Nikon D80 lens choice for shooting tandems?... First camera helmet!!!

[warchild69 0]

Hey guys!.... I have a Bonehead Optic210, chin cup cutaway,... Just bought a CX550, cookie side mount black box, hypeye, .5 raynox lens, and extra charger and battery's.....

I have a Nikon D80 12mp camera i'm going to use & ordering a flatlock for it.... Me and my wife are/were part time wedding photographers, and have several sets of lenes, (try to stop doing weddings, they SUCK!).... What lens range should I be looking for, and all my lower "mm" lenes are way to large and heavy to use!..... I though one of my fixed 50mm lens, but thats way too tight....

My handycam gear comes in today, so I'll get to play with it.... I just dont want to buy a $300-$400 lens when I might have a better option!

Thanks guys!

[warchild69 0]

Do most of you guys just tape off the lens at a predetermined focus point, or rely on AF???

I'm guessing MF and taped off at 8'+/-????

[DSE 5]

I've stopped using mf, and use AF, and unless it's a specific shoot, I'm shooting tandems and other 'stock' in AV modes, with a few custom settings for color.

Flip side, I work closely with a sports photog that shoots fully auto on everything.

You're a professional photographer and are applying tape to a lens barrel?
A tandem stow is better, no gunk to catch dirt and get into the lens barrel.

[warchild69 0]

DSE

I've stopped using mf, and use AF, and unless it's a specific shoot, I'm shooting tandems and other 'stock' in AV modes, with a few custom settings for color.

Flip side, I work closely with a sports photog that shoots fully auto on everything.

You're a professional photographer and are applying tape to a lens barrel?
A tandem stow is better, no gunk to catch dirt and get into the lens barrel.

Roughly how many shots are you getting off aftet leaving the plane in AF mode?.... Do you have a focus range for me, how about a 18-35mm lens?....... lol, no I would not use tape, a fat rubber band from some broccoli, as it looks much more fancy! :-)

[DSE 5]

I personally use a 24mm lens on a 40 or 7D, depending on which camera is closest. On an APSC body, this is equivalent to 38mm.

Number of shots isn't an issue, but i'm also not a spray n' pray shooter (nothing wrong with that, just not my method). 8 fps is plenty.

When the new Sony's are shipping, I'll be removing my large body in exchange for the A6000. Much less weight, faster frames, great video, crazy-fast focus, wifi....
I have a fortune in Nikon lenses adapted to Canon. Now they'll be adapted to Emount instead. Weight plays a huge role if you're jumping a lot.

[shveddy 0]

DSE

I personally use a 24mm lens on a 40 or 7D, depending on which camera is closest. On an APSC body, this is equivalent to 38mm.

Number of shots isn't an issue, but i'm also not a spray n' pray shooter (nothing wrong with that, just not my method). 8 fps is plenty.

When the new Sony's are shipping, I'll be removing my large body in exchange for the A6000. Much less weight, faster frames, great video, crazy-fast focus, wifi....
I have a fortune in Nikon lenses adapted to Canon. Now they'll be adapted to Emount instead. Weight plays a huge role if you're jumping a lot.

Put up a review whenever you switch to the A6000, please.

It's only a matter of time before everyone switches to mirror less, but it seems like everyone's been holding back because what's out there still doesn't quite offer all the features a free fall photographer needs. What about the A6000 made you change your mind? Just the superior autofocus? Does it have a minijack for a biteswitch or does it need to be modded?

Edit to add: Also, is there a way to easily turn off both viewfinders in order to conserve battery? According to DPReview it's only rated for 420 shots on a charge - that may not last very long if you're the spray and pray type.

[dragon2 2]

I prefer the nikkor 16mm f/2.8 fisheye for tandem/FS/CRW/etc, or the nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8 fisheye for tandem vertical shots (camera mounted vertically).
AF works fine for both these lenses.
For non-fisheye-y I tried the sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 but I didn't like it much, although some people at my DZ use it for tandems/FS4/students.

The nikkor 20mm f/2.8 works as well on a apsc body if you fly a little less close.

Some random vertical shots with D80/D200/D300+10.5mm:
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ciel bleu,
Saskia

[DSE 5]

FWIW, if the NEX5 had an external trigger, that's all I'd be using now.
With the timelapse plugin on it, it's perfect, and being used by at least 3-4 photographers already. Lightweight, I love it, and use it regularly for video with the 50mm lens. Trunk modified one of the NEX for freefall, but I didn't get the opportunity to work with it.

[warchild69 0]

Thanks for the input guys!

Dragon, that might work out well, I have a 10mm Nikorr fisheye lens that cost way too much considering that I rarely use it.... I wouldn't have any way of mounting it vertically though.... I might have to check it out both ways...

[davelepka 4]

See if you can find the 35mm equivalent focal length for your video camera zoomed all the way out. Sometimes it's in the manual somewhere. Now take that number and split it in half to account for your .5 wide angle lens, and that's the focal length you want for your still camera. You want them to match as closely as possible so your framing is the same for video and stills.

You're asking some pretty basic questions. If you don't have camera flying experience, ditch the still camera and spend some time shooting fun jumpers with just the video camera. Get used to the idea of using your body to fly around and frame shots, and just build some general 'camera awareness' before adding the weight and complexity of the still camera.