Sanjay Sami

Its strange ... It does not look like vibration from the rig. It looks like the camera panning left and right constantly. Is the camera tight on the plate ? I am not familiar with the rig, but if the camera is fastened with just one screw, make sure it isn't working itself loose. Maybe get an operator to look it over once ? I know Lorenzo Senatore lives in Sofia ...

I have not worked longer than 14 or 15 hours in the last 10 years or so, and have fortunately had Directors and AD's who have seen the benefit of having a sane crew on set. My longest day was 27 hours on a movie in Namibia, in the Namib desert, about 16 or 17 years ago. At some point I had no idea what I was doing. My legs and arms were moving, but my brain had checked out a long time ago. The Gaffer was evacuated to Windhoek with extreme heat exhaustion.

Wow ! Talk about all your eggs in one basket. I am guessing that you've been to the police ? This should qualify as grand theft and should get a swift response I hope. That's a really shitty Christmas present. I am sorry. Hope it gets sorted, and it might, it's probably going to be hard to fence in Denmark.

Well said Afton ... Merry Christmas everyone !

I used the same cable that I use for the Genesis. Worked fine on the F65.

As a Key Grip with a 10 ton truck load of equipment, I can't keep track of all the gear. If something gets lost, we put it into L&D. If it got "borrowed" and we don't find who "borrowed" it, it goes into L&D. If we find who "borrowed" it ... THEY go into L&D .

I bought the Bolt as a backup to my Transvideo Titan HD. I now use it as my primary transmitter. It doesn't have the same range, but it is so compact and works just fine. Very impressed so far.

"Still photographers are douche bags" ha ha ha ha ha ha !!

This is one option from Chapman Leonard, but it might be overkill http://www.chapman-leonard.com/CAMERA%20CARS/CHEVY%203%204%20TON.html Why don't you just hard rig the camera, if its just a plate shot looking forward I imagine there is no operating involved. If you must operate off the front of a vehicle, get in touch with Herb Ault, a Key Grip who runs a company called Griptrix. They have very good electric cars that are purpose built for filming off, and they are not as Mega as the Chapman camera cars, although they are right next door to each other in North Hollywood. Also make sure the stretch of road you film on is locked off, if you can.. A head on collision with you as a hood ornament is no fun.

I just got a message from Frank thanking me for doing the work, because downtime on the Dolly affects their reputation regardless of the cause of the down time. This is a Dolly that I own ... not a rental from them. Love that.

Still entirely family owned. Leonard Chapman is in his 80's and is at the factory every day. You probably spoke to Christine Chapman or Carol Chapman - Leonards daughters.

This may not be directly a Steadicam post, but a lot of the Operators here are Camera Operators who do not exclusively operate Steadicam, and so as users of various moving camera platforms, I thought this may be of interest. I own Chapman dollies. I own them because I love the dollies themselves. I soon realised that there is an intense pride with which that company backs their products and the people whose livelihoods depend on them I am on a movie in Goa, India and we had an issue with the transmission of the Hybrid 3 on the movie. The dolly might have got shaken up a bit in transport, but it got stuck in Conventional steering and would not steer at all, as in the steering was stuck at about 30 degrees. As any Grip would know ... this is a disaster. I called Frank Requena at Chapman,I am on the other side of the world, with a 12 hour time difference, and he was watching a baseball game at night, probably with a cold beer, but he very patiently talked me through the various possibilities and then I proceeded to very cautiously take the transmission apart. Through his night and my day, he texted me with info as I sent him pics of my progress and he advised me one way or the other. The next morning, he got to the office early, took a Hybrid transmission, and drew instructions and alignment marks on it with a red sharpie and sent me the pictures ... Dolly is now back on location at work. Thank you Frank. I love Chapman

Chris, does this mean that video village will also see an inverted image ?

This was my response to Ruben - Well, it's a reflection of how you see yourself. If you are secure about how good you actually are, you don't need to be an obnoxious bully. This guy is obviously not very good, and knows it. Do you remember when the Steadicam operator fell over backwards as the Jamaican sprinters were celebrating their relay victory ? They all stopped and helped the guy up. They are the best the world has, and their attitude shows it. This sad little condom malfunction will soon be a distant memory. This was probably his way of trying to make it to the news. He knows his playing ability is unlikely to do much in that direction.

Apart from being ergonomically the worst eyepiece I have come across, you also cannot flip the damn thing ? The AC just told me that the image cannot be flipped to mount on the right side. Is this true ?

I made one, because it was the cheapest option. Weight is not a big concern for me, and I just need something with 4 wheels and shelves, so I made it. I also have a Magliner ( not for Steadicam) and it has withstood many years of abuse - I can recommend them for build quality. Sometimes heavier can mean sturdier .

Brett also look at Avenger - their stands are really good and work well for many years with very little maintenance. You can also buy a turtle based C stand and take the post out of the base when you need a monopod "Moses pole" kind of thing.

How do you watch it ? Is it available online ?

Robin - received it today. Mounted it up and took it for a spin. Wow ... what a difference. Love it already.

Hi Steve, I have one on its way to me from Robin in London. Would this be the latest version ? Regards Sanjay

Glad it all worked out, and welcome to the world of endlessly collecting cables, adaptors, dovetails, dog bones etc etc etc ... there is no end.

Any idea who the operator is on this show ? Very good work.

Hi Jerry, Great product as usual ! On your website the option to download the catalog doesnt seem to be there ... unless I am missing something. It says "click Download below" but there is no "Download" option.

Afton, Those screws are not likely to be able to hold the hexagonal profile unless the ends are knurled like the setscrews in speed rail. That would damage the crosspiece though. What would be the reason for them to switch from square to hex without changing the receiver ?

Their Castle nut spanner is fantastic - recommend it to your dolly grip. No more using seat risers to hammer the castle nut, and MUCH fewer bleeding knuckles ! One of the few that works with both Chapman and Fisher.