How many skydives did you have when you started?

[airdrew20012001 0]

Me= 200 ish
Drewfus McDoofus

[jayhfx 0]

me=165

[diverds 0]

About 1300 or so.
-Dave
"Gas...Undercarriage...Mixture...Prop...Beer"

[PhreeZone 15]

250ish (Should have waited a lot longer)
Cause I don't wanna come back down from this cloud... ~ Bush

[jdhill 0]

350ish

[airdrew20012001 0]

Quote

(Should have waited a lot longer)

Why do you say that?
Drewfus McDoofus

[PhreeZone 15]

Simply.... I was not a good enough all around flyer to do everything with a camera that I should have been able to do with out one (CReW and Headdown) I've had to learn a lot of the skills with a camera since its on my only helmet. I nee dto get another helmet soon so I can worry more about the flying instead of the camera.
Cause I don't wanna come back down from this cloud... ~ Bush

[Gravitymaster 0]

Approx. 250

[SBS 0]

110...just glad I didn't kill anybody.

[SniperCJ 0]

About 340
JC

[flyingferret 0]

Well I guess it all depends on what you are doing. I have about 115 and I am starting in the next few weeks. But I have done a lot of research, and I don't plan on going straight to tandems, I am going to limit myself to jumps I am already comfortable with, just fun jumping.
Malachi

[Krishan 0]

about 150 for me.

[Ralf 0]

For me, about 750 jumps. What I recommend:
200+ jumps
D License
A mentor who is a good skydiving camera man
Yes, you can find exceptions, but usually exceptions only prove that the rules (or rule of thumb) are not perfect, or someone was lucky.
Skydiving is risky. Adding a camera adds to the risk. I also recommend the following:
Learn to fly the camera suite w/o the camera.
Learn to fly the camera w/o the camera suit.
Add one new item at a time, then get comfortable before the next.
Learn video first. (best way to review how you did)
Learn stills after you have at least 50 video jumps.
Set your minimum pull altitude (for me 3,500 ft) also for me - camera services ends at 4,000 ft!
Have a ditter, you are looking at your subjects, not your altimeter!
Make sure everyone knows the opening plan, normally for RW, I pull in the center when everyone leaves with a good track. Watch the dirt dive, a gentle reminder to them is good. Talk to the new jumpers.
Watch your packing, or who is packing for you, a hard opening with several pounds of camera gear can hurt!
Carry a hook knife (I have two, one on each of my rigs, one on each of my jumpsuits). I had a loop from my camera suit wing catch my ring sight at about 3,500 ft. I kept going in the direction of the DZ with body weight movement and worked on getting my left arm free. I told myself at 1,000 ft, I will use the hook knife. At 1,500 ft I got it undone. Why two, if I jump someone else rig, or my rig without a jumpsuit, I will always have a knife available. (Without my jumpsuit and someone else's rig - too many changes, I will not jump with a camera then!)
Remember, there is another day, use it, don't loose it!
Blue Skies,
Ralf Stinson

[diverds 0]

Quote

I have about 115 and I am starting in the next few weeks. But I have done a lot of research, and I don't plan on going straight to tandems

That is a good plan. As a tandem instructor I can say that I would be very leary of letting someone with limited experience in either skydiving or camera flying video any of my tandems. When you have a drouge above you, you are a sitting duck and you need to be able to completly trust the people flying with you. If a camera person gets too aggressive on a tandem there is not much the tandem instructor can do to avoid a collision or a funnel. Learn to fly yourself and your camera well before you ask to shoot tandems.
-Dave
"Gas...Undercarriage...Mixture...Prop...Beer"

[jimmytavino 16]

1,775 jumps. I had been skydiving for 22 years when I started video. I now have almost 800 camera jumps.(since March of 1995)
You need to have very good awareness, (on the ground , in the aircraft, and while in freefall) good altitude discipline, and a very good understanding of your parachute gear and of emergency procedures, before you think you can introduce the complexity of camera gear/operation to the equation, and not become a hazard to yourself or others. "let's be careful out there"

[skygeek 0]

About 120 when i started filmimg fun jumps...175 tandem and aff ....

[grosfion 0]

after AFF 15 belly jumps...
It's never early enough for the dark side...

[klingeme 0]

While I understand you are entitled to you opinion, I have to strongly disagree with you here. I'm not a big fan of setting jump limits for things like jumping a camera, but you should at least know how to "fly" and not just "Fall" before jumping one, and at 15 jumps, you have WAY too much to learn. My contention on when you should think about jumping a camera is when you can fly the position you plan on filming in without even thinking about what your body needs to do. It should be instinctual.
If you will be filming on you belly, fall rate changes, horizontal control, and whatever else belly fliers do, should be second nature.
If you're a freeflier, be great flying the position you will be filming in (HD, Sit, Stand, Knees...) when you are jumping the camera, things can happen VERY FAST, and you get fixed on the subject and if you have to think "they are falling slower than I am so I should spread my daffy out more or put my arms out more" you have just taken you concentration away from your subjects and that's when things can go BAD. When you add more things to think about to a jump (a tube, a Video camera, Stills, a board, hula hoops, etc...) you add to the opportunity for something "out of the ordinary" to happen. If you are good at flying your position, you might get that great shot of someone gong through an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives. If you are not you could end up hurting yourself, others, or even worse.
(I will not step down from my soapbox)
Please be careful out there,
Mark Klingelhoefer

[flyingferret 0]

I think he must think it was a freefly forum, surely that must be a mistake?
Malachi