Thomas English

Apart from the issue of public liability, which can be insured seperately; Self insurance makes a lot of sense to economists and the super-rich who are able to hedge their own life bets. Certainly many of the super-rich will happily medically self insure! The maths work out but not to an individual, as Eric describes, who is unfortunate in the earlier years. Sensibly this could easily be hedged if a co-operative of a few Steadicam operators from disparate regions got together to self insure. Imagine how much cheaper this would be since you would be saving on the considerable costs of: Loss adjusters since the co-operative would discuss and examine claims according to their manifesto Office maintenance Shareholders profits private jets for executives However if its not done as a co-operative (as Lloyds of London, formerly Lloyds Cafe in London was simply a meeting place for people to form such co-operatives in shipping ventures) it makes little sense unless you are super rich.

Why are there no V-Lites? I love the idea of providing lens support using a dogbone like this. Very Smart. I think your only solution is the force the DoP to have a go on Steadicam as the lens changes focus lengh and explaing to him its going to be impossible for drama and if Steadicam is going to work you need the 50, 75 and 110 V-Lites (I think its those options). Jamie, remember when it all goes wrong nobody is going to remember how many times you warned them all the rumour mill will say is "That Steadicam Operator messed up or didn't have the right kit". If you try to do the impossible THE ONLY person that looks bad is you. I've heard it a hundred times about other Steadicam operators being crap and messing up jobs but on closer enquiry its an issue like this that was forced on the operator. If I was in your situation right now I would insist on the V-Lites or walk away from the job. Incidentally you can get extended Steadicam dovetails from XCS or Film-Stuff.

"I would say this is probably the great equalizer for all pro wireless transmitters. like the Boxx or Recon etc..." Please guys. Don't post a review biased based on price or value. The issue here is quality first and price second. Most people working this forum would rather you respected that detail as it costs us way more than any of the purchase price of these systems if we get fired off a job. Please do not post comparisons unless you have extensive experience to the products you are comparing to.

There are better camera heads made by Sony than the Go-Pro and only marginally heavier which won't get you laughed out of the OB truck.

I honestly do see the attraction to this device. A reliable signal is far better than a perfect one. The picture is SD but is it still "digital" .. unlike the modulus etc? Will the waveforms and exposure stay the same? The issue is that I often see takes called up for focus because people saw it buzz on the monitor. So this won't be as possible in SD. I would buy this unit in an instant at half the price. $7000 is a lot.

Having today spent the day hanging off the front of a quad bike between 20mph and 30mph with Gyros on regular Steadicam; I would like to remind you that these are fast speeds. I have a Tango and I probably wouldn't take it over 15mph. Incidentally don't do ANY vehicle mount work unless hard mounted.

bump

Bump

" We will also make a version to use with the Cinetronic monitor, which eliminates the pivot from the yoke spigot." Allow me to understand this correctly. You will make a version that doesn't use the PRO spigot? for the Cinetronic? This makes sense if I have understood it correctly. Would the two versions be interchangeable by just swapping a couple of bits out or would one need two whole monitor brackets. Is there a price yet on this monitor bracket?

So this monitor uses the same spigot as the GPI-PRO and XCS? I can use my TB6 in it in the mean time? Of course I can't now rotate the monitor in the bracket for low-mode quickly. How does this Cinetronics setup feel for low mode with the cinetronics monitor? Do u just tilt your monitor?

Let face it, the Paralinx and Bolt will NOT be better. I agree with most of the critism of the Switronix except that its not as good as the Wevi. I own a Recon and use it all the time except when the production already have a wevi. I then use the production Wevi simply because I can't be bothered to get the Recon out and take responsibility for it all day. The Switronix under all circumstances is better than a Wevi signal wise. I've proved this time and time again. They both break up if too close to the receiver Neither work if you place the Receiver on the back of the 17inch monitor with loads of metal screening them. Both need a little thought about the nature of radio signals with regards to receiver placement. They are both running on exactly the same chipset just wired up to different standards. IDX apparently made some big mistakes on the wiring standards of the Wevi which they went to some lengths to correct with newer serial numbers and apparently the CW7 will be a considerable improvement and could turn out to be the best unit when released. Currently if you are just considering signal quality the RECON is bundles better than the wevi CW5.

Thank you for your input Larry and Andrew. I also believe it is impossible to achieve micro slow tracking shots with a normal gait. There is simply a moment where gravity makes you fall into the next step. I am intrigued by Andrew Ansnick's comment on landing toe first. I have always landed heel first and rolled the foot. Is there any science to tell us which technique is better? Failing that.... What does Larry McConkey do?

thanks a lot for the reply's. Is a standard polaris (as pictured) front grill strong enough to sit on and.hard mount off. The local grip rekons it's fine. And the back grill? I wonder what they are rated to. how much counterweight should I put the other side? looks like we are going forward.and backwards. i imagine the suspension is going to bottom out. ive heard.rumour of a gator nearby. Might try and look at that for the higher speed rear facing off road stuff. again thanks! amazing this forum when your stuck abroad hoping for wifi on your phone !

I am in Marocco. they want to shoot off a hotel quad bike in the desert off road. off course can't go off the front. i have the klassen hard mount. what's best? ratchet a moy to the back? sit astride it? advice and comments urgently required. thanks!

I got a few of these receivers. They live in my backup kit for the modulus. I'll ping you a photo over the weekend. I've got the PAL mapping frequency chips and NTSC mapping frequency chips as well somewhere. You need the NTSC map to tune the modulus.

Some new photos have appeared on the Facebook page.

Push all negotiations onto email. Never negotiate and agree a rate on the phone. When they call you they have a spreadsheet with a number they need to match before the end of the conversation. When its by email your response becomes that number in the spreadsheet which they now need to get down or change some other figures in the column. If you don't like the way the negotiation is going you can slow it down whilst keeping your eye out for a better paid job. You always have essentially a written record of the negotiation.

Thanks mate... she's drying out now!

or nearest offer

Or nearest offer

None of the buttons on my TB6 work anymore and annoyingly there is a massive "CH 1" across the middle of my image. The ON-OFF button still works but nothing else. When I turn it on there is contrast across the middle at maximum for a few seconds then it goes to "CH 1" Are there any fixes I can do myself? It s been raining a lot here; I wonder if it got damp in there...

I would just like to point out that reading Jerry's book makes me a better operator.. even now.

Horses for courses. I own a Betz tilt plate which is great but lives in a cupboard. When the next generation Alexa comes along the size of an epic i might put it back on. Its been off for 5 years. I totally agree with Eric however dynamic balance is more important the lighter the setup. So always check you still have it and don't neglect. But as Eric says...you don't need it when tilting down. Unless your whole career is shooting adult povs of children.

"telescoping" and "very soon" Very interesting!

I understood the front was far more flexible so you could sit down in it and for those that get that nerve rubbing in the upper hip. I agree with Richard; its not going to change much but will be a good option if your buying a vest.