Just a quickie

[FlyingFish]

Hi all
I do paragliding, and have just bought the Panasonic GS3B so I can take it up with me to record my flying moments. Gotta figure out how to get it strapped to my helmet yet

This is my first camcorder ever, so I've just got a few Q's.

ND Filter .... What is it? And do I need one for recording while up in the sky? Does it stop bright images being washed out or something.

Wide Angle Lens .... Would this be a good idea if I wanted to get a bigger view recorded ( the sky is pretty big ). And are there any drawbacks to fitting a wide lens?

I think thats it

It'll be interesting to see how well the 'wind noise reduction' works with this thing too..


Mick

[anthonys]

I should try photographing objects in the sky to see if your camcorder gives a good image - normally the object's exposure would have to be increased because the camera would expose for the (bright) sky. If the camera can't reduce the aperture/increase the shutter speed enough, the sky may well become washed out - but all camers are different so you need to check this. An ND filter reduces the light entering the camera, which in turn would give a better chance of getting good images that are not overexposed.

Remember that the wide angle lens would take in more of the scenery and increase the depth of field, but at the same time make objects smaller (e.g. fellow divers). Overall though, you would need to use a wide angle lens. How wide is debatable, but I would have thought a standard camcorder wide setting would be good enough.

Stew

[FlyingFish]

OK cheers m8. I'll give it a whirl in standard setup and see how it goes.

Mick