Which cenotes for training? GoPro?

[Lloydm]

Shortly I will be doing cavern through full cave training in Tulum. Which cenotes might I end up diving in? Are there any specific sites popular for training cave students?

Another question: what is the opinion of students wearing a GoPro? I understand my focus needs to be 100% on training not videoing, but I would still love to wear one on my helmet for two reasons: 1. With a helmet worn camera there is a lot of movement but you still end up getting some cool footage even without trying. 2. If you find yourself struggling with some particular skill, then reviewing the footage can sometimes offer hints on improvement.

 

[PfcAJ]

Shortly I will be doing cavern through full cave training in Tulum. Which cenotes might I end up diving in? Are there any specific sites popular for training cave students?

Another question: what is the opinion of students wearing a GoPro? I understand my focus needs to be 100% on training not videoing, but I would still love to wear one on my helmet for two reasons: 1. With a helmet worn camera there is a lot of movement but you still end up getting some cool footage even without trying. 2. If you find yourself struggling with some particular skill, then reviewing the footage can sometimes offer hints on improvement.

Just train. Leave the camera on the surface.

 

[Lloydm]

Just train. Leave the camera on the surface.

Thanks for the reply, but would you please share your reasons?

I suspect most people feel as you do - and I feel the same when you say "just train"; a student should not be distracted by things such as filming. But is a compact camera which has been placed and forgotten on the forehead really going to interfere with the training? As I mentioned above, could it possibly assist with the training? There is a lot of time spent blind on a cave course - it might be nice to look back later and get an idea of your trim, positioning, etc. Also, if you often wear one it makes some sense to train as you will actually dive.

I would love to hear everyone's opinion including the reasoning behind it - especially if you are a cave instructor. A simple yes or no really does not advance thinking at all.

 

[elgoog]

But is a compact camera which has been placed and forgotten on the forehead really going to interfere with the training?

Are you doing sidemount or backmount?
In backmount, a helmet mounted camera will certainly interfere with longhose deployment, not just in training but always.
I'm not very familiar with sidemount but am aware of some hose routing options that also take the hose around the neck which would cause similar issues. Theoretically, the camera could stick out more than helmet mounted backup lights would.

As I mentioned above, could it possibly assist with the training? There is a lot of time spent blind on a cave course - it might be nice to look back later and get an idea of your trim, positioning, etc. Also, if you often wear one it makes some sense to train as you will actually dive.

There is now way you'll get any idea of your own trim or body positioning from your own camera's footage. Even if you want to review footage of how you're performing the various skills and tasks, a far better option is to ask your instructor to video you and review that.

 

[elgoog]

Which cenotes might I end up diving in? Are there any specific sites popular for training cave students?

Pulled from the course description pages of Natalie Gibb of Under the Jungle.

"The TDI Cavern Course will take you to caverns such as Chikin Ha, Chac Mool, Kukulkan, Ponderosa and Carwash. Dives during the course are skill-intensive, so while all of these caverns are beautiful, you probably won’t have much time to relax and enjoy them during the course."

"During the TDI Intro to Cave Course, you’ll be visiting training sites such as Ponderosa’s River Run (with a stunning halocline) and Little Joe Line (passing through a series of beautiful cenote entrances); and Tajma Ha’s mainline upstream to the Room of Reflections (with an air pocket that mirrors back the cave formations in an otherworldly effect). During these dives, be warned that you will spend a lot of time swimming around in the dark with a black-out cover on your mask for training purposes, so you won’t see that much."

 

[PfcAJ]

Thanks for the reply, but would you please share your reasons?

I suspect most people feel as you do - and I feel the same when you say "just train"; a student should not be distracted by things such as filming. But is a compact camera which has been placed and forgotten on the forehead really going to interfere with the training? As I mentioned above, could it possibly assist with the training? There is a lot of time spent blind on a cave course - it might be nice to look back later and get an idea of your trim, positioning, etc. Also, if you often wear one it makes some sense to train as you will actually dive.

I would love to hear everyone's opinion including the reasoning behind it - especially if you are a cave instructor. A simple yes or no really does not advance thinking at all.

What's the helmet for?

It's just one more thing for hoses and line to get caught on. You're brand new. You don't need additional complication no matter how minor you think it is.

 

[jstrang]

I haven't trained there but I expect you will start at Mayan Blue.

I agree no cameras in a cave until you have hours and hours of experience.
I have over 150 hours of post cave training time in the cave and I still haven't brought a gopro into the cave. It just isn't worth it yet.

Next trip to Tulum I think I might bring my camera...

Enjoy the training, the caves there are awesome. The only one I didn't really like was Muchachos and that was due to construction in one of the other cenotes leading to silt near the end of the Black Forest Line.

 

[Lorenzoid]

There is now way you'll get any idea of your own trim or body positioning from your own camera's footage. Even if you want to review footage of how you're performing the various skills and tasks, a far better option is to ask your instructor to video you and review that.

That was my first thought, too. Also, unless the camera happens to be pointing where the diver's light is pointing, or unless the helmet also has lights on it, the camera may not capture much. Most primary lights illuminate only a surprisingly (for those of us not accustomed to caves) small area. Those really nice videos we see of cave dives are taken with strategically placed/carried video (wider angle) lights. A single GoPro on a helmet capturing only what is illuminated by the diver's primary light is likely to turn out looking like the Blair Witch Project.

 

[kensuf]

As a cave instructor, I find shooting video of my students helpful in pointing out areas they can improve upon. I've been using video for the past year, or so. I usually limit the footage to the things where students run into problem (cavern students during the open-water skills dive, intro to cave students on running a reel, and full cave students running a reel / jumps / dropping/picking up deco bottles).

As a cave instructor, I find the idea of my students shooting video problematic. My primary concern is their task loading -- most people get some level of performance anxiety when being evaluated to begin with, throw in new skills (such as running a reel) and the task loading goes through the roof. A task loaded student is going to suffer perceptual narrowing, their awareness will diminish, they will get target fixation and they will not learn anything.

If their purpose is to "see how they can improve" then they're misguided, because the camera only shows what the lens is pointing at, and their trim/buoyancy/etc are all going to be behind the camera, not in front of it.

However, if they are concerned about what areas they need to improve, then I will be more than happy to explain to them what they need to improve during our post dive debrief, that is what I am being paid to do. So once again, their bringing a camera is unnecessary.

 

[CuzzA]

I find shooting video of my students helpful in pointing out areas they can improve upon.

That's a great idea. Instructors have always told me no, but I've never asked them to film me. I hope more instructors do this. I think it can be really helpful, not to mention the free advertising the instructor gets as the video is shared on social media.