Calvin19

speaking of common sense, doesnt it seem right that if there is a mishap, and the 1st one breakes pre-maturly, that the same problem will probably cause the 2nd to break? even if its 8' up the bridal? i know that 2 loaded seperatly would solve a SL rigging problem, but if you accidentaly have a wrap to break the first, can you clear it in 8' (.4sec)? maybe the wrap-SL break would start the limb or body rotation to clear it, i dono. just thinking.

just started as well, i got the Canon XTI (350D) its awesome, and very good value. Also, I have the canon 17-85 EFS and its sweet for ground based photography as well. plenty wide in my opinion.

just making sure

*note the sarcasm

Actualy, that sounds exactly like rope jumping. at least the way i do it.

The 350D has a long exposure mode setting to minimize the noise. I believe the 400D also has that setting. When set, it will continue to measure after the shutter has closed for a while (I believe it is as long as the exposure time). Yes, it does. and im useing it. I gathered as for settings i should use (instead of f4, etc) -long exposure noise ruduction -ISO 800 -Bulb (of course) shutter speed -Focal stop 8>14 -17mm, or widest on lense F-L EDIT- also, -RAW as well as JPG format, (the camera can save for simultaiously) -10,300,000pixels -Manual mode. sounds good. i will probaly need about 15min + exposures, but oh well. fun nights ahead!

of course im shooting in RAW I will experiment with f8, it means that the timing of the drive and sighting has to be perfect though. thanks! CH

your right, specs say 4-5.6. huh. i must be going insane. i stand corrected.

PS- i made the Star drive "ERS" laser-sighted. its really cool sounding. but its basicaly just me useing a 150mw astronomy laser resting against the Axis hinge. the nerd in me pokes out a lot here.

haha, yeah, thus my first problem. but now i totaly have the drive dialed. well, at least that i can get an OK shot at 85mm FL. but i guess after all this input, the focus is not the problem. its the digital noise. so, film it is. of course, the nice/almost vital thing with digi is a can check the exposure right after the shot is done. oh well, i have a summer to work with. for the summer sky at least. then i need to do the same thing for the winter sky. then the whole northern hemisphere. i cant wait. and about the 1.7? Im pretty sure i saw the 2.8 at one time. but maybe not the 1.7. hmmm.... i need to know more about my equipment. thakns guys! and thanks for the sites!!!

sounds familiar! connect the '3loop' release to the risers of the paraglider you are cutting away. then, as you gain altitude, switch the loop from your mouth to your hand, other wise you could be missing a few molars after release. remember that your not as high as you think you are. 300' of line usualy means 150' or less.

Is what i am seeing just noise possibly? i had some advice that i should do this in film. anyone selling a cheap 35mm? sigh... i like digital though. but i LOVED film. damnit.

Kansas does not suck, only the people, the land, the govment, and the schools suck.

yeah, i built a homemade star drive for 60 bucks. i saw a thing online when i was 17 for a "barn door star drive" and i made one with a hand crank. last month i thought, why couldnt i make one that turned itself? so i did some math (i HATE math), used new tangents/sine whatever stuff, spent 3 days and 60$ at radio shack, and came up with the ERS. it works, about the same as the original hand crank, but this one i could put my name on. I did the originals with film, now i am doing it with A 400D (XTI) and a 17-85 canon lense. the lense is sweet, but it WILL go to 1.7, but i have yet to figure out how to manualy set it at that. the exposures i am dealing with are between 5 and 15 min. I am afraid that the digital sensor will not capture the magic of the dee space like the film did (though i did saturate the last pic a bit however) hmmm... venus. well, here is the best shot i have yet with digital. the moon was out, so its noisy. (2nd attatchment) oh, and i set the ISO at 100, the AF is off. of course. the camera is stupid and im even stupider. I by no means am a photography expert, but i do do a lot of astronomy. I cant make a goor star drive on my own with my budget. but a total-sky 'map' picture will be a cool project for me. good idea on the computer, I could do a few test shots, to check the focus, and adjust. then lock it down and dont touch it for the remainder of the nite. i will do that. good idea. thank you. anyone else with a less, um, slow way of doing it? I guess it takes the whole nite to do one half the sky, so i need to be patient. but im only patient when im doing something. not when im waiting.

OK, so this is not exactly freefall photography. at all actualy, but i know there are some super-smart photographers in this colum somewhere. my goal-to get relatively sharp wide-angle NON-STAR TRAIL picture map of the Northern Hemisphere sky. My Problem-I need to set my lense at 2.8 or 4 F-stop, at 17mm, but the focus needs to be exctly infinity. I remember having the same problem with my 35mm, but i guess i lucked out once. the Depth of Field is just so freaking narrow. maybe its hopeless? but i dont buy that. any thoughts? I have tried AF to the blue sky in day with lense set, then not touched the lense at all until i take pics, but thats hard and does not work very well.

beware! also, if you are in what is called a 'lockout' (some fucking brilliant BASE jumper in a PM compared a lockout to a 'downplane with a truck', and he was totaly correct, I like his thinking.) A lockout can happen at pretty much any angle, but usualy not faceing away from the tow truck with a BASE canopy, if you are towing to fast, it will happen in line of tow, then its no big deal, but with a payout setup, relly beware, this 'lockout' can happen really close to the ground. and IF you chop the tow line or get chopped, your horiziontal velocity will stop pretty quick, and you will surge, A LOT, into the ground. and break your tibia/fibia. and that sucks. also, For payout, starting from the tow vehicle is best, OR, the top of something close behind it like a flatbed trailer OR, as we did it, running about 20' behind the car. get the wing flying, and SLOWLY increase speed. get to the point where you are just barely flying, then add about 5mph. there you can let off the brakes (rear risers work better, but dont do that near ground, to slow reactin, then massive movement) and climb, keep the tension of tow line the same for the whole tow. and man, really, really buy something besides dynamic climbing rope. not only will the rope be destroyed if your towing on anything but grass, but 60meters is not enough. high point of 60 meter climbing rope is about 30 meters. maybe a little more, and even the surge from release then is intense. lookout kids. i have said before, this is the sketchiest thing i have ever gotten good at. do it on water of you can. there its pretty comparitively safe. of course, this coming from me means nothing. but anything i say is sketchy. if you want to be safe, go do PCAs with no PC.

Me, personaly, unless im useing my worn out little dagger 222, i wont use anything less than a 36 on a BASE jump. on my 260vented/zp i wont use anything smaller than a 36 period, even bandit loads. BASE gear just works better if it is extracted faster i think. I have a SWEET internal handle 36" vented small mesh from Morpheus, and i really like it. for WS and 7-terminal BASE.

nothing like climbing a 400' lighting rod in the calm before the massive electrical storm.

what design did you use? 3 or 4? did you do it with nate? they were doing it today as well. the sketchballs.

sorry about the wait. here is the sewn version. its a lot cleaner. it can be done with just knots, but we did/do it enough to make it clean.

I got a PM from a very reputable manufacturer, stating it at at least 550lbs, i must have mis-read your post andrew, sorry. it does make sense for the attatchment to tear away before you rip the topskin off the canopy. thanks.

well, lets look at it. bridal max length is 9' canopy to lines is what? 3'? 4'? lines are about lets say 17' we are talking 30' almost here. speed would be about um, math. i love math. however, dacron stretches, not a lot, but enough. the tape used in canopies streteches, as well as f111, also not a lot, but enough. the Webbing used in bridals is really not that strong, and it stretches a LOT when loaded to what we are talking about. it would be like this kid,http://www.fugly.com/videos/2394/bungee23432.html he is some serious competition to our rope jumping systems, obviously. but seriously, I would guess that a 3.5sec vented slider down opening would be comparable to this. also, I would doubt, seriously, that a bridal would take it. those bridals are not terribly strong. and to be caught by a bridal would mean your being hung byt only 4 suspension lines on your canopy. A 30' fall can produce some SERIOUS forces. I would know.

thanks man. i realy LOL. who the fuck is useing that acronym? thats fucked up.

where is this video of the bridal connection ripping off? I re-read this thread, couldnt find it. is it true that the Connection is designed to tear at 400lbs? who picked that number? is it tested? i had no idea about that. I looked at my gear, and it lookes a bit stronger than 400lbs. -SPACE-

what any skydiver would do. he cut away.