William Demeritt

But the moon does "turn" or "rotate" on an axis while it is also in orbit, so it does effectively "pan".

If a sled on a gimbal were mated to a pin floating in space (just floating in space, no operator), and that pin did roundies on a subject (same radius at all times, traveling the orbital path), inertia would keep the camera pointed in the same direction for the duration of the orbit/roundy; it would not maintain focus on the "subject", or in this example the point it's orbiting, or "focus".

If something initially set the object in rotation at just the right rotational velocity, and had no drag/friction on it's rotation, it would remain pointed at the focus it's orbiting while traveling it's orbital path (until otherwise accelerated upon).

If we were then attached to the sled, and did the same thing (we facilitated the initial rotation as well as traveling the revolution with perfect radius from the orbital center at all times), we would need to set the initial rotation. After which, inertia does it's job and the sled continues to rotate/pan and stay pointed at the focus.

Due to the limitations of our human bodies attached to the sled, we cannot maintain the same orientiation throughout the orbit: if we continued pointed in a set direction in space (our bodies were not rotating) while walking the circle, we'd get to 180 degrees of the orbit and be facing the wrong way, e.g. while we started the walk facing our monitor, at 180 degrees we'd be on the other side of the sled, facing away from the monitor. At 270 degrees, it would only get worse.

Granted, the gimbal has the benefit of minimizing friction, so maintaining the rotation requires minimal acceleration during the move. For that reason, while you're walking the roundy path, the gimbal/sled orientation to your body changes very little (unless you're doing handoffs). Yes, relative to the earth, it's rotating, but more to the point, relative to the focus, it's rotating. Rotational velocity is =/= 0.

Now for our damned, fragile human bodies. Unlike the gimbal, we don't have the benefit of frictionless interaction with the earth; so with every step, we are effectively rotating/panning our bodies. Relative to the focus, our bodies are rotating because the focus never sees our back (unless you're Jacques doing cartwheels or whatever). We rotate our bodies to match the initial rotation during the revolution, which keeps our body on the correct side of the rig and facing the monitor.

Relatively speaking:

Sled : operator = sled is technically not rotating (unless you do a handoff, in which case your focus remains the same but camera angle changes, so you accelerated the rotational velocity momentarily and then stopped accelerating to constant velocity).

(Sled + operator) : focus = the system is rotating in order to maintain the same "direction" as the focus (basically, the same direction as the centripetal force).

Focus : (sled + operator) = relatively speaking, it's rotating with negative rotational velocity to the (sled + operator) system.

TL;DR = I think sled + operator is "panning", sled relative to the operator is not "panning". Also, WTF is Sugru?

WTF have you done to your knob?

That's a rather personal question...

Sugru is the antithesis of Lisigav

David: As JP mentions, and I mentioned in the initial post, the overuse of generic BNC bulkhead connectors is as much the cause of this problem as the lax language of "Yea, it does SD" (when they really mean "Yea, it does SD-SDI, but not CVBS"). I haven't had too much confusion over HDMI so far: it's HD pretty much always, never confused for analog, and doesn't suffer from SMPTE schizophrenia. Component is interesting, but I haven't seen a camera supporting component in a while.

Sometimes during prep, I'll just cap the BNC plugs I know we won't be using, but especially the CVBS/SD/"Video Out" plug. Other times, I just make certain the PA or whoever plugging in the cable knows which one to go for, and why.

Bumpity bump! Start 2013 right: buy my Samurai, wear it on your sled, bring your footage home with you that night! Check your takes from earlier in the day!

I'd be OK with hearing just a shipping date! ^_^

From what I have heard, you'll be able to move the position of the on screen level anywhere on the screen you like. At least that's what I've heard during development.

Joel: no sir. The Bolt accepts only SDI (SD-SDI or HD-SDI) over the BNC in. Does not accept CVBS.

Also worth mentioning(?): the heat dissipation is a problem. After transmitting for a while, the Bolt's chassis become uncomfortably hot. During one handheld shot, I discovered the unit was too hot (by it pressed against my face and being very uncomfortable) and distracted me from operating. Heat sinks would be a good idea.

When you are spending ~$20K on a single piece of gear, I'm not going to "settle" to try to save what in the long run is a small amount of money

As Charles Papert has said before, the two things that most directly influence on your operating are your gimbal and your arm. 1 HD line or 8, tally line or dc regulating microprocessor, back mounted vest or 2" centerpost, all operating still comes down to specific components that make your life (and your job) easier or harder.

$3,000 on the arm when compared to the cost of the arm is 1/6, but if you're making an investment that would last years, a 16% price increase becomes less prohibitive if you've saved and planned your investment. Furthermore, if you're buying a full package that you'll use as a foundation for the run of your career, then a 16% "premium" on a piece of equipment that you never have to revisit is a smarter business decision than buying something you may need to "upgrade" before it's fully paid for.

Lastly, again considering the package as the foundation, then the $3,000+ "premium" should be compared with the price of the full investment. So when considering an economical full package valued at $90,000+, $3,000 more on the arm is only a 3.333% increase. In the scope of a package the "big guys" have, it's $3,000 out of $150,000, or 2%.

In the scope of a career that should last many years, providing livelihood for you and your family, why wouldn't you budget to purchase a piece of equipment that plays a MAJOR role in your success, considering that most other equipment could "take a back seat" budgetarily, if necessarily?

I'm really doing my best to make the above statement objectively, not just as a Steadicam operator but as a business owner/operator. You know your business, you know what you need and what works best for you. Maybe the G series arms can "split apart for storage" which makes it optimal? I just think the folly here lies in making it strictly a financial decision when many other factors come into play... even though, as I'm trying to indicate, a business financial decision points towards the "more expensive" option being the safer, less risky one with a negligible price difference.

Looking for more definitive proof, but I'm pretty sure the LEMO connectors in the PRO and XCS center posts have a coupling/decoupling rating of 2000 cycles. My concern is for the possibility of mechanical danger such as cross threading in the collars, not so much with the LEMO connectors.

Obviously contact GPI for their input. The sled sock does seem more appealing from a simplicity standpoint, as well as quick storage during company moves.

Didn't we used to talk about the art and science of Steadicam on this site? It seems like the substantial topics die off quickly, and the vapid, political ones drag on forever; like some kind of horrible circle jerk. Quit feeding the fire, people!

No you are.

Political? Vote for Pedro!

Alec: are you trying to use the splitter from the first post? It's basically just a passive splitter, slightly better than a glorified T-barrel splitter. I'm not 100% certain, but I would be concerned that these kind of passive splitters would change the resistance and possibly introduce issues. Perhaps the Boxx dislikes 37.5ohm resistance instead of the expected 75ohm of HD-SDI?

I've used the active reclocking amplifier I posted above with a few setups (I think including a Boxx Meridian) and it worked well.

How about we move on and talk about Steadicam?

Absurd.

Can anyone help me figure out how to dynamic balance my Christmas tree? The ornaments seem to be coplanar, but I'm sensing some vibration in the Angel topstage.

Yea, the fear of cross-threading is my largest concern, and I'm hoping to get PRO to weigh in once in the new year. I would imagine it's not designed to be a daily/regular type thing, but I wanted to check on people's experiences first.

My intention wouldn't be to do it directly on set, but rather during my usual "set up" and "break down" time that I work into my arrival and departure schedule. I generally pull everything from my car anyway, so while putting things together, I foresee the opportunity to take that additional 3 minutes to assemble the sled. I have the big anvil case I could use for travel, but it's so enormously bulky for the short drives I generally take. Air travel, I'll use it without hesitation... but getting to set that's 10 minutes from my place seems like overkill.

I've also considered getting a sled sock through Modular 51 or others, but I haven't pulled the trigger on it just yet. Exploring my options.

Quick question that was on my mind and I didn't think to call Jack earlier belt the holiday breaks took hold.

The PRO sleds with quick release bayonets at top and bottom, are they designed for repeated mount and dismount? The screw collars make for quick access to dismount for service and maintenance, but is it encouraged or discouraged as a means to store and travel with the sled?

For Service, I'm sure the screw collars will work well for the occasional disconnect and reconnect (once every month on average?). However, is there any concern with daily or multiple times per month connecting for work and disconnecting for storage/transport?

Have other operators had experiences one way or another? Has PRO already commented on the matter?

Dean: you can't see it? It's hilarious! So epic!

Selling my Atomos Samurai. Owned it for about a year, selling it because I got a Blackmagic Hyperdeck Shuttle 2. Light wear on it, I'll upload photos tonight when I get home. 2 batteries, case, Unit itself, battery to ptap adapter, single battery charger and the drive caddies and reader with cables. Also has mini bnc cables to female bnc and male bnc. I'll even throw in a 128gb hard drive, gets about 90 minutes recording time in Apple ProRes HQ.

Asking $1300 for the whole kit. Retails for $1595 without a drive. Hit me up with any questions.

Looking forward to it! I use mine on all my Alexa jobs and am very happy!

If the world doesn't end on the 21st, maybe we can all get together on the 23rd and air our steadi forum greivences around a Festivus pole.

I'm all for that!! I hear they have poles at Jumbo's. Ron, care to organize?

Seriously, I mean this with all my love: grow some sac people. If you disagree with Eric or whoever, tell him to piss off or maybe just ignore him! I don't care if it's a 30 year veteran or a newbie; if you disagree with them, say so or just ignore it.

The thread in question: yes, a part of me was somehow curious about the pan inertia computations as something to keep in mind when figuring out a shot. The other side said: I don't have time to do those calculations on set. In the end, if someone has that information handy, post it.

If anyone is seriously dissuaded from asking questions or worse pursuing their dreams because of someone ON THE INTERNET, you're gonna have a real hard time figuring out your real life.

This nanny "Oh help me, protect me" complex is the real threat to us and our industry. If someone pushes you out, good luck negotiating rates or following your passions in the future.

Perhaps we should have a separate thread just for people to contribute their experiences with each transmitter package, which they bought and why (if they did) etc. Lots of people have had different experiences at this point, maybe it's time to start collating all these thoughts into one thread where people can read through and draw their own conclusion on what to recommend for rental, or even what to buy on their own?

And of course, the Great Transmitter Debacle will happen someday...

Mike: Dtap from an Anton Bauer battery plate into the Bolt with the cable included with the package. 12v unregulated, but no more than 14.4v. Also failed to charge via the AC adapter as Chris at Teradek was helping me troubleshoot over the phone. This was brand new out of the Pelican box it was delivered in.

Well, we tried to use one this morning that we received, but the powering system malfunctioned so we can't change it. Teradek is doing an RMA for us already. I called 3 times this morning and nobody answered their phones in the support department. Finally go thru and their support narrowed it down that the powering system was not working properly. Nice QC guys.

Wile it was briefly working from the half charged internal power source, it broke up when 3 people were standing between the TX and RX at 50 feet? Daytime exterior.

Mystery mostly solved. Check your LEMO pins for defects, people!