DSE

In case you're interested, the Canon 40D should be announced in the next coupla weeks (August 20 is expected date). If you don't read Swedish, the pix are pretty enticing.

FH Video in San Francisco is a place that could give the head a good wet cleaning. If you've never done it, your best bet is to have a pro show you how. Alcohol on a non-fiber system works fine, but there is more to it than just sticking a pad into the tape housing and scrubbing. You might also just try a dry cleaning cassette first, see if that takes care of your problem.

Changing tape types *may* change your result, but unlikely. The difference between the two types of tape is the metal particle layer. The AME II tape (for HDV) has a +4dB greater carrier signal (not to be confused with s/n) that improves upon errors. However, I'd be willing to bet money that your problem is more head clogging than tape. How long since you've done a real cleaning on the head? Every 20-25 hours is a good practice for running a cleaning tape, and every 50 hours for a 'real' cleaning is recommended.

For the Mac....iMovie is essentially all you have to choose from in the "Cheap and easy" category. From there, you can step to FCP Express. Cheap, not necessarily easy. Adobe Premiere Elements should be making it's Mac/Apple debut soon. But it will not offer Applescript support, so iMovie would still be your best "cheap/easy" solution.

Don't for one second think that being downsized from a 288 to a 220 means squat. You were on a student canopy, and downsized to what is likely more suited for your weight. I learned on a 280 myself. And was moved to a 230 at jump 10. Doesn't mean much. As suggested twice earlier, talk to those that can *see* you land. No one here can. And without wingloading information/weight from you, no one can provide much more than you've read in this thread. However, if you're of the opinion that you can handle a 190 simply because you've got 100 jumps on a 210, you've downsized from a 288 to a 220, and the 190 comes in the colors you want...my immediate reaction is that you should likely stay with the 210 for a while. 20 square feet is a fairly large difference at your skill level. Also going to a ZP from F111 canopy is quite different. Finally, going from a full square to a slightly tapered canopy is also different. Overall, the Spectre is a very forgiving canopy, but even forgiving canopies allow the pilot to get hurt, if they're not ready to manage the speed increase brought on by a smaller canopy. Talk to those around you, and fill in your profile.

iMovie would work acceptably well, your idea is no different than some of the Premiere templates and Vegas templates that others here use. It's not a fast app by any means, so speed isn't going to be there, but it certainly does output vid. One of the guys at our DZ tried doing this and gave up fairly quickly. FWIW, one of the secrets of the way that I work (posted earlier) is that I have access to VBscripts. I don't believe there are any hooks in iMovie for Apple script, but I could be wrong.

Today was a weathered-out day, but many of us hung around the DZ in hopes of blue skies. We got talking about "why did you/why would you" become a: Tandem Instructor/Master AFF I Pro Rigger Lots of answers, some inspiring and others not. Since I'm working on a couple ratings at the same time, it would be interesting to read what motivated some of y'all to obtain the above ratings. Any advice for an AFFI candidate?

Good luck, Tony. Vegas is a dog-eat-dog production world, but there are a lot of gigs for talented people. Maybe we'll connect there, I've enjoyed some of your work. My business takes me to Vegas at least once a month. Congrats on the life-change!

"the colors I really want" are no reason to downsize. At all. Your profile doesn't list your wingloading. At 135 jumps, you probably should seek some guidance from more experienced jumpers than paying too much attention to jumpers with less experience than you have. Read this article for some additional information. According to the chart for a Spectre, PD recommends that at your skill level you should exit weight not more than 171 Do you stand a 210 every time? Regardless of wind/no wind? Can you maneuver with rear risers? Can you land accurately on virtually every jump? What about front riser inputs? Can you manage them? Flat turns? Land Xwind Can you handle the 210 in all wind conditions? Has anyone on your DZ commented about your landings, good or bad? I like the Spectre, for the few jumps I demo'd one. I chose a Silhouette instead. It's very much worth waiting for the canopy you'll be sticking with for a while, IMO. Colors be damned. I jumped nearly 100 jumps on a pink canopy, because it was the size that was appropriate for my wingloading/skill. Sucked, but that's how it was. Then bought my first 210, jumped it for 200 jumps, then downsized to a 190. While I can/am ready to go to a smaller canopy, I'm sticking with what I've got for at least the rest of the year, if not longer. Jump the size/wingloading best for your skills, and worry about colors later. Talk to those that know you.

having one of all of the cams out there, my pitch would be for the HC5 if you want tape. The CX7 has 3 issues that most are not ready to contend with. ~No LANC (but you can work alternatives for camera indicator, IMO) ~Serious horsepower required for editing, and few NLE systems currently are AVCHD-ready right now, but by the end of year, all NLE's are AVCHD ready/supported. ~Short recording time. 12 mins of highest quality (required, IMO, for skydiving) on an 8 gig card DuoPro card. If I were purchasing in 2 months, I'd probably recommend the CX7 if the LANC issue is one you're ready/willing to contend with.

Because Tandem is the only place where the ability to make that decision may save the life of someone other than yourself??????? Myself, one on #249, broken steering line/tension knot, only a half inflated canopy. The second on #791, several broken lines from a hard open / over jumped lines combo. I understand why a TM/TI is required to have a cutaway. I realize why a coach, AFFI, etc are not required. Other than the question originally being rhetorical, wouldn't you agree that someone training a student in how a cutaway functions would best describe and explain the experience if they'd had their own, whether intentional or not?

Google around for a Panasonic MX 50/MX30 Edirol has a V4 mixer Google for video mixer and you'll find many. DV input is latent, so you'll need/want something with analog ability.

I'm assuming you mean in appearance, because it's probably not in ability to absorb impacts. Wendy W. I should have been more clear. I meant the "if it looks good..." as a smart-ass comment. Everyone knows that if it looks good, then skydivers want one.

what info are you after? it's a no-frills, made for students/novices helmet. I've had a couple on my head, they fit nicely, and look fine. If it looks good, that's all that matters. Think: "Step up from Protec" and "step down from Mindwarp."

I don't need one. It's a gift for a master rigger. I'd showed this to him one day when he was showing me how to pack a seat rig, and he pointed out how nice it would have been for seating the pins on the seat. I'm not a rigger yet, but thanks for the pointers.

There are a couple older posts if you search, that discuss the settings that myself and others are using for the HC5.

There is nothing wrong with repeating clips if it serves a theme or creates a point of reference for continuity, or if artistic revisions of the clip are used. It's a common technique. However, wontonly using the same clip to fill up space or because it's "cool" isn't a practical or logical use of the same content. As an example, both the "Civil War" and "The Way West" repeat a few sections in multiple moments. We won 9 Emmys for one, and 4 Emmys for the other. There are no "rules" in creative editing. But there are techniques that feel and flow better. Some of them would go against the grain of time-honored practices. Nice vid overall, but I still find myself struggling (with most skydiving videos) to find a theme, story, concept, or flow that goes beyond "Hey, this shot is cool, toss it in..."

Agreed. None of the skydive pubs are Time magazine, and there aren't those sorts of staffings involved. A couple weeks for an acceptance or rejection is plenty, IMO. With the broadcast content we string, we get acceptance/rejections within 48 hours FWIW. Television is timely, and content loses value if it waits. Print pubs aren't that fast, but they should be faster than "no response." [edit] Excellent comments by Matt as well.

I don't understand your post? An AFFI is already a rated coach, right? There was very little canopy control instruction in the coaches course I attended. Is there something more in the rating that I may have missed out on?

Bu then there are guys like me that use video cameras to shoot pictures of people using video cameras, one occasion they were shooting plumbing.

WTF are you talking about? Please, please read it again and explain in plain english that even a fool like me can understand. Does 1000 jumps make a great flier? Does 600 tunnel hours make someone a great flier? Does reading every post on DZ.com make someone a great flier, therefore filling some requirement? Or exception from requirements? Being able to do relative work well is more or less a very strong byproduct of being a camera operator. Usually. Not always. But how does that relate to this thread?

It must be very comforting to make up your own reality and actually believe it. I guess that is very "blissful" and maybe even liberating if only in your conscience. However, I suspect that you have a mind which tells you something different. Even if you can't admit it on a public forum.

To add to this, I'd suggest that the flyers be more relative-work competent. Rather than diving into the "formation" it's better to come down away from, and fly towards the center. In this vid, it looks like he just flies straight into it. Another comment is that tunnel time doesn't translate directly into skydive time. I don't have a lot of tunnel time, but enough to know that while I have a good backfly and sit in the tunnel, and can do RW with others, I can't in the tunnel. There is a kid at our DZ that freeflies like a mutha in the tunnel, and is good in the air, but can't do RW on his belly to save his life (bad enough a couple of us won't fly with him). The person that is almost directly above the tandem is equally concerning, if not moreso. I don't think it's a lens refraction of someone on the fringe; it seems pretty clear it's a person. From 1:27:26 to 1:28:11, you can clearly see a person in a track towards the drogue. At 1:31:25, you can see that particular person heading away towards the left, but then 1:31:27 another person enters the frame, much lower in altitude. You can still see the first person in the lower left of the frame. At 1:33:02, both skydivers can still be seen in the frame in the distance. Ultimately, can't help but wonder why anyone thought it was a good idea to have six people in close proximity during a tandem, particularly given the very low jump numbers of all but two of the participants. I'd go home with my tail between my legs if I'd been part of this too, but hopefully the DZO gave the same tongue lashing to the TM?

Thanks. I was looking for "Power Tool" not "Mega-Rigger Closing Rigger Tool" and the search function doesn't distinguish by word, I guess. That's not the one I'd seen, but it's very similar.

The one I'd seen is a plate, slot cut in it for the reserve closing loop, with either a crank or bar w/arm to roll back the pull up.