The111

I feel it the most in my triceps. I think part of the reason it's so tiring on an S3 is because the wings don't inflate. Inflatable wings take much less strength to hold out. To get your hips up (the most important thing for slow fallrate, and to be able to open legs all the way), just clench your asscheeks together. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Many people think skydiving is irresponsible. Have you seen what it can do to the human body? "Skydivers are DOPES!" www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Look at posts 26-37 on this thread. There is even a picture.

PC101/105 have not been made in ages. As I've said in other threads recently, the current product lineup for Sony DV is: HC26 - NO HC36 - NO HC46 - NO HC96 - YES There is also the HC-3 which is HD, and does have LANC. So currently the HC96 is the only production Sony model with LANC, you can get it shipped from dbuys.com for $600. I have the HC90, its predecessor, and it takes great video. The optics are comparable to the old PC330/350. I am fairly sure that the HC22, 32, and 42 (previous models) did have LANC, but the 26, 36, and 46 don't. The models are probaby nearly identical otherwise; Sony loves to make "new" models as fast as they can. Ironic that these new models are inferior to the previous ones. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That's odd that you're getting pictures so washed out in a partial auto mode. Your setup is similar to what I use for most normal jumps, and I have not run into overexposure problems that severe. One thing you can try on the partial auto modes to fix the problem you're having is adjust the exposure compensation, try -1/3 or -2/3. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

FWIW, I just checked my 350D (Rebel XT) and it does have saturation control. I was totally unaware of this. Can't wait to try it out! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Have you tried the focusing method I described? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Steve, There is no "Diamond 0.6". There is a Diamond 0.3 and a Stealth 0.5. I have a Diamond 0.3, but as I described in this thread, I actually measured the FOV of my lens, after hearing many reports that not only does effective wide angle vary relative to the nomenclature of the lens, it also varies dependent on camera. I use an HC90, and I measured the effective angle of my lens at ~0.4, and I can zoom in to ~0.8 before it starts to get blurry. So my "0.3" actually is a "0.4-0.8". This is all obviously using my camera's default, unzoomed FOV as "1.0" baseline. I usually use it at about 0.7, with my HC90 (similar to HC40, major difference is larger CCD). I have no focusing problems. I'll describe what I do, which I read on here somewhere. On the ground, aim the camera at something about 15 feet away. Change focus to auto. After it focuses on the subject, change focus again to manual. The text "0.1m," will appear on the screen (in my experience, at least). That's it, you're set. Everything from zero to infinity is now in focus. That has worked for me like a charm from my first video jump... I've never tried another focusing method. Have you tried that? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That guy is a better photographer than me for sure, but I can get somewhat of the effect you are looking for ("deep blues") by adjusting saturation levels in Photoshop. Not sure if there are other methods, that is the only way I know to do it in my extremely limited toolset. I remember reading once that somebody said when they shot with 35mm film, there was a certain brand/type of film that would get cool images like these. Maybe lens has something to do with it too. I use 18-55 lens also and it's not known for being the best, although it certainly gets the job done. I'm curious also what people think, as far as techniques used on the pictures in question... they are indeed GORGEOUS. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Are you sure it's not a HC32? I have not seen a 26, 36, or 46 in person, but I have heard more than once that they ALL lack LANC ports, while the 32 and 42 did have them. When they moved from "x2" to "x6", only the "9x" series retained the LANC. This is very noteworthy. The search on this site is still screwed up, but I know I have read several people on here saying they saw the 36/46 in person with no LANC. I managed to find this, this, and this using Google. And in the 3rd link, there is a post by you saying you have a 32. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

The only way I'd know how to do it myself is to use my DVcam to transfer the VHS footage to PC as raw video. Then master a DVD of that footage, and burn it. Probably not as simple as you were looking for. There may be an easier way to do it. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

You must have the world's fastest opening Pilot 188. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I have a dbox mounted to the top of my Optik Illusion with screws (permanently). The camera goes in the dbox. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Chuck, I use HC90, best quality you can get without going 3-chip or HD, both of which will cost you over $600. The successor to the HC90 is the HC96, available on dbuys.com right now for $604, shipped. If the video quality is not that important, you can save a bit more money by going to HC3x or 4x series, but the newest models in those series do NOT have LANC ports. The 96 does, as far as I know. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Still in freefall at 2500 ft, and jumping a (snivelly) large Pilot? When exactly do you get seated in your harness? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Not a bad idea Kris. I will admit that once or twice when I was first learning how to fly efficiently, I realized how easy it is to do an "unplanned" buzz when trying to get those last 15 seconds out and flying down to 3k looking at your toes instead of where you are going. Now I always look forward below 6k or so but you're right, it's not as fun because I can feel all the drag my face is causing. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Glad you're ok, Larry. I'm with Tonto... on the rare occasion I get 1 or 2 twists on my Pilot, it is untwisting itself before I can even think about it. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Kris, why are you pulling @ 6k? (sorry for thread drift) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Learn to crawl before you run. If you can't yet fly a 2-way smoothly, there isn't any reason to be working on acrobatics. Start with the basics. Keep making 2-ways with your friend until you can stay relative for the whole jump, take docks, etc. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I've seen this question a couple times and it irks me a little bit. For one, it is an INCREDIBLY broad question. There is so much good music in the world and the idea that there are a couple songs out there that are "good songs for editing" is ridiculous. If you want to find out what people are actively using in their videos, browse around on www.skydivingmovies.com and see what you find. You will find quite a lot of song recycling going on though, so apparently there are some people out there who buy into the "handful of songs that are good for editing" train of thought. I've only made a few videos but I put a lot of work into each of them and pride myself in using music that I hope expands the viewer's horizons, and not just in the context of the video. If you want to hear what music I've used, watch my videos here. An edited video production is a piece of art, created like any other art, to communicate an idea. Choose your music to fit your theme. Choose your music based on your taste. Now, for tandem or student "workhorse" videos, I guess recycling a few songs comes with the territory. Those videos do not contain the amount of effort that is present in some of the better artistic videos I've seen. But even if I ever was in that situation, I still could not bring myself to use some of the horrible stuff I hear in tandem videos at the DZ. Some other good videos with good music are "A Year in the Life" (Jeb Corliss), Superterminal, and Year of the Birdman (Robibird). These are stellar videos in terms of the video content itself and the soundtrack. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

It is true that on a big suit like an S3 the legwing pressurizes differently than on a GTi. You are the first person I've ever heard say the same thing I did after my first S3 jump - I felt like I had to exert a lot of effort to close down that "airbag between my knees" when pulling. Now, of course I'm used to it and if I jump a smaller suit my legs feel too loose. As far as the rest of your logic, there is one critical thing missing. Sure, the legwing will naturally want to inflate, but it does not naturally keep your legs straight at the knees - you do that with your quads, one of the strongest muscles in your body. Big arm wings do inflate easily and without effort, but keeping them pushed down on the air is what requires effort, and using muscles that are not nearly as strong as quads. If this were true airplanes would need no structural reinforcement to resist bending along the span of the wings. Your thinking is flawed, sorry. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Sam, I really didn't know that many people were having problems. Mine has been fine 99.9% of the time. Maybe I just got a good unit. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I wear it on my wrist? Just a wild idea, I wouldn't think that would matter too much. As far as "Birdman alarm mode", that is just one of the names of many preset alarm groupings. I don't think changing to a different alarm preset has anything to do with data acquisition. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Hey Luke, I'm not sponsored by Alti-2 either, and I'll echo Kris' opinion that it's the best option of its kind out there right now. I got mine back in fall 2004, I think it had already been out for quite some time and gone through several updates. I've also updated it several times since I got it, and there are a few small gripes I have. It has locked up a couple times but a reboot fixes it. It has an ongoing problem with the logbook where it wraps around your first jump in the logbook to become a phantom "last" (example I have 617 jumps but in my logbook there is a #618 that took place years ago!). This is easily fixed by manually deleting the entry every time I upload to PC (cannot delete it in Neptune itself). They've been saying they're gonna fix this for quite some time. Now, those two small gripes out of the way, I will say that is has ALWAYS worked fine for me for wingsuiting, with probably at least 300 jumps on it, all the way back from when I first started using it several software versions ago. It has logged all of my jumps in completion (maybe once or twice out of 300 it shut down early), but that is a much better track record than my Pro-Track had. I also prefer the small lightweight design and the digital display, over my old heavy analog. Scott, I think you are thinking of the Pro-Track. As far as I know the Neptune does not need to be put in any special "slow mode". I don't remember ever doing it with mine, at least. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Dude, re-read my post just above yours. I linked to the original photo on McGowan's webpage AND I identified the magazine you are asking about. Good point about the "not previously published" requirement... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

For me I guess I'm a cheapskate and can only afford one wingsuit. I agree with most of your points but I'd rather fly dirty while flocking and have to option to go fast on breakoff, if I'm only going to have one suit. www.WingsuitPhotos.com