Posts by Gordolordo

It was worth a shot.

On the plus side, you're definitely not losing a GoPro with the shoulder mount, but I did lose significant video quality.

It may still be good in open water hunting if I could angle it so it wouldn't capture so much of my head, but for hole hunting in NorCal, not so much.

Thanks for the mask recommendation. I saw that solution and will probably get one next time I buy a new mask. In the meantime, I rigged a chin strap for a head mount and that is working well, though it doesn't sit nearly as flush as the one built straight onto the mask.

Yeah, I think you're right on that. I considered it as well, but decided I'd rather lose some footage of hole work that lose a(nother) GoPro.

I would have posted a shot of an open water hit, but the only in-the-open shot I took yesterday, I missed! :@

If someone has invented a better wheel, then good for them, but from a purely non-technical point of view, it seems over-engineered to me.

When it comes to mechanical things, I think the quote from Antoine de Saint Exupéry is very apt:

"The designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when when there is nothing left to take away."

It says SoCal on your location, so I'd go with either 3mm or 5mm gloves, depending on the time of year and how well you deal with cold. Lots of body heat is lost through the hands and feet, so I prefer thicker gloves. They seem a little tight out of the water, but they loosen up once you get in.

Also, make sure whatever you get has a nice, tight fit around the wrists to minimize leakage into your suit.

Last, get some with some type of tactile grip, or Kevlar reinforcement if you can. It will extend the life of your gloves, help grip slippery things underwater, and prevent fish and lobster spines from getting you too much.

I've got the OMER Spider Gloves and I like them.

Here's one from yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48js1AtYoik

I'm going to try to angle it a little more to the left next time so it doesn't get so much of my face in the view, but I kind of like a little in there as it adds some perspective.

As of 9:27 AM on 11 May 2015 the video is still processing, by the way.

I didn't even know it was there. Good piece of gear.

So I was unhappy with GoPro mounting options such as a gun mount (due to complications with loading, firing, too much movement, banging into rocks when hole hunting, etc.) or the head mount (drag during duck dives, getting caught on kelp, too much movement), so I decided to try this neoprene shoulder mount thing.

I think this thing is a winner. I mounted it slightly angled up so that when swimming and diving it captures where my center of mass is pointed, but slightly up to match my field of vision when swimming and diving.

I took it out today in pretty strong surge and current, with a good deal of kelp to boot, and it was rock solid. I also don't remember it getting caught in kelp even once, which surprised me.

Sometimes you try putting mounting something somewhere new thinking it would be less obtrusive and afterwards realize how much that spot comes into contact with stuff, and you just never realized it because you had nothing there before. Well in this case, it turned out to be a great spot and it never got stuck on anything even once.

Another nice thing on the shoulder mount is the camera doesn't move too much, which can be the case on a gun or head mount. I'm sure I lost some maneuverability and my hole shots probably won't come out as well, but on the whole my footage is much more stable and far less erratic than before.

So the shoulder placement was a clear winner in my opinion. The specific brand I got was a neoprene one from NeoPine, which I liked because of the width of the straps, which I figures would give some resistance to torsion, which it appeared to do as well. The Velcro was very strong and something very bad would have to happen to make the thing come off accidentally, but other companies' products may work very well too.

In summary:

Pros:
1) Highly secure
2) Very stable video
3) Unobtrusive and streamlined placement on body
4) Very little drag when diving

Cons:
1) Less maneuverability of shot angle
2) Positioning it so it doesn't capture too much of the side of your head can be a bit tricky

I recently bought the OMER Zero3 and here are my thoughts:

1) A first I was worried about the mask leaking because I read some peoples' faces don't work with it. The first few times out, I thought I was one of them because I was getting some leakage. What I found was that, for my face anyhow, I needed to wear the strap far lower on the back of my head than I was used to. After I did that, no more leaks. I imagine other people will have to play with the strap configuration a bit to find out how to fit it correctly for their face.

2) A good shave is crucial for this mask. There is very little rubber with which to make a seal, so a couple day's worth of stubble might be enough to make a seal more difficult.

3) I still compensate the mask around 20-25', but only a tiny bit, and noticeably less than my last mask. The ultra low volume does make a big difference.

4) The visibility is excellent, as many other have stated. I like the high view aperture because when diving, I'm usually looking slightly up, so the placement of the lenses is very good.

Hi guys and gals, my name is Gordon and I'm posting this introduction as per the instructions.

I'm an officer in the Marines and was recently stationed in Monterey, CA for some service-related schooling in foreign affairs and language. Luckily, I've got an oceanic paradise right in front of my house and have been trying to maximize using and enjoying it while I'm here.

I grew up as a yachtie kid down in the Sea of Cortez, and I used to fish/spearfish/dive basically every day. After a long hiatus, I recently got back into freedive spearfishing one a friend of mine talked me into it. I've been hooked since and love having a new hobby to dedicate my energy to. My other hobby is brewing and drinking beer, so this helps me shave a lot of calories off my weekly intake.

Anyway, good to meet you all, and thanks for considering my membership.