Oct 7, 2012, 12:39 PM
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Gopro-make it safer
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Hey guys,
i started jumping with the gopro few days ago. But i really feel uncomfortable with this camera on my head. The big screw and the edges of the case just seem to be very unsafe. I mounted it with the curved adhensive mounts, because i hope that if a line gets stuck somewhere in the camera, the camera will be pulled off. Are there cases or other ways that make the gopro a safer camera for skydiving? Lower mounts?
Oct 7, 2012, 1:07 PM
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Re: [TheDoctor2608] Gopro-make it safer
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But i really feel uncomfortable with this camera on my head. The big screw and the edges of the case just seem to be very unsafe. I mounted it with the curved adhensive mounts, because i hope that if a line gets stuck somewhere in the camera, the camera will be pulled off.
-if you don't feel comfortable with it, take it off.
-the "easy way of mounting" such a camera, has 2 advantages : it is provided, and it is easily mounted. It also has downsides : it is a line trap. Make your choice comrade.
-it will not be pulled off easily. Check, some tests have been done and documented. The plastic mount should break before the glue.
-mount a cutaway system on your helmet too.
-never forget that you have a camera on your head.
oh yeah, also welcome to the forums just a little lower there is a "camera" forum where you can also find great info. Be sure to read the "sticky" by moderator DSE about "small cameras".
Have fun and stay safe
(This post was edited by piisfish on Oct 7, 2012, 1:13 PM)
Oct 7, 2012, 1:24 PM
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Can't find it now but yesterday I saw a YouTube vid of a go-pro mount being tested by purposely wrapping a pilot-chute & bridle around it.
It took 7 seconds for the adhesive mount to eventually peel off and release. That can be a lifetime in the wrong circumstance.
Personally I jump one with a side-mount L bracket.
The flat adhesive mount is positioned as far 'in' on the bracket as the housing will allow.
*I have a short bungee going over the GoPro housing and down through the bottom of the bracket, the bungee not only adds a bit of security against losing the camera it also creates a relatively smooth 45 degree angle of deflection front & back to possibly direct lines away from the protruding adjustment screw.
I filed the front & back horizontal plate corners of the L bracket into a more rounded minimal configuration and glued an angled piece of plastic to the underside of the bracket to direct lines out & away from it.
Then I completely covered the L bracket plate (front, back, top & bottom) with gaffers tape so there is no gap or seam between the bracket & helmet that might catch a line.
A completely enclosed housing might offer better protection against entanglements but I've haven't seen one that would offer unobstructed access to the buttons & full exposure for the lens.
*I do a lot of demos and as a point of procedure I try to always have a way to 'back-up' anything I attach to myself as insurance against dropping something from altitude that could potentially cause injury to spectators.
I've always used a bungee on larger format cameras but while configuring the GoPro I realized I could gain some advantage with extending the angle I made, 'rounding out' the over-all profile.
I like the concept so much I'm playing with the fabrication of a metal bracket that goes over the camera housing in the same fashion that wouldn't compress as the bugee might under the force a line under tension might apply.
Oct 7, 2012, 1:25 PM
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I'm using the Low-Pro Mont, BUT- I also have a chin-cup quick release, it is highly recomended to have a quick release, regardless of how "snag proof" your camera mount is.
Oct 7, 2012, 5:06 PM
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The square one mount is very good, and can be bought from chutingstar for about $70.
For a few cents you can replace the big thumb screw with a standard M5 machine screw that is low profile. It really irks me to see the thumb screws on people's go pros, as it is so easy to get rid of. I have a handful of the right size screws in my gear bag and offer them to people who haven't bothered.
-the "easy way of mounting" such a camera, has 2 advantages : it is provided, and it is easily mounted. It also has downsides : it is a line trap. Make your choice comrade.
So many people jump with the provided gopro mount and often without a cutaway... They can't all be wrong! [/sarcasm]
Oct 7, 2012, 9:39 PM
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Re: [mstlaurent] Gopro-make it safer
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-the "easy way of mounting" such a camera, has 2 advantages : it is provided, and it is easily mounted. It also has downsides : it is a line trap. Make your choice comrade.
So many people jump with the provided gopro mount and often without a cutaway... They can't all be wrong! [/sarcasm]
I realize this isn't strictly on topic, but can you imagine filming with this?
Oct 9, 2012, 1:35 PM
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cover any potential parts that could snag with gaffers tape for a quick cheap fix. if not, there are a number of mounts that are squared off that the whole gopro fits into and eliminates any snag points
Yes, i see your point. I just want to make a video on few very special jumps. I did also train to quickly disconnect my helmet and asked some people what the important things that you have to be aware of are. The dangerous part about jumping with a camera isn't the fact that lines could wrap around it, which is quite rare, the most important fact is that before exit in the plane you don't check your gear completely anymore and you get distracted by the camera in freefall and while flying your parachute. But i turn on the camera very early, do my normal triple check in the plane and don't think about the camera. People say you need this routine to jump with a camera, so you don't forget you checks. And i can say since i did those 105 jumps in 2 month, i did get a routine, and got aware of all the risks. And the fact that i ask you people about how i can make the gopro safer to use, shows, that i do really care about my safety :-). But thank you for your comment. Blue Skies.
(This post was edited by TheDoctor2608 on Oct 10, 2012, 2:20 AM)
Oct 10, 2012, 2:49 AM
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I just want to make a video on few very special jumps.
get someone to film you on these jumps, you will have video OF you and not whirly blue-green video by you. There are some decent videopeople at your DZ. You should NEVER forget you have a camera on your head.
Yeah, on my first jump with a camera (99th) there was also a camera guy filming everything from the outside. But we also wanted to have an inside view (jumped with a team partner). And i will never forget that i got a camera on my head. Thx for your comment. :-)
Oct 10, 2012, 3:25 PM
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Yeah, on my first jump with a camera (99th) there was also a camera guy filming everything from the outside. But we also wanted to have an inside view (jumped with a team partner). And i will never forget that i got a camera on my head. Thx for your comment. :-)
Ya could always fabricate a chest mount bracket that gets it pointed in the right direction. Save you some $ on a helmet & mount that you'll only need for a few 'special jumps'.
Wow!!! Someone with 100 jumps posting about their Gopro and no one yet has ripped into him?
The times they are a-Changin.
Kinda like swooping, what's the use?
DSE (D 29060)
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Oct 10, 2012, 4:59 PM
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Yes, i see your point. I just want to make a video on few very special jumps. I did also train to quickly disconnect my helmet and asked some people what the important things that you have to be aware of are. ....
How did you train for this? Do you have a cutaway? Or are you relying on being able to release a Fastex connector?
I still feel like outside video is more dangerous. People always trying to show off for the camera. When it's FPV you tend to just not care about showing off cause you really can't show off in FPV.
No, i don't have a cutaway yet but helmet with cutaway is ordered. A friend of my pulled at my helmet while i tried to release the connector. Not absolutely realistic, but i gives you a feeling about how it might be if your lines wrap around your camera. I stop jumping with a camera until i got my new helmet.
DSE (D 29060)
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Oct 10, 2012, 5:29 PM
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It appears you've made a good decision. Fastex' under load are very difficult to release.
billvon (D 16479)
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Oct 10, 2012, 5:31 PM
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>A friend of my pulled at my helmet while i tried to release the connector.
If you do have a canopy/helmet snag you will, at minimum, have your body weight on the connector. So have your friend suspend you off the ground from the helmet (might take a few friends) and give it a try.
The release systems on most (good) camera helmets are designed for loads like that, which is why they sometimes look overly complex/large.
(This post was edited by billvon on Oct 10, 2012, 5:33 PM)
Sure that test isn't realistic, but it gives you an idea that disconnecting your helmet with pull force on it is much harder. And like i said, no more jumps with camera until i got my cutaway helmet :-)
Oct 10, 2012, 6:23 PM
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Sure that test isn't realistic, but it gives you an idea that disconnecting your helmet with pull force on it is much harder. And like i said, no more jumps with camera until i got my cutaway helmet :-)
If anything gets caught on the GoPro just rip that b***h off!
Sure that test isn't realistic, but it gives you an idea that disconnecting your helmet with pull force on it is much harder. And like i said, no more jumps with camera until i got my cutaway helmet :-)
If anything gets caught on the GoPro just rip that b***h off!
He rips it off in less then 1 second. lol How often do you think a PC bridle or a reserve PC bridle will be pealing of the camera? The only reason why he was able to rip it off was as he was bending the adhesive. If you pull straight up, you have no chance of pulling it off like that. If your plan is to reach for your camera and peal it off once you feel the force dragging on it, you may find yourself with a broken neck already.
How often do you think a PC bridle or a reserve PC bridle will be pealing of the camera? The only reason why he was able to rip it off was as he was bending the adhesive. If you pull straight up, you have no chance of pulling it off like that. If your plan is to reach for your camera and peal it off once you feel the force dragging on it, you may find yourself with a broken neck already.
A lot of variables not accounted for as well...
Surface of the helmet, temperature difference, length of time stuck on.
Dunno if I'd bet my life on the 1 sec. peel off thing.
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