4dbill

I do not doubt you DSE, but I really would like to see a picture of this 26" long helmet stabilizer for freefall. 4DBill 4Dbill.com

I know this thread is about D3100, but the discussion applies to both. Having said that, here's the 720p 60 fps you asked for. http://vimeo.com/14368752 It was edited in 24 fps, with the slow motion part on the second footage conformed from 60 to 24 fps for true slow motion. The 'regular' motion parts of the video feels and looks different then footage natively shot in 24 fps. I can't explain it. It's subtle, but I can tell it's not 'normal' 24 fps footage I am used to. 4DBill http://facebook.com/4dbill

Since I no longer shoot tandem videos and try to get the absolute highest video quality possible on every 'special' jump, I sold the very capable CX100 and got myself a Canon T2i, which has identical video quality as 7D. I have not perfected the fine art of ideal profile setting and the finesse of color grading just yet, but man... it's pretty so far, to a degree. It's the closest thing to film, for cheap, in my humble opinion. Here's a video sample, shot exclusively with Canon T2i. http://vimeo.com/13130234 It was shot in 1920x1080 24 fps, 1/50 sec shutter speed. I will try 1280x720 60 fps tomorrow for some extra smooth slow motion. 4DBill http://4dbill.com

You guys/girls are missing the whole point. Companies have the freedom to make their ads as offensive and tasteless as they need/want. There is no question that the Mirage ad is tasteless for skydiver with good taste and the appreciation of fine art.

I have never used my USB connector that came in the box. Instead, I always use the SD card reader. Has anyone used the Wi-Fi SD card yet? 4DBill

I consider myself pretty familiar with FCP since that's what I use for all my creative projects. It's a great NLE system when you have the luxury of time. It's going to be frustratingly slow for tandem videos, however, since the goal of almost all tandem video is to whip 'em out as quickly as possible in the highest quality possible within 10 minute window. That's not going to happen with FCP because, 1. You have to convert all Sony files to Apple ProRes into the timeline. 2. You have to manually put all clips together side by side. 3. You have to render all clips, which is much slower than Vegas. 4. You have to burn DVD using a separate DVD authoring software, which is much slower then integrated burning capability within Vegas. I do not know the programming capability of FCP, but I do not believe you can automate any of the steps, out of the box at least. Again, I love FCP because it’s one heck of powerful software that can carry on any creative project. If it’s good enough for Hollywood, it’s good enough for any artist, but when it comes to speed for tandem video editing/authoring, it’s a dog. I wish you luck, and I am looking forward to your report when you get everything set up. 4DBill

Magic Bullet 1.1, compatible with 64bit, seems to be good, but you can only use it with After Effect CS, not within Vegas. :( http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/all/magic-bullet-steady/ They, also, have a trial version you can download. 4DBill

I read that Prodad Mercalli is very good for Vegas. There is a trial version you can download from their website. Here's another dive I stabilized. It distorts the background but it looks cool regardless. It would enhance any edited video when used sparingly on certain shots. http://vimeo.com/12831154 For ground footage, nothings beats a REAL steadicam when it comes to liquid smooth moving video. Here's some ground footage shot with Merlin brand steadicam. http://vimeo.com/13130234 4DBill http://4dbill.com

After approximately 3400 jumps, I 'retired' from the sport 12 years ago. I then got the itch again last August, mainly due to technological advancement in canopy swooping and freefall photography -- two disciplines I enjoyed the most. When I showed up at a very conservative dropzone for a refresher, I was required to do a practice touch AFF Level 5 with an instructor and a student gear, which went just fine. I think sitting through the whole first jump course would have been an overkill, but I guess it would depend on the jumper. 4DBill http://4dbill.com

I've been following this thread with great interest. Assuming that you are not a troll, I am behind you all the way, even though almost all posters are advising you against it with the present weight. It’s no wonder we have shortage of engineers in this country so we have to recruit “CAN’s” from overseas. I am pretty sure with enough desire, resources and research, you’ll find the proper equipment and the qualified staff to accommodate your needs. Everyone’s risk/reward ratio is different, with the ratio being significantly higher for people who are on the cutting edge, even though the line between being stupid and revolutionary is sometime very thin! :) Be sure to write a blog since it will be the first of its kind. 4Dbill 4dbill.com

They might be smarter than we think, trying to stir things up, just like what we are doing here. I personally find the ad offensive and tasteless, with almost no creativity, but obviously, some people do not, which itself is not a problem, because I accept the fact that our society is deteriorating every day. I am, however, disappointed at USPA for running the ad in the member-supported magazine. I thought the Parachutist's ad standards were higher than Maxim. 4DBill http://4dbill.com

"Like" Oops.. I got dropzone.com confused with Facebook! :) 4DBill

Is it possible to put on a flat filter in front of the lens or does it protrude out too far? If so, can you devise a clever way to put it on? I don't know the exact physics of it, but it worked for me a long time ago when I had fogging problems on my Hi-8. 4DBill http://www.facebook.com/4dbill

Okay, it's my second week with the Canon T2i, purchased mainly for video work. So far -- it's AWESOME! Here's a footage from the 4th of July. http://vimeo.com/13130234 The indoor footage was color corrected for mood effect, but the freefall footage was untouched. Since the sun was a little lower, the color seems to extract a bit more. I am going to use a polarizer filter next time and see if it improves the contrast under the sun. 4DBill http://www.facebook.com/4dbill

Captain America and Wonder Woman on the 4th of July, 2010 (attached). 4DBill http://www.facebook.com/4dbill

Looks nice! What lens were you using? Costyn. I used 50mm 1.8 prime lens for the espresso shoot above. Here's the result of a little fun yesterday. http://vimeo.com/12915382 I finally got to jump the camera, but was a little disappointed with the sunlight footage. Inside, as expected, turned out excellent with 50mm lens with natural light, with color correction. Outside, however, with kit lens, seems not as rich. I need to experiment with different filters and settings and see if I can get the color slide effects I am looking for. Perhaps I am asking too much from a $850 camera, but I have seen some awesome outside footage from others on Vimeo, so I guess I need to dig more. 4Dbill http://www.facebook.com/4dbill

I finally took a plunge and got myself a T2i. I had to sell my left arm and a leg for it though. :) I am going to jump it tomorrow, but I got anxious trying it out before that, so here’s a little indoor footage under a controlled environment. http://vimeo.com/12876737 I am very pleased with color saturation, sharpness and the “film like” look, especially for an "inexpensive" consumer camera. I hope it performs well under the sunlight as well as the artificial one. I’ll post the results after I jump it. 4DBill

I was playing with friend's T2i. It writes *.mov file format, which Final Cut Pro reads directly without any conversion, unlike for CX100 and GoPro files, which require import/convert -- a huge pain in a rear. Just B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! Now if Canon can somehow figure out so we can take stills and video at the same time without interrupting video recording.. I have a good feeling this will happen within a couple of years. 4DBill http://www.facebook.com/4dbill

I was eyeing either 5D Mark II or 7D, and then somebody, including you guys on this forum, mentioned T2i. With streat price of 'only' $850, it seems like a bargain compared to its big brothers. Seeing some of the sample HD videos on Vimeo, it seems indistinguishable from 7D video. It is smaller as well, which translates to less weight on the head. Yes, it's considered to be a consumer grade vs prosumer, but what does that really mean? With digital technology advancing so fast, I would be happy to get 4 years out of it. Thoughts? 4DBill http://www.facebook.com/4dbill

I am honored to have USPA feature this little clip on their website. http://www.uspa.org/BecomeaSkydiver/ALifetimeSport/tabid/68/Default.aspx Sometimes all it takes is a couple of ordinary skydives and a simple edit to express how we feel. We often forget how it was/is -- fresh, happy, to simply be alive. 4DBill http://www.facebook.com/4dbill

Wow.. really? I guess I need to play with Vegas more. Thanks for the correction, DSE. What about scrubbing? I have an average PC, and I can't get that smooth dynamic real time, non-frame skipping scrubbing on Vegas. Is it my computer or the program? 4DBill http://www.4dwireless.net/4dbill

Sony Vegas Pro is fast and easy since it can read the files directly from GoPro HD MP4 files. Rendering time is minimum and the user interface is pretty intuitive. It's great for general editing, especially for something that needs a quick turnaround. Having said that, I personally use Final Cut for precision editing since it can scrub the video tracks more accurately and faster than Vegas. However, there is a heavy price to pay -- converting MP4 to Apple ProRes files, which are huge and which takes forever to convert. Final Cut would be way too slow for tandem/AFF videos, but joy to work once the files are converted to ProRes. I shoot GoPro HD along with CX100, side by side, and usually use the footage from GoPro since I don't have to mess with interlacing. 4DBill http://www.facebook.com/4dbill

Yes, but I need to put the PC backed up files back into the memory stick, so I can play it back on the camcorder, and so I can import into FCP. Can this be done? Thank you.

DSE, I messed up by erasing the CX100 files directly from a PC instead of with camcorder. Now I can no longer Log-and-transfer into FCP - probably due to messing up the index file. I then copied all the files from the memory stick to a PC for a backup and reformatted the whole stick using the CX100. Now, since everything is reset, FCP can read the stick from a memory reader. I really need to get the backed up MTS file back into the stick so I can log-and-transfer into FCP. Is there a way? Simply copying to the stick, both matching files in "CLIPINF" and "STREAM" directories does not work. I rather not use Handbrake since I like dealing with Apple's ProRes files converted directly from MTS during the log-and-transfer process. Thanks. 4DBill

I've been eyeing the 7D for some time since it seems to give that 35mm movie quality look in 1080 mode. However, there has been a significant number of reports from a general video community that it gets extremely hot after a short shoot, as little as 10 minutes. Has anybody experienced this in a skydiving environment? There is a huge jump from 7D to 4D Mark II, so.. 4DBill