DSE

DVD-based camcorder=no burning, DVD will play on standard DVD players or Blu-ray DVD players. Files can be edited in some NLEs. File format is MPEG 2 or AVCHD. HDD-based camcorder=requires editing of files and burning to DVD. Files can be edited in any NLE. File format is AVCHD or MPEG 2. Files will require Xfer to computer prior to editing in most cases. Xfer is very fast. Render can be slow to DVD. Memstick=requires Xfer to computer for editing. Xfer is very fast. Format is AVCHD. Very slow to render to DVD. Tape-based=Must be Xfer'd to computer for editing in NLE. Xfer is real-time ie; 60 mins of tape=60 mins of Xfer. All cost approx the same. Longevity means you'll be buying/wanting memstick or HDD-based camcorder, but HDV tape will be here for years to come. I'm not a fan of DVD-based camcorders, even though they have some benefits for speed to DVD. Quality is usally poor due to low encode/bitrates.

I'm also surprised that you were able to do this. I have a street weight of 135 (exit weight ~150?) and although my landings are "good" (using your measure of good from your videos above) I'm still renting a 230, with no idea when I'll be able to jump my 170 sitting on a shelf. Did you get lots of canopy coaching when downsizing each time previously? he weighs 115lbs, so exit weight is around 135 or so. With 150 jumps, he's likely just fine on a 1:1 wingloading with most canopies. In another 70 jumps or so, you'll probably be fine jumping your 170, depending on which 170 you have purchased. Chris rapidly downsized to a 1:1 wingloading after being off student status, which allegedly was with input from his instructors. I suspect most students go to a 1:1 wingloading in the 50-100 jump range. I did. As mentioned before, the difference between a 230 and a 170 isn't as great a difference between a 135 and a 105, or a square vs elliptical, or a standard elliptical vs an Xbrace.

If it's not for skydiving, it's a wide, wide, field. Fastest processing....DVD-based camera Easiest use-AVCHD camera on HDD or memstick All around use-any of the HDV camcorders Budget would be second question, his computer/editing chops would be first question.

Well said. I broke my heel on a standup landing.

Or there is this one for 8K. Started shipping last week. There will be a couple others announced shortly. FWIW, I'm not at all a big fan of P2, which is the storage format of the camera that Quade linked to, but it was the first general market format using solid state. AVCHD, though highly compressed by comparison, is also available in all solid state. Cards went from 300.00 to 100.00 almost overnight in the 8 gig variety. We'll see 8 gig cards in the 60-80.00 range come holiday season. I'm excited for tandems with these, because I can have 3-4 cards, shoot, load one to dump while I'm hotloading the next person, and it'll dump the last tandem in about 2 mins, so it's empty when I hit ground. Solid state is the future of this level of the sport in the *very* near future, and eventually will be so for all camera acquisition, IMO.

Ain't no such thing as a "fast" render from AVCHD to SD DVD....but there will be. Put a bandaid on the back half of the microphone. Seriously.

Chris, in this thread just over a year ago, you were irritated with people giving you grief about jumping a 135@40 jumps, now you're somewhat wondering the same thing about you jumping a 105 @ around 150 jumps. With an exit weight (If I recall correctly) of around 130lbs, is your S&TA is OK with you jumping a high performance 105 canopy? Moving from the Manta 288 down to a 135 Spectre in about a year isn't anywhere near as aggressive as going from the 135 Spectre to a 105 Cobalt, even though you're a very lightweight guy. God, what I'd give to weigh 115 again.

Navigate to the Final Cut Pro menu, and select (easy setup). Then choose DV Pal. Create a new sequence, and then drag your clips to the new sequence. Then you be able to play your clips within the red render bars. You can also do the conversion in Compressor. Rather than re-write the wheel, I'll send you to KenStone

It's a great shot of a tight formation shot on a USPA dropzone by a USPA-member photographer, of USPA members, that adds an interesting aspect of our sport to a calendar that is already printed. No conspiracy was created in the selection of the image, I'm sure. More likely, someone was thumbing through images sent in, and found they liked that particular image without giving a second thought to politics, gender, race, or religion. I get the point about nationalism, and to a very limited point, agree with you. Whomever is producing the next calendar needs to consider politics along with the mix of color, composition, formatting, license, and skill. I hope they get a different printer that can correctly mix the colors.

A-Youtube isn't a download, it's a stream. B-It's an artist, painting a picture in time to music.

www.youtube.com/v/QZFkZiwMLZ4 The guy has talent and passion, and the subject resonates with most everyone.

I'd like to say that "your guess is as good as mine" but historically, it isn't.

"poised." Look up the meaning of the word. to become drawn up into readiness He's got a lot of mouths he's currently feeding, who in turn will feed him once he's out. One good deed deserves another.

Well...if we're not entitled to judge Bush on what he says, should we better judge him on what he does? At which point of near-criminality shall we begin? Upon leaving office, George W. is poised to become the most wealthy former president of all time. I don't believe the word "Dynasty" has ever been applied to the presidency in the past. To save you the trouble; "Clinton got a BJ."

Gee, if we're gonna go down *that* road (BTW, I'm not a Hillary supporter). George W. Bush... “I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but for predecessors as well.” "Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness.” "I am the right.” "We don't believe in planners and deciders making the decisions on behalf of Americans.” "This is an impressive crowd: the Have's and Have-more's. Some people call you the elites. I call you my base.” "There ought to be limits to freedom. We're aware of this [web] site, and this guy is just a garbage man, that's all he is." "They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it's some kind of federal program." "I will never apologize for the United States of America - I don't care what the facts are." "You're all going to hell." George W Bush joking about what he would say to Israeli Jews upon arriving in the Middle East. "The world is more peaceful and more free under my leadership." "You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." —to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska. And a bigger flip-flopper than Bush, and likely equal maniacal ego-driven candidate Mitt Romney, "This nation can't afford presidential leadership that comes in 57 varieties, ... We need a decisive president who stands his ground. We need George W. Bush.” Let's not forget that Bush made essentially the same comment as Hillary did when subpoena'd for by the 9/11 commission, or how Bush responded when served a subpoena demanding documents on the fired US Attorneys, wiretapping documents, and the list goes on and on. Bush has lost touch with reality (if he actually ever had it).

Pretty cool rig up. A mayor in a nearby city hasn't driven a car himself, in the four years of his recent term. He rides an electric bike. *(He does have a driver for longer journeys, and of course, flies). I forwarded your post to his chief of staff. I like the Pelican case conversion.

don't we all? No. Bush is not stupid. He would not be where he is if that was the case. Has he made mistakes? Of course. The fact that he is a terrible public speaker makes him an easy target. Not being stupid does not often correlate having mental issues. In fact, most serial killers, most Hollywood stars, most homeless people are not stupid. But many of them have serious mental problems. Bush is a megalomaniac. He's the "Decider." No matter what Congress or the House are gonna do on issue XXX, he'll veto it or "find a way to get the votes." He's king of the world in his own mind, and seems to have zero concern over our relations with other nations. In a global economy and social structure, that's insane/insanity, IMO.

I have a 40D. Only dislike is where the power switch is; it's not so easy to get to on my current Lbracket (upside down) mounting system. Once I get my Really Right Stuff setup with the L bracket, it'll no longer be an issue. With either the Sigma 8mm or Canon 15mm, it's a great cam. I don't care for the file system either, but it may be I've just not delved into that particular aspect of the camera. I wish it broke the images into groups of 100, or a new folder each time the camera is turned on.

Depends on the situation, I've got one TM that I jump with a lot, and we work well together. He occasionally asks for pix, and I freely give them, and usually he gives me a jump ticket in exchange.

Derek, if it's a scam, then so is the NAB, the DGA, AFTRA, SAG, RIAA, SMPTE and a few other alphabet orgs I/we belong to. It's no different, and the song is the same in some of those groups, particularly the RIAA right now. I've visited many dropzones, but only truly worked at a couple. I've yet to see most of the problems you describe at the DZ level ie; DZO's forcing instructors to break BSRs, low quality AFFI's vs more experienced AFFI's (at our DZ, the DZO recently hired two very experienced AFFI's formerly from the Perris program/many years of experience and they get students first over others that have been at the DZ for a long time), etc. Just because I haven't seen it and just because you have seen it doesn't make it any more or less accurate to say it's happening everywhere, but I just can't see it the way you do. We have an excellent S&TA who regularly argues with the DZO about various points. So does our DZM. Yet our DZO is very fair, friendly, and business oriented (as well as a very current skydiver). Maybe I need more jading. I do see some problems, some are so blatant that it makes no sense that they're not more swiftly and decisively dealt with, but that doesn't make them useless. Comparing them to AOPA seems silly when AOPA has nearly half a million members and has monstrous contributions from members like John Travolta, Kurt Russell, Phil Boyer, huge manufacturer dollars, and a *much* higher cost of entry. So on one hand, we have people bitching about the cost of skydiving and USPA-related costs, and on the other hand, people demanding more from their dollar. Where is the balance? What does USPA need to do to please more people? Should they draw and quarter the tandem instructor that took the 12 year old? (personally, I feel more should have been done, but I don't have all the facts.) Most folks that care about the sport would probably like to see the same. But who pays for it? Who pays for the RD to fly from place to place to examine each DZ? Who pays for the eval jumps? The TI? Then you've got the TI screaming because he's got a jump to pay for with an evaluator. Should the evaluator jump for free? Does the TI pay the eval? Does the DZ pay the eval? Does the USPA pay the eval? Where do those funds come from? I disagree with the concept of doing away with the GM program, simply because it needs to exist as an appeasement to the FAA, if the FAA is anything like the FCC. but now we're treading into an area I know little about (GM program). I fail to see where they're not self-policing. What I see perhaps, is that they're not catching speeders, but they're catching the more egregious violators. But from my perspective as a member of several non-skydiving industry groups...the USPA isn't any different than those representative organizations and they have far less revenue with which to operate.

Jim Cazer made me a couple of custom PC's with my personal logo printed on them, one in blue, the other yellow. Took him about 3 weeks, and he's simply the nicest person you'd ever want to speak with.

Actually, the 99.00 deal is a response to Sony announcing a 25% reduction in the cost of Blu-ray players. I have both, I prefer Blu-ray, but I'm also vested in authoring BD discs, which is quite difficult to do right now with HD DVD. Plus...it's toshiba.

You're a girl. Girls don't have sweaty hands. Duct tape gets really messy when it gets hot and wet.

A-Read my previous posts, I believe I've said I feel the USPA has faults. *Every* lobby and representative organization does. B-My suggestions go to where they matter, by writing or speaking with the USPA, as opposed to "bitching in a forum" where it's effectivly the sound of one hand clapping. But you appreciate the USPA? "Unions gone bad" intimate the USPA is taking your money and not representing you. Myself and others have provided examples of how the USPA *does* represent and does do as they're supposed to. I understand, you're absolutely sure you'll never hit a car or person on a demo or have a cutaway land on powerlines. Not everyone is that gifted. My suggestion to you (and anyone else) who isn't happy with the USPA, write them a letter. Make a phone call. Suggest away to them, they probably appreciate it. Or maybe they're tired of my emails. I spoke at length with Glen Bangs the other night about a few questions. He's a diplomat, no doubt, but we had a good discussion on what I feel are somewhat difficult points. As far as USPA self-policing, I believe that at an organizational level, they're doing about as well as any organization that works with government agencies. Certainly not perfect, but representing us well. If my dropzone is threatened by the FAA or Airport Authority, I'm glad the USPA is there to help. Derek's questions are excellent questions, yet many of the solutions to the "Why's" require money out of our pockets to the USPA. There are also some excellent suggestions in there that I hope have been forwarded to the USPA, inviting them to comment or implement.

If you can make your way to Washington, DC on the 13/14/15, Jeffrey Fisher, myself, and Victor Milt are teaching a class on small lighting systems, how to use them, and where they apply. It's a steriod-version of the short course I did at the theatre in NYC last week.