Cashmanimal

Well, the lens came in yesterday, and I couldn't be happier. I didn't get toooooo much time to play with it, but here was something I came up with after a little playing. Sorry... it's not skydiving, but I still wanted to share. http://www.digitaldexterity.net/tempchalgal/images/1.jpg It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

Lazlo- Many thanks for posting those detail shots. Any doubts I had in my head (let me tell you, there were very few already) have now been removed. I can't wait. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

That's good to know, as I rarely shoot anything bigger than 4-way, still primarily outside video/stills on aff jumps... sounds like it should work out well. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

Yeah, that was way easier than what I said. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

I thought of a couple more points.... Assuming you got the same one that I have screwed on in the attached photo, consider your mounting position, depending on what camera you use. For about a month all my videos has part of the adapter in the video fram because I never took the time to fix it. Annnnd.... in my experiences with it, I found it was a wise choice to shoot with AF... in MF, even with lots of gaffers, the weight of the adapter alone was enough to adjust any focal length I had set. Might not be the case for you or everybody else, but it was for me. That caused a little bit of anguish. After crapping all over your new purchase, I would like to say once more that it works just fine. It's a $35 screw-on adapter. That's what you paid for, that's what your getting. Get creative with it, it is possible. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

Takes cool pictures. Also takes crap pictures. Ya know what I mean? It gets nice, fun, wide-angle shots that I would consider nice for having around, but rarely if ever printing or looking at too closely. The combination of the glass, their optics quality and the fact that it (probably) passes through a couple adapters just doesn't bode well for the images. When you get down to it, they are just plain low-quality pictures. I have been pained on many occasions that I took an awesome picture, well-framed, in-focus and well-timed and when I get into the picture, it isn't what it truly should have been. I found that it work well enough on BRIGHT days... evening or moderately cloudy days, don't count on anything better than a C+ photo. I attached a few pictures I took with the adapter... I didn't really take the time to optimize them or anything, so sorry if they are a bit small. But the low clouds one is an extreme example... granted, that is not all the lens' fault, but it is exactly what I am talking about. Low-light conditions make it look like the ISO is WAAAY off... even if it wasn't It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

??? On a digi canon (digi rebels, 20D, 30D etc) a 15mm is a 24mm compared to 35mm, on a digi nikon (D70s, D80, D200 etc) it's 22.5mm. On no jumpable camera does it behave like 18mm. I crossed somewhere that the sensor size on the XT put the viewing angle at around 140-150 degrees, versus the 180 specc'd on the website (for the 35mm?).... Embarrassed to admit it, but I don't actually know the viewing angle of a "normal" lens... somewhere around 50 degrees would be my guess?... It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/lens/wide/15_28.htm Just bought one. Been saving up for a while as this is a lens I have wanted to add to my collection for some time. Funny enough, I craved it for my outside photography, and it just happens to be extremely convenient that this looks like a nice lens for skydiving photography as well. I of course read every review I could find on the internet and more about it in addition to talking to people in person (dropping triple the money for a lens than what most people pay for a digital camera is a hard commitment for a college student). It seems nobody could find any overwhelming cons about the lens. (I was also looking at the 17-35mm aspherical, but 9 out of 10 people said images were too soft, and I assumed that the remaining 1 out of the ten didn't know what they were talking about). What sort of adjustments did you have to make? Basically, any info I can have about skydiving with this lens before I take it out would be greatly appreciated. I read many of the other forums about the lens... it appears as though I first need to remember to remove both lens caps to avoid that nasty vignetting . Currently using an FTP, top-mount HC-30 with .45 wide angle, front-mount Rebel XT, inverted, shooting mostly AFF and coached jumps. Oh... and a Sigma 15mm (mmm... that felt good rolling off the fingers into the keyboard...finally). Thanks in advance! Edit for some retarded spelling. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

What bite/tongue switch are you using? The angle it *appears* to be wrenched at when you have it on looks like it may cause some future issues with the wiring in the switch... I only bring it up because it has happened already to me on my FTP... but I had slightly modified the liner, for comfort purposes. It seemed to be almost identical to how yours is looking... I was using a bite switch. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

Your exit altitude will vary from pilot to pilot as well as the weather conditions. The colder the day, the faster/higher you will get. Some pilots are not comfortable with going that high, especially depending on the exit weights and order. I was flying my 90,000 cubic foot balloon and had one jumper + vidiot jump. On that morning it took me about ten, maybe fifteen minutes to get 7000+ feet of altitude. When the two left the balloon, the loss of their weight caused me to shoot up to 10,000+ feet, and i didn't burn for about 10 minutes to let the balloon settle down. If you have a larger commercial balloon, one that might have a "cattle car" basket (8 ish people) and a 210,000 cubic foot envelope, you can take more people up, get higher altitude, have many exit at once, etc. Whereas a 60,000 cubic foot balloon might have a hard time getting to 3500' with two jumpers, and most likely will not allow for both to exit at the same time. Many jumpers tend to overlook the danger involved for the balloon pilots as well. If the balloon shoots up too quick after an exit, it can cause the vent (parachute) in the top of the balloon to suck down and create a rotor effect inside the balloon that will keep the vent open. Vent open = venting the hot air, no hot air= coming down, quickly (= death). This is why prior to exit the balloon is leveled out, or for 1+ jumpers will be put into a descent. Look at some balloon jump videos and watch the distortion of the balloon as the jumpers exit... Anyway, on an average jump I would say a reasonable altitude to expect is around 5k. Inexperienced balloon pilots TEND TO (in my experience) not want to give as much altitude, for their sake. I have gotten out as low as slight below 3000', and as high as 9000+. From a pilot's perspective, I would say the most important thing to do on a balloon jump is be respectful! Don't demand more altitude, don't insist that you leave with a camera guy. Also, help set up the balloon and put it away if you can. The pilot will receive the hospitality very positively and will be more likely to return and do it again! It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

It is a tough thing to try and implement IMO. At bigger dropzones it would be a much more effective tool than at smaller ones, speaking from experience. My home DZ is a club with only a few camera flyers, two 182's. I started filming AFF jumps at around jump 150, but that was after I had made most of my skydivers with our AFF instructors due to the size of our dropzone. They knew my flying skills and were comfortable with them and I became our full-time AFF vidiot for the summer. I will not say I was the best, but all three of us were comfortable with eachother and it worked out great for our situation where we have 5-6 AFF jumps a weekend. At my DZ here in California I do no paid video work. THere are much more experienced and skilled people, no use for me yet which is fine with me. I will do my friends' tandems, but once again that is with a TM who I have jumped with a lot in the past and he knows me and has no problem with it, we work very well together. But I can see where a rating would come in useful for all the out of town people we get, but my home DZ rarely has anybody new come along, and when they do there is a 99.9% chance they want nothing to do with flying cameras for us. It's just another one of those "gonna-be-different-everywhere" things I think. I will agree though with whoever said a coach rating and 200 skydives. I think that is a great starting place for who should be doing video works. Perhaps with a set of check-dives, that way if somebody with 350 jumps want to jump with their friend who is going for a tandem while on vacation, they can at least say they met some minimal standards that will keep all three safe. I really don't know, everything in this sport is so circumstantial sometimes. Edit to point out I am aware of manufacturer recommendations, but perhaps they should be incorporated into this somehow?... It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

PM me if you need any more questions answered. I can refer you to about 50 pilots, including myself. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

Haha! Thanks for all the tips, everybody. I'll be on the road so I won't really have the chance to get to this, but it sounds like some sort of tape solution seems to be the obvious/easiest answer to this temporary problem. Thanks again! It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

Many thanks for the input... I have the monkey fist on my old pilot chute... it's not possible to use that one? I simply don't know, but now that I am thinking about it it has dawned on me that a new monkeyfist might come with new lines or something along those lines? I was really just hoping they could snippity-snip the old one off and then work that sewing magic... It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

Yesterday I had a PC in tow on one of my jumps and figured it was finally time to replace my pilot chute which I knew was on its last stretch of life. When I got on the ground a fellow jumper offered me a fantastic deal on a brand new, in the package pilot chute he had with him. Aside from being very thankful for the great deal he cut me, I am unhappy that it still has the orange PVC handle on it. Not so much because of aesthetics, but I hate the feel of it and I have this innate fear that my finger will get caught in it. I would really like to get my monkey fist taken off my old pilot chute and put on this one, but my understanding is it involves taking the PC apart as the handle is permanently attached to the apex lines, and a whole bunch of other things the guy I was talking to made seem like a royal pain in the butt. He claims it would be easier to just buy a pilot chute with a monkey fist on it instead of having the swap done... but at $25 for a new pilot chute, it seems like it would be worth my time. So, I guess the point I am trying to get to is: How difficult of a job would this be? Just trying to maximize my efficiency here. I really wish somebody who actually knew what they were talking about, such as a rigger, was there to tell me instead of the guy that hangs around the dropzone every few weekends and places doubt in people's heads; namely mine. Thanks in advance. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

since I broke my preferred lens I have used the same/similar lens adapter. It works great, makes for great photographs and does a fantastic job, but it has a few cons: 1) Multiple lenses causes some fogging in extreme temperature changes (mainly in winter... still not TOO big of a problem). 2) It's heavy. especially since it is an adapter (probably being used on a kit lens?...) it works like a lever and is that much heavier. 3) I started using it after I had everything configured on my helmet, and when I flipped it on there the adapter was sticking into the frame on my video. Wasn't too big of an issue until I moved my camcorder forward, realizing it would be a while before I could afford my old lens again :(. Overall if it is your only option, it works. I have a lot of fun with it outside of skydiving, but it definitely serves its purpose. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

I made my first camera jump at 114, side-mount video only. Made my first jump with stills at 130, no video. Combined both at 140. Made my first paid video jump at 185 (Cat D I believe?). Started doing paid AFF video at 198, filmed nothing but that until 215, then focused more on my own flying skills again for a bit, since I felt that parking myself outside the AFF and orbiting with it wasn't helping too much anymore. At 232 I filmed my first tandem (with a tandem instructor who I had made probably 75% of my jumps with), at 240 I started getting paid for them. I have since decided starting prior to 200 was not the best idea, but I don't think it was a TERRIBLE idea because I had a lot of guidance and coaching and other things that don't matter when posting in an online forum. I have since all but stopped doing paid video jobs because I have an endless list of skills to develop that will drastically improve my camera work. (head-down exits, back-flying with a tandem, etc.). Although I had a strong learning curve, it didn't negate the fact that I was doing enough to get by and get paid instead of REALLY developing my skills as a camera flyer. But I will say that flying camera has helped many skills develop much faster and better than they would if I were doing other disciplines. Everything is give and take, I guess. I completely understand all the "suggestions, guidelines, etc" set forth by manufacturers and such authority. I have made plenty of jumps now with people that have 100+ jumps more than me that I thought were completely reckless and had no business putting much more than a Pro-Tec on their head. On the flip side, I know people who have 150 jumps and an hour of tunnel time who can fly circles around many camera "flyers" out there. I have not been in the sport very long, but I already think it is obvious where the sport is headed as far as jump numbers and disciplines. I was getting a kick out of a write-up I read mentioning what a death-trap wing suits were and how they discipline had no future in the sport.... It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

Scroll up to post #11 touche It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

How about batching (automation) in PS? I often use this to watermark, resize and compress hundreds of photographs at one time. Perhaps a simple tutorial on this could be advantageous for all of us?... It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

Funny story time... to help you feel better, Monkey. I has just rotated the tires on my Camaro, which has custom rims on it. I was putting all the lugs back on and the ratchet kept acting up (it was a piece of crap and as I recall I had loaned my good tools to my friend for a weekend at the track). I was on the locking nut when it finally just kinda shattered, and in my extreme rage (such a simple job should not be as much hassle as this... even though that is the law for car repairs) I picked up the shattered ratchet pieces, screamed "fuck you" and threw them out into some bushes outside my garage. The socket for the locking lugs and all. I saved myself by getting a hold of some infomercial socket called the "gator grip" or something along those lines. It has since proved to be a handy addition in my tool arsenal. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

My cam is upside down too. I use windows pic/fax viewer to rotate. is there an advantage to using Lightroom/PS? As far as batch watermarking, I'll have to check into that,too. I have not verified this, but I was taught/told that using windows picture/fax viewer permanently alters images to the constrictions of the viewer, or something along those lines. So if you tell it to rotate something 90 degrees, it does it permanently.... there is some sort of terrible repercussion that lead to someone telling me to never use it again. I don't worry about it... I use Bridge for everything I do along the lines of mass rotating. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

Ouch! (but true) It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

Yeah, the family got a huge HDTV and I got the entire Planet Earth DVD set. You know where I'm gonna be for the next three days? Right where I was for the last 7 hours. Eating left-overs and watching these. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

This is a topic that has been beaten to death, run over multiple times, lit on fire and drug through a cactus farm. I would suggest taking advantage of the search feature, there is a multitude of this exact topic to be found. It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

Having just watched the video, my opinion: Nice video. Very, very standard. Solid student, solid instructors. The video guy placed himself in a bad position at first knowing it was a tracking dive, I don't know where he thought he was going to go.... but they recovered nicely, and the video came out "nice." That being said, I don't think I see where it is the "best." I have 20 videos that look just like that sitting here on my computer and I never take the time to do much with them, since they aren't anything special. As far as youtube goes, it is nice and easy to use, and there are good videos, some I haven't seen on SDM. But once you sift through all the crap, you can't beat SDM. Especially since there are 10,000+ tandem videos with the title "NEAR DEATH PARACHUTE MALFUNCTION SKY DIVING ACCIDENT MURDER BLOOD" and all the matching tags to go with it. I heart SDM.com. It's not pretty, it's not glorious. It works, and I love it. Very useful; recourse as well as a great time-killer It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye