**** Loads Of Questions

[JonasC]

Of course you are not certified. You do not hold a certificate

Hehehe =D I thought it might was included in the OW certificate or something, which I have^^

Thank you guys for you advice, i'm sure you know what you are talking about and I prefer not dying so I will leave the camera for the snorkeling =))

 

[iamrushman]

@Nikkib....please keep us informed....

 

[Coztick]

Other than OW, AOW and sidemount training, I have taken my gopro on every dive. I don't feel holding a camara has ever affected my buoyancy control or situational awareness. I use a tether so I can let it go if necessary. I prep. the cam well before the dive so I can focus on gearing up. Clip the cam and splash. I shot one of my favorites on my second dive after OW.


Only you can decide.

 

[Storker]

You already have three people saying to varying degrees don't bring the camera.

Emphasis mine. My advice was general and it really depends on the diver. Some divers are able to focus on what's important - i.e. diving safely - and can start carrying pretty early in their career. Others should never be allowed to carry a camera, be it still or video.

BTW, if you carry a camera, diving in an independent buddy pair is, IMO, a lot better than diving in a guided group. If you have a good pre-dive discussion, your buddy is a nice guy and you make compromises between your and your buddy's interest, it can be quite nice. In a group following a guide, it can be pretty difficult to get those couple of minutes you need to nail a decent shot.

 

[CuzzA]

Get a GoPro and GoPro mask. Turn it on when you open your tank valve, then turn it off when you close the tank valve. You'll never know it's there, so you can forget about it. There's nothing to manage. Whatever you see, it will see. In fact it may help your diving because in the back of your mind you know there's a camera on your head so it may help you to slow down and enjoy the dive. Rather than being distracted, tasked and experiencing the dive through a LCD view finder screen.

You're not going to have 100% stable video throughout the dive this way, but that's ok. Remember that if you plan to edit video for YouTube or FB, you're not going to want it to be longer than 5 minutes, so on a 30-40 minute dive, most of it wont make the final cut anyway.

 

[Coztick]

Personally I still have a gopro 2, no screen. They shoot such a wide angle that pointing in the general direction is all that's needed. The hard part is, as Cuzza mentioned, getting stable video. The mask idea may be a good step. May I suggest a simple video light? Just a very wide angle flashlight without the focussed hotspot. As can be seen on my video, the hotspot will mess with exposure and wreck the video so it's video light or no light while filming.
As for courses, why not do your own refreshing in a pool before your trip? Time is most valuable once the trip starts so do any prep. you can at home.

Happy holidays

 

[TMHeimer]

I've seen a couple of OW students with the camera on the head in the pool and ocean. The instructors didn't seem to have concerns. Of course you don't want to be fooling around with it on your first few dives, but I can't see that on the head would be a problem.

 

[JohnnyC]

I think what is more likely is that your instructor said you can't use a camera on certification dives, or if he was talking about an actual certification, expressing that you do not have an actual certification related specifically to underwater camera use, perhaps as it would apply to AOW. I have a hard time believing an instructor would say you can't dive with a camera because you aren't certified.....

There's no scuba police, I wouldn't recommend bringing a camera this new into your diving career, however it's not like anyone can really stop you.

 

[JonasC]

Other than OW, AOW and sidemount training, I have taken my gopro on every dive. I don't feel holding a camara has ever affected my buoyancy control or situational awareness. I use a tether so I can let it go if necessary. I prep. the cam well before the dive so I can focus on gearing up. Clip the cam and splash. I shot one of my favorites on my second dive after OW.

Very nice video looks like maybe they are about to mate?

Get a GoPro and GoPro mask. Turn it on when you open your tank valve, then turn it off when you close the tank valve. You'll never know it's there, so you can forget about it. There's nothing to manage. Whatever you see, it will see. In fact it may help your diving because in the back of your mind you know there's a camera on your head so it may help you to slow down and enjoy the dive. Rather than being distracted, tasked and experiencing the dive through a LCD view finder screen.

You're not going to have 100% stable video throughout the dive this way, but that's ok. Remember that if you plan to edit video for YouTube or FB, you're not going to want it to be longer than 5 minutes, so on a 30-40 minute dive, most of it wont make the final cut anyway.

This would probably be the most safe way of taking it with me, if i'm comfortable afrer a refresher and a few dives in, I could maybe ask the instruktor/guide if they think i'm up for it.

I think what is more likely is that your instructor said you can't use a camera on certification dives, or if he was talking about an actual certification, expressing that you do not have an actual certification related specifically to underwater camera use, perhaps as it would apply to AOW. I have a hard time believing an instructor would say you can't dive with a camera because you aren't certified.....

There's no scuba police, I wouldn't recommend bringing a camera this new into your diving career, however it's not like anyone can really stop you.

Yeah I don't really remember but that must have been how it was, He must have meant I shouldn't bring it with me during the course. He was german and i'm swedish so maybe we didn't quite understand each other =P

 

[JonasC]

How

Personally I still have a gopro 2, no screen. They shoot such a wide angle that pointing in the general direction is all that's needed. The hard part is, as Cuzza mentioned, getting stable video. The mask idea may be a good step. May I suggest a simple video light? Just a very wide angle flashlight without the focussed hotspot. As can be seen on my video, the hotspot will mess with exposure and wreck the video so it's video light or no light while filming.
As for courses, why not do your own refreshing in a pool before your trip? Time is most valuable once the trip starts so do any prep. you can at home.

Happy holidays

I think bouth camera and light on my head/mask would be to much?
Doing the refreshing there I think would be more fun and cheaper and as it looks now, time is not really an issue, thanks for the suggestion though