Ultimate camcorders

[Unparagoned 0]

I was wondering if the HC1, HC3, HC5 would be in high demand in the future for skydiving? Am I correct in assuming they are the only High Definition cameras that are suited for skydiving(including freeflying).

All the newer sony cameras or other makes have optical image stabilisers which makes them bad for freeflying or are small, compact and don't have a thread for a lens.

Is it worth getting HC5 now for use in the future?

[DSE 5]

This subject has been discussed to death?

[Unparagoned 0]

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This subject has been discussed to death?

Any chance of posting a relevent link then? Or one that in some way answers my question?

[dragon2 2]

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This subject has been discussed to death?

Any chance of posting a relevent link then? Or one that in some way answers my question?

Um, he DID post a link for ya

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[pilotdave 0]

I think it will be a while before the solid state memory cams really work for a lot of skydivers. Here are some issues that I'd have if I bought one...

Can't transfer video between cameras. That would be really annoying at times, since that's such an easy way to get a video from someone with DV cameras.

Memory cards are obviously going to be reused, unlike tapes. How would I get my videos to someone that's putting together a year-end video? Right now he gets a pile of tapes. No work on my part.

Need a really fast computer for editing. My computer is ok, but not that fast. Also need software compatible with AVCHD (I already do, but most people don't). No more quick edits in Movie Maker.

Need lots of memory cards to get through a longer trip like a boogie, unless I dumped videos to my laptop often.

The main advantage of memory cams to me is faster transfers to a computer and no more rewinding/fast forwarding to find the right part of the tape. No more worrying about taping over something by accident. But for the time being, the cons outweigh the pros to me. If I were buying now, it'd be something like an HC-5. Unfortunately I know that if I bought one now while I can, I'd buy a helmet to go with it and more stuff that I don't need...

Dave

[DSE 5]

Boy...we see this differently. Firewire to 3 friends on the DZ-3-4 mins per friend per jump.
HDD to 3-4 friends on the DZ-less than 20 seconds each, or on my particular system, I can burn 2 DVDs at once. Better still, my memcard to your laptop.
Year end...hand the guy a hard drive with my preferred regions already marked out. Oh yeah...I'm the guy that does the year end, so I'd rather have files than tapes, so I don't have to capture or hand-review.

All that said, I happen to jump both card and tape. Each has its place, and moreover, I'm mostly experimenting to decide what I want to do for the remainder of the year.

[pilotdave 0]

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HDD to 3-4 friends on the DZ-less than 20 seconds each

How are you physically getting them the video? Transferring over a wireless network from one computer to another?

Dave

[beowulf 1]

I currently jump a HC5, but now that the camera can be controlled through the av port I would buy a CX7. The cards are not that expensive and I have a laptop to transfer to and write the files to dvd if someone wanted a copy. I don't expect to ever buy another tape camcorder.

[DSE 5]

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HDD to 3-4 friends on the DZ-less than 20 seconds each

How are you physically getting them the video? Transferring over a wireless network from one computer to another?

Dave

Hadn't considered that option, but it sure would work.
Nope...old-fashioned sneaker-net. USB 2 card reader.

[pilotdave 0]

Ok, either way. Point is that everybody needs to have their computer at the DZ in order to transfer video. That's a much better option than firewire from camera to camera... if they've got a laptop (and software to edit avchd). I know a LOT more people that bring cameras to the dropzone than laptops.

Burning a DVD is another option but i know i can't do that quicker than i can firewire a jump. My laptop doesnt even have a dvd burner.

Don't get me wrong.... for me, memory cameras will make sense eventually. But not quite yet...

Dave

[PharmerPhil 0]

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I don't expect to ever buy another tape camcorder.

Personally, I LOVE tape. If nothing else than for for archive purposes. I don't have to do anything to have a fairly long-term archive of whatever I shoot. And I have had regular reasons to go back and retrieve footage I have shot. I have tapes that are HDV, DV, DVCAM, Hi-8, and VHS,...all of which I can throw on a machine I own (and that works) and get footage out of in no time. And none of which I have had to do anything with for archive purposes other than store them half way decently (sitting on a shelf somewhere).

Hell, I have audio cassettes, DATs, and even reel-to-reel tapes (70's) that I have been able to retrieve footage from (all fairly recently) without much hassle. Then again, I have hard drives less than a decade old that I would have to search for a way to even hook them up (SCSI), and on which are files that I don't even know if I have software on my computers to read anymore. Give me tape, cheap and hassle free.

[DSE 5]

I'm a fan of tape for similar reasons. We've been entirely tapeless in our production workflow for nearly 3 years (although some of our work is backed to tape simultaneously with HDD), and it's a great workflow in a controlled environment. Skydiving is anything but controlled. Al of my content is backed up on a drive, and I can recall whatever jump from whatever day in whatever year. But...that takes a computer to recall. Tape has some solid advantages, no doubt. If anyone is interested in my "Tapeless Workflow" PowerPoint, PM me with a regular email addy, as it's quite large. It asks as many questions as it answers.

[beowulf 1]

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I don't expect to ever buy another tape camcorder.

Personally, I LOVE tape. If nothing else than for for archive purposes. I don't have to do anything to have a fairly long-term archive of whatever I shoot. And I have had regular reasons to go back and retrieve footage I have shot. I have tapes that are HDV, DV, DVCAM, Hi-8, and VHS,...all of which I can throw on a machine I own (and that works) and get footage out of in no time. And none of which I have had to do anything with for archive purposes other than store them half way decently (sitting on a shelf somewhere).

Hell, I have audio cassettes, DATs, and even reel-to-reel tapes (70's) that I have been able to retrieve footage from (all fairly recently) without much hassle. Then again, I have hard drives less than a decade old that I would have to search for a way to even hook them up (SCSI), and on which are files that I don't even know if I have software on my computers to read anymore. Give me tape, cheap and hassle free.

I think tapes are great for archiving or backing up data. We use DLT tapes at work for this purpose. At home I use DVD's and also the DVC tapes. I think that solidstate is the way to go for skydiving. It makes the cameras much lighter and have much fewer moving parts to break. You can reuse the solid state media with better results then tapes. It just means changing how you go about sharing video. I would suggest people bring usb memory sticks with them for video. They are very cheap.

[Unparagoned 0]

I thought the CX6/7 had problems because of the optical image stabiliser? Is this not the case? Also I herd today that the HC9 actually parks the lens when the stabiliser is off unlike the HC7. So back to my original questions are the newer cameras, HDV or memory sticks suitable for skydiving in gerneral including freeflying?