Best lens for Handycam

[skywakatip1 0]

Hi guys just wondering if anybody has ideas on the best lens for doing handycam i have a PC105 and i have been looking at the Waycool .25lens which looks good but are there better options and even better prices out there??

[Peej 0]

A lot of it depends on what kind of camera work you're intending to do. Is it just for you, fun jumps and stuff? Professional stuff, eg tandems? Competition 4 way? You'll get varying opions on a lot of stuff.

Personally i own a Kenko .42 at the moment and i use it for tandems, external freefly and four way, both training and competition. I plan on switching to a .3 for tandems soon though as i fly right in their faces and sometimes dock on the TI so i want to see more on my vids.

As for quality of lenses, my kenko does just fine for now and i was chatting to some very experienced camera dudes who reckon having a nice lens is a good idea but they'd only use it for stuff they were filming for themselves.

For further reading, here are a whole bunch of threads on lenses:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=forum_7&search_string=Lenses&search_type=AND&search_fields=sb&search_time=&search_user_username=&sb=score&mh=25

Hope that helps, take care.

edited for spelling

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[dragon2 2]

Have you checked out the camera forum yet?

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[NSEMN8R 0]

Are you talking about a handcam glove for tandems?

I use a waycool .25 and a pc105.

The black eye .25 is a really nice lens. I've seen people do it with a royal .3 and it looked ok, but I thought the .25 was worth the extra money.

[beezyshaw 0]

Quote

...and sometimes dock on the TI ...

Off the subject, but if you make contact with your tandems, it should be with the passenger, not the tandem pilot. I'm surprised that hasn't been mentioned to you after such a jump. Now, back to your regularly scheduled program:
When starting out, as in first camera flying from an intermediate level jumper, I would recommend something like a .6 lens, as you can fill the frame well without flying too close. Perfect for zooming around the sky with your buddies or learning to shoot FS like 4 way. Then, for those same type jumps about a .45 or .4 is a good lens as you gain experience and are able to fly closer to your subjects with no safety concerns. This lens range is also a good choice for tandems. There are lots of camera flyers that opt for a .3 for tandems, but I strongly feel that you must really get "too" close with a .3 I don't generally want camera people that close to my student's face, it can sort of freak them out. They have a much better time looking at the camera from a few feet back like a .45 would require. And the safety concerns of proximity during deployment are another reason not to be too close to your tandem you're shooting. If, like another poster suggested, you're talking about a hand-cam glove and not meaning "handycam" (as in Sony brand cameras) then the .3 is the longest lens you should consider (I have hundreds of jumps with a Diamond .3 and love that lens) but more and more are now using the .25 for wider field of view than you can get with a .3 lens.
Edit: I see that the original poster has a bunch of jumps, so you're obviously meaning "handcam" not "handycam", so see my comments above. Oh, and since I see "apf" in your profile, now I get it; why do the ausie's insist on saying "handycam"? Oh well, them fellers down yonder just sorta talk funny But I'm going to leave all the first part of my post up there for those low-timers that might read it.

[skysurfcam 0]

Quote

Oh, and since I see "apf" in your profile, now I get it; why do the ausie's insist on saying "handycam"? Oh well, them fellers down yonder just sorta talk funny

Whisky row, Pheonix, 1988. I'd been in country for 40 hours.

"Hure frum Hosstralia? Wuuw, hu spikk rrreally gud Hinglish..."



C.

Seriously though the 105 works very well with a .3 It's nativly wider than the 101, 108, 109 etc. Unless you've got really short arms, you'll be fine. If you want a .25, check out the new cookie - it comes with a replaceable filter option.

Brother Wayward's rule of the day...
"Never ever ever go skydiving without going parachuting immediately afterwards."
100% PURE ADRENALENS

[skydiveoc 0]

Ive got waycool .25 and it is noticibly wider to a .3

josh

[skydiveoc 0]

blackeye i should specify

[shogo 0]

Century Optics. Bar none.

http://www.schneideroptics.com/

[NSEMN8R 0]

Quote

Seriously though the 105 works very well with a .3 It's nativly wider than the 101, 108, 109 etc.

The pc109 has a wider view than the 105. The 109 is the best camera I've seen for handcam.