AS1 0 #1 September 28, 2007 Got my FF3 today. Most happy. Here's a few pics for info of anyone interested. The main points are;- Side mounted HC5 / HC7. (possibly HC3, I didn't ask) Only 12mm wider than standard FF2/FF3. Bungee for box. Access to screen / lanc / comonent / HDMI output without removing from box. Flat top for stills (not for me for now). Lots of thoughtful detailing such as;- Very tidy cutaway. Cameye ready fitted, switch very neat. Chin strap retained in chin cup. The camera hand strap is retained within the helmet lining via the cameye hole, no need to cut off (unlike some boxes). Ideal if you use your camera for everyday stuff too. Bear in mind that mine has the HC series box but if you change your mind / have another camera you can buy a PC series box for about £25-£30 (ish) sterling. 2K obviously have the facility to make new boxes to fit new cameras so as shapes change the helmet won't become out of date. The customer service from 2K was outstanding. They genuinely care. (Read the other reviews under "gear", everyone says this.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newshooter12 0 #2 September 28, 2007 nice design, but the thing that still bugs me about it is that you have to take it apart to get the tape out/changed that's still where bonehead/cookie boxes are worth the extra $$. Matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DSE 5 #3 September 29, 2007 QuoteOnly 12mm wider than standard FF2/FF3. Nice to know. I'd have thought it would be wider than that. Looks like the inset works to keep it as narrow as possible. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydog.paul 0 #4 September 29, 2007 The camera takes seconds to remove from the FF3, and the only thing you cannot do with the camera when its in the helmet is change the tape. The cookie box is a top mount and the FF3 is a side mount witch lets you mount a stills camera on the top. Every one compairs 2KC FF2 and FF3 to cookie's and boanhead composites helmets, thay are all good helmet but thay are not the same. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AS1 0 #5 September 29, 2007 You do have to take the camera out to change the tape but it is one thumbscrew and takes seconds. All other features / ports including charging are accessible. I know people who are happy with Bonehead and Cookie boxes but you have to compare like with like. Unless someone can correct me this is the only sidemount HC series helmet available, Cookie and Bonehead topmount theirs. Because their boxes are separate to the helmet when added to the side the width becomes unmanagable. 2K's design is unique and works around this problem. Bloody UK weather, hopefully I'll jump it tomorrow. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JeepDiver 0 #6 September 29, 2007 Sweet set-up. I like it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newshooter12 0 #7 October 1, 2007 why are you guys getting upset? I feel like people were mad that I was accidentally starting a Nikon vs. Canon argument... lol. I was not trying to comparing them... but I was trying to say that I don't like to re-align a camera each time I put it back on the helmet. That's one reason I like the way boxes work.... top, side, bottom or upsidedown... of any brand or variety . Plus the paralax issues are easier to deal with when the lenses of multiple cameras are closer to each other... that's why I like top mounts. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #8 October 1, 2007 You don't have to re-align anything. There's a mounting peg on the bracket which mates with a hole in the bottome of the camera. That plus the thumb screw give you your two fixed mounting points. Every time you put the camera on the helmet it points in the same direction as when you took it off. Simple. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 1 #9 October 1, 2007 Quote Plus the paralax issues are easier to deal with when the lenses of multiple cameras are closer to each other... that's why I like top mounts. I prefer top mounts too, but I disagree with your statement about parallax. I've never even set up (or used) a side mount in my life. But the basic idea is still the same... aim your sight at something a mile away, and the 9 inches your cameras are apart won't matter.www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AS1 0 #10 October 1, 2007 Quote Plus the paralax issues are easier to deal with when the lenses of multiple cameras are closer to each other... that's why I like top mounts. I'll have to shelve my side mounted macro photography project then. Damn... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skysurfcam 0 #11 October 1, 2007 Actually Matt, I respectfully beg to differ. If you park yourself 18 inches out from and 24 inches below a tandem, you have to think harder to adjust the paralex of (up to) 9 inches between the ring sight and the lense of a top mouted PC series, than the 2-4" between the ring site and lense of a side mount. Horses for courses. I site a long way out, but adjust accordingly up real close. C. Brother Wayward's rule of the day... "Never ever ever go skydiving without going parachuting immediately afterwards." 100% PURE ADRENALENS Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 1 #12 October 1, 2007 Guess it matters how wide your lens is and how much padding you leave around your subject. For my shots, being a few inches off center doesn't kill me. www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 1 #13 October 1, 2007 Quote I'll have to shelve my side mounted macro photography project then. Damn... When ants look like people, pull! www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HUSHPUPPY 0 #14 October 1, 2007 Quote Unless someone can correct me this is the only sidemount HC series helmet available I have a FFX made for my HC40...still a 2KC product though! "You made my panties wet!" Skymama (Fitz 09) "Never argue with an idiot. They will bring you down to their level and beat you with experience." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newshooter12 0 #15 October 1, 2007 I didn't realize it had two points... that makes all the difference and tells me something i was ignorant of before. Matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newshooter12 0 #16 October 1, 2007 you're right. having them off a bit won't matter, but it's just easier for me to compensate in my head personally when both lenses are next to each other. It's just a personal thing. It seems to work in theory for me. Matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newshooter12 0 #17 October 1, 2007 I respectfully understand your statement... I simply like to think of the cameras as a single unit relatively close to each other. So that when I am slightly below and close to my subjects I fly with them at the top of my helmet rather than through the sight... the two cameras I use are matched fairly closely, fairly wide and are sighted in for being two feet down and six feet back. I know i can get roughly 6ft wide in frame when I'm 4 feet away from a subject so doing different groups is just a matter of doing some simple math and remembering where that all falls in my sight. Matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drdive 0 #18 October 2, 2007 Hey, I just heard from 2K today, and they said their FF3 would fit a CX7, which is what I plan on buying. I am going to order one. Ed"We saved your gear. Now you can sell it when you get out of the hospital and upsize!!" "K-Dub" " Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AS1 0 #19 October 10, 2007 Jumped it, loved it. A pic of me being coached. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drdive 0 #20 October 10, 2007 Looking like a lot of "industrial haze" there "We saved your gear. Now you can sell it when you get out of the hospital and upsize!!" "K-Dub" " Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AS1 0 #21 October 11, 2007 There was a big hole in it just out of shot... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drdive 0 #22 October 11, 2007 Quote There was a big hole in it just out of shot... Yeah,,yeah - that's what we all say"We saved your gear. Now you can sell it when you get out of the hospital and upsize!!" "K-Dub" " Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mitchard 0 #23 October 2, 2008 Don't know if anyone is still reading this thread, but I have a question about the parallax issues you get when you have still camera mounted on the top of your head and video on the side. My set up: I have a FF3 with and HC42, Sony .6X Wide Angle on the side and a Cannon XTi, Standard 18-55mm mounted with a Stroboframe on the top. I've been trying to angle my video camera "in" and "up" so that at about 3 feet away my video and still camera are framed/focused on the same point. Is this the wrong way to sight it in. If I follow quade's set up, will I be able to have a subject in frame on both my video and still if I'm close up? (It seems like I'll either have the XTi in frame if I adjust for the vertical distance of 9" or I'll have the HC42 in frame if I adjust for the horizontal distance of 4") Also, I have not seen the "mounting pin" on my FF3, am I missing something? I've cut my foam pads to get the correct angle every time I close my clam shell. Starting to wish I had gone with a flat top pro or narrow....doh! maybe I'll get a work helmet and keep my FF3 for playing... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bowen 0 #24 October 2, 2008 Parallax issues are there regardless. I have a FF3 as well as a Vapor Wes Pro, you'll get the same issues. If you have it set up so that both cameras are converging on the same location close up, it will go criss-cross at further distances. One suggestion would to be to get some really wide lens. I would look into a wide prime still lens, and a royal .20 for your sony. I use a canon 10-22mm set at 10mm and a century optics .30 for my HD cam. -BowenRetired Tunnel Instructor, Sky/Tunnel Coach Former dealer for 2k Composites, Skysystems, Alti-2, Wings Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
