Erwin Landau

It's not that bad... I'm not seeing myself filling the case up to it's max capacity of 150 lbs though... Outside Dimensions: 23.95"L x 14.75"W x 17.95"D Inside Dimensions: 20.56"L x 10.97"W x 12.65"D http://www.caseclub.com/pel-0450.htm

Pelican bought Hardigg, which means that the Storm cases are now owned by Pelican... Could be interesting for owners of the Storm case line up... http://pelican.com/synergy/ http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28487

Nifty little addition to the steadily growing line up... the 0450. Pictures tell more then words: For prices check: http://www.caseclub.com/pelican.htm

See that's why I usually leave the teaching up to the masters... I'm an operator and just do it... I have to sit down and dissect everything and reverse engineer all my moves... So see above what he said.... hehe. I'll stay with the tech stuff.

All multi post rigs are generally longer/taler, do to the fact that they have to reach that magic lens hight of 10 feet.... Anyhow... You could have 10, 20, or 50 rig set ups and ops all masters at there craft all set ups way different. But the interesting thing is that both setup as different as they are, give you similar results...

I was wondering where all my money went...

LOL... Oh man it was cold and you know what happens in water.... ehm... I should shut up now...

Hey Michael, Walking the line is a good way to start getting control of the machine. Remember that the rig is initiating the move. The rig moves first and then the body, same thing the rig stops and you move into the rig. It will give you smoother starts and stops... and for god sakes relax. :) Also on the switch move the leg that is closer to the rig first, to get your body out of the way of the rig... after a while you will do it instinctively. Also always do a proper switch, even operate while walking back to the stand. And frequently dock the rig.. there is no point at exhausting yourself to quickly... stamina will come as you do it more and more... make every move count... less movement is more... less foot steps is more... think about it, you'll understand. Also check your arm tension, that doesn't look right. Your upper arm (closer to the Vest) seams to be under tightened and your fore arm (closer to the rig is shooting up as it it's over tightened... old school is that you would have a 5 degree downward adjustment (and you are basically holding 5% of the weight) as newer style is both arm sections are horizontal to the ground... It's good to practice, just keep in mind that you are teaching yourself habits (some would say, bad habits) do to the fact that you haven't taken the workshop as of yet... At the beginning it's easy to learn the "wrong" things without experienced guidance and very hard to unlearn once you have it in your muscle memory. Try and get a more seasoned op to watch you while you practice (until you take the workshop) and point out some things and point you in the proper direction. You are building a foundation in the first couple of years on which you will build with experience... make sure to build a solid foundation and the operating will be easier and the results will be more satisfying... Practice, practice, practice, Good Luck!

Neeee.... more like Hockey mask wearing, Machete wilding and dismembered bodies flying....

Interesting... Not trying to get into the manufacturer game but mine does not collapse (I use the PRO vest). Which gave me trouble in finding a case/bag... If you look at pictures of me, people think I'm wearing it to high do to the smaller pads, but it still sits on my hips. When I used to have my Backmount, there was a tendency to rid it higher to avoid that tingle and numbness associated with pressure to the lower extremities... if worn to low. I see your point, generally what I see is that many are flying the Vest miss adjusted. They bought it that way or it was adjusted that way when they bought it or it just feels right. I can't really tell an operator that he or she is wearing the suite wrong if they do great work, it doesn't hurt and they are not suffering from back pain after a week of 14 hour days... There is a lot to be said about a right sized and properly adjusted harness in the long run. A good vest will make sure that years down the road you will be able to keep doing what you are doing and the income stays higher then the chiropractic bills every months... especially once you approach the 30 to 40 age barrier and beyond... that's when everything magically starts to hurt and all your youthful indiscretions start to show... (broken bones, pulled muscles, torn ligaments...) I always stress to every new Operator that I talk to, to buy a new Vest and get it properly adjusted... Vests are like sneakers... they get comfortable in time, and usually we love them the most just shortly before they disintegrate. So buying used vests is like buying someone else's comfy sneakers... with all the smells and sweat stains... About breathing... I love the fact about my vest that It was build specially for me with my measurements and it does not fit anybody else as good as it does me. I don't have to get it of to talk to the Director as it has buckles which you can undo for standing around and within seconds they are snug to take up the weight. No ratchet guess work. Once adjusted two snaps and it will always fit you like a glow. Just my 2 cents.

Check: http://www.steadicam-ops.com/database/soaC...p?recordID=3951

I don't quite see why we have to explain our selfs here. But anyhow... We are professional Camera and Steadicam Operators and this is our forum where we can get together and chat, exchange stories and share our knowledge and experience, tell stupid stories or share sad news, laugh and cry and everything around it. Do to the fact that we rarely see each other outside of work and never during work, that used to be and is still the best way to stay in touch and read about what are people up to. It used to be a small community where everybody knew everybody by first name, at least screen nick name. We chose the profession of being a camera operator. That's what we do for a living that is our profession, not a hobby or a weekend thing or something to do when we are bored... Having spend in excess of $100K each and very commonly multiples of that amount This Forum started way back in the early 1990-ies under the AOL Folder banner as personal computers got more mainstream and replaced the Newsletters that started in '88. Even Garrett joined AOL back in 1994 and he was always very eager to answer questions. Even back then anything less than the top dogs like the Model 1, 2, 3 or 3A was frond a pone. The EFP was looked at as a cheap way in, even though it was a Steadicam brand made by CP. Oh I love the story of the SK what was the origin? "Sachtler Killer"... Beating Sachtlers first attempt to move in on the low end stabilizer market... in the 90-ies... Everybody was quick to for see the quick demise of the PRO that was introduced in 1993... while holding up the banner for the Model 4... that was by NAB 1994 still a wooden model. Everybody was quick to call the PRO a clone... GPI and PRO came to life on the heels of being almost kicked out of CP after they offered the improvements to "the power that where" at that time at Cinema Products and dismissed the requests and needs of owners everywhere. The PRO was a huge improvement after a 13 year development freeze at CP... Glidecam on the other hand was and is just a blaitend knock off company that after being in business for now 15 years still can't get the physics right... Washers? Really? It is said that only owning a Steadicam made by the inventors and original patent holders, Cinema Products and now the Tiffen Company makes you a Steadicam Operator. Yeah buy a JR or a Merlin and you are a Steadicam Operator... but you are far from being a professional Camera Operator. These days a professional set up is a piece of equipment that will handle any and every camera ever used starting with Video and going up to 16mm, 35mm, 65mm, IMAX, and any HD monster... A 12 Volt video rig with return monitor, tally, gimbal based FIZ, Teleprompter, on board light, Microwave transmitter, etc is as much a profssional setup as the latest and greatest 24 Volt Film unit and as expensive... sometimes even more. Again professional equipment, with which we put food on the table and make our car payments. Self made is okay... most of my equipment is based on my Ideas... but it doesn't look like it's made in my back yard... professional, get it? I don't know much about Star Wars Memorabilia or Internet Porn... but that is one of the reasons, maybe exempt the obvious ones, that I don't post on there websites... But I know a little bit about Steadicam and that's why I keep posting here. I learned from the man himself. Share your knowledge and I think I am, based on the couple of posts that I contributed in this Steadicam Forum and the last and as far back as the AOL folders... But back then, more as a quiet bystander then real contributer... I'm sure you can find a couple of stupid questions way back then, by me, that got shut down, but imagine all the guys that are doing it since day one... that amounts to a shit load of repetitive questions... As a professional you are expected to show up with a certain basic amount of knowledge... That's what makes you, after all, a professional. Okay enough... I'm about to put myself to sleep... Fly safe!

Greg does... not sure if he still sells it though... Give him a call. Later

Hi Doc, Actually it all started with my Donkey Box 2 and the appearance of the Panavised F-900 and the need to somehow get the Preston Motor out there to the lens some 10" away from the lens port... and the PRO plates flexing so mach that the FF motor would start to jump gears. For me it was always the issue with the FF motor mounting, running out of places to mount and mount solid, so I was looking for a better Iris rod adapter solution. That got me into my first XCS plate which Greg had just introduced for his Ultimate as an option. It was Black and required slight machining to fit the D-Box 2 and it didn't fit all D-boxes out there, that was also around the time when he was getting inquires from Master Series and Ultra owners, that's when he added the 2 threats for the catch mechanism that made it work with the CP/Tiffen rigs. That solved my problem of getting my FF motors securely onto the Lens barrel. The final push into XCS plates came when I received my D-Box 3 (S#009). I was one of the first ops to use the LW-2 and the 435 in low mode. Due to the wider design of the D-Box, I was not able to invert the camera as in case of the Panaflex the XC-75 Videotap was hitting as well as on the 435 where the lowmode bracket attachment screw was hitting... As George didn't had a quick solution I got my next set of XCS plates in grey that solved the problem (the black plates turned out to be machined to that extend that they would not properly sit in the D-Box 3) with the third set anthracite colored replaced all my previous plates including all PRO and DeRose plates. And finally the change over to the Ultimate where I got the new generation Gun Metal grey ones (and as we where using 2 cameras on a show, upping it from two to four plates) as I sold the others with my old PRO. And last but not least to the latest improved version in red... Works for me...

For new stuff: Locally the most competitive in availability and price is BandPro. They are in Burbank. Talk to David Rosner. Phone: 1 (818) 841-9655 http://www.bandpro.com For used stuff: Go to Broadcast Video Gear also in Burbank. They have always little treasures hidden in there warehouse. Phone: 1 (818) 841-4800 http://www.broadcastvideogear.com Good Luck, Erwin

1. What... ??? 2. I actually think that you get way more Gold for $4500.- with that lousy Gold prices these days... 3. That goes without saying...

Hmmm... Interesting. Oh well, I guess they wanted to sell another charger. So disregard my earlier post! Can you also charge 8 Dionics? Meaning charging Dionics on the expansion module?

I always go for shorter... I have to compensate... Short and kuddeli...

Says the man who huffs lisagav. XCS plates are $280? (maybe, i've been mainlining some antifreeze I got from Jim so I might be fuzzy on the price.) I have to check, but I think they are more like $325.- for the last run of plates... The iris rod's (Utility rods) are from Tom Gleason for $12.50 each. http://www.cinewidgets.com/

Wait... Two short Arri, two long Arri, two short Compact, two long Compact, one long Compact for heavy lenses, two DeRose for Panavison with offset, one DeRose for the Sony and training weight plate, two old XCS ones without screw holes for Antlers in Lowmode and one for Gyros for the Ultimate sled in lowmode with Goldmounts... Sorry 14... Erwin "High as a Kite" Landau

As every year Eric and I will come by and bug the hell out of you guys... :) See you there, Erwin

I had a super post for years... somehow, every time it came up in discussion it was dismissed. Or the famous 30 minutes producer meeting was called to avoid "wasting" 10 minutes for the conversion... Always after a call got out for the super post, I would mount up and investigate the hight that the Director wanted with him and 90-95 % of the time it was considerable above the ultra low mode of the super post and was achieved with the conventional post... After years of shlepping that over long and over size pipe with me, I got rid of it...

... And a few other nice features... yeah, yeah... Now I will have to, I guess. See you in Las Vegas, Thanks, Paul. Erwin

Mark, Just an FYI... I'm guessing that you are looking to use the expansion module with the chargers... be aware that if the unit was upgraded to the new chip set that allows to charge Dionics it does not support the module anymore and if you keep the old chip it will not charge the Dionics... That's how it was explained to me by an A/B sales rep when I was thinking about buying the module versus a new charger.

Ed, Yes that is an XCS camera plate. Through very lucky circumstances and incredible timing and a steep premium, I came in possession of 4 plates in red. First time and definitely the last time you will see that specific color on an XCS plate as Greg does not do costumers color requests anymore (after some very nasty and costly incidents). The color coding of the plates has to do with the generation of the plate, so when you call him he knows by the color description how old the plate is and what features it has or doesn't. Funny timing, I just answered another post: http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?sh...amp;#entry43166 Unfortunately the Archer has a different camera stage and resulted in a narrower Camera plate. The XCS plates will fit the Master Series and the Ultra, not sure about the Clipper (Basically all Film and Video rigs that are based on the original Steadicam design). If you check the pix that I posted in that other thread you will see that there is a small threats at each end of the plate, which are meant for a screw to prevent the camera plate from sliding out of an Ultra or Master top stage...