Sucking down a tank quickly

[John_B]

There are alot of useless Scuba Cop wannabes out there, just waiting to tell you that you're not good enough. You just met one.

Don't listen to them.

As if the additional task loading of a camera is really going to help the OP with his air consumption... What's your agenda?

 

[Peter69_56]

Whilst streamlining, better breath control, correct finning all do help minimising gas usage, one of the main things I found when new was to be correctly weighted. Most new divers are overweighted as they usually feel too light. The effect of this is far too much air in their BCD at depth. The consequence of this is that any depth change has a significant volume change on the air in the BCD and thus requires either more air or dumping. Due to the continual adjustment of the BCD air, air usage is continually excessive. If correctly weighted the minimum amout of air is added and thus volume changes are minimised. Air usage is reduced. An additional effect of correct weighting is better buoyancy and thus less finning and a feeling of being in control, so less or no hand swimming. This loss of feeling of control usually creates the hand swimming and excessive finning. Once all this is under control, the head is much clearer and thought can go to breathing control. If you are sinking or rising and not in control its hard not to fin, swim or breath harder.

 

[Phil_C]

worry about watching/keeping track of my dive buddy (my biggest pain in the ass pet peeve thus far), and after all that relax and watch the wildlife.

This is also an interesting point you raise - it is quite common for divers (both new and experienced - I am often guilty of this too) NOT to discuss with their buddies what they want from the dive. If you don't know what your buddy wants to do and see, and are always trying to second guess where they will be and what they will be up to this will also make it hard for you to relax.

I would suggest you get into the habit of talking about what you want to do on the dive itself, this is easier if you are with a regular buddy, slightly harder but just as important if you have an 'instabuddy', and then stick to it. If you want different things agree whose plan you will follow for each dive. This way you will agree if you are just going to hang and explore near the boat, or go off exploring, or look for photo opportunities.

I have found I 'understand' the dive better, don't stress about what my buddy wants to do or where he/she is because we have talked about it, and as a result I relax more and both enjoy the dive better and use less air.

Nothing beats experience and repeatedly diving to improve SAC, but you can load the dice in your favour to get the best results you can by good planning and preparation - dive safe and enjoy - P

 

[T.C.]

As if the additional task loading of a camera is really going to help the OP with his air consumption... What's your agenda?

Task loading?!? Seriously? It's a camera. We're not talking about solving algebra problems upside down while penetrating a wreck; we're talking about swimming up to the pretty fish, taking a picture and swimming on. It's not that difficult.

As for agenda- go back and read my first post. I said that carrying a camera is good for keeping a diver from sculling with their hands, because they're holding the camera. Isn't that the same advice you gave in your first post?

One of the things that gets new divers into trouble is lack of bandwidth, that results in ending up deeper than they want to be, or lost, or not monitoring their gas. We all have only so much bandwidth; add a camera to a new diver, and you have reduced the amount he has to pay attention to his depth, his dive time, his buoyancy, and his navigation. The result is low on gas situations, buoyancy mistakes that damage reef, and buddy separations.

For the love of...This is a camera, not some complicated piece of life support equipment. You make it sound like only the most experienced divers can handle a point and shoot camera. Using a camera is a skill most people have already mastered. Taking pictures underwater is not that much different. It is not something that taxes people's attention. I'm not talking about perfect pictures from a huge double arm, multi-flash camera- but a simple camera in a housing. New divers that I lend my small camera to are thrilled to see their pictures, pictures I'd probably delete. But those pictures are theirs, and they love it. What better way to build their excitement about diving than with something they can show and brag about to their non-diving friends?

we encourage our AOW students to do an underwater photography dive. Our purpose for doing it is for them to realize how much the camera degrades their buoyancy control and their situational awareness. Most students figure it out.

So, in one breath, you say new divers lack the ability to handle a simple point and shoot camera, and in the next breath, you say that you send out your students with cameras to "figure it [their situational awareness and buoyancy control] out" Which is it? It sounds like you're not practicing what you preach here.

Smell that? Smells like hypocrisy.

I firmly believe that one should not go diving with a camera until one's basic diving skills are well-formed.

And who are you to say they aren't? Do you know this diver? Only he and his instructor can decide if a camera might not be best. Just because a diver uses alot of air doen't automatically mean they have poor skills. You all have assumed that this diver doesn't have the skills to handle a simple camera. If I were the OP, I'd be very insulted.

What is it that happens on, say that number X dive that makes them "qualified" (in your opinion) to dive with a camera on the next dive? As I see it, you're just trying to hold back someone's enjoyment of their chosen sport, solely because they don't meet your arbitrary level of "experience".

You are not the Scuba Police, and you shouldn't be trying to act like it.

 

[RJP]

You are not the Scuba Police, and you shouldn't be trying to act like it.

I wish I knew as much now (after nearly 1,000 dives) as I did when I had less than 200.

Here's a post I put up a few years ago...

Am I being unreasonable if I believe that...

...if you cannot hover motionless (or reasonably so) while trying to take a photo undewater you have NO BUSINESS DIVING WITH A CAMERA.



I just returned from two weeks on the Truk Odyssey where I have to say I was absolutely appalled by the complete lack of bouyancy control, crappy finning technique, and overall poor dive awareness exhibited by several of my fellow passengers.

Seems though that the main thing these people had in common was they were all carrying cameras and committed to getting as many pictures of everything as possible in as short a period of time as possible.

In order to accomplish this mission these folks would...

- Stand on whatever deck, gun, propeller, rudder, etc was handy
- Lay directly on coral, artifacts, torpedos, tanks etc
- Fin constantly in a vertical position in engine rooms and cargo holds resulting in a complete silt-out
- Race around the wreck at top speed with fins, consoles, lights, etc dragging
- Dodge between other divers and their photographic subjects

On most dives these folks rendered each dive site absolutely un-divable within minutes of descent. Certainly reducing the enjoyment of others who paid thousands of dollars to travel to Truk Lagoon to see these wrecks, but frequently creating real safety hazards for other divers, especially in engine rooms, inner passageways, etc.

Now, I'm often accused of being a bouyancy, trim, and finning ****, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect someone to have at least rudimentary skills in these areas before diving on/in 65yr old WWII wrecks. Honest to god, it looked like a bunch of "Operation Hailstorm Re-enactors" attacking the Japanese fleet for a second time!

/rant

 

[nimoh]

You are not the Scuba Police, and you shouldn't be trying to act like it.

You are not the internet forum police, and you shouldn't be trying to act like it

 

[TSandM]

I did not mean that the students figure out their buoyancy. I mean they figure out how much using the camera affects their ability to remain stable and to keep track of their buddies.

I am not the scuba police. I do think there are a lot of bad photographs accompanied by some pretty bad diving technique (and concomitant reef damage) due to people not taking the time to learn to dive well before they pick up a camera.

 

[T.C.]

I did not mean that the students figure out their buoyancy. I mean they figure out how much using the camera affects their ability to remain stable and to keep track of their buddies.

Well, that's what you said; that you leave them to figure it out. "It" was the skills they were supposed to learn; Sit. Awareness and Bouyancy Control with a camera.

What about the hypocrisy of blasting a diver for taking a camera when his dive numbers don't match your arbitrary number when you send out your students to dive with a camera?

Seems though that the main thing these people had in common was they were all carrying cameras and committed to getting as many pictures of everything as possible in as short a period of time as possible.

Right, these diver’s poor skills MUST be caused by a camera.

It can’t POSSIBLY be anything but that.

It can’t POSSIBLY be poor skills, bad instruction, lack of caring about the environment, peer pressure, or anything else!

IT MUST BE THOSE DAMN CAMERAS THEY HAVE!!! :eyeroll:

What you have is called confirmation bias. You don’t like divers with cameras, so when you see bad divers with a camera, you see it as the fault of the camera. You ignore all the good divers with cameras to focus on the bad. The truth is, with or without a camera, these divers would be just as bad.

The camera did NOT cause or contribute to their poor skills. This is a problem far larger than one piece of equipment. Take those cameras away, and they would dive exactly the same way.

I wish I knew as much now (after nearly 1,000 dives) as I did when I had less than 200.

Right. Because we all know that divers can be ranked ONLY by their dive numbers. A diver with 199 dives is a much, much worse diver than a diver with 200, right? Are we now going to start judging people by the number of posts they have on Scubaboard? I don’t have as many posts as you, so my advice is no good and should be discarded?

You’re just looking for ways to feel good about yourself. Congratulations. You have a lot of dives. That doesn’t make you a good diver. As I said, some divers don’t have the skills at 500-999 dives as others do at 0-24. It’s a simple fact of life.

You’re not the world’s best diver- stop trying to act like it.
You’re not the Scuba Police- stop trying to act like it. You don’t get to determine how others enjoy their hobby; so accept it.



To the OP, if you want to dive with a camera, don’t let the Scuba Police wannabes dissuade you; go for it.

 

[fisheater]

T.C.:

Are you diving with a camera or a chip on your shoulder?

You're taking great offense where none was intended.

TSandM and her husband turn out excellent divers. Their students have mastered buoyancy and situational awareness before they have them dive with cameras and then learn how camera usage affects their buoyancy control and situational awareness.

BTW, they're also accomplished underwater photographers.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[T.C.]

T.C.:

Are you diving with a camera or a chip on your shoulder?

You're taking great offense where none was intended.

TSandM and her husband turn out excellent divers. Their students have mastered buoyancy and situational awareness before they have them dive with cameras and then learn how camera usage affects their buoyancy control and situational awareness.

BTW, they're also accomplished underwater photographers.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Good for them. Do they know the skills of this diver? How does she know the OP is less skilled than the diver's they turn loose with a camera?

Like I said it, it looks like she's just trying to hold back someone else's enjoyment of the sport because she assumes new diver= bad diver.