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These were both taken with a Sigma 15mm fisheye. I don't know about your friends at the DZ but I can't really see a need to fly much closer than that..... Peace, Z Action©Sports

Can you say "Premature Deployment"? It just ain't worth the risk, dude. I'd rather just watch the gear hit the ground in a very expensive Wylie Coyote like explosion than chance that one Then again, it could make for some good video..... Action©Sports

Gettin' one of the absolute hardest openings I've ever had only to wake up just in time to see a $4,500 camera setup fly off my head. YooooHoooo!!! That part sucked but the party that night kicked ass Don't feel bad dude, the swoop cord thing happens to everyone eventually - What makes it memorable is when it happens while you're filming a TM/Student that breaks the scale at maybe a buck seventy five combined and you're pushin' a solid 240. Can you say Bye Bye? As for camera malfunctions, camera man malfunctions, and simple matters of circumstance, they'll all bite you in the ass eventually. Just learn from your mistakes and then realize how much fun it is when everything works out the way you plan it. Keep yer chin up - It's gonna get worse before it gets better Peace, Z Action©Sports

There's really nothing more to see....It's all duct tape and bungee cords The video set-up is a TRV-30 with a Kenko 0.43 High Grade. I use that set-up for Tandem mostly (normally without the flash) I set it up that way ( It does fold back flush if I want to) because the flash is automatically set to Bounce Flash when the bulb is raised from the base. That takes the camera out of High Speed Synch mode so the highest shutter speed I can use is 1/200 sec. With the flash like it is it can synch at the highest shutter speed of the camera which is 1/8000 sec for the film camera or 1/4000 sec. for the digital. That's a cool lookin' setup you've got there too. Nice and clean and I'm diggin' the pain job too Peace, Z Action©Sports

Another FTP . . . . . Action©Sports

Happy B-Day J! Action©Sports

Hey, what do you mean by this? Sure, you can tell them to take the CD down to the local stop & rob and get prints but, there are still people who prefer a good o'l roll of film. And since all of my cameras are interchangeable it makes no difference to me. Why not just give the customers what they want? Peace, Z Action©Sports

I used to shoot film and just hand the roll to the customer. Customers eventually began to request digital stills as well as DVD's so I upgraded to all digital equipment. I still keep my film gear with me because many customers still like the idea of having a print to look at. When I do digital stills I burn them a CD and mail it out the following day. I just buy the shipping stuff in bulk so it doesn't really cost me more than a $1.00 a CD. Peace, Z Action©Sports

Agreed - Hopefully this will put an end to the Super Bowl renditions of our national anthem. Personally, I think it's pretty good "as is" Action©Sports

I posted this once before in response to a question about using I-Pod's at altitude - I suspect that the camera you're referring to uses a similar microdrive, so the same specs will likely apply. The following came directly from IBM Support in answer to a user who was thinking about using the microdrive on a vacation in Napal: The Microdrive does need "AIR" to float the heads and typically above 10,000 ft the mass of the air is too low and the drive requires a pressurized environment similar to an aircraft or spacecraft. At high altitude the air bearings begin to loose support from the air molecules needed to provide the "air bearing" for the Negative Air Bearing Surface (NABS) design of the head. If this "air bearing" is removed or lowered (as is the case with low density air at high altitudes) the head damages the media and you could have loss of data. The drive is vented to maintain equal pressure inside and outside to provide the air and to maintain the same pressure. This eliminates the need for sealed and rigid covers that can tolerate pressure differences. The OEM Functional specification defines the warranty range for operating altitude as 3,000 M or 9,000 ft (3ft/M). If the customer is mountain climbing with a GPS or digital camera above 9,000 ft the drive might have problems. (Mt Fuji ~ +13,000ft, Mt Raineer ~ +14,000 ft). Please note, this is the operating environment. Non operation at high altitudes, including vacuum, have no ill effects on the microdrive. Within passenger aircraft, the cabin is pressurized to 9-10,000 feet hence the drive would experience no difficulty operating in an aircraft cruising at 35-45,000 ft ! Peace, Z Action©Sports

You might want to check out the max operating altitude for the harddrive in the camera before you buy - you could be making a very expensive mistake Edit to add: The max operating altitude isn't specified in any of the online documentation - standard is usually below 10,000 feet so I would proceed with caution if I were you. Peace, Z Action©Sports

You looked like you were enjoying yourself

Standard linear editing system output to a DVD burner/VCR. Customer gets to choose if they'd like DVD or tape and they walk out the door with their video in hand. Peace, Z Action©Sports

That's some great shit Action©Sports

WD40? Action©Sports

Just remember to wash your hands before you install the harness - if you have any type of food odor on your hands the residue transfers to the wires during installation and it will attract mice, rats, and even squirrels. I used to work on industrial robotics and factory automation and I ran into several incidents where rodents (and even a snake in Kansas City that shorted out a transformer) crawled in to control cabinets and chewed on the wiring. Then again, with 3 Phase 480 you don't have to worry about shootin' the little bastards - they basically explode on contact Peace, Z Action©Sports

According to This the same rules apply. If you look at the Tech Specs for your iPod you'll find that the maximum recommended operating altitude is 10,000 feet Peace, Z Action©Sports

Best explanation I've been able to find so far: The following came directly from IBM Support in answer to a user who was thinking about using the microdrive on a vacation in Napal: The Microdrive does need "AIR" to float the heads and typically above 10,000 ft the mass of the air is too low and the drive requires a pressurized environment similar to an aircraft or spacecraft. At high altitude the air bearings begin to loose support from the air molecules needed to provide the "air bearing" for the Negative Air Bearing Surface (NABS) design of the head. If this "air bearing" is removed or lowered (as is the case with low density air at high altitudes) the head damages the media and you could have loss of data. The drive is vented to maintain equal pressure inside and outside to provide the air and to maintain the same pressure. This eliminates the need for sealed and rigid covers that can tolerate pressure differences. The OEM Functional specification defines the warranty range for operating altitude as 3,000 M or 9,000 ft (3ft/M). If the customer is mountain climbing with a GPS or digital camera above 9,000 ft the drive might have problems. (Mt Fuji ~ +13,000ft, Mt Raineer ~ +14,000 ft). Please note, this is the operating environment. Non operation at high altitudes, including vacuum, have no ill effects on the microdrive. Within passenger aircraft, the cabin is pressurized to 9-10,000 feet hence the drive would experience no difficulty operating in an aircraft cruising at 35-45,000 ft ! Peace, Z Action©Sports

Yeah, he wasn't at all the freaked out type - just looked to me like he was saying something along the lines of: "Please open. I promise, I'll never smoke pot ever again" . . . . . .or something. Peace, Z Action©Sports

I completely agree - Where else can you find expressions like this? Peace, Z Action©Sports

Here ya go dude..... Here is the whole quick release assembly 300-QRC And here is just the Anti-Twist Plate Peace, Z Action©Sports

Nah, I'd leave the ring off if I were you. I've been using my Sigma 15mm for probably 4 years now and and I don't have a single scratch on it - It just appears to be a really durable piece of glass cuz I know I've boinked it on all kinds of stuff . As far as the filter goes - I've used a Neutral Density filter once just because someone gave me a few to try but I wasn't very impressed. I think it does an excellent job without any filters..... You really shouldn't get any vinetting on a digital SLR with that thing either - should be comparable to a 24mm on a standard SLR - I use it all the time on a regular SLR shooting slide film - the only time I get vinetting is when I use it with a flash (like the attached pic) and that's just because the flash doesn't cover the same field of view. Peace, Z Action©Sports

A few more that were hiding on my harddrive.... Peace, Z Action©Sports

Yep - there's a little clip that comes with the lens used for attaching gelatin filters. Peace, Z Action©Sports

Zilker park is a cool venue but as with most any place in Austin, it gets freakin' packed. It's certainly worth checkin' out though. And hell, if you don't care for it or just want to try something else, you're just across the river from downtown and the Warehouse District - You can even make a B.A.S.E jump or two if you get the urge. Peace, Z Action©Sports