Fabian Roesler

Hi there, we are are prepping a feature, being shot in Berlin and Kiew this winter. Right now we are trying to find out if the Alexa is an option for us. It´ll lower the camera budget a bit, gets us more possibilities with available light in dark situations, etc. The problem that might occur is the cold. We expect temperatures around minus 15 centergrades and lower in the night in Kiew.I heard rumors that the Alexa needs a certain temperature minimum to get started. What i heard, it was around 20 degrees and more. Once started there shouldn´t be any temperature issues any more. But if we need to create a really warm enviroment to get the thing started, i think the camera is not an option at all for us. Does any of you guys have experiences in the cold with the Alexa? And another question. What is the best on board recording solution you worked with; pros and contras are highly appreciated. Thank you very much for sharing your experiances all the best Fabian

Hi Jess, i remember now why, in our configuration, we couldn´t connect the base plate directly to the camera. When you use the light weight support (in the manual its called LWS 5) you don´t have a flat bottom (ähhh) on the camera any more. The openings to hold the 15mm rods will stick out a little bit, so you are not able to screw your cheeseplate or the baseplate to the body directly. When you attach this 416 Steadicamplate the bottom is on one level again and you can screw on whatever you want. cheers Fabian

Hi, I just did a movie with the 416. Arri put a lot of thoughts in it to make it steadicam friendly. If you are happy with the clip on matt box (lmb something) you can loose all the wedge and bridge plates and just screw a 416 STEADIPLATE directly to your steadicamplate (cheeseplate, baseplate ???) This 416 STEADIPLATE is an accessory made by Schulz in Munich. It has an Quick release handle so you can easily slide it on and off the body. When took off, you can just slide the camera on the wedge plate (dove tail plate) which is connected to the heads own snap plate by screws. It makes the change from steadicam, to sticks and to hand held set quite fast. You connect your motors either on the 15mm rods connected to the light weight support (which is usually always on the camera, even when using the big Matt box), or use the rosette flange on the right side (looking towards the lense) to connect a tube with a square end. Set up like this, all the stuff can stay on the camera when you change to sticks. Changing is a matter of one minute, even less. I try to post a photo of the plate, if it is not working here is the link to the plate, by Xinetics. Low mode braket: Arri usually has the specific low mode braket in the package. It is a 2 part bracket, replacing the normal top handle. First part is a common low mode bracket that connects to the top handle mount, where you can screw your cheeseplate on. The second part is another plate with 3 spaecers on the bottom and a handle on the top. You connect it on top of the bracket and the spacers leave enough space for the plate to stay always connected to the Bracket. So while using the camera in every mode but low mode, you can use the top handle to carry the camera, while your cheeseplate stays with the camera all the time, and when changing to low mode, you just take off the top part of the Bracket and voila, you slide on your camera upside dowm on your cheeseplate and the change is done. Matt box and motors are still there, no further changes needed. It is quit light weight. So if you want more weight on it just use the on board battery. The big advantage of the steadyplate is the reduction of the distance between gimbal and Camera c.g.. so the sled doesn´t have to be that long. The low mode bracket, the light weight support, and the rod with the square end should be in the package, or be at least available in your rentral house. I don´t know if everything is understandable, i trie to find a photo of the bracket and post it. Cheers Fabian Check this guide on page 16 and 17 with pictures of the bracket, but not the steadicamplate i am talking about. The schulz one is much better and faster to change because it`s tool free. refering to the descriptions in the manuall. For the best set up( in my opinion) just leave the Accessory Carrier on the camera, loose the wedge plate, keep the Base plate connected to the head, and slide the Schulz Steadicamplate on the Camera http://www.arricsc.com/pdf/416QuickGuide120407.pdf link to STEADIPLATE: http://www.xinetix.de/en/gear/%5Bcatpath-raw%5D/416-steadyplate Schulz: Telephone: 89 72459700 Fax: 89 72459701 Mobile: 171 5328000 International Dialling Code: +49 P.S: I am not working for Schulz, it is just a great product...

Hello everybody, first i want to introduce myself. My name is Fabian, i did a workshop in LA last year, bought a rig, practised and start do establish myself as a munich based operator. I want to thank you guys for all the valuable infos you share in the forum. It´s been a great help so far and i really appreciate your efford. I have a short question about my rig. Do you guys carry around some kind of emergency cable? I mean something that would connect your batteries directly with the monitor and the camera, not using the posts electronics and internal cabling. I´ve seen something like this on a pro2 and i wonder if it´s a good thing to have. I am not much of an electrician and my skills in fixing filigran-(is there a word like this in english?) electric stuff is very limited. My rig is a ultra2 and i mostly work with arri Cameras. So i think i´d need a 24V supply. I know that the power Tap connector on th ebase only provides 12V. I am scared to be in the middle of nowhere, having problems with amplifiers, DC changers, water entering my electric box or whatever. I learned that the electric boards in the U2 are supposed to be changed easily. But does that mean i have to carry around spare boards? Do you guys have that kind of back up with you all the time? Is it paranoia or does it makes sense in your opinion? Sorry if there is already a topic like this, but i didn´t find anything going in that direction. In that case maybe you could post the link. Thanks