Skydiver - is it possible ?

dseered

dseered

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Ian
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Do you reckon its possible to get a Skydiver leaving a plane with a 100-400L and 2x converter, tripod mounted, probably with the 40D as I will have the 1DMk3 with the 70-200 mounted for landing + the 40D will give me bigger magnification I think 1.6 over 1.3 ?

I know I will lose a couple of stops but I think there will be plenty of light and manual focus will be fine I guess.

I think they leave the plane about 13000 feet !
 
I was wondering why you would want to have a man jumping out of a plane with all your gear at first...but then it clicked! :p

I'd imagine you could get a fairly ok shot...wouldn't know what the quality would be like, as the skydiver will be moving fairly fast and will accelerate quite fast too! Worth a try though :)
 
Will be possible to get if you can see it I guess, but wether it is going to show up and be any use I wouldnt be so sure. You are going to need a VERY clear day and I think you are still going to get a lot of haze...and think it is still going to have to be one hell of a crop.
 
Like this ... ?

62633835.jpg


This was at 200mm, but a display skydive so they probably jumped at 5K. With the setup you described you should be able to get similar if not better.
 
So, let me get this straight...

You want to photograph a man-sized object (i.e. a man) coming out of a plane almost 2.5 miles away, when they are moving forwards at over 100 mph and falling at over 100 mph too

My gut feeling can be summed up by rearranging this short phrase...

"chance no"

But PLEASE post the results !!!

:lol:

DD
 
DiddyDave said:
You want to photograph a man-sized object (i.e. a man) coming out of a plane almost 2.5 miles away, when they are moving forwards at over 100 mph and falling at over 100 mph too
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The speed doesn't really effect it - 100mph is crawling along when viewed from the ground, and when they exit the plane the skydivers aren't falling very fast downwards and track forward at the same speed as the plane.

I would ditch the tripod - it'll be pointing straight up and tricky to use. Lie on your back and hold the camera vertical. Expose manually, focus on the plane before the jump and then switch AF off. Fire away.
 
DiddyDave said:
So, let me get this straight...

You want to photograph a man-sized object (i.e. a man) coming out of a plane almost 2.5 miles away, when they are moving forwards at over 100 mph and falling at over 100 mph too

My gut feeling can be summed up by rearranging this short phrase...

"chance no"

But PLEASE post the results !!!

:lol:

DD
Click to expand...

Umm, yep :)

Its a wedding aswell, lol !

If I go up in the plane I have to have a rig on, this way I 'may' get the exit and some freefly and the final approach, landing etc !

I am not looking for detail in the eye or anything more scene setting and as WeddingHack has shown it is possible, god help me, I don't half get in some tangles !
 
Well, focusing shouldn't be a problem as long as you're okay with maths, as the DOF at 800mm at a distance of 13000ft will be considerable. The only thing is whether you'd actually want such a shot as the subject will be quite small I'd have thought. You'd end up with little more than WeddingHack captured in his shot.
 
A nice wide angle on a rig and chuck yourself out first!

Backwards...............

No, on the other hand don't, stay on the ground and get them landing!
 
Strap a parachute on and jump with them - a wide angle should suffice then!

Take the card out at about 2000ft, and warp it in cotton-wool inside a plastic bag; then the images can be found on your body afterwards and the oozing blood won't damage the card

HTH?

DD
 
Umm, just thought, he is a freefly, base jumper etc so will be freefall rather than fixed line or whatever they call it, best confirm what number jumper out he will be or I may get the wrong one !

I would have thought someone will jump with a camera on aswell so I may ask them to look down at me and takes some snaps aswell :)
 
I would jump out of a plane with a camera on me?

Would be a great challenge. As long as you have a wide,neoprene chest strap to hold the camera before you deploy your chute?

Go for it.
 
DiddyDave said:
Take the card out at about 2000ft, and warp it in cotton-wool inside a plastic bag; then the images can be found on your body afterwards and the oozing blood won't damage the card
Click to expand...

Better still jump with the 1D and just leave the card in.......it'll probably survive the fall better than you will:lol:
 
dseered said:
+ the 40D will give me bigger magnification I think 1.6 over 1.3 ?
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No m8, there will be no difference in the magnification at all.
 
Ah Ha,

I took a few shots for a couple of friends that done a charity tandem para jump 3 weeks ago.

They jumped from 10,000 ft
We could not see them coming out the plane, Some peeps couldn't see the plane!
The 1st I saw them was when the parachutes opened.
It was hard to tell the colour of the chutes never mind see their faces.

I had a 400D and a 70-200 2.8 IS
 
This was on a dull day, i was using a 5D and the 200-400mm at 400mm

 
Or this one just as they left the plane, and yes the weather did turn that quick.

 
Nice pictures there.

You have some other options. If you went to a skydive centre when a student or two were doing their AFF level 8 (that's accelerated freefall, and is the type of course - it's not a special type of chute), then they'd jump at around 5,000ft. Also 'RAPS' students doing static line jumps (the chute pulls itself using a cord attached to the aircraft) jump fairly low.

If you're in Cumbria, then you're not too far from the centre that's out Lancashire way, I forget what it's called.
 
dseered said:
Do you reckon its possible to get a Skydiver leaving a plane with a 100-400L and 2x converter, tripod mounted, probably with the 40D as I will have the 1DMk3 with the 70-200 mounted for landing + the 40D will give me bigger magnification I think 1.6 over 1.3 ?

I know I will lose a couple of stops but I think there will be plenty of light and manual focus will be fine I guess.

I think they leave the plane about 13000 feet !
Click to expand...


Here`s how some do it,

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=420684
 
admirable said:
there must be some difference shirley?
Click to expand...


Nope, he's right. The focal length of your lens does not miraculously change when you put it on a camera with a crop sensor. What happens is that the crop sensor records the central part of the image to whichever size is indicated by the sensor size. Then the clever electronics in the camera blow up the bit of the image that it has recorded back to to a full frame size.

What the manufacturers to is provide an equivalency figure i.e. 1.3x. What that in effect means is that it has recorded 0.7x what a full frame camera would and blown it back up, it makes it LOOK LIKE a 1.3x increase in magnification. There is a good thread on it with pics somewhere!
 
dseered said:
Umm, just thought ... best confirm what number jumper out he will be or I may get the wrong one !
Click to expand...
You are kidding, aren't you? As everyone here has said, at 13,000 feet all you'll see are a few specks, if anything. You certainly won't have to try to decide which jumper to pick out.
 
As I said though, not everyone jumps from 13,000ft. If you have a word with the guys on the ground, I'm sure they'll be able to help you. Ring a local 'drop zone' and ask when the students are jumping. The static-line guys would be a good start, as they may jump as low as 2,000ft.

EDIT: As an after thought, unless it infringes any rules they may have at the drop zone, you might find the guys want to purchase prints/photos of their jumps...
 
I got into photography through Skydiving, have done 350 jumps, 150 with a video on my head a further 50 also with a Canon 300D. Here is me leaving the plane in Florida, needless to say the behind the lens was an amazing skydiver.

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Andy
 
Well Andybilly, my sentence is a little easier to re-arrange than Diddy Dave, that is

WOW
 
I would be so worried about dropping my stuff haha. Nice photos thou.

To the first post

"Just try it!!!"

What have you got to lose really. If it works great if not keep snapping and still get some good photos :)
 
cherryrig said:
I would be so worried about dropping my stuff haha. Nice photos thou.

To the first post

"Just try it!!!"

What have you got to lose really. If it works great if not keep snapping and still get some good photos :)
Click to expand...

Would you be dropping it or throwing it though?:thinking:

(I assume it will probably end up above you until you open the chute).:D

Good luck with the shoot whatever you do, it sounds interesting.:)
 
That's one heck of a project...

I feel that it's one of those projects that I call a 'finger crosser'.....

Good luck!
 
Eric Mc said:
Better still jump with the 1D and just leave the card in.......it'll probably survive the fall better than you will:lol:
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Eric I hate to be pedantic but it's not the fall he has to worry about, it's the bit that comes after it you need to be concerned about. ;)
 
Hmm, I struggled to get a usable shot of static line jumpers exiting at 3000ft with a 70-200 w 1.4 conv on a 20D (1.6x)

all of the guys I have seen jumping with cameras have used helmet mounts and bite releases, maybe pay someone to do that bit?
 
Gawd, thread revival time again!
 
Ian T said:
If you're in Cumbria, then you're not too far from the centre that's out Lancashire way, I forget what it's called.
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Cark Airfield??

OR Black Knights, Cockerham?
 
Love the posted shots :cool:

On the offchance that my calculations are correct:

Assuming 800mm focal length on a 40D, a subject distance of 4200m, and a participant height of 2m, he will take up 1/58 of the horizontal frame width from nose to tail - that's a whole 67 pixels to play with..

I've gone to painstaking lengths to create an artist's impression of what a full frame (1.6 crop) of the scene might look like, given the factors involved (please note, sun not to scale). Feel free to use this image if yours didn't come out so well :p

Skydive.jpg


Anyone know how the OP got on?
 
Ian T said:
Nice pictures there.

You have some other options. If you went to a skydive centre when a student or two were doing their AFF level 8 (that's accelerated freefall, and is the type of course - it's not a special type of chute), then they'd jump at around 5,000ft. Also 'RAPS' students doing static line jumps (the chute pulls itself using a cord attached to the aircraft) jump fairly low.

If you're in Cumbria, then you're not too far from the centre that's out Lancashire way, I forget what it's called.
Click to expand...

Do you mean Black Knights Parachute Centre?
 
dseered said:
Jeez, this is an oldy - yes I got what I needed, conditions were not brilliant but as I say I got enough.
Click to expand...


What no posts ? I wanna see the evidence or did you go the drawing route ? :suspect::suspect:
 
Your picture is ace TBM, but I think you'll find the plane will be black due to the position of your sun?? :lol:

I'd like to see how the shot went.
 
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