PharmerPhil

I once had a Sony w/a lens that came with a little plastic wrench specifically for that purpose. It works great (when I can find it), and I wish I could buy another one like that (without the lens).

First you have to identify where it is fogging up. Sometimes it is the front, sometimes between the cam and the lens, sometimes between elements. I'll just address one technique for keeping the front of the front element from fogging up. When you have a cold surface, and it goes through warmer, moist air, the moisture in that air will condense on that cold surface. One trick is to just keep the lens as warm as possible in the first place. If you are sitting in the back of a drafty Otter that can be hard, but simply keeping your warm hand on the metal of the lens in the aircraft, or positioning your helmet so its lens is in your crotch while climbing to altitude (I know I'll get some comments about that one) will do a lot to alleviate condensation.

I jumped an A1 for a year before switching to an HC-5. The A1 isn't that big, but the HC-5 is so much smaller, and 95 percent of the camera for jumping purposes (and the CX100 smaller still). Personally I wouldn't spend $1K on an A1 if it was just for jumping. However, either camera dictates top-mount IMHO, and once up top, why bother with a box? A condom might be nice for weather and small scuffs, but I haven't had a problem with either on either camera top-mounted.

Or at typical skydiving shutter speeds.

The HVR-MRC1 DOES have a 6-pin Firewire (iLink) connector (Spot, I think you were thinking of the HXR-MC1). And it appears it will work with any firewire equipped cam. You can use it with FCP, but it records .m2t files, and Sony's lit says you have to use Log and Transfer to import the files. From Sony's lit: My guess is that it may be faster than importing AVCHD files, but not real fast. I would love to hear of an actual time trial. One of the reviewers on B&H's site claims he can import files using LOG and CAPTURE (his emphasis). But that is contrary to Sony's info, and it is a lot of money if you aren't sure how it will work. I am waiting for someone like Focus Enhancements to come out with a flash-based recorder that records Quicktime files (their hard drive recorders do).

I don't use iMovie, but I do use an Apple TV for all my home viewing of my own videos. When you use Quicktime to export the movie and choose the "Export to Apple TV" option, it defaults to 960x540. I assume iMovie does the same thing. I am not quite sure why, as Apple advertises their HD movie downloads at 720P (I think "P") on the Apple TV. However with Quicktime (or FinalCutPro), you can export a QT movie in 1920i (rather than the "Export to Apple TV" option) and then import that movie into iTunes for use on the Apple TV to maintain full resolution. You should be able to export a similar file using iMovie.

I'm not sure, but I think so. At least that is what I always do and it works. I'm just not sure what you can do without, but nothing other than the actual clips take much space anyway. Attached a pic of a typical folder set.

You can read the AVCHD files from a hard drive, but you have to leave the clips in their respective folders, bring the whole folder into your hard drive, and not change the relative file structure.

They weren't about your photos. (You can always look at the name in the "Re: [...]" header of the message.)

I agree. I often pop-up, but only when going behind the tandem on a fly-around. IMHO, being in this spot relative to the tandem is extremely dangerous. Even if the TI wasn't about to pull,...you never know. Just yesterday I video'd a student who unexpectedly grabbed for the RC at around 9K.

You may already know this, but you do have to re-set it to manual focus each day (or each jump). Newer Sony cameras default to auto-focus after 12 hours or so to make them "consumer-proof." For tandems, I don't set focus to infinity, but instead set it to about seven feet away right before I exit the plane. That's farther than I fly from tandems, but close enough that I am still in focus close up in bright light, and can maintain decent focus through most of the opening sequence. I always re-set to auto-focus before they land.

I agree on the general principal of buying the best camera you can for the given job. However, I disagree that the 5 megapixel bump is a "big difference in image quality." It only represents a 22 percent increase in resolution in any given dimension, and many feel it reaches this at the cost of noise, and at the limits of what many lenses can deliver anyway at the small APS-C sized sensors used in both these cameras. Here's an interesting quote from a review of the 50D on dpreview.com:

Actually, the 10-22 is fairly light, and only 2 oz. heavier than the Canon 15mm (and yes, it is lighter than the Tokina 17mm). It is an inch longer than the Canon 15mm, but if the camera is top-mounted, that often isn't an issue. I have the Canon 15 and I like it, but I used the 10-22 on the ground and can definitely see the value in it for skydiving.

If you haven't already gotten the Tamron, you should look into the Sigma 24-70 2.8. I sold mine a while ago, but I loved it and kinda wish I still had it. It was my walking around lens for several years (as well as a great under the net lens for basketball). The extra range at the wide end was great, and it would leave less of a gap between it and the 10-22.

I agree. Unfortunately, I see a lot of so-called "tandem" videos like this. Adding every possible flying trick in the book, and every possible angle (regardless of whether it showcases the student and his/her jump) doesn't usually make for a memorable video. Videos are better judged by the reaction of the student, and his/her family and friends. Not by the reaction of other skydivers.

Sure about that? Kinda depends on how you and the TM exit. http://www.philroberson.com/skydivephotos2008/082537.htm

+1. Yeah,...like they said.

Good for you for documenting the first jump. Like somebody else said, don't discount ground (background) footage. But just 'cause you asked,... A couple things. I nodded off about 3 to 3-1/2 minutes when there was a very long sequence of the instructor on the deck. I would personally go for short bursts of the ground training and keep the video moving forward. If it is not a moving shot, the camera shouldn't be moving. Buy, practice with, and use a tripod. If you use one often, you will find you can set it up and get good shots quickly that won't get in the way of the shot, and won't get the viewers dizzy. Cut out the cutesy transitions (peels, wipes, etc.). It is very rare that you should use anything other than a simple cut, or a simple cross-fade. Just 'cause your editing program has every transition ever used in the original batman series, doesn't mean you have to use them. Look at the transitions used in mainstream TV broadcasts and use them as your cue. The major networks have every "cool" trick you have and more. But there is a reasons they don't use them. At the end, there were a good two minutes of video after she landed with nothing but title. Any reason other than that the song was still playing? These are just my quick thoughts without analyzing it too much. Again, I'm only offering my opinion because you asked. You're free to disagree.....

I understand what you are saying (i.e. as it "appears on the LCD") but that appears physically impossible in the set-up you pictured. The camera body itself is only about a half-inch below the video camera lens. If you went up two inches you would block the entire lens. Looking at your helmet, I can't imagine not seeing the stills in the video unless you zoomed almost all the way in. (I also agree with davelepka)

Not in the picture you posted.

Then how do you know the still is out of frame? What works on the ground doesn't always work in freefall. Particularly when IS kicks in.

I'm guessing that's you holding the mic (looks like your rig and your locale). Is the carabiner on your harness there to hold the mic during exit/deployment?

Card based cams work fine on a Mac. They will just be slower on ingest (but it shouldn't be any slower than the real-time ingest of tape-based systems). Sounds like you need either a new camera or a new computer. Personally, I would go with a newer card-based camera. You will not have a super speedy system*, but you will be shooting HD and can always upgrade your computer later. *The lack of firewire bothers me not just for ingesting DV or HDV, but for not being able to hook-up a decent external hard drive on a separate buss. The basic Macbooks (non-Pros) not only have no FW, but also no SATA option. IMHO, a decent editing system would keep all media on an external hard drive using one of those protocols.

Oh I'll catch hell for this one. But that has never stopped me before. Kinda curious who exactly paid for these shots? You? The tandem Instructor? I hope so, cause you guys are featured more prominently than the student. Look at the photos. Your eyes are drawn to the interaction between the TI and the videot. The student is secondary. I never understood why camera people put themselves in front of the camera except for vanity. Which is fine,...on your own dime.