Mark Schlicher

Joe, I emailed and private-messaged you some time ago about the Pro vest. Did you get my messages?

The search function is your friend. There are a couple of very good threads that address these very questions. As to the Red MX, yes you do want a lightweight configuration. The top camera weight limit of the Zephyr (around 24 pounds) is pretty unforgiving. There's no substitute for doing some old fashioned research (online and at a camera rental house) about the weight of all the individual components you may fly (including mattebox, rods, wireless ff receiver/motor/bracketry.) And don't forget the cumulative weight of cables.) One of my more valuable investments was a cheap digital postal scale from ebay, with 70 pound weight limit. Also seriously consider the auxiliary battery mount. $675 or so, but worth it for hotswap and longer runtimes with power hungry Red cameras, and better weight distribution.

Yes, the post clamp is interchangeable with the gimbal clamp. With the Zephyr, instead of a hose clamp, you would be better off with a machine screw and thumb-nut, I think.

If your fore-aft screw doesn't turn, it may just be adjusted a little overly-"stiff" from the factory. Mine was surprisingly tight. Try a little more finger force (but be careful not to damage, obviously.

Hey, Peter, Is Operators Night Wednesday or Thursday this year?

There are several rental companies in my area. Some are more competent and professional than others. I've traveled to LA for work and found the same to be true there. There's good and bad everywhere. But the one thing that remains true in all cases is that it is ALWAYS your responsibility to check your gear out (whether personally owned or hired by you/for you) for proper operation prior to the shoot. That's not only the way pretty much all rental contracts are written, it's my professional responsibility. "The equipment shall remain the absolute property of HiRental at all times. All equipment is tested before shipping; it is your responsibility to check upon receipt of the equipment that it is in good working order and in an undamaged condition." That is about as clear as it gets. Now, I have good relationship with a couple of rental houses, so if I miss a problem in prep, I let them know as soon as possible on set if it's something important, or upon return if it's something non-critical that I just think they should know about. They don't make a fuss about charging me. BUT that's a courtesy they extend because they know me; it's not something they are required to do. A couple of friends who work at a rental house get pretty jaded by the endless procession of (mostly) low-budget and student renters who obviously misuse equipment and then try to weasel out of the cost of repair, and even demand a return of their rental because "it was broken when I got it." Sounds like the rental company may have wrongly sized you up as one of those types, so they are taking a hard line. I doubt that they are deliberately sticking it too you (but who knows, it's possible.) Either way, arguing with them won't do you any good. You don't have a leg to stand on. If you really want to pursue this with them, I recommend that you give yourself time to calm your anger, then arrange to meet with the rental manager face-to-face, and approach them very respectfully and non-confrontationally with your story and your request. Remember, they don't HAVE to give you anything.

Where did you get the 90 degree din cables? I got some nice short cables but with straight connectors and am thinking I may eventually upgrade.

Which rig do you have? I assumed a Flyer... The "sweet spot" for weight obviously varies by rig. 12 pounds should be fine for the Flyer or FLyer LE, well within spec. No need to make it lighter, unless you are over your rig's maximum. You want to be in the upper ranges of payload, but not bumping up against the limits, for best handling. Somewhat subjective though...

Are you mounting the camera so that its CG is just slightly behind the centerpost (about a 1/2 inch)? That's generally a good place to start in the DB process. In general (not specifically related to DB), you may want to add a weight plate (homemade or from Janice Arthur here on the forum) to bring your camera payload into the 10-12 pound range. More mass settles the rig down a bit. Again, the battery paddle adjustment is SLIGHT...a degree or two makes a significant difference, and it's easy to overshoot the adjustment. Hope this helps!

Just speculation, but I doubt there will be a Pilot update soon. The Pilot is one of the new generation designs, and shares a number of parts with the newer Zephyr and Scout. The Pilot fills a specific niche in their lineup, and gets good reviews compared to the competition in lightweight rigs.

-the 6 pin hirose to 4 pin xlr and bnc breakout, are you referring to this? http://www.tiffen.co...temnum=252-0120 Looks like it, but you should confirm with Tiffen. -regarding your point about the earlier zephyrs and current production ones, so even the SD variant of the zephyr now offers a 6 pin hirose connector at the base of the sled for video and power options for whatever monitor that one chooses to use? Yes...sort of. First, if it were me, I'd confirm with Tiffen that I am indeed going to receive the version with the hirose. Second, the SD cable will probably have a proprietary connector, designed for Tiffen SD monitor. The Tiffen publishes the pinout for the hirose in the Zephyr manual, so you can have custom cables made for whatever your monitor needs. -as for the HD connection thing, so is it the case whereby there is another additional BNC input that is meant for HD signal on the top stage and an output at the base? Exactly correct. One BNC on top, labeled HD, is paired with one on the bottom of the sled. The other BNC on top is labeled video and is connected to some of the pins of the Hirose. The HD connector is designed for HD, the video connector "may" be able to carry an HD signal. -i have the pilot, and i tried mounting a marshall 7" on it, just to check out the weight distribution and stuff. it seemed fine to me, but i am just worried as the entire system is just being pivoted on one single screw, wear and tear over time etc.. One thing I plan to do is find a thin rubber washer or lock washer to help tie down the monitor. But in the meantime I don't have a problem. The pilot monitor bracket on the lower tube is the same as the Zephyr's. I assume you unscrewed the little locating screw? If you haven't downloaded the Zephyr manual from the Steadicam website yet, I recommend it.

- is the post on both the SD and HD version wired with HD-SDI cables? Yes. - how does the SD variant picks up the video signal and power from the base of the sled? There are two different SD variant monitors, and two different ways to connect to the sled. Early Zephyrs had a cable hard-wired to the base of the sled. Current production Zephyrs have a cable that is connected to the base of the sled by a 6-pin Hirose connector. The two different SD monitors may have different cables at the monitor end. Some SD Zephyrs shipped with a monitor with silver buttons. I don't remember what the connector on the monitor end is. Other SD Zephyrs shipped with a variant of the Flyer monitor, which has a funky 8pin mini-DIN connector on the monitor end. -i have a friend who owns the HD variant of the zephyr, and i understand that the marshall monitor is hooked up with just one single cable from the sled (which outputs to a BNC and 4pin XLR). The BNC/4pin cable comes out of the 6pin Hirose I mentioned above. The BNC is connected through the sled to the "video" connector on the camera stage. Technically it is not an HD connection but some have reported that it works. The "proper" way would be to connect the HD monitor via a separate cable that uses the sled's "HD" connectors. -i also understand that the monitor mount is more robust for the HD variant. the SD monitor mount looks exactly the same as the ones on the Pilot, from the pictures that i have seen in the forums. Tiffen's monitor mounts for the SD vs. HD are very similar in appearance and function. I don't think one is more "robust" than the other. -i am just wondering it it will make financial sense if i were to get the SD variant, in this case i will save about $4000 SGD, on which i can spend on a nice marshall monitor, some weight plates/cages, rods, wireless video, etc... You can probably save some money, yes. You will need to then buy a Hirose-to-Marshall monitor cable (custom or from Tiffen). The Marshall version of the HD monitor does not have as robust a mount as the Tiffen version, but it's been sturdy enough for me. The Tiffen monitor is equivalent to the Marshall HD-SDI 7" monitors. So, it's a matter of convenience (and one-stop warranty coverage) vs. savings. Ultimately it's your choice.

Nice work! The vest now is essentially equivalent to a Flyer vest, which is a great choice for a lightweight rig. Since the socket block is now "lightweight-rig-standard", you should be able to fly a Scout or Flyer arm and sled if you ever had the opportunity. I like your arm-keeper. Very clever!

Another dealer I highly recommend is Showcase Atlanta. Great prices and excellent personal service. Kenny Crysler is the video manager, 404 321-3636. Even if you never use the 24v capability, the second battery hangar is a "must-have" accessory for counterbalancing heavy cameras and for extra power capacity.

It's probably true that most BNC in professional use is HD-SDI capable. But that's different from saying "all co-ax video cabling that terminates to BNC use the same 75 OHM wiring." Without adding important qualifiers, that statement is not accurate. It's been awhile but I have run into rental house's BNC cable that wasn't up to HD-SDI snuff.

Brent, You get the 24v conversion plate directly from Tiffen. It's about $650, and contains circuitry to switch between 12v and 24v. You can see it in some of the pictures I've posted on another Zephyr thread. Camera-specific cables can be anywhere from $60-$250, be prepared. There may be a couple of different Zephyr SD monitors...one that is essentially the Flyer monitor, and one that is also used on the Scout (with silver buttons). Post a pic if you can...

Good to have some positive experience on this, thanks Alan. It's not correct to suggest that all 75 OHM wiring is the same. Impedence is only part of what makes a cable HD-capable. I'm not an engineer so I can't give a concise technical description, but... The ability of a cable to handle a digital HD signal is a combination of cable design/construction, number and design of connectors, and cable length. It's about signal attenuation (specifically high frequency attenuation)...So a non-HD-rated cable could work for a short run, but may fail in a longer run. Attenuation is cumulative, I believe...so a weak link will limit your cable distance. Here's some geeky info: http://www.extron.com/company/article.aspx?id=demystifyingcables1 Belden cable guide (with a good technical intro): http://www.belden.com/pdfs/Techbull/TB65.pdf

I've had some confusing answers to the question of the "extra" wiring in the post for the empty ports, but the most recent I heard from Michael is that the wiring for the tally and for another power connector are present. When the tally upgrade is done (or a tally-equipped new Zephyr is sold), existing wires are used and terminated in those empty ports on the stage. However, I looked and couldn't see the "extra" wires inside the topstage. They may be tucked underneath where not easily seen. Yes you can move the wiring around inside the topstage. I moved a power connector to be more convenient for my BFD receiver. Just be careful not to pinch the wires when reassembling the plastic shell. HD-SDI requires a wire that will pass the high frequencies of that signal. I don't have a camera to test it with but my guess is that if they aren't advertising 2 HD lines, then the "Video" SD line probably can't handle HD-SDI.

With a Pilot (or any rig) you only "need" to power from the sled when the camera is approaching the payload weight limit (or your own preference), or if powering the camera from onboard batteries is inconvenient for other reasons. Any rig tends to fly better toward the high end of its weight capacity. So, rule of thumb: if you are trying to add weight to the topstage, use onboard batteries, all else being equal. Likewise, if you're already heavy up top, or simply for convenience in only having one battery to tend to, then by all means power from the sled.

Honestly just run the camera off of its internal batteries. Buy a couple of spares, use a Manfrotto quick release plate screwed into your dovetail to pull it off of the sled when it's battery change time (the batteries last a good long time, you could go a whole day and maybe not have to change batteries...or maybe once). Mark the quick release plate with a pencil or china marker so you can line it back up when you put it back on. This eliminates the whole "tangle of cords" issue. Plus a sled-to-P-tap cable is easily $70 or more. Also, you want to avoid running a cable outside the post if you possibly can. My 2 cents...

Joseph, Did you get my recent email?

Tom, Here's a manufacturer page (Stafford.) Doesn't look like they make hinged collars in aluminum. Stafford Manufacturing

I don't have any direct experience with these, but it seems like a reasonable strategy. You may just have to try things out to see what suits you. Buy from somewhere with a generous return policy. Just a note, the Glidecam will be subject to the same physics as the Merlin, and will take similar time to learn and master. There is no shortcut to good shots. Another thought, you may get more responses to your question from other forums: Cinema5D, DVXUser, and DVInfo for instance. More folks there with experience with lighter-weight and lower-cost gear. This forum tilts more to larger rigs.

The vest looks to me like a direct descendant of the Provid vest...adding a proper bridge plate and socket block, and the clever velcro adjustment of the shoulder clasps.

Indeed it is. It's an excellent vest for the weight range of the Zephyr.