Skwrl

Are you looking for video cameras only, or still cameras as well? If you're looking at still cameras (SLRs), check out the Canon SL1. A friend of mine just got one, and it's remarkably light and performs fairly well. It's comparable to the Canon T3i (see a comparison here: http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-Rebel-SL1-vs-Canon-T3i), but significantly lighter (407g vs. 570). Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

That would be great, because I'd really like to see this - I think I'd prefer this system over zippers alone. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Funny you should ask that. That is what I ordered. Not what I got. Miscommunication somewhere along the chain; these things happen. I'm sure Tonysuits will do the right thing and fix it, though. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Squirrel and Tonysuits currently both use an "innie-outie" zipper system for both of the Squirrel products and many of the larger Tonysuit designs (including the current version of the S-bird and suits larger than that). For those who have not seen it up close, the design involves two sets of zippers on each of the cutaway and reserve sides that allow the cutaway and reserve handles to be exposed (so that the suit can be used in skydiving) or covered up (for BASE). When skydiving, the zippers "bracket" the cutaway handle and reserve handle. If they are used in this way, the two zippers are connected by bungee cord, parachute cord, or similar means (I understand that this connection is inside the suit for Squirrel and outside the suit for Tonysuits). The design makes me nervous; it seems like there's a possibility of the design either causing an accidental cutaway or reserve pull or the handles being sucked inside. Over the last weekend, I had one wingsuiter tell me that he stopped another wingsuiter from jumping when he saw his innie-outie design had sucked in a handle the day before. That obviously could have been a catastrophe. I'm curious what others have seen about this; has anyone had any issues with the design? Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Do you guys think this will be wide enough? http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/fisheyes/6mmf28.htm Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Thanks for posting these for all, they're a great resource. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Yes. They have. With varying results. Until a different method is shown that demonstrates consistency, I'll keep teaching the method that works for P1's to Apache's (and have video of both extremes). What a tease! What is it? Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

So, what you're saying is the death panels already existed when Palin predicted them, right? Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Unicorn?!? Hell naw. Sky yeti. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I'd have to dig up my footage, but I didn't notice distortion or vignetting, just that the steadyshot was worse than it would have been had the steadyshot been turned off. Agreed. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

My suspicion is that the rule is something like this: don't put inexperienced wingsuiters in large formations. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

No helmet cutaway? Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Hey Matt... I have two rigs. My primary one is a Vector3 with a Skyhook RSL. My backup rig is a Wings with a standard RSL. I've had a bunch of chops (enough to be embarrassed by) on the Vector3. To date, I've not had one on the Wings (although I've only had it two seasons, and since it's a backup, I don't use it anywhere near as much). I feel so much more comfortable jumping with the Skyhook than without... Yes, there is an additional theoretical entanglement risk due to the Skyhook that has been explained to me... But (I'm knocking wood here) to date that risk has been managed by a forward head tilt (not exaggerated, just what I would need to do to actually look at my handles) and a bit of luck. I'm sticking with mine, personally... Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Video from the event is now available at https://www.facebook.com/SkwrlProductions and [/url]https://vimeo.com/68505714[url] Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

If someone gets a copy of this presentation, can you post a link? No point in us all separately bugging USPA for something like this. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Where can that be found? Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

How does that save money on Jet-A if the plane is still going to climb to 13,500 anyway? the weight of the jumpers is negligible compared to the weight of the airplane. I would think doing two jump runs would cause the plane to spend more time in the air. I've had the same thought. Apparently, the answer is "enough to make it worth the DZO's while to do this". [Shrug.] I'd love to hear a turbo-prop pilot's point of view on this... Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I agree with this. I did AFF there (admittedly years ago, but...). I never got the feeling that the gear was unsafe or that there was a unsafe culture. If anything, I'd say the opposite. Pepperell, Jumptown, SNE, and CPI, for what it's worth, all have reputations of being safe places to learn. I'd only give ShotterMG's comment any weight if the actual person who supposedly saw this came forward and shared his or her experience. I actually think it's something slightly different than "competition". I think it's almost tribal. With a handful of exceptions - happy to say the wingsuiter crew I hang out with is an exception - not a lot of people jump at both places regularly. Sure, you get a few guys who will say "I jumped [the other place] once or twice", but you don't get a lot of people who are regulars at both. Being a regular (at either place) gives you a different experience. The fact that people tend to jump at one or the other tends to make people pretty parochial, cliquey, and tribal - and unwilling to hear that the other place may actually be pretty fun, too. When I got to both places, I've heard people claiming that the other guys had said or did this or that... But it's always by people who aren't regulars at both... Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I agree with this, but... For what it's worth, Jumptown is a club owned by its members (the jumpers); Pepperell is a private business. It prioritizes tandems. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, in itself; but at last year's boogie my group of six wingsuiters was kicked off a plane - after boarding - to make room for tandems, because tandems make the DZ more money. That demonstrates a difference in priority.) Also, tandems at Pepperell get out at 10,000, because that saves money on Jet-A. In a way, that's nice because experienced jumpers get more room in the plane after they exit. But I don't like taking friends on tandems there unless I cut a special deal to get them all the way to 13,500. Let's face it - 10k is a short tandem ride. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

This. Arun, if you like SNE's facilities because it's "larger", you should definitely check out Jumptown. The facilities and gear are newer than Pepperell, and it is closer than SNE to Boston. SNE is a great, fun place, don't get me wrong - they have a really fun scene with some great people. I just tend to find the drive is a little too long from Boston; particularly for AFF, where you may find yourself driving up just to sit around and not jump because of winds, weather, or whatever. I jump regularly at all three locations (although admittedly a lot more at Jumptown and Pepperell than at SNE, because I live in Cambridge and the drive is just too damn much). You won't go wrong at any of those locations. All three locations have good, safe instructors. My understanding is that all of the AFF instructing this year at Pepperell is being done by The Freefall School (Robbie Spenser and Tanya Hannington). I don't know if the other AFFIs at Pepperell actually teach there, or if that's exclusive to The Freefall School. (My understanding was that last year, all of the instructing was done by Skydive University exclusively, this year it's being done exclusively by The Freefall School, but I could be wrong on that.) Jumptown has a bunch of AFFIs. Both places churn out newly licensed skydivers regularly; based on what I've been able to tell, there's slightly greater numbers of them at Jumptown than at Pepperell. For what it's worth, Jumptown is a club owned by its members (the jumpers); Pepperell is a private business. It prioritizes tandems. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, in itself; but at last year's boogie my group of six wingsuiters was kicked off a plane - after boarding - to make room for tandems, because tandems make the DZ more money. That demonstrates a difference in priority.) As I said, you won't go wrong at any of these locations, though. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

A couple of thoughts. First, in my opinion, the lens matters more than the body (at least in terms of "if it's a close call, a slightly better lens does more than a slightly nicer body"). Second, why are you upgrading from a 450D (XSi) to a 7D? (I mean, what's the reason for that particular camera?) I have a 5D, Mark II that is about the same weight (~860 grams) as the 7D. It's darn heavy. Well balanced, it's OK, but... Have you looked at something lighter and far cheaper like a T2i? Even though I have a 5D, Mark II, I prefer jumping with my T2i... The 7D has a nice burst rate, but it's a cropped sensor, and in my opinion not in the same league as the 6D. As for lenses, I agree it depends on what you're going to use it for. I had a Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM. I liked that a lot. Then I got a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM. I like that a lot more. A Sigma 10-20 is perfectly serviceable, but this goes back to my question of "do you want to put your dollars/euros toward good glass, or toward a good box?" Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

Well, sure, REDs are cool and all, but do they work with a HypEye? Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

This is true, but from my experience, it doesn't work very well in freefall. Nevertheless, the built in wide angle is wide enough to film, e.g., tandems and other wide shots. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

I have a CX760, which I think is the US version of the CX730, top mounted with a HypEye. When I want to turn my camera on, I pull out the view finder (which puts the camera into standby mode). When I want to start shooting, I press the button on the HypEye. I don't have mine in a box, so it's a very simple thing to do. Might be more complicated if you have it in a box. Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

For me, it was this one: https://vimeo.com/38047879 Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork