how to pick equipment?

[superstu 0]

I was just wondering, when starting out for the 1st time what equipment should one be looking/buying first. should one look for a camera and build around that? or a helmet and build around that? when i get around to start buying equipment i want to know where to start. I am going to use it for just video, no stills. Also, I know i have low jump numbers right now, but i figure by the time i actually get enough money for this stuff i'll have enough jumps. thanks in advance.

Slip Stream Air Sports
Do not go softly, do not go quietly, never back down

[quade 4]

First, that's a very reasonable approach -- research first. I only wish more people did this before investing too much.

I almost always tell people what they need to decide before purchasing a lot of stuff is figuring out how they intend on using it.

You say that you don't plan on doing stills. Does this mean you won't want to do stills with your first camera helmet or -ever-?

Do you ever see a time when you might want to shoot tandems or AFF? Or maybe shoot some photos of your friends or team members?

If you can categorically say that you'll -never- want to shoot stills then your helmet selection is pretty open to just about anything.

If you think that -maybe- it's even vaguely conceivable that someday you'll want to add a still camera, then it might be better to design your camera helmet with that in mind from the very beginning. This eliminates helmet styles like the Sidewinder for instance.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[superstu 0]

I'll most likely get into stills but not for a while. And I still need to get some more information from people around the dropzone about doing camera work for tandems, but i'm interested in doing that as well. I'm also planning on getting my coaches rating soon and I know from experience that seeing video of your self is very helpful, this is my primary reason for wanting to jump just video right now.
So are you saying to first know what kind of camera work you want to do, then go out get a helmet that will satisfy those needs, then look for a camera to fit on top of that? thanks for the response.

Slip Stream Air Sports
Do not go softly, do not go quietly, never back down

[quade 4]

Quote

So are you saying to first know what kind of camera work you want to do, then go out get a helmet that will satisfy those needs, then look for a camera to fit on top of that? thanks for the response.

Well, that's sort of what I'm saying . . .

What I'm really saying is that you should look at the overall objective and pick the equipment that makes the most sense. The helmet is only one of a long list of things you need to consider.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver