First camera jump

[SpinxB 0]

Hey guys.

I am an A license holder, have 64 jumps and I am in sort of a dilemma with regards to deciding when to start jumping with a camera. I won't do it until I have more jumps, the question is just how many more jumps. I mean, it is obviously a widely discussed topic on this forum, and everytime I browse through a thread in which people share their opinion on the mattter, I never seem to reach a conclusion.
Of course there are a couple of arguments which are mentioned every time, such as the camera might create a disctraction for you, you might not be skilled enough to act correctly in case of an emergency etc.
To me the logical solution seems to be an individual evaluation of the future cameraflyer. I mean if you jump frequently, have a three digit amount of jumps, have good flying skills and do not let the camera distract you at all, and all in all feel like you are ready to give it a go, isn't it in the end mostly up to the individual skydiver?
And please don't get me wrong, I am not with my so far limited experience trying to sound or act like ''god's gift to skydiving'', believe me. I am not one of those overly confident jumpers who typically gets in over their head. I am simply a humble A license holder trying to learn from the best, and gain as much knowledge about a future step in skydiving before taking it.

Thank you, and Blue skies!

Best regards,
Rasmus from Denmark

[downtoearth 0]

200. And only then if your ready!

[dragon2 0]

No idea what the rules have to say about camera flying in Denmark, but here in The Netherlands there's a newbie cameraflyer I would love to have a word with after his less than stellar performance this weekend on the last jump of the day, after which he went home real quick so no one could talk to him.

He acted like he had less than 100 jumps in the plane. Was busy with a go-pro camera on the way up for a bit. Was asked if he was going out low "yes" so he was seated by the door. Then when we aproached 3.5 k he was warned to put on his helmet, goggles, about now. Then the door needed to be opened at 3.5 k he was acting all surprised and needed to grab/put on his stuff plus get out of the way real quick as it turned out he WASN'T getting out low but was going up with the tandems so now the couple jumpers who WERE getting out low had to go 'round him. He then spent the rest of the way up fiddling with camera. When the door was opened @ 9k for the tandems, he didn't spot or look out the door at all but kept looking at the tandems. First solo jumper got out doing a headdown exit, this guy glanced over, say he was gone, dove out right after. Not even 2 secs separation acording to my video, and this was with very low winds too. First jumper saw him exiting and was NOT amused.

After landing we were all busy with our tandems and jumper got in the 2nd van so we never saw him again.

I asked around later, as this jumper was acting like he had waaaay to little jumps for camera and also had a rental rig from the skydiving shop plus was jumping a pro-tec helmet. Turned out he actually did have 200+ jumps. But he was NOT ready for the distraction a camera brings, in any way shape or form. His distraction caused hassle and worry for other jumpers and likely he himself is not even aware of any problems. The rest of the load was

I'd say 200 jumps is a bare MINIMUM for jumping any sort of camera, and most jumpers are not really ready then. I for one sure wouldn't have been... I've also seen jumpers with 500+ jumps quit jumping camera because it wasn't as easy as it seemed...

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[SpinxB 0]

Sounds like a real douchebag to me... Unbelieable how inconsiderate some people are. But it's a good example to learn from. Personally I always make it one of my absolute top priorities to pay attention to other jumpers, aside from my own safety of course, and people who don't should be considering a different sport.

Anyway thanks for replying :)

Blue skies

[cocheese 0]

"isn't it in the end mostly up to the individual skydiver? "


In the end, it's not always up to the indivdual skydiver. Only in the beginning.

[strop45 0]

Humm, firstly ask yourself why do I want to jump a camera? Do you really want footage of other people skydiving?? - there's already alot of footage on youtube...

I started jumping a camera on jump 200 and have carried one for most of my jumps 200-450, but now don't bother unless I jumping with a "newbie" who I know would like footage of themselves jumping.

Personally I find doing a 4 way RW jump much more distracting than having a camera on, but nevertheless it is a distraction and requires time and effort before, during and after the jump.

I think that you are probably better off concentrating on improving your freefall skills and encouraging/paying others to video you than playing with a camera early on.

Blue skies

Wayne

The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Depends on the jumper and where they are jumping. What kind of training they had and if they have a good mentor.

[DSE 3]

What are the Danish rules/recommendations?
The USPA recommendations are that you have 200 jumps, with a large number of them being RW.
The two biggest concerns for jumping with a camera;
-Cameras are a significant distraction on the ride up, may be a significant distraction in the air, and may be a distraction under canopy.
-Cameras can create snag points that inexperienced skydivers may not know how to clear/deal with.

Cameras also create a new task before and during the skydive that may create hazards that if not thought out in advance and without some mentoring, could cause a bad day.
The Sticky in the Photo forum answers this with a broad spectrum of past posts.

[Sangi 0]

From what I learned in Denmark you have to have minimum of 150 jumps and then you jump out with a qualified videoman who will test your abilities of handling a camera and will determine if you passed to jump one or not.

"Dream as you'll live forever, live as you'll die today." James Dean