HalfDay

If you read between the lines, many people aren't entirely satisfied with the cx105 steady shot - as in this thread, and people who I've talked to also point this out. I setup the cx105 the same as the trv, identical picture size, 4:3 standard definition pal, it's bolted to the aluminium plate next to the trv. The video should be the same but there is shake on the CX105 that is not present on the trv footage. It's not a great deal, but if I've got 10 pairs of eyes looking at my video on a big screen after each jump it'll get noticed. I think when jumping FS you're normally zoomed in between 0.45x and 0.6x, narrower than for tandems or FF, and as you zoom in the shake gets much worse. They're right - the fix is to turn off steady shake but I want a camera with IS that works with me, like the trv, but maybe the CX105 is too low end. Now I'm not sure about the mod, I've seen some really upsetting footage with the CX6 and other models inc Canon that are using OIS - this is what the CX105 video looked like when I first jumped it. So I sealed the camera with insulation tape from then on to prevent noise from getting inside. You know how much noise gets in because you can hear it on the video. Both OIS and the transducer are mechanical and affected by movement therefore they are affected by noise - but this is just my opinion. All of my cameras are taped up to keep out cloud and I sold the cx105 so I can't prove it would work. Now it aint going to fix every problem but I reckon it's worth trying out. Nigel Rowlan http://www.skydivekent.co.uk - Skydiving in Kent

Having listened to advise people were giving on the forums I decided to replace my TRV with a cx105. Compared to say the cx7 - the cx105's (EIS) image stabilisation would be better suited for skydiving, "cameras using OIS don't work properly in freefall, this we all know". So I got a new cx105, worked out how I was going to set it up, mounted it next to the TRV and jumped it. Result was complete and utter tosh - I then set the camera up again, including turning on wide-conversion-mode, changed anything that could possible improve the shake and also aded a special mod. The video was much better. But the picture is too shaky to use for FS - when debiefing 8 way on a large screen the picture jumps around. I reckon the reason is - EIS uses a sensor to detect movement, the output is used to correct the picture but as it re-centres, (which it MUST do) it jumps instantly, which you then see as shake. OIS on the other hand moves smoothly because it has no choice. I would not recommend the cx105 for FS - use it for close up work such as tandems or hand-cam. Nigel Rowlan http://www.skydivekent.co.uk - Skydiving in Kent