Well written article, thanks! I bought my Go-Pro at around 150 jumps, and did my first jump with it at around 165. I was careful to do a jump I felt very confident in - in this case a 2-way belly with a very experienced skydiver and camera flyer. I'd heard that the camera tends to be distracting in freefall as you try to 'get the shot'. For me this wasn't the case, but it was distracting in the plane before exit - especially the GoPro which has an inane set of controls compared with the Contour. It also makes the exit trickier, whether climbing out or diving out. I only did about 10 camera jumps before I hit 200, because I realized I needed to make my in-plane procedures more habitual before I added another distraction. Even now at 260 jumps, I still take my camera off if we're doing a jump with 16 people or more, if it's a complex jump with more advanced fliers, or if it's a situation I'm not yet comfortable in (like a 5-way free fly).
Hey Bro, Check Out my Go Pro
in General
I bought my Go-Pro at around 150 jumps, and did my first jump with it at around 165. I was careful to do a jump I felt very confident in - in this case a 2-way belly with a very experienced skydiver and camera flyer.
I'd heard that the camera tends to be distracting in freefall as you try to 'get the shot'. For me this wasn't the case, but it was distracting in the plane before exit - especially the GoPro which has an inane set of controls compared with the Contour. It also makes the exit trickier, whether climbing out or diving out.
I only did about 10 camera jumps before I hit 200, because I realized I needed to make my in-plane procedures more habitual before I added another distraction.
Even now at 260 jumps, I still take my camera off if we're doing a jump with 16 people or more, if it's a complex jump with more advanced fliers, or if it's a situation I'm not yet comfortable in (like a 5-way free fly).