I was wondering if I could get some input from you guys on this. What type of BC do you prefer for doing uw photos. Back inflate or jacket? I dive in a jacket and I'm getting ready to purchase a new BC and everyone (non-photographers) keeps telling to go with a back inflate. They say it will keep me horizontal in the water. Most uw photos are taken either straight on or at an upward angle...shots taken looking straight down don't usually do much justice to the uw environment which makes the jacket seem better. What do you guys (that includes all you females also..Dee, et al) think or use?
BC Type for photography
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vlada
Contributor
bubble blower:
Never dove in a jacket BC, so don't know how that feels. I started in a back inflated and now I use backplate and harness for all my diving. All of my non-training dives are done with a camera or two
Can't quite figure out what are you asking - why can't you be horizontal and do an upwards shot?
I have problems with my neck the prevents full movement, such as my chin won't touch my chest, and I can't hold a telephone between my ear and my shoulder. I have seen a few posts in the "basic diving" forum where I've seen it mentioned that a few prefer the jacket style for photography so I thought I'd come to the photography forum and see what you folks are using. Thanks for the response.
This is the same response I've given in another BC thread, so it's a bit broader than "just photography."
------------------------------------------
The Buoyancy Compensator (BC) decision.
Rather than try to tell you what's best for you, I'll relate my own experiences with jackets, harnesses, backplates & wings (BP/W), weight belts & weight integration. If any of what I have experienced fits your situation, good.
When I started diving in the late 60s there were no BC's. We used a hard pack and harness to attach the tank, not dissimilar to a backplate without a wing. In warm water without a wetsuit this worked just fine, as with a steel 72 and a couple pounds on a weight belt the diver was very close to neutrally buoyant - I still love to dive this rig when I get the chance; it is the ultimate "uncluttered" rig.
My first BC was a Techni-Pro one of those flash-in-the-pan brands that arrived on the scene as a cutting edge jacket but backed by a company that didnt survive. It had a right shoulder dump, adjustable quick-release shoulder straps, roomy pockets, an adjust-it-once camband with overcenter lock, tank stabilizing gussets and even a Velcro upper tank band to keep the tank in proper vertical trim and alignment. It was a good, rugged jacket with good surface floatation, but not particularly comfy. I used that exclusively for over a decade; it is still perfectly functional and I keep it around as a loaner and a backup. As with most any jacket, when combined with proper weighting and an AL 80, it has excellent rotational stability in both pitch and roll, allowing the diver to assume any position with minimal effort a real boon to photographers.
In the 90s I got interested in instructing, and in caves, which took my BC requirements in two different directions. For instructing I needed to wear something the shop where I worked had for sale; for caves I needed something more technical. Without getting into detail, over the next decade I ended up with a Transpac II (the first design), steel and aluminum BPs, three wings (Dive-Rite travel, Rec & Classic) a tropical jacket and a ProQD jacket. All are excellent and I dive them all, depending on the type dive Im doing.
The tropical jacket (Seaquest Explorer unfortunately discontinued) is very small and lightweight, packs small and is just perfect for the tropics (3 mil wetsuit max). I take this BC everywhere in the Caribbean as my first choice it is comfortable, has adequate lift and superb rotational stability with weight belt and AL80 I can get into any position I want to get that photo and not have to worry about rolling or going forward or backward out of position while composing and making the shot.
If I need more lift but still want to use a jacket instructing Open Water classes, for example, my choice is the ProQD. Lots of lift, excellent surface floatation characteristics, and with an AL80 excellent rotational stability in both roll and pitch under water. I also like this jacket for diving photo shoots in colder water where Im using a 5 mil or thicker wetsuit. I dont like it as a traveling BC because it is huge.
The Transpac II my Transpac probably sees more use than any of my other rigs. Its blend of good rotational stability with AL tanks (single or double, just change from travel to rec wing) attachment points (diving a stage on vacation? The little tropical jacket wont do, the ProQDs too big to travel with and while you can sling a stage on it, its not exactly designed for that) and its ability to comfortably handle just about any tank configuration up to double 85s with stages & deco bottle you can dream up makes this harness my most used.
If I know Im only going to dive doubles, then I use the steel BP/Rec wing for AL or steel up to 85s; the AL BP/Classic wing for 95s or 104s. I personally do not like a BP/wing with singles at all; even big singles like LP120s I prefer the Transpac/travel wing.
In summary, my experience is that the best BC depends on the type diving one intends to do. If I am strictly a recreational tropical picture-taker who eschews cold water and only dives single tanks where its warm, a tropical jackets the ticket. If Im only going to dive singles but want the option of diving colder water, a regular jacket would be my first choice. If Im heading in the hard core tech direction, and see myself in doubles and a drysuit, then a BP/wing is the way to go. The closest thing to an all in one solution, in my opinion, is the Transpac but with two wings, both travel and Rec.
Above all, remember that divings all about *your* pleasure.
And color coordination, of course.
Rick
------------------------------------------
The Buoyancy Compensator (BC) decision.
Rather than try to tell you what's best for you, I'll relate my own experiences with jackets, harnesses, backplates & wings (BP/W), weight belts & weight integration. If any of what I have experienced fits your situation, good.
When I started diving in the late 60s there were no BC's. We used a hard pack and harness to attach the tank, not dissimilar to a backplate without a wing. In warm water without a wetsuit this worked just fine, as with a steel 72 and a couple pounds on a weight belt the diver was very close to neutrally buoyant - I still love to dive this rig when I get the chance; it is the ultimate "uncluttered" rig.
My first BC was a Techni-Pro one of those flash-in-the-pan brands that arrived on the scene as a cutting edge jacket but backed by a company that didnt survive. It had a right shoulder dump, adjustable quick-release shoulder straps, roomy pockets, an adjust-it-once camband with overcenter lock, tank stabilizing gussets and even a Velcro upper tank band to keep the tank in proper vertical trim and alignment. It was a good, rugged jacket with good surface floatation, but not particularly comfy. I used that exclusively for over a decade; it is still perfectly functional and I keep it around as a loaner and a backup. As with most any jacket, when combined with proper weighting and an AL 80, it has excellent rotational stability in both pitch and roll, allowing the diver to assume any position with minimal effort a real boon to photographers.
In the 90s I got interested in instructing, and in caves, which took my BC requirements in two different directions. For instructing I needed to wear something the shop where I worked had for sale; for caves I needed something more technical. Without getting into detail, over the next decade I ended up with a Transpac II (the first design), steel and aluminum BPs, three wings (Dive-Rite travel, Rec & Classic) a tropical jacket and a ProQD jacket. All are excellent and I dive them all, depending on the type dive Im doing.
The tropical jacket (Seaquest Explorer unfortunately discontinued) is very small and lightweight, packs small and is just perfect for the tropics (3 mil wetsuit max). I take this BC everywhere in the Caribbean as my first choice it is comfortable, has adequate lift and superb rotational stability with weight belt and AL80 I can get into any position I want to get that photo and not have to worry about rolling or going forward or backward out of position while composing and making the shot.
If I need more lift but still want to use a jacket instructing Open Water classes, for example, my choice is the ProQD. Lots of lift, excellent surface floatation characteristics, and with an AL80 excellent rotational stability in both roll and pitch under water. I also like this jacket for diving photo shoots in colder water where Im using a 5 mil or thicker wetsuit. I dont like it as a traveling BC because it is huge.
The Transpac II my Transpac probably sees more use than any of my other rigs. Its blend of good rotational stability with AL tanks (single or double, just change from travel to rec wing) attachment points (diving a stage on vacation? The little tropical jacket wont do, the ProQDs too big to travel with and while you can sling a stage on it, its not exactly designed for that) and its ability to comfortably handle just about any tank configuration up to double 85s with stages & deco bottle you can dream up makes this harness my most used.
If I know Im only going to dive doubles, then I use the steel BP/Rec wing for AL or steel up to 85s; the AL BP/Classic wing for 95s or 104s. I personally do not like a BP/wing with singles at all; even big singles like LP120s I prefer the Transpac/travel wing.
In summary, my experience is that the best BC depends on the type diving one intends to do. If I am strictly a recreational tropical picture-taker who eschews cold water and only dives single tanks where its warm, a tropical jackets the ticket. If Im only going to dive singles but want the option of diving colder water, a regular jacket would be my first choice. If Im heading in the hard core tech direction, and see myself in doubles and a drysuit, then a BP/wing is the way to go. The closest thing to an all in one solution, in my opinion, is the Transpac but with two wings, both travel and Rec.
Above all, remember that divings all about *your* pleasure.
And color coordination, of course.
Rick
Just driving home for lunch and had a few more tid bits I thought I might add.
I do most buoyancy control with breath also. Just wanted to point out that when laid out in a face down horizontal position the neck must tilt the head up to see straight ahead (this I can do), but to shoot at an upward angle from this position requires that the neck rotate up even further and there in lies my problem. Although in the past I had been using a MMII and a view finder and now I'll be using an LCD screen so it may work from a horizontal position. That coupled with the fact that I do use my breathing to control buoyancy.
I do most buoyancy control with breath also. Just wanted to point out that when laid out in a face down horizontal position the neck must tilt the head up to see straight ahead (this I can do), but to shoot at an upward angle from this position requires that the neck rotate up even further and there in lies my problem. Although in the past I had been using a MMII and a view finder and now I'll be using an LCD screen so it may work from a horizontal position. That coupled with the fact that I do use my breathing to control buoyancy.
Good informative post Rick, I must have been posting my other reply as you were. To be honest, I don't care to much to get into the "tech diving" scene but the transpac/travel wing was something I was looking at more heavily than anything else at the time. Anyone else?
vlada
Contributor
bubble blower:
I noticed that most of the times when i am actually taking upward shots (like those wide angle wreck pics in my albums), i am not perfectly horizontal, but rather at about 30 to 45% upwards angle to a horizontal plane. Once the shot is over i return to horizontal position
THis is what i mean by45% angle
Hope this helps
I guess my main concern is this...if I want to be vertical while at depth (not while swimming but to take a photo) will a back inflate or transpac allow me to do this with out to much work to stay in that position? Ultimately, I'll probably look into what justleesa suggested and look into trying a back inflate first.
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