I haven't added up all my camera gear, but a certain very well know skydiving photographer recently sent me a message just in the interest of another similar conversation, saying he added up his cameraflying costs, not rigs or computers, just specific cameraflying equipment, and it was $18,000+... Welcome to camera flying, this is why we have to charge for video and stills, even our friends. peace lew ps, I would not recommend that lens. http://www.exitshot.com

Mullins is so more than just a great plane... http://www.exitshot.com

Inspired by another thread, lets start a little (ok, long) list of all the little things you've encountered in flying camera, and, if necessary, how you overcame them... Maybe some non-camera flyers reading this will appreciate us more , and some new camera flyers will think through this more... 1. PAYing for a camera 2. PAYing for a camera helmet 3. PAYing for a mount/box/bracket for the camera 4. Buying a cameye 5. Drilling holes 6. Drilling new holes because after jumping the camera you realize it's at the wrong angle 7. And, now, a third set of holes, because you're freeflying instead of bellyflying (on my first camera helmet - sidemount - I don't have that problem anymore, but I also don't fly inside RW formations with a topmount) 8. Trying to fly without a sight - and sucking. 9. Buying a sight. 10. Drilling more holes to mount the sight. 11. Going to Home Depot for... well, lots of bits and pieces (and we're not talking about stills yet...) 12. Deciding what wide-angle lens to use and buying it 13. Dropping the camera & braking it 14. Sending it to Sony (for the first time) 15. Not having a camera for a week or two while it's at Sony, which isn't a big deal unless you rely on it for tandem videos... 16. Oh, yeah, buying tapes 17. Making sure batteries are charged 18. Carrying an extra battery (if you're smart, and getting paid to video) 19. Oh but first you have to buy and extra battery 20. Forgetting to turn the camera on 21. Cam-eye braking, buying a new one 22. Accidentally leaving the camera zoomed in 23. Accidentally hitting NightShot 24. Leaving it on Autofucus 25. Forgetting to turn it off after a jump and wasting your whole battery while it films the gear rack as you pack. 26. Forgetting to plug in the cam-eye and not figuring it out till greenlight 27. Worrying so much about your camera that you _________ (ooh, lots of possibilities here.... like: forget to turn on your ProTrack, forget your altimeter or gloves or goggles, etc... not to mention what you'll not be focussed on in freefall) 28. That guy who chases you down and asks to firewire the footage from 2 weeks ago of him and his buddies, and he doesn't have a camera or firewire with him, and you have to dig through your footage to find which jump he's talking about. 29. Tracking down your firewire cable (or A/V cables for that matter) after lending them to someone. 30. Dubbing. 31. Finding a VCR and TV to dub for that group who really wants to watch the jump right now, but has no where to go. 32. Forgetting to cue up. 33. Someone borrowing your camera (which was cued) and leaving it not cued. 34. Moisture on the lense 35. Oh, not hard for me, but definitely more difficult for some: Climbing back to that postage stamp camera step... 36. Climbing out and ... the green light goes off and the TM takes a go around. I've hung on, but prefer climbing back in. 37. Everything was going great and then these thick black lines appear in the middle of the PAID video, crap: drop out. So you find a cleaner tape. That works temporarily... 38. No other fixes, so send that camera back to Sony, after digging up your receipt, or worse, it's out of warranty and you have to spend ~$300 to get the heads realigned... 39. How could I have forgotten, buying a camera jacket/suit... and learning to fly it. 40. Completely missing the exit count 41. Dropping on someone -woohoo, congrats you're a real camera flyer now! 42. Bad light, clouds, sunset, whatever 43. The TM who won't face into the sun no matter what you do. 44. The TM who doesn't look down in freefall and hoses you on a long spot :) 45. The TM who changes their exit count, ie, just goes cause .... 46. Oh, should we even open the editting can of worms? 47. Ok, having to redo a Tandem video edit cause someone's waiving their remote around and rewinding everyone's cameras unknowingly... 48. Having to redo the edit because the customer requested the wrong song 49. Having to redo the edit, and pack, and make a

You can avoid the hassly by not jumping a camera. Seriously. There are lots of little annoying things to overcome in camera flying... you're just scratching the surface. So be reaedy to scratch and drill into your pretty new box. Hmmmm, I think it was just a few hours ago I posted to another thread in Photo & Video telling someone not to be afraid to take a drill and dremel to their helmet & box... Did you read that thread? Make sure you read all the camera flying threads, and especially the article Dave mentioned. Be safe. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

You can put a dbox wherever you want, you could mount it to your chin cup if you wanted... Just because the holes are predrilled in the side, don't let that hold you back from drilling more holes in the bottom and switching it to a topmount box. (I did that with mine) For sidemount, I prefer just an L-bracket (boxes are too bulky). For more security, on top with a d-box is better. I agree the box is mounted too high also. You may have to do some drilling or dremel work, but it's worth it to bring that box down where others have recommended. think outside the box. and btw, we all have extra holes in our helmets, it's called trial and error, and switching from one camera to another or adding a flash or something else... don't be afraid to drill holes in the pretty new helmet. You can always cover it with stickers or gaffers tape. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

good, then it should be an easy, quick fix, sent off to sony if all else fails. the hardest part is being without the camera for a week or so. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com

Did you buy the camera new or used? refurbished? from where/who? As for going over "old scans", i assume you mean recording over used tape, there is no magic number. When it stops working, try a new tape. http://www.exitshot.com

or look here. peace lew http://www.exitshot.com