pilotdave

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Everything posted by pilotdave

  1. pilotdave
    I can't figure out your point here. Are you trying to get everybody that reads this thread to call Max and ask him his motivations? I don't see why anybody should have to talk to anyone before they post their feelings on the subject. Did you learn anything interesting by talking to both parties involved? I bet they'd both prefer not to get 100 phone calls on the subject, so why don't you tell us the story? Dave
  2. pilotdave
    I think it's rude, but not deceptive. If royal had a complete "cookie composite" website and tried to confuse people (the skyride method), that would be really wrong. But instead, they just forward straight to the royal site. They're hoping that the visitor is looking for a lens and now he'll know that there's another option. I'm not saying it's right... but at least nobody could reasonably think they're buying a cookie lens when in fact they're buying a royal. I don't like it, but I don't see it as being so bad that I'd boycott royal. Course, I own a waycool anyway...
  3. pilotdave
    At least a couple from CPI will be there. I'm going to try to make it, but I'm supposed to be shooting my 4-way team that weekend. Gonna depend how pissed they'll be at me...
  4. pilotdave
    I assume you've tested it under load? My FF2 cutaway is similar to that... totally failed when I had someone pull up on my helmet while I cut it away. The white loop was getting pinched against the helmet (the chin cup in my case). My solution was to flip the "riser" over so the white loop comes outward instead of inward. Works fine now. Also, any trouble grabbing the cutaway handle when the helmet is on? Mine's right on the chin cup, easy to grab... maybe a little too easy. No problems with it though. Dave
  5. pilotdave
    Bought mine from Miami on here. Bowen is another dealer for them. Dave
  6. pilotdave
    Pretty sure fun jumps were $14 to 14K when I started in 1998. Quickly went up to $16 right after I finished AFF when the DZ switched from a king air to a twin otter. Guess the price was pretty steady from the late 70s through the late 90s... I think my first jump (AFF1) was $230... but that included a group discount. Dave
  7. pilotdave
    Now now... you don't want another slap on the wrist, do you?
  8. pilotdave
    Is that a joke? You realize that the USPA had to settle a huge lawsuit with skyride for getting involved. Part of the settlement, apparently, was to remove their involvement from the issue. The owners of skyride belong in prison. The proper authorities should be getting involved, not USPA. Dave
  9. pilotdave
    UPT says 500 RW jumps and 100 camera jumps before you can film a tandem at all. Those numbers make sense to me (even though they are quite a bit more conservative than the USPAs numbers). How many it takes before you get paid should depend on how you do on the freebies that you use for practice. Dave
  10. pilotdave
    What I meant was, I don't care that my DOF changes because I use autofocus. If I used MF, I would have to lock in my aperture to make sure my focus won't change. Light can change a LOT on a given jump... The attached pic was taken a earlier in the same jump as the one i posted above. Well the light didn't change much, but I moved. Also, like you said, clouds can change the light. Don't need to go through a cloud for it to affect the light. Dave
  11. pilotdave
    I'd never be able to figure out my settings that way. I'd have to work backwards... I usually use ISO 400. But I don't get very clear pictures at 1/400th, so I go with 1/800th most of the time. Light is constantly changing on a jump, so I let the camera figure out an aperture that'll properly expose my pictures. I use autofocus so I don't have to worry about my depth of field changing as the aperture changes. If I started with an aperture like f/16 on a sunny day and ISO 100, I'd end up with a bunch of blurry pictures because the shutter speed would be way too low (1/100th). The sunny 16 rule probably works great when you've got a camera on tripod and a nice scene you want to capture. But for freefall, I need to prioritize shutter speed. Gotta bump up the ISO if I can't get a decent speed... or I end up with something like the one attached, at 1/40th f/3.5. I was orbiting around the formation... kind of a neat effect.
  12. pilotdave
    I get your point that RRS clamps are nice and strong, but I'm with those guys that I don't see how it does anything other than prevent the plate from coming off the clamp. As far as the plate coming off the camera, that all depends on the screw that mounts the plate to the camera. If you had a 15 cent camera screw coming through your helmet and screwing into the bottom of the camera, it would hold just as well as that screw mounted to a fancy plate that clamps to a fancy mount. I've never seen a camera that was cantilevered off of a helmet by a long screw so all the bending loads would have to be transmitted straight through the screw. Dave
  13. pilotdave
    Just get a rebel XT or XTi (or the new XSi). Really can't go wrong. The rebel series is just going to be the easiest to deal with. Also the smallest and lightest. There are off the shelf switches available for the 30D/40D too, but they are less common (doubt you'll find them at the neighborhood gear store). Not sure what Nikon people use... might take some soldering? Dave
  14. pilotdave
    Don't ya think that's gonna depend on how much money you have?
  15. pilotdave
    So he commented that he did have nylon screws holding his ringsight on. He was unable to rip the sight off. Anybody ever sacrificed a set of nylon screws to see how hard it really is? Dave
  16. pilotdave
    Sport mode puts the camera into AI-Servo autofocus mode (if you use autofocus). Only the center autofocus point is used. Sport mode is a fully automatic mode. Works GREAT for skydiving. I highly recommend sport mode as a starting point. Study the settings that the camera chose for each picture and figure out why some worked and others didn't. When you think you can do a better job of choosing settings than the camera, switch to whatever mode is appropriate for the change you want to make. Using a full auto mode drives the so-called experts nuts, but it works great. You do lose some control though. Most importantly (to me anyway), you can't use exposure compensation. Try everything. Personally I eventually switched to Tv mode for a little more control. Dave
  17. pilotdave
    It's a great idea to practice it before you need to do it. But I'd also recommend not just going and trying it after reading advice on the internet. It can be done safely, but it is a lot trickier than a normal landing. The amount and timing of the flare will be different. My only injury in skydiving (which was minor) was on a rear riser landing (landing off in a back yard with a stuck brake). I know another jumper that attempted a rear riser landing after breaking a steering line. He had 500 jumps and ended up breaking his back (luckily it got better). Be careful and get proper training. It'll include a lot of practice up high and finding the rear riser stall point. Dave
  18. pilotdave
    Not my video, but I think there's a lot to learn from it... http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=7005 Dave
  19. pilotdave
    Even worse on back-to-back loads. My 4-way team tries to do 10+ jumps a day on training days. We're often doing 3 loads in a row. The closer I can land to the hangar, the slower I can walk to the boarding area for the next load (running to catch the plane sucks). But I don't push it and land where I want regardless of traffic. I just try to aim generally close to where I want to be if traffic allows for it. Also the wind has to allow for it... I don't like landing near buildings if they're causing turbulence. I'd much rather always land far away from any traffic/obstacles, but I'll have a heart attack if I have to run all day.
  20. pilotdave
    2 landings in a jump plane:5:0 Had to ride a slow climbing (and slow descending) plane down twice in a row after getting called down after climbing about 10,000 feet. First time the whole load landed with the plane due to high wind gusts. Winds were dead by the time we landed. Second time, only the students were called back down, but I was doing a coach jump so I rode down too. Winds were dead again by the time we landed... but it was still a good call. Student never got to jump after that... at least he got one in earlier. Then we did a nice 9-way formation load with a 206 and 182. Got 2 points (all that we planned)... great jump. Ended the day with a couple tandems. First from the back and then switched places with my passenger for the second.
  21. pilotdave
    A lot of people use lower shutter speeds, but I find that I need 1/800 or so to consistently get sharp pics. A usually use ISO 400 to get a smaller aperture (kit lens is least sharp when wide open). A smaller aperture will increase your depth of field so you won't get nearly as many out of focus shots. 24-26mm is pretty narrow, depending on what you're shooting. Remember that you have to multiply your focal length by 1.6 for the 35mm film equivalent. 18mm is a lot narrower on this camera than it was on your film cameras. I use AI servo mode and continuous mode. Not sure it really matters as long as only the center autofocus point is selected. I tend not to take burst shots because I can't hear the camera, so I don't know if I'm just missing a whole series of shots. No need for long exposure noise reduction for skydiving. Not sure if it has any effect at high shutter speeds, but it does slow the camera down for long exposures. Probably no effect for skydiving. Dave
  22. pilotdave
    My first jump at the DZ, my team, which would be exiting first, was standing at the boarding area watching the first group from the previous load land way off. One of the people on my team explained to the tandem instructors that we would not be getting out where those people got out. We'd be getting out over the treeline, regardless of where the green light comes on. They were happy with that. No problem, no yelling in the door. Done 39 jumps there now (over 4 jumping days)... haven't landed off yet. Also haven't climbed out on the green light yet.
  23. pilotdave
    Should be able to... if the jump run is consistent. Only been to that DZ twice, but I don't think I've ever seen such inconsistent jump runs and bad spots. People landed off on just about every load I saw. Don't know why it happens, but I've never seen so many off landings anywhere else... BTW to danielcroft... unless there was more than one reserve ride last weekend, I saw your landing. Nice job! Dave
  24. pilotdave
    I don't understand what you mean. I haven't seen a new Vector up close, but it looks like the secondary riser covers are the same. They were never "tuck tabs," they always just folded over the risers and were covered by the outer riser covers. If they aren't seated properly, they can get curved and bulge out... and take a set that way. I've had no problems with mine, but I have seen other Vector 3s that have secondary riser covers that always stick out, since they weren't taken care of early on. Is there really anything different about the new ones? Dave
  25. pilotdave
    The way I see it, the two cameras are so different that you really need to think about what you like about each of them and how you plan to use it. Do you edit videos on a computer? Do you have a fast enough computer and software to handle the CX7's files? Do you freefly? CX7 might be shaky in some positions. How are you going to mount it? PC1000 is better for side mounting. Do you like tapes? CX7 means you need to find another way to store footage. Do you want HD? Do you firewire footage to/from other cameras often? CX7 has no firewire. I just don't see those two as competing cameras. I'd buy a PC1000 before I'd buy a CX7, but that's mostly because I have a PC1000 now and I'm all set up for it. I'd probably need a new computer if I went with a CX7... not to mention a new camera helmet. Dave