Cathy Church recommendation on BCs??

[JasonUWPhoto]

The following is a quote I found from Cathy Church on BC recommendations for photographers. Anyone agree/disagree with this? experiences with back inflation? I've always used a jacket style, but tried on several back inflation and backplate/wings at BTS last week and very much like the freedom and uncluttered feel. Please share your thoughts...

"BCs with the air just on the back also aggravate movement. For example, suppose you are holding level and the air in the BC is in the middle, at the top (of course) and then you need to roll just a little to the side for the best camera position. Suddenly all of the air moves to the left wing of the BC. Because it is several inches from your body, it has more leverage than air that is held close to the body in a full jacket or wrap around BC. This extra leverage is translated into instability while you are trying to hold a camera within an eighth of an inch of that Christmas tree worm.

Every time I take a student who is struggling in the water with an "Angel Wing" BC, and lend them one of my SeaQuest Spectrum BCs, they improve dramatically and quickly. None of them really knew that they were having a problem until I watched them in the water. All of them felt the difference and switched BCs."

Appreciate any comments on this and any BCD recommendations.

[fireflock]

hmmm...I understand the point she is trying to make, but can't understand how a jacket BC would be different. All of the jackets I've used allow air flow across the top of the back just like back-inflates.

For a single tank rec divers, one of the big keys is to get weighting right so you don't have much air in your wing at depth. Trim might also be a problem. The air in my wing usually end up along the bottom, not the top.

It also could be that the bladder on her back-inflate was way oversized for the diving she was doing. Put a 40 or 50lb bladder on a rec diver and it's way too big. With an appropriately sized bladder, the air pocket stays very close to the body. Some of the air cells on back-inflate BC's are way too big to be optimal for a typical rec setup. I guess in the marketing world bigger numbers are better for sales.

[Zenagirl]

Hmm, interesting point of view. I had the exact opposite experience as her. When I had a jacket BC the air moved all over the place and I had a heck of a time with rolling. Since going to a wing style (Zeagle), I've never had the problem. Oh yeah, but now I also dive with almost NO air in the wing since I'm perfectly weighted (just a tiny puff if I'm deeper than about 60' usually).

My husband moved from a jacket style to a wing style (Zeagle) because of the roll that the jacket allowed. He found it extremely difficult as a photographer to get into the positions he wanted to take pictures (avoiding marine life) with the jacket. Since going to a Zeagle, he can get into whatever weird positions he wants and not worry about the roll anymore. Since he was an experienced diver before he got his Zeagle and has as much air in the wing as he did in his jacket, I'd have to say his lack of roll has more to do with where the air is rather than a lack of air in his BC. But he is also weighted and trimmed properly and barely has air in his wing like me.

IMO first it's important to be weighted and trimmed out properly so you don't have to worry so much about air in your BC. Once you've got that down, then you can pay attention to any roll or effects from your air cell. If you can feel your air moving and if affects your diving, it might be time to look to a different style of BC.

[JasonUWPhoto]

Those were some of my thoughts too. Oversized wing could definitely be a factor. I've found with proper weighting, I add very little air to my BCD anyway. Most of my dives are in relatively shallow water (less than 80ft). It's always good to get feedback from those using products. Thanks

[CompuDude]

I've heard this a lot talking to old school photographers who have been doing this for a long time. They learned in a jacket BC (or horse collar, so the jacket was a huge improvement), developed a style that worked well for them, and do not want to change anything.

That's their right.

But it doesn't mean they're right. It means a new piece of gear feel odd compared to the gear they've been diving for 20-30 years, so they don't like it. It doesn't mean they gave it a fair shake and really took the time to learn the little tricks that each piece of gear needs to use it to it's full effectiveness.

[JasonUWPhoto]

Ok CompuDude,
So what's your position on all this. What are you diving with? What do you like? Are you shooting? What type of diving do you do?

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by JasonUWPhoto

Ok CompuDude,
So what's your position on all this. What are you diving with? What do you like? Are you shooting? What type of diving do you do?

I dive a bp/w. I prefer bp/w. I use an OxyCheq Mach V 30# wing with singles, and OxyCheq Vertex360 55# with my doubles.

I shoot a Canon PowerShot S80 in an Ikelite housing and an Inon D2000 strobe. I do a lot of macro work, but occasionally dabble in wide angle, conditions permitting.

I dive recreationally, in primarily cold water in a drysuit (sometimes 7mm), but some warm water vacations (where I drop to an aluminum backplate), and some light technical diving as well.

My pool rig for when I'm working as a DM is irrelevant to the discussion.

I don't have any problem maintaining the body position I want to get the shots I want in any of my rigs. I do fine in the (rare) rental jacket BC, also... but I really don't care for them, given a choice.

[JasonUWPhoto]

I thought about a BP/W and actually tried on some of the OxyCheq gear and spoke with Patrick at BTS. I don't think I'm going to doubles. I want to move to integrated weights, like to have pockets, and want something that is easy to travel with. Also want something that is comfortable on land as well as in the water as I like shore diving and walks up/down stairs without padding just isn't that comfortable. When I start looking at adding things to a BP/W, just doesnt seem to make much sense. Eventually, I'm planning to go the rebreather route...

[RoyN]

I have the harness wing as well and never had any issue with photography comfort position and what not. The only thing that affects my shots is my cold hand where I can't feel them at all!

[terrillja]

Originally Posted by JasonUWPhoto

I thought about a BP/W and actually tried on some of the OxyCheq gear and spoke with Patrick at BTS. I don't think I'm going to doubles. I want to move to integrated weights, like to have pockets, and want something that is easy to travel with. Also want something that is comfortable on land as well as in the water as I like shore diving and walks up/down stairs without padding just isn't that comfortable. When I start looking at adding things to a BP/W, just doesnt seem to make much sense. Eventually, I'm planning to go the rebreather route...

Well one thing to look at is the tranplate. It has padded shoulders with quickrelease buckles. Mine also has the transweight 16, which allows me to have up to 16lb of integrated weight. Any pockets I want I can add by sliding them on. It wasn't a cheap venture at all, but I'm pretty happy with this setup.