DSE

Spot focusing works fine with a low resolution lens too, find something that is black/white. Be sure you have no zoom in the mix.

Not optimal for most skydiving but it is an interesting cam. 1/4" sensors, still CCD (JVC owns a lot of stock in a CCD manufacturer) but it's got high end Fuji glass, 1080p internal processing, 34Mbps, and records ISO Base to SDHC cards, but also is the first camera to offer in-camera conversion to proprietary Final Cut formats. It's about the same size as the Sony A1/HC1 camcorders, but at 35Mbps, a lot more robust. 4K retail.

I'm glad you clarified. So at the end of the day, we're all in agreement that dynamic corners are NOT any kind of a threat as everyone somehow misunderstood in this and other threads, right?

Have flown both, have a 62 that goes on the side when I need two cameras. Strong little camera, if you don't mind SD. I can't imagine anyone buying SD in today's market, and they're both discontinued cams....but can be had cheap.

I know what John said to me prior to camera rolling, I'm clear on what was clarified to me in the hallway at the Silver Legacy with others present. You're right, it is nonsense. Back to point, I (and all the wingsuiters out there) would like to see evidence of John's claim that dynamic corners will cause a PC to wrap around deploying lines due to reduced friction on the Dbag, or that the PC, once in clean air and has extracted the pin, will fall back into the burble, leaving the Dbag to "fall out" of the container on its own. That is the context of this discussion both here and in the wingsuit forum; it's been continually evaded. I wouldn't have an issue with it, had I not received an unsolicited email from a JumpShack-sponsored skydiver telling me that my new rig is dangerous. Marketing is one thing; FUD is another. If someone is going make very specific claims that my rig is going to malfunction, is it wrong to demand hard data supporting those claims?

If you're spot focusing on something 5 feet away in one lighting condition, and then jumping, it's entirely likely that this is the problem. My spot focus is approx 10' back, and whenever possible I use a focus chart. When not possible, I find something black/white., It shouldn't be "losing focus" but rather not be focused. In other words, the depth of the focal point shouldn't change no matter what. Part of it, of course, is that you suck in PR. All of you.

Spot focusing on what? It's *possible* that air pressure is moving the element, but highly unlikely. You're sure you're leaving it in Spot mode and not merely exiting that dialog?

between you and Scotty Burns, I'm gonna be so busted with Sony. Cam is 2" wide, and with the larger (FP70) battery, it is still shorter than a CX. FYI, the CX12 is now discontinued at the big box stores.

It's less than .5" off center from the center of the body point, so any mount with a recessed plate is going to allow for offsetting. you could also forego a QR and simply thumbscrew it to the shell, and drill that hole off center. I don't have a RAWA to measure, but surely the flat portion is wider than 2"? The centerpoint of the thread is at 1 3/16" so it's close enough to center, it should be a moot issue.

Help me understand why this is a problem? The plate is small enough that any of the plate-based mounts shouldn't gve you any hassle. If you're trying to match the depth from a previously drilled hole, I can see that being an issue. Attached is a pic of the CX100 on a Padlock (cookie composites) next to a 40D. The Schumacher mount isn't as wide, but it works equally well.

During an emergency, the aircraft might be in any number of angles, including upside down. The pilot may be straining to maintain or gain altitude to allow skydivers to get out, etc. The only thing "most likely" in an emergency scenario is that you'd likely best be listening for the pilot's instruction.

Actually, Sony wishes they COULD provide the software for the conversion. Apple won't sell them the code with which to do it. Sony Consumer Electronics doesn't care about Sony Creative Software nor Sony Professional services. They compete.... As mentioned, it's just as easy to do on a Mac, merely slower. Apple would do so much better if they'd read directly from the card and in native format. Less loss, higher speed,easier user experience. But that gets us away from the 105. Most of the video cutaways seen on the PIA video blog are captured with the 105. All of the opening was shot with the 105.

Conversion options come with the Apple software or you can purchase third party tools as listed in the README file/thread above. Also, Xfers have to be done from the cradle/camera, not from a card. Don't know why, but that's how it is for Apple

Apple does not and likely never will, support AVCHD format at the native level. You'll have to convert it to ProRes, AIC, or other third-party codec. Apple users will ALWAYS be significantly slower than PC users with MPEG-based consumer codecs. I wish Apple would pull their heads out of their a$$es on this one.

Yes, we do have a very specific method, and it is drilled in all mockup jumps and throughout the first flight course. If the person grew lax, I'd suggest that he was not properly instructed. I was not taught about the horizontal stabilizer in my FFC, but re-did the FFC with Scott Campos, where it was heavily stressed. "Jump one thousand, Wing one thousand" is a very common method of teaching to keep arm and leg wings closed on exit. Even though this is heavily stressed during a first flight course, there is only benefit in reinforcing it during Safety Day presentations, IMO. Dropzones that have KA, Beech, Caravans...this cannot be mentioned enough for wingsuiters. However, as SDCTLC suggests, there is no data to support that wingsuiters have a higher tail strike percentage, although we certainly have a higher potential. So you're saying this tail strike was a wingsuiter on a hop n' pop at 5k?

Tony makes a great camera wing, I've got one of his, I also have a Firefly with super-thick fabric layers (designed by norman kent) that I prefer in terms of stability and smoothness. I also had a Windline suit that had ZP on the front and Supplex on the back, it worked really well, and I still wear it from time to time. Biggest issue with it is that the jacket isn't quite long enough nor tight enough, and when I go into a sit or on to my back for a deployment shot, it can blow upwards and covery my handles. I prefer wings that clip to the rig or that clip back to themselves after being routed through hiprings on the rig. Beyond the clipping system and whatever design holds the jacket down below the waist, I think wings are more or less wings. They can be made forward of the arm for a sit, backwards of the line of the arm for belly, and myriad combinations between. wing size is relevant to your weight and the desired amount of access to range.

Here is an image of a Storm entering a stall. No wraps taken. In his "Canopy Control: Core Essentials," Chris Gay also recommends stalling the canopy up high to learn it's stall point.

The Padlock is one of the sweetest new toys I've seen for camera flyers, even former IronMan Mike Semanoff couldn't dislodge it. The GAS is a sweet fitting helmet too... With luck the Alti-2 N3 will actually begin shipping soon, even though it's about 9 months late. Looks to be a sweet little unit. The Pulse from PD is a winner, that's a certainty, can't wait to toss one above my head. I had to buy one of the Rigging Innovations riggers kit, and even though I'm not a certificated rigger, it's a very useful set of tools. Got really excited when I heard I'd won a drawing, but then learned it was for a Riggers Handbook, not the Rigger's kit. (already had the handbook). Sonic didn't have anything new, but he sure kept the crowds entertained in the BaseR booth. At one point the show was just a little too quiet for ole' Sonic, so he donned a TonySuit Raptor and began running through the aisles of the show screaming "C'Caw, C'Caw!" Definitely a show-stopper... The Spelco booth was a hit for no other reason than the sheer size of the deployment system they had on display, showing a small version of their 1150lb deployment (between the legs) system. Mike Gruwell's booth was sweet with the HiPerUSA canopies on display. "They're BACK!," says Mike. L&B's booth was super busy. New designs/algorithms for their Solo, Optima, and VISO, they're also waterproof, too. Same with the Altitrack. It was fun to see fish swimming with the Altitrack, and see the L&B guys programming the Altitrack through the water with a new remote. And...the free RedBull was nice too. The simulator from ParaSim/Systems Technologies was an incredibly busy booth. You could say everyone was "hanging around" there as they tested the freefall and canopy flight simulator. If affordable, every dropzone should own one. Every tunnel should own one, IMO. Skysystems had a number of new products, it's great to see they're representing the full Wes Rich lineup. Of course, Bill Booth was phenomenally entertaining, holding court in the center of the Sunpath/UPT booth. Our own booth was busy, the new Canopy Control DVDs, wingsuit DVDs, and Tandem Videos Made Easy DVDs were popular. Norman Kent stopped by and signed a few of his "Aerial Camera" DVDs too. Aerodyne and their introduction of the Brian Germain "Sensei" with their new low-bulk fabric was interesting to see, and of course, Brian's sessions were a hit at the symposium. T'was good to see Mark Kirschenbaum from GetHypoxic wandering the show, and was great to see old friends and new. If you missed Tom Noonan's session on Mt. Everest, be glad. It only would have made you want to jump Everest. ParaSport has a new digital alti that I'm looking forward to testing, it's perfect for mudflap mounting/wingsuiting, and if you're someone who struggles with being able to read small numbers and like digi-altimeters, it looks to be the bomb. There were lots of other great new products, improvements on old ones, and just a general sense of "well-being" at the show overall. you can look at the http://www.youtube.com/group/aerialfun channel for videos of new products and interviews with product managers, manufacturers, and celebrity skydivers.

Scott, I get the POINT of what you purport. I even believe that you believe it. But like *every* wingsuiter in the wingsuit thread, I happen to think it's a silly and specious claim based on one alleged, non-documented experience that could just as likely been a simple dislodged closing pin. I would like to have you show me in the air, in person. I don't believe it can be made to happen without modifying a rig or deployment system. I'm certain every manufacturer outside of JumpShack would appreciate such a demonstration, because I wasted at least three hours of everyone's time at PIA this week discussing this with every manufacturer there. Sunpath, UPT, Mirage, Rigging Innovations, Strong....they all felt this is a non-issue. I'm sure I don't know what I don't know, yet I place a lot of faith in the manufacturers with whom I spoke, their decades of experience, and the thousands of jumps that have occurred with dynamic corners . John Sherman did not invent the modern closing pin.

We see Citations, Lears, Gulfstreams, etc all the time. So much so, they just doubled the rampspace for them. We have a racetrack about a quarter-mile away and they host big races at least once a month, and every weekend in the summer (Larry Miller SportsPark) They've only slowed us once or twice, and never stopped our operations (we fly a KA90).

Have a related thread about this in the WS forum that addresses your statement from the man himself: From John Sherman: From the earliest days of the round parachutes after the development of the deployment devices, sleeves, bags, etc.)we have known that proper sequencing is necessary to prevent malfunctions. This means that things must happen in order; Pilot chute out and dragging in clean air, deployment device with enclosed canopy to follow while allowing the lines to release from their stow one at a time until the final stows which allow the bag or sleeve to open releasing the canopy. When all of the above begins to drag the pilot chute that's "Snatch" [Snatch Force = The acceleration of the mass of the canopy lines and bag to speed.] Now inflation can begin safely. When squares first came out the fun began. I can't possibly cover all of the methods tested here but the single most important devise was a strap of webbing sewn to the center of the tray of the container which wrapped around the bag and held closed, retaining the bag, with a loop and grommet stow locked by the bridle. The container was a conventional back container with all open corners or in other words it lay flat when open. I did a hop and pop with a system like this (without the retainer)and had a very bad burble. I looked to my right and saw my pilot chute below the bag. The pilot chute had burbled and the bag had floated off my back. The bag was now dragging more than the pilot chute and the lines were deploying sucking the pilot chute into them. No fun. I was now a believer in the necessity to force the correct sequence into the design. I thought the strap was a less than desirable method 'cause it might snag something. About this time I was designing the Racer and as it was a piggy back I had the advantage of jamming the top of the bag against the bottom of the reserve, while holding the lines in the bottom corners of the main container. By packing the bag into the container with the bridle to the top against the reserve we could hold the bag in the container until the bag had positive lift on the bridle and rotate the bag out of the container. This dictated the sequence for years and worked very successfully. The test I always use to evaluate the safety of a main container is to pull the main pin while wearing the rig standing vertically. If the main bag falls out the rig is unsafe. Were I to be a wing suit jumper I would look for an alternate method other than removing the boxing completely . I believe the correct solution would be to maintain some of the boxing. John Sherman A-That story is utterly unrelated to dynamic/cut/open corners on rigs of today as they are all still more or less 3-sided. Other than John's "story" there is no data to support this absurd notion that dynamic corners are dangerous. Every rig manufacturer interviewed at PIA got a good belly laugh out of the idea. One actually snorted when he giggled. B-The guy that relates that story is the same person who claims to have invented the closing pin. It was a pleasure to interview Nancy this year. She's a good public face for JumpShack.

You'll be ready. And...your story is a good one, one that I shared during the presentations at PIA (showed your vid, too) You're a hero in my book, Skittles. Lotta guys don't have balls enough to admit when they're wrong or made a mistake. Geez, did Wingsuit Flying become Bonfire while I was gone?

glad to hear someone is watching them. :-) We've just finished uploading yesterday's catch, so the last of the PIA interviews are now there. It was a lot of fun, a lot of work, and a good time. Thanks to those that sentquestions and words of encouragement/appreciation.

The camera has an internal mic, it's decent (better than the CX12). You can control the system with the LCD closed via the HypEye. You need to open the panel, trigger the Hypeye, close the panel, so it's a bit of a PITA, but it's how all the new cameras work; no on/off switches.

I've jumped it a coupla dozen times, yes. Would I jump it all day, every day for hard work tandem use? Based on Sony's CYA information...no. Then again, this isn't my first choice anyway. The only reason I have done some jumping with it is to provide some feedback for those here on the forum. IMO, anyone who buys this camera at this point, knowing what they know from reading this thread, has been made plenty aware of what they're potentially getting into and no right to complain if it blows up.