dragon2

There's none that is as small AFAIK, but you should not be sidemounting that big (long) camera anyway IMO. These cameras should be topmounted ONLY for safety's sake, I really do not like the look of that long (and fairly wide whatever other people say) box. When you topmount it you can easily put the nice lens on it it deserves. This is stupid IMO, sidemounting a long camera then putting on a crap lens bringing the quality of this very nice cam waaaay down so it's "low profile" when the entire helmet is now anything but ciel bleu, Saskia

Great, you now have a nice camera with a (for that camera) crap lens on it. Why did you buy a HDV camera if you're gonna put a SD lens on it ciel bleu, Saskia

Why is that, in this case? Some RSL lanyards have an eye loop that the main cut-away cable runs through to prevent the RSL from being activated by accident. Is this what you were asking? I have no idea what you mean by that, might be a language barrier though. Anyway like mentioned above, pretty sure the vector and atom rsl's can be pulled on to release the reserve pin, nu cutting away required. ciel bleu, Saskia

Why is that, in this case? ciel bleu, Saskia

PdF's Atom RSL uses the same principle too. ciel bleu, Saskia

All I mean is, there are big quality differences between the video cameras that skydivers use ciel bleu, Saskia

For photography I'll buy that. For video, not. There is a very big difference between the HDV cameras we use for tandem videos and daily videos, and the miniDV cameras that we use. The HDV cameras all produce much much much better footage even when downconverted to DV. Did I mention they are way better..? Also between miniDV cameras there are differences that are noticeable, and of course the 3ccd cameras are better than regular miniDV. ciel bleu, Saskia

Better ask the DZO first about selling video afterwards, on my DZ that is "not done" since you are then undercutting the regular video staff and also you have to perform up to the DZ's standards before your video is deemed acceptable as the DZ's "calling card". Also you may need to have acceptable stills too at DZs that only offer the video+photo package. ciel bleu, Saskia

Yeah, did one of those as my yay-I-finally-finished-my-B-license-on-CRW-jumps-graduation-jump

There are 2 kinds of usb-serial adapters, you need the more expensive one that does some converting or something instead of just changing the plug. no idea what it's called but you can tell by the price difference usually. ciel bleu, Saskia

If swooping is your goal, I'd definately buy a sabre2. you get all of the benifits from a modern intermediate canopy that actually has a bit of a recovery arch (more than pilot, safire etc and more than a stiletto!!!) but none of the opening problems associated with HP canopies. I think a Stiletto of any size shouldn't be flown by people with less than a couple hundred jumps and I think there are way better choices to learn to swoop with, start with a sabre2 and stick with it for a couple hundred jumps, maybe get one smaller after that, then maybe you can go straight to a crossfire or similar, skipping a stiletto-like canopy altogether. But as in all things, it's way better to ask knowledgeable people from your own DZ who know you and have seen you jump. But even without knowing you it's very easy to see a sabre2 would be the way to go. ciel bleu, Saskia

Personally I've had way more problems with digital alti's, like battery suddenly giving out, breaking the screen easily , but mostly giving wildly inaccurate readings presumably because of faulty components - one read 4000ft when I was already in my landing pattern - yeah right. I only had one analoge alti break on me, a loose needle is kinda hard to miss. YMMV. On the whole, digital altis require more maintenance, you have to replace batteries they are not free and you have to pay attention to the battery levels and sometimes when it's cold or something you may be without a working battery all of a sudden. Also you have to RTFM as for instance a 20min flight on the way to a demo jump may cause your digi alti to reset itself, and getting out of the car and on to an airplane may result in an altitude difference (happened to me a few weeks ago, ahem), harder to notice on say a neptune that;s set to wake up by itself in the plane than in a large analog alti that you're glancing at while taxiing. OTOH I find my neptune way easier to read than an analoge, this varies from person to person but I wouldn't willingly go back to an analog. ciel bleu, Saskia

The CRW tri's land BETTER than lightnings. Also they are the canopy of choice for some of the top teams. I'd market them over here (Europe), with the upcoming WC here @ Teuge more and more 2way teams are emerging and the dollar is very favorable for us right now to buy stuff from the USA. ciel bleu, Saskia

Um yes it is ciel bleu, Saskia

Q: Should I use an Audible? A: One is highly recommended and depending on location might be required. It is easy to get distracted in freefall and not look at your altimeter since you are concerned about keeping your team or student centered in the video. An audible helps to remind you of the altitude if you lose track, it should not be relied on since they do fail. Q: What (digital) stills camera should I get? A: Most people jump a Canon EOS DSLR (digi rebel), some Nikon DSLR models also make good freefall stills cameras. Most non-SLR (ie point-and-shoot) models are not suitable for jumping although a select few can be modified to accept a wired remote switch. Search the forums for the model you are asking about before posting. Q: What lens should I get for my stills camera? A: Suitable lenses for most Canon and Nikon DSLRs cameras range from 8mm (for real close-ups) to about 20mm (for further away). A good place to start is using the kit lens at 18mm so you can figure out what your needs are. Popular lenses include Canon 15mm fisheye, Sigma 15mm fisheye, Nikon 16mm fisheye, Sigma 10-20mm zoom. ciel bleu, Saskia

Kewl, another nikon flyer

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? And how is that, and how is a 170 big for a 140 lbs person anyway edit to say: According to our national rules, a 170 is EXACTLY what she would be jumping if she were Dutch. So far, we have had way LESS injuries than before the canopy rules, so I call bulls*t on your "bigger canopy = dangerous and more speed helps" in fact most of my friends (mostly those that are ~130 lbs girls) are jumping 190-170-150 canopies even by the time they have hundreds of jumps. They are glad of it when they have to land out, although the 190 is probably going to go soon to be replaced by a 170. ciel bleu, Saskia

I logged all my tandems, most of which were instructor recurrency jumps, newbie instructor jumps and new/changed rig jumps. I pulled myself on one of those jumps LOL OTOH, our A-license specifically counts only freefall jumps, no SL, so the 3 SL jumps I did on my first day of jumping didn't count towards my A-license but my subsequent 2 tandems (funjump that night onto a beach/party and back at the DZ the day after) DID ciel bleu, Saskia

I must say i haven't tried it with my HC5 but on a TRV/PC series it is noticeable if you leave the EIS on, you get shakier freefall and even shakier CRW footage than if you turn it off. ciel bleu, Saskia

1. I think the current lineup of HDV cameras isn't suitable for sidemounting, all are too big. 2. OIS = bad for skydivers in most cases, EIS = fine for skydivers since you can turn that off if it bugs you (most jumpers I know turn it off for skydiving, it makes for smoother freefall footage). The PC series and most other Sony cams have EIS. ciel bleu, Saskia

Take a look in the camera forum. Basically you want a sony hc or cx series camera for video and a canon digi rebel or nikon d80 for stills if you're buying new right now. ciel bleu, Saskia

Is it? ciel bleu, Saskia

Bonehad used to have a carbonfibre top. now they have a metal topper. http://www.boneheadcomposites.com/cammount.htm ciel bleu, Saskia

Any chance of posting a relevent link then? Or one that in some way answers my question? Um, he DID post a link for ya ciel bleu, Saskia

What did the canopy coach say? From my perspective, and I'm no canopy coach, you're flaring in one go, like a student canopy. This isn't a student canopy Flare (start a bit higher than you are doing now) only until the canopy planes out, hold for a bit to let the canopy fly horizontal and lose some ground speed, then finish the flare when you start to descend, finish it smoothly. You have to feel the canopy flying and braking and adjust accordingly, now you're just going "help I wanna stop NOW" which I must admit is very familiar to me ciel bleu, Saskia