Jameson Johnson

I havent used the titan before, how is the range, any digital breakup?

Good day all - I was feeling particularly thankful this morning, and in the context of this forum I'll shape my comments accordingly. I'm very thankful that years ago I found a career that felt very little like work and most often like playtime. It's great to go to work each day and really enjoy what I do. I'm thankful that along my career path I found this really cool thing called Steadicam and found out that I was good at it. I'm thankful that after years of hard work and planning I am finally able to make the plunge and own my own system. I'm thankful for this forum and all the fine folks who comment here. Your posts, advice, sarcasm, and all around help had been invaluable. I'm confident that I made educated decisions and will be set for at least the next couple years before I start to upgrade. But mostly it's about the people here. This is a great community of operators, vendors, engineers, and all around odd people. I mean that in a very complimentary way! Happy to be one of you. Happy Thanksgiving Forum!

Well said Eric.

Thanks for that info Larry; that was really informative and helps me make my decision on which arm to buy. Thanks again!

Wow, thanks everybody for all the input. I didn't really mean for this to become a Pro/Tiffen debate. I really was looking for feedback specifically on the X arms, and how they compared since they've been updated. I see a lot about Pro this, Tiffen that, but not much referencing the new arms. Perhaps I should have phrased my question differently. Can anyone speak to the performance of the G50/70 vs the G50x/70x arms? It seems in all that both the Tiffen arms and the Pro arms perform superbly under almost every condition. The complaints, perhaps catalyst for the PRO/Tiffen debates, was that in extremely slow tracking moves footsteps would translate through the arm. While disputed by many, it seems to be a factor for some. I was curious if this had been improved by the X series. I left it as a broad topic hoping that this wouldn't be the only focal point, but it's turned into yet another Pro/Tiffen debate... and now a changing of the guard. I really didn't mean to cause all this trouble.

Come on, isn't Vimeo where it's at now?! Seriously though, thank you for the initial replies. I've looked around the forums, and with the arms there is so much material now. What I had a hard time finding, specifically, was a comparison made to the new X arms. I see a lot of references and comparisons without the X, but I didn't know if it made a difference. Thanks!

Hi all - I know that nobody gets tired of a good arm debate. Kinda makes me miss the Mac vs PC stuff... I digress... Now that the X series arms from Tiffen have been out for a while, can anyone comment on the footsteps thing now? How do the Pro arms compare to the Gx arms? Jameson

Hi all - Looking for a few opinions here. I'm looking into purchasing a wireless system, and I've been considering either the Analog BFD or the Digital BDR version. I've used both and I really like the BDR for it's size, weight, and compatibility with digital motors, but for DSLR work I'm not sure how well it would work for me. If I use PL lenses I'm sure I wouldn't have a problem. But with continuous focus rings, like the Canon EF lenses and a gear strap, I don't see how a self-calibrating digital motor would work well. There aren't stop points on the lens, and the motors seem to fly right past any little resistance that there may be. I've manually stopped the spin to create a "stop point," but this is inconsistent at best. The other factor is that for work with ENG tv lenses I would like to have a focus control on my handle. I've looked at the preston controllers, but with them no longer being made (yes, I know still supported) and with the stiff cables, I've been considering a G-Zoom BFD version. This seems to only work with the analog BFD system as the BDR does not have a wired input. My general conclusion is that I should have at least one analog system and a BDR system for backup or iris. By the way, does anyone know if the iris slider add-on works with both systems - analog focus and digital iris? I'm very curious what others' experiences have been using these types of lenses. Thanks for the input in advance. Jameson

Which device(s) do you use for focus and zoom now that you're using the digital system?

I know the system is sold, but how was the reception with the antenna mod? I've use the CW a few times and usually have digital dropouts, blah blah. Was there a robustness difference, range difference, etc? J

Over the short distances that we're running on our sleds, in my experience cables were not usually to blame. All the different places that we send SDI - recorders, transmitters, monitors, converters, etc - can take a toll on the signal strength if things aren't up to spec. And even if they are, most gear doesn't re-clock a signal, it merely passes it through. The only problems I've ever had with SDI on a rig came from bad connection points. I've been a system engineer for quite a few years, and I've had to push HDSDI over pretty crappy coax for upwards of 250 feet without a problem. I've even used 50-ohm crap and had success with HDSDI; that was using a 6 foot chunk of cable though. It usually comes down to whether the transmitting piece of equipment can send out a signal strong enough to make it to the other end. If your cables and connectors are spec'd at HD, you shouldn't have a problem. All that said, stick with real HD cables and connectors, Kings and Canare are my preference. The thin BNC cables work great too. I've put them in installations bundled next to power cables and other signal types without a problem. If you're getting interference into an SDI signal, check your connections, be sure they're tight. Check your sled too - if cables are built well, its usually the BNC terminal that's to blame. They get a lot of use with all the connecting/disconnecting sometimes they get tired and need to be reconnected. And all this business about 75-ohm being needed for HD - very true. But 75-ohm is the standard for SD also. CVBS on a 50-ohm cable can look pretty nasty too. If you have any 50-ohm stuff laying around, ditch it. There was a chunk of 50-ohm cabling that showed up quite a few years back when computer networks were running on BNC. Most recently I've seen 50-ohm cables finding their way into video departments from the audio guys. They use the 50-ohm stuff for antenna cabling. Now, this is all just my experience. I know a lot of ops have different stories than I, but that's kinda what the forum is for, right?

This is a great post topic. I'd be very interested to see what gets written about. I'm still trying to find my groove in this business, so I can't yet claim to know what I do that works and doesn't. I would very much like to learn from others. Now to open that can - I'm very interested to hear what Eric would say here. Eric is very outspoken about, well, everything. Clearly he's had a very long-lasting career.

I am operating also.

From what I understand, COI allows me to claim on the clients policy is something goes wrong, things break. The deal memo is where I specify that they pay the deductible or any expensed occurred, correct? And by the way, thanks all for the insight. I'm still fairly new in this and am soaking up as much as I can. I really want to make sure that I operate as part of this great community of operators. I don't want to be the guy to kill rates for everyone else.

Thanks for the reply.

Hi All - I'm bidding a corporate gig coming up in the fall. The client has asked for 7 days of work on a multi camera broadcast system. A lot of rental houses offer gear at 1day=1day, 1week=3days, etc. Does the same apply for steadicam rental? I've read so many topics about the market being undercut and I'd rather not perpetuate that. Advice is welcome. Thanks!

Ugh! wish I had read this earlier! (obviously a long time ago.) let me know if youre in Detroit again and need anything. Hope you were able to find a cart Best, Stephen Can you post a picture of your Magliner?

What did you end up buying? My solution isn't a perfect one, and I'm sure many others have success with other methods. Most of my steadi work is tethered for live video on Triax, fiber, coax, etc. I'm sure you've landed on a few techniques by now, but it's just my two cents, and no one else had posted yet. As for the camera exit point, I've had great luck leaving the back of the camera, wrapping around to the left and going under the camera between it and the plate. Usually the shoulder pad on a TV camera provides enough tension to hold the cable in place, but won't crimp or damage it. Then I bring the cable around under the stage, making one more loop. I leave a little extra length, not much here, to provide flex. Essentially, the cable left the camera and made to loops to the left. For a stiffer triax or fiber line this sort of acts as a spring, and with a little adjustment the camera rides in a sweet spot, with little effort to pan left or right. If you let go the camera will tend to return to center (pan) but I equate this with an older arm that isn't isoelastic. The cable would come out from under the stage at the gimble handle, so I can secure it there too with a strip of gaff. I'll either then tack once to each top section of the arm, or just bring it up to my right shoulder with some slack. A connector point anywhere here has worked well for me. I can connect/disconnect or my utility can. I don't prefer the right hip as the cable can interfere more than I like with the arm. Hope this helps!