shogo

Yeah, everyone saw that. I want to know if the loop recorder that they mention in the ad (the list of devices that the magnets they use can affect) include digital camcorders or not. NOT digital still camera. The ones that uses tapes (magnets).

Thanks guys. I will get one also.

wow. where do you buy neoprene stuff like that?

you are the man!. Thanks.

Does anyone know how to set Time out audible? what are the 2 lower altitude settings? 1500 and 3000?? Thanks

Yeah, 3/4" is very high. especially when the base plate is that small. but because it's 3/4" high, you have easier access with your thumb and index finger to rotate the black ring you see to fasten and release the video camera. the release plate, "power release plate," stays tight as well, since it's a bare metal, i thought it would be susceptible to getting losen and rotate, so i tried to put a thin rubber piece to increase the frinction between the plate and video camera, but i found that to be unnecessary. never got lose. perhaps if you go headdown dive and have the video on top mount... i would only recommend this to people who has a bottom loading video camera and if they have to get to the tape all the time, like video people.

it is 3/4" high (same as stroboframe) and 1 and 3/4" in diameter. 3/4" is great on FTP because it lowers the still camera towards your face (Note: still is inverted so lens actually get closer to the view of wide angle lens of the video) and the edge of the still lens won't be in the view of video camera. Of course you do have to carve the top plate a little to have access for turning the base.

Sorry. Let me expand on that. The black thing you see in the picture turns and tightens the camera towards the base, by pulling the step (ledge) you see on the "power release plate." Because you have to turn it till tight, it's not so "quick" like you put the quick release plate onto the base plate of, let's say Stroboframe, and let the spring on the base plate take care the rest. But this thing holds the camera tight, i mean tight enough so you dont need anti-twist means. it is very well made, probably by machine (German made). I use it for the still, not for the video anymore. I like the video directly contacting the top plate. I use it on the "extended" top plate of FTP (meaning still mounted on the same plate as the video but mounted upside down on the reverse side of the plate on my forehead), because i didnt like having the L bracket if i am not doing stills, a lot more low profile that way.

This is the best!! As you can see the quick release plate, more like tab (not the base unit) is so small, it doesnt cover up the door for the tape. I have one for HC-85 (bottom loading). the thick ness is about that of stroboframe. it holds the camera tight. i mean tight. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=288483&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

could you kindly post a pic of your ring sight? sound very intreting

actually you can, but i dont know if you can remote that.

yeah, that's the down side of 14mm and 15mm. you cant put a protective filter. you have to be really careful, that's all you can do. Canon is better. only 100 bucks more. someone on dz.com once said it fogs, but any lens will fog. sigma is made of metal housing so it will fog more. i have used it and it fogs if you bring it form A/C environment to outside. if you live on east cost with humidity, you cant really fight that unless you leave the lens outside for a while before jumping. you can go to a lot of photography sites (like DZ.com. for us, there are bunch of photo sites out there) fred miranda.com is okay. they have a lot of cheap used ones. buy one there and sell it on ebay where not many people do research. (I bought 550 doller lens for 300 and used it had fun with it last year, but it was too wide and i sold it on ebay for $366.) I recommend photodo.com. if you want technical stuff. MTF is a good way of comparing lens performance (same type of lens though). dont compare the ones from the manufactures. anyway check these sites out. i made bunch of mistakes buying stuff i dont need like filters and lenses that didnt really work for my skydiving needs. a little research will save you a lot of grief. i have lots of stuff i dont need.. sucks.

15mm (35mm equivalent = 24mm) should be PRENTY wide. unless you are like Borkky (user name) and can use 15mm on a full frame camera. Even if you can be a good tripod in the air, do you jump with good enough freeflyer to be close enough to utilize anything wider than 24mm??? 24mm is prenty good for tamdems also. if you are using fisheye 0.3 on a video, maybe, you need 20mm. i dont know. i dont use diamond 0.3. you might wanna ask someone else for that. but i think everyone else will agree on 24mm being way enough for usual skydiving.

canon 15mm fisheye accomodates up to 3 gel, resin filters (1.5mm or less). so I am sure sigma 15mm dose, too. but only gel filter useful for us is probably neutarl density. so i would not worry about filters too much. i have taken great shots with my friend's sigma 15mm without filters. i recommend studying photography before thinking about filters. other than for protection means.

Ignore these numbers. These lense that you see are normally for a digital camera (cheper ones with built in lens). The field of view depends on how big of a CCD your camcorder has. For instance, I bought a Raynox 0.3 semi-fisheye thinking it gonna be really wide. But I was wrong. I have a Sony HC-85, but I guess it has a small CCD compared with the digital cameras or other camcorder. 0.3 does not look like a fisheye view. It's like using 15mm fish eye on Canon 10D, 20D and digital rebel. Since the size of CCD is smaller than the one that the lens was made for, you only get a cropped imige (just the center). I belive sony makes a wide angle lens for camcorder. Their 06 is like kenko's 0.45. So go to a camera store and ask them to get the ones you want to take a look at and deide which ones is wide enough for your camcoder.

I like how you changed drum zone to dropzone. I have been looking for carrying case for FTP for a while but i didnt think of a drum case. how much do they go for?

thanks a lot for the info!!. i am gonna get one.

Thanks. I checked it out. i have another question. unlike bogen quick release plate, the distance between the pin and the screw is not adjustable. is the distance between the pin and the screw standardized among consumer camcoder? at lease among sony? thanks

where do you get it? i have been looking for 300vid since i saw that on a catalogue that came with the stroboframe QR. i have even called tiffen but no luck. have you seen it? if so, which way do the pin and the screw hole line up? long way or side way?

yeah, how does that work? Is 15mm fisheye "wider" than 12mm or 14mm lenses (non-fisheye)? wider meaning how much area the lens cover on a developed picture. Thanks.

you can disassemble it. this reveals two screw holes on the bottom plate. now you can see where holes are from the top. then take the bottom plate and put it on the surface on your helmet and take magic marker.. rest is simple.

Thanks for all the info. do you use something like this? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=5566&is=REG or http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=241139&is=REG

hey. i have a few question for you. i have a hc-85 also. i still havent jumped with it. anyway, do you use a stroboframe quick release (QR)? if so (and i am assuming you put it on the top surface of your camera helmet.), how do you keep the back of your camera to rest on the helmet mounting surface. i noticed that hc-85 has a screw hole so closed to the front end of the camera. when i put the camera on the helmet with the QR, back end kinda floats. do you have some kind of a spacer? when you have to open the camera to put the tapes in and out, you have to take off the QR plate, right? do you have a system of putting the QR plate back on the right orientation? (having the camera to point the right direction) i intend to use a antitwist plate (stroboframe 300SLR) to solve this problem. it works great on the ground, but i havent really tested in the working environment (jumping). do you just use the cork pad? what seems to be the best way for you?

those pics doesnt help me much. we arent even talking about the same thing.

thanks for the info. is the pin aligned with the screw hole left to right? i mean in the direction of the spring? (long side) i am trying to use the 300-VID on sony HC-85. on it, the screw hole and the other hole (the hole where the pin on the 300-VID go in to prevent the camera from rotating) run with the lens axis. i was wondering if i could use the align long side of 300-VID with long side HC85.