Jason Torbitt

The list price for it is still $795. It doesn't visibly look like an attractive option for low mode, you would get a much more secure clamping by using Brant Fagan's VLMB or the MK-V design.

Hi, Yes I was aware that PAG make batteries for v-mount, AB and of course their own PAG mount. You can also buy adaptor battery plates that clip onto your existing plate, to convert from AB to PAL or v-lock etc etc. For anyone interested, Martyn at A/B rung me before I even had a chance to ring him - great service. The dead battery is on its way to A/B for evaluation and I'm picking up a replacement Hytron. If anyone is interested in recelling in the UK, try www.westgatepower.com , I've also collected some phone numbers for others, if anyone is interested send me a PM or email.

Hi, That looks like a great (much needed) modification - it's been well documented on this forum about the cable issues with the Zoe, it looks like you have come up with the perfect fix. I just had the cable on mine replaced with a slightly thinner one, but it still doesn't offer the same flexibility as yours, by the looks of it. Good work!

Hi Chris That must have been slightly un-nerving. I haven't fallen with the rig yet, although a rug in a corridor nearly got the better of me earlier this year, luckily my focus puller Philippe was with me and managed to do a good job of pulling focus and supporting me at the same time. I always find it amazing how quickly the talent can walk, when you are walking backwards holding a shot it can get quite hairy. The beach must have been harder on the feet too. After talking with the director, I usually do the sensible thing and speak up these days and ask them to cheat their movement slightly slower for me, or take my pace into consideration when they're walking / moving at fast pace. Hope the you and the Clipper 2 survived the fall. Cheers Jason

Hi all Looking for an XC-75 or similar that's in good condition. Send me an email with anything you may have;Jason@steadicam-facilities.co.uk Thanks :)

Hi all I use AB batteries on the rig, ProPacs, Hytrons and a Trimpac for accessories. Do any of you UK folk know of any places that can recell and repair Anton Bauers on our side of the pond? I have a couple that will need recelling sometime in the not too distant future. More urgently I have a ProPac that's died, doesn't need recelling, fuses are fine, but it's totally dead. Not registering on the charger or anything, so it needs opening up by someone who knows what they're looking for. I powered a faulty video tap off the rig, (obviously faulty as the cable got hot) and it seems to have damaged the battery without blowing the battery fuse, for reasons unknown to me anyway. Lucky escape, the rig wiring and everything else is all fine. I don't know what the issue with the video tap was, but my XC-75 cable got itself pretty warm! Cheers Jason

Howard had a 3A that he heavily adapted and customised into a 'Mark 4' and hence the evolution to his rig design today, 'Mark 5' - MK-V ...or something like that ;)

I found out today that the workshop website is alive and kicking MK-V Training, there's some pictures and video on there too. It does look like a great experience, especially with the AR, Quad and Crane stepoff, I'll have to start saving up. There's some great looking AR stuff on there too Chris, it looks stunning.

A forum search will definately turn up some useful reading on this issue - I seem to remember someone talking about carrying a Klassen on as hand luggage? I was looking for advice too, as I may have to fly with the gear for the first time over the summer. Looking forward to it in nervous anticipation! The general consensus seems to be, get it down to as few cases as possible without them being too heavy, only take the neccessary gear, take photos with you to illustrate the gear, as Marc said, and also be careful with batteries, you'll definatly need to explain them, and call the airline in advance to check all is OK is a good idea.

Actually, that's quite a nifty extension bracket you have there, Rob...it must be very useful for the extra clearance in DJ, gets the rig away a bit... I'm assuming you use this instead of the f-bracket for low mode? Just put the arm post through the hole and stick the gimbal on the other? That way you get the gimbal the right way up for low mode, yes? I'm no fan of low mode myself, too much weight too low down for my liking! Cheers Jason

Cheers Jeff, I wasn't aware of the menu / battery type issue..thanks!

It will be good to see an updated price list / parts list up there. I also see the G70 is mentioned on the site, under the 'Ultra2' .pdf

Thanks guys, more great help & advice, what the forum is all about! Cheers

I don't mind DJ, it can be useful for faster paced moves, although I would always prefer to do it with the Marell electronic bubble for some extra confidence in my horizon! I much prefer walking backwards, helps with composition and control (and for video, easier to control zoom movements). I will only walk backwards if I'm working with one of my usual guys to have behind me, just in case. Even in DJ it is useful to have your assistant at your side or somewhere in front of you to clear the path / guide you through.

I'm also interested, Brant your current VLMB design looks very well manufactured and I was considering buying one to compliment my Baer-bel low mode cage. Looking forward to pics and prices!

Hi, I've had a call about a possible job coming up soon, which would be quite major for me or whoever ends up doing it - I've done a forum search, and got some clues there, but I'm just looking for any other tips you guys may have for this setup on the rig: Shot on HD, with the F-900, P&S Techniks Pro-35 adaptor, primes - any quirks with the F900 or anything I should be worried about? In particular, I've not worked with the Pro35 before, so any clues would be good. I know my way round all the big camera bodies, no problems with that, I know its power hungry, no problems there, 6 AB bricks for the rig, and obviously I'm aware as per usual things will be very front heavy up top. Maybe using a Fox to pull focus, or a Genio if they decide they want a zoom lens. Thanks for any help on this. Cheers Jason

Wow £250 is a half acceptable rate for a low budget short,...but on a proper job...ridiculous- that's both annoying and worrying at the same time. Having said that, people pay for quality operating and gear, its about how you sell yourself, and that sort of rate for a proper job isn't going to instill confiidence in anyone on production. And anyone charging that as a rate for operator and full kit should be given a talking to! This isn't just about getting work, and getting paid for work, its about earning a living and being able to afford to keep & maintain gear / buy more gear. Steadicam is a huge investment to make and rates should reflect that. Mind blowing

...and if you don't feel up to soldering those fiddly 4-pin Hirose connectors (my brain explodes at the memories), then Teletest also sell the splitter cable to BNC & 4-pin XLR. Incidentally, I want to get the Teletest, but I've heard their bracket is a bit springy, and gives too much movement, although machined well.

Hi Joe, a Happy Easter to you too. I love the Zoe, it's almost perfect for us except for the bloody cable! You can get some great looking smooth zooms and ramp the speed up and down quite comfortably. Well the cable on mine was strained at ther terminal with the unit, so Bebob are fitting a new one for me, nice people. I know Fred Davies has come up with thinner cables for people, maybe he could work on a solution. All I usually do with mine is make sure that damn electronics module bit on the cable is just above the Zoe on the gimbal handle, so it's out of the way, then tape around the cable just after the module thing to prevent too much straining or shifting about of the thing. That BFD mod, I didnt know about either - I know Jim Bartell sells a little gimbal mounted box that plugs into the POT port on the BFD receiver, but that J7 mod would be good to know. Re: the general discussion here - over here in the UK, probably 80% of live TV Steadicam doesn't use a focus puller. Football matches normally use focus pullers, but not always, as do some studio programmes, but most outside broadcasts, sports and indeed some concerts etc would see you struggling to get a focus puller. One operater I know, who does some stunning work, pulls his own focus, and indeed it would be extremely difficult in the physical environment in which he works, to operate with a focus puller. But to be honest, with the lens technology we're currently working with, depth of field offered usually causes very few focusing issues anyway in terms of TV work, just the minor tweak here and there and for CUs etc. (That isn't the point, I know) But I 100% agree with the fact that there is no substitute for a focus puller and radio focus - for film, commercials music videos etc it would be unthinkable and simply wrong to go without.

Great photo there. Stanton (the Jimmy Jib manufacturers) also manufacture a zoom & focus handle; there's also one made by Vocas that can do Zoom & Focus or Zoom & Iris, and there's the J7's as shown above. All these electronic focus units are servo driven and therefore require an internal servo motor built into the lens or an external focus servo attachment on the lens. There's also the BFD option- the Jim also sells a small gimbal mounted box which can be plugged into the receiver, which in theory means you can pull focus on any lens, servo or no servo But...always always always try to get a focus puller, these setups should only be considered for TV and multicamera work where having a puller isn't always possible. It's hard work to operate, zoom and focus, if not impossible to operate to your highest standards, just too much to think about. I have the utmost respect for the focus pullers I work with, one in particular (he knows who he is) his skill just blows me away. Find yourself a good focus puller and try and get him / her on all your jobs, works a treat! P.S. I use the Zoe for zoom, with adaptor cables. Great little unit for the money, very high quality. The cable lets it down, too thick and gets in the way too much (mine is currentlu being repaired with a new cable being fitted)

I think the system they use is from Gigawave, or someone similar. (Gigawave also produce the wireless protable cameras which are often used on Steadicam) The concept is that the signal from the onboard minicam is uplinked to the helicopter (which also has a gyrostabilised camera mount for beauty shots and aerial tracking), fed down to the scanner truck in the OB village, and then obviously the live programme is output via satellite to millons of people arond the world. As far as I'm aware the signal from the car to helicopter is now digital, so the signal received and 'put out' will either be constant or a freeze frame, as opposed to a few years ago where there was much signal noise and interfereance on the analogue transmission.

I can't speak for their sled, but the accessories are of an extremely high quality, I have dovetail plates, motor rods, brackets and low mode cage which are all Baer-bel and they are definatly worth the spend - if all Markus' gear is to the same excellent quality then it should be an excellent system to operate.

Hi guys and thanks for the input. 3 days down, 1 to go. As mentioned, the boom arm takes some mastering - I found it much easier to feather the movement craning the camera up from the floor. Coming down, the weight always seems to get the better of the dolly and it's very difficult to get a nice feathered start point. Using the wider track, which helps, and my trusty WD-40 spray on the wheel fixtures and track rails soon put a stop to some creaking. All the controls are straightforward to master, and I added my 5" LCD for reference for more critical tighter lens tracking shots. 0verall, a nice small dolly with plenty of possibilities, but several limitations to be aware of, but as with our noble instrument itself, practice makes you better. Oh, and I did a Steadicam shot today...I knew it would only be a matter of time before production asked...

As far as I am aware there isn't one in regular production, however there are individual unique brackes out there that do pan and tilt. Over here in the UK, Mike Scott has a unique pan and tilt docking bracket that he can still offer shots from when the rig is docked. www.steadi.co.uk

Thanks for your help guys :) I'll have a closer look at the specs today. As I mentioned, I'm having the opportunity to make friends with it tomorrow before the shoot. 3 days studio, 1 day location - straightforward enough. It's the usual mid budget HD deal - Sony 750, follow focus etc, nothing to worry about Cheers Jason