DSE

I can hardly wait for you to get a hundred jumps under your belt and you get to come back and read this. I'm not sure which of your statements should become my new sigline. There are a few posts of my own from back in the day that leave me red-faced too. It'll be humbling. A point of note; one of the first things you learn as a skydiver is to never tie anything to yourself that you can't get rid of. It could kill you or someone else (and has).

Your one warning.

Since a huge number of vidiots (most that I know) are using CX series camcorders, I'm having a hard time reconciling these statements, especially based on past posts. *** Audio on a GoPro and the Contour is horrible. People pay for videos in which they can hear themselves speak, shriek, and laugh. Audio is 70% of the picture experience. Picture quality of a GP or Contour compared to a CX is not nearly as good. Amount of time to transfer, decode, edit, encode AVC is significantly more lengthy than MPEG2 from a CX series camera. Form factor isn't significantly different. No preview No playback No zoom Relatively close in price ON snaps on, the other requires a mount that will range from a .50 thumbscrew to a 100.00 plate.

Congrats to ya!! hopefully you can find another bird that might be able to coach or shoot some vid; that'll help you dial in faster. Welcome to the flock.

You'd be surprised at how many tandem students want to take their cameras on their jumps. I've only seen one DZ that allows it. Imagine that student dropping the camera on a house, car, or worse...

One tongue switch replaced in around 1500 jumps, and it doesn't smell bad. Conceptus replaced that one for free. I don't like blow switches because they're large, but everyone I know that has em', likes em. I guess the smell doesn't bother ya? I'm a woodwinds player...maybe I just find "tonguing" comes naturally.

Glad it worked for you as advertised. There was a company years ago that made a card called "Falcon" that worked with Vegas, Premiere, and Canopus that allowed for frame-accurate capture over USB, but when Apple licensed Firewire to everyone, the card was too expensive and superflous, even at 150.00. ADS made a card too, that buffered USB kinda like MovieMaker does. It was a dismal failure.

Here's my take on it; The *skills* used to fly any of these suits are effectively the same but the application of those techniques/skills are different based on each suit. I flew with a guy that has only flown Sfly suits, and he put on my Mach1. He was lost. Couldn't get down to us. I flew his Sfly and found I couldn't put the suit into a power curve the same way, nor could I 'hang" on it like I can with my P2. The way I used my body in the suit is the same, but the response of the suit is different. The "flying mattresses" don't seem to have anywhere near the responsive input of the FYB suits, and the FYB suits are nowhere near as well suited for hangtime (based on my limited experience flying FYB and watching a number of others struggle to flock with both Tony and PF suits). I put 15 jumps on the Profly at about the same time as I rec'd my P2 and was going back and forth between the two, and a couple jumps on an Access a few years ago. Similar size suits, same skills, but different application of those skills. CG "feels" different in the FYB/monowing. Whether that's real or not might be a different story. I believe too many people get caught up in the suits for how they're marketed vs the skills needed to fly each style of suit.

LMAO way to talk to yourself buddy, get help seriously... I know the internetz is serious business, but still... do get help OK, I'm confused... he was talking to me... and I'm definitely not hallux... despite the fact that the conversation has gotten off on a tangent from your question asking if the camera will break off... and implying that it is a sufficient alternative to a helmet cutaway system... I was merely reinforcing that it isn't an alternative... and hallux was agreeing with me... So you're saying that that doing PT's to break a camera off the helmet is an acceptable alternative to a cutaway system?

No, it's not comparing apples and oranges. That's exactly why a few "big name" camera guys are adding not only 12lbs in weight, but also adding huge stabilzing arms (they look like crossbones, 26" in length) to their helmets. "simply using the 3M sticky" is what 99% of most people do with these cameras. Give it up. You're arguing for the point of arguing. If you'd read the forums, you'd find where two of us tested the pull strength of the 3M tape at the attachment point with an archery scale. I'm not advocating "large prosumer camcorders and heavy DSLR's." I am advocating safety. I jump with a CX series camera most of the time, and jump with anything from a G10 to a 40D for stills. No...I don't jump with a small format shit camera for paying customers. Audio sucks, video is poor, workflow for filebased is slower. There is zero reason for *me* to use a small format for paying customers. For AFF debrief...different story. I stand by my original point, and will go so far as to say that only a moron would suggest it's easier to break off a camera than have a helmet cutaway. For people searching for information, it's important they know this. Taking a risk that in an emergency situation that breaking off a camera will yield the proper result vs having a cutaway is irresponsible, foolish, and begging for trouble.

Yep. Use software that doesn't use compression on ingest. Sony Vegas captures video over USB. But there is no guarantee of not dropping frames, because USB doesn't have a guaranteed throughput. It's wrong to think that USB vs Firewire means quality difference. Both are identical data transfer protocols. But...most software tools use a buffer and recompress on transfer over USB. Firewire prevents that. Thanks for reminding me; it's easy to forget I'm not talking to video people, who understand the differences between compression on input vs output. For some reason I was under the stupid impression that folks *want* to understand the technical reasoning. Easy answer; Throw away the piece of shit camera, go buy a 300.00 GoPro, transfer over card and be done with it. Better? or, go buy a Pinnacle or Canopus card from Ebay for 99.00. Still gonna lose quality over composite, but there is no way to do a digital transfer over USB and MovieMaker without losing quality/resolution. Or get an SVid card from Leitch (about 150.00) and use that to get a better input. but you're STILL STUCK with MovieMaker compressing on output, and not knowing what file type is being generated on output...hard to know where the real problem is. Seems to me that the OP's question is about quality, not mechanics. there I go being technical again.

I think you're confusing compression at acquisition with compression on output. It *may* be that USB is further compressing the content on capture, but it's unlikely that it's enough you'd notice. Anyway...its the output you need to be worrying about, and that's where Moviemaker is likely killing you. You haven't indicated where you're putting the finished video, so it's hard to advise you on how to output the video file. MovieMaker will definitely be compressing on output. IMO, rather than spending money for a firewire for a computer that doesn't have it for a camera that isn't at all current for most things...spend that same amountof money on an editing program that will work with DV without touching the footage, and has a good compression algorithm for output to DVD or web.

It's DV. You can't "uncompress" it more than that. DV by definition, is heavily compressed. MPEG 2 is compressed. AVCHD is more heavily compressed. Why are you hung up on the compression? If you use firewire for the transfer from camera to computer, it's a straight across data transfer, just like using a USB cable from a portable HDD. Nothing is lost (and nothing gained). If you want uncompressed, be prepared to spend big bux on camera, computer, hardware support. An uncompressed SD system (were it still available) is around 200K including a decent camera. An uncompressed HD system is gonna be in the 500K range today. Virtually no one outside of very high end production scale uses uncompressed. For anything.

ANYONE who knows anything about video knows that small cameras are significantly more difficult to stabilize than large cameras. If that weren't the case, Zacuto, RedRock, Cambria, and SO MANY other small camera stabilizing systems wouldn't be in business (and thriving). Google em'. They've been around for years and years. Stabilizing small cameras. Trying to get small cameras to move as smoothly as large cameras. Including adding HUGE amounts of weight (sometimes as much as 18lbs). It's not a "theory," but rather a well-demonstrated understanding of physics and distance between focal length and imager. Which has greater stability being pushed through water, a canoe filled with water or a water-logged twig? Do you put the heavy guy as base or the lightest person you can find as base? (Different example, but since you want skydiving analogies...) I said nothing about metering (which is actually more intelligent on most palmcorders) and while quality is important (to me) it's still not relevant to this discussion. FTP-type helmets will always be more stable because they also limit movement and points of movement due to their design. Burble benefits go without mention, but heck...you already know all this, right? as far as "act of God"... riiiighhhhhttttt. Pot=kettle? You're right. I'm not at all the most awesomest skydiver in the world. One thing I do know is cameras and camera support systems whether we're dealing with crash cams or truck mounts. As relates to skydiving, it's all the same stuff. If the logic doesn't make sense to you, trot over to YouTube and look at all the jiggly small format cams shooting tandem vs FTP-type helmets with larger imagers and longer lens lengths. It's pretty obvious.

If you are not using firewire you are downloading very compressed video yes. Always use firewire for miniDV cameras! Just cut the usb cable in half Even if you are using firewire, you are downloading very compressed video. Doesn't matter if it's USB or not. It's compressed long before it ever reaches the firewire port on the camera.

It's a DV camera. Yes, it's compressed, you're compressing to 25Mbps and a 4:1:1 color space. There are no small format uncompressed cameras. 13GB per hour/250MB per minue is where you're seeing data storage. Compare that to 660 per minute for 8 bit uncompressed SD in a 4:2:2 container or about 1GB for same in a 4:4:4 container. DV by its very definition is compressed at record/storage.

Rhys, choose which name you're going to post under. You can't be skydivefj and rhys. It's against TOS. It's also silly to have conversations with yourself.

Did you really mean to say this, or is that a typo? Small cameras require stabilizing MORE than large cameras. Perhaps what you meant was that super wide (180) lenses such as those on the GoPro don't need stabilization? Even that is pretty far off the mark of accuracy... but it's closer to the truth than your initial statement. Now you're just showing either tremendous ignorance or pushing buttons to continue a debate. Anyone, EVERYONE can see the difference. Gross saturation, macroblocking, smear....these are all standard with all the low bitrate AVC cameras. Even the 15Mbps AVCHD cameras have some of these issues. Really??? Truly? That hallux must be shoved deeply into your eye then... Under normal deployment there should be no need to use a cutaway handle, reserve handle, hook knife, cutaway on helmet, etc etc. Should we do away with those things, too? BTW, If you paid 700.00 for a LitePanel, you shoulda gotten 3.5 of em', not just one. Bear in mind, I jump with a GoPro for somethings. I also jump with a CX100, CX7, EX1, and now the NX5. All are tools, all have their place. None of them fit every situation. BTW, rendering HD AVC to SD DVD is nearly four times as slow as rendering SD MPEG to SD MPEG for DVD delivery. Speed will always be a huge part of my workflow consideration.

What about taffeta? It makes me feel so pretty. Taffeta???

There is no "cheap" when it comes to getting into flying video, not if you want to have quality and be safe. When you need to cutaway that helmet, how much money do you want to have left in the bank as you find yourself struggling to get rid of the thing connecting your canopy to your head? The more solid your helmet is, the more solid your video shall be.

Congrats on your first jump. Hopefully you got outside video to help you remember the jump itself?

I think they're great for debriefing students, for POV, and for just plain having fun. Spectra is thin (and the standard on most smaller parachutes) and has no problem getting under the plastic mount with doublestick. Lookin' forward to seein' you soon at S'nore!

Because the resample isn't terribly good. Are you doing the resample in FCP, Motion, Shake? AE doesn't do it well either, but there are plugins that do "OK". 24 isn't a straight divide from 60 like 30p is. PAL people have it best; 50i to 25p, and no one can tell 25p from 24p. You can: drop some frames (which is likely what is shifting the cadence that you notice) Blend frames (multiple frames resampled into one frame Interpolate and blend where motion is anticipated and compensated (very costly and slow) I believe you have Vegas on bootcamp, try this; Open a new project Set properties to 23.976 on the project. Drop 60p footage in there. Disable resample on the clips. It's important you set the project properties first. Usually, Vegas doesn't care. In this instance, it does. Also, if you're using converted ProRez, it'll be weird because of the way ProRez converts the AVC... See what you think.

A-Small format cameras don't impact my job at all. Not one whit. I fly one myself when quality isn't an issue. Anyone who thinks AVC or AVCHD cams that "stick on" offer quality useful in any sort of professional use as a primary is simply showing ignorance. It's like the dude that gets terribly excited about how his DSLR is now an "HD CAMCORDER." B-Yes, a hand and hard pull can easily break off a small format camera. If your line is trapped between the camera mount and the helmet, that doesn't help you much. Suggesting that it's OK to "break the camera off" vs using a cutaway system on a helmet is irresponsible, stupid, and wreckless. FTP's, like large format cameras, are still needed. Having a stable mounting surface for quality, shudder free or low vibration video is still needed. Having a solid surface between chin and back of the head is a big part of having the solid structure that keeps things steady and smooth. But not everyone needs an FTP, in this we agree. Some people are truly OK with selling low quality pix and video. Others have the desire to match their video gear with their proficiency of flying.

well...they're both crap for being "cameras" so from that perspective, even an i4 is fine for Joe Skydiver, debriefing, etc. Beyond that....none of em' are good for much, although I see some stuff on MTV from BASE helmets and have seen one or two bits of heavily processed GoPro as well. It's ugly, but at the same time...it comes down to content vs quality. It's the "dumbing down" that I worry about. We're doing the same thing with video that we've done with audio. A huge majority of people in the world no longer know what great music sounds like when recorded well, because iTunes (compression for MP3 or AAC) destroys it. Same is happening in video.