William Demeritt

Just put in my order! Looking forward to receiving and taming Miss Alexa's back-heaviness.

I believe the universal characteristic of all HD-SDI cables is 75 ohm resistance. The other characteristics give varied results. I prefer Belden 1505 and Belden 1694a for HD-SDI, although 1694 is solid copper (not stranded), so not ideal if it's in a post that collapses and expands. VERY STIFF. 1505 might be your best bet?

Unless some work suddenly takes over, I'll be there for Operator's Night, the PRO open house, and NAB April 16-18. In the mean time, I will be trying to find work... and a life.

Andrew: my problem has persisted for a long time, and has followed me from the SD sled to my current HD sled, different batteries, different power cables, etc. I haven't flown a RED MX lately, I'll report back once I do. I've got an Epic job next weekend.

Will, It's a GH2 on the Merlin, cleverly hidden in the title.

Your mother is cleverly hidden in the title.

1.5 second drop time, or any drop time really, will result in pendulum effect. Only completely neutral static balancing will reduce pendulum effect to nil. Even still, you may get some depending on the existing forces, such as a tilt down and a sudden push forward, because if the tilt down is still accelerating at the moment of the forward movement, the bottom sections acceleration backwards is increased, and turns into an upward force (pendulum up).

As far as parts moving, I think that cables shifting can be a culprit of small changes that result in big balance shifts.

What rig do you have?

What camera?

How is everything configured top and bottom?

Pictures of the setup?

If there are things rattling around inside the camera, it depends on the camera and the setup. Something as small as a tiny rock rattling around inside of a BL or ST might not make any difference, but the same rock inside of a Sony F3 on a Flyer might change it. More often, I find it's the cables improperly secured (not rubber-banded down, not velcroed in place, etc). Cables, even pigtails, may not weigh much, but they're often in unique positions that they are pretty far from the CG of the camera and the "pivot" of the sled. Torque = mass x distance from pivot.

Sorry Will, I was vague. I meant why would powering 12v affect the accessory outputs? The camera is a 24v camera, the accessory ports never change. Supply the camera 12v and it converts to 24v, which is why Arri recommends supplying 24v.

On the PRO sled, using the 12v power block disables the second battery from running to the AUX power port on the upper junction box. Likewise, all remaining ports up top become 12v, so you have nowhere to power 24v only accessories unless coming off the camera accessory ports that give out 24v.

Thanks Guys,

GPI-PRO is not making this jumper anymore,also I think I don't need it but Thanks.

Thanks gosh my Sled is a Ultimate 2!!!!!...but the rest of my company is running PRO.

Hey, in the event of an EMP blast or explosion, my PRO sled will still work. ;)

To hot swap in 24 Volt mode, just slap a battery on the back of the camera, change your batteries out, and then remove the onboard.

That works too. It's kind of 6 of one, half dozen of the other.

Why Will? The Alexa is a 24v camera, it converts on-board when fed 12v. Arri recommends feeding 24v though so that the power is more efficient

They likely recommend you use 24v configuration because of efficiency since a 12v load at XX watts on a single battery yes is more efficient (higher amps on a single load battery yields less watt hours). 12v load on 2 supplies is just as efficient as a 24v load, considering 24v is made by two batteries, but isn't hot swappable. 12v parallel is hot swappable, and the amps per battery in 12v porallel are the same as the amps per battery in 24v.

The watts is the same, and if the camera doesn't care either way, why not go with the speedier configuration? Like I said, the biggest letdown is buying/building a 12v Arri power cable.

12v only block puts you in parallel power mode, which allows you to hot swap batteries, while 24v keeps you to cold swaps. As far as watts are concerned, the consumption remains the same, so the hot swap makes it nice over 24v, but you need a 12v Arri power cable. Also any accessories that draw 24v will have more trouble powering.

I just had a Red One MX on my sled today, no flicker/sync issues what so ever with my Cinetronic. Do you have the most up to date firmware on your monitors (Jens & Will)?

I had it updated a few months ago. What software version are you running?

RE: reclocking, here's the solution:

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/809837-REG/Matrix_Switch_MSC_HDDA4_HD_SDI_Distribution.html

 

(3G version is available for extra $50, MSC-HDDA4 G3)

 

and to power it:

 

http://www.nebtek.com/products.php?product=NEBTEK-LIBA%3A-Lithium%252dion-Battery-Adapter

 

the plug size is 2.5mm and 5v !!!

Bought that exact amplifier. I'm going to make a d-tap cable to run off my sled base and one for the camera port on my PRO sled to rig it up top. Low power draw is nice, but it's a hefty little bastard.

Many of the cheap HD transmitter options require HDMI, so the Deci 2's hdsdi to HDMI scaling will be very useful to you.

Kettlebells at home are fantastic. Great for muscle confusion. Otherwise just stay active: biking, hiking, Slayer concerts...

Sorry Jess, but Williams TX/RX is really interesting but it definitely needs its own thread.

Thomas: when I get the device and verify it can do all the things I want it to do, I'll post all the information in it's own thread so everyone can exploit the consumer technology out there for our own means.

This is only a problem with composite.

I'm not sure that's the case, as it almost ALWAYS happens with my monitor with the RED One/MX.

Here's a video of it happening:

http://www.wbd3.com/steadicamforum/backlight_issue.mov

http://www.wbd3.com/steadicamforum/backlight_issue.mov

Doesn't ever seem to happen with any other camera running off the HD-SDI feed (Alexa, F900, AF100, F3 and F35 flown, no video issue). The only reason the Red MX stands out, as I've researched, is that it has terrible HD-SDI jitter issues.

Red One MX with 1st gen Redbyte DC.....I thought the Redbyte has a build in re-clocker? Charles?

The Decimator 1 might, but I know the Decimator 2 does not have a built in re-clocker, as was confirmed by Decimator Designs via email. The only device by Decimator that has a reclocker is their MD-RDA (reclocking distributor amplifier).

I found another device for half the cost, but it requires 5v (at 0.4 amps), so that's the cable I gotta build.

I just found an HD-SDI amplifier/Reclocker for $200, gotta make a cable and actually fly a RED to test it. I'll post the results.

Rebooting the monitor through cable power cycle or the button never solved the problem long term for me. Maybe a solution will appear in the next version/upgrade of the monitor?

What camera were you using? I've experienced a similar problem with the RED One/MX, which I correlated to the HD-SDI jitter in all video outputs.

XCS sleds have an option for LEDs all over the left and right sides that will spell out your name and rate.

After seeing the ATOMOS Samurai and Ninja back at NAB 2011, I was actually rather excited to see it come out. The Ninja came out rather quickly, but the Samurai was delayed and delayed for quite a while. I received mine in December, and have had it for a few months now.

Heavily discussed here: http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=13759

I'm writing my review based on the newly released AtomOS 2.8 firmware upgrade, which in my opinion makes the device exactly what it should have been upon release.

NOTE: 2.52 or 2.6 firmware, which I believe it shipped with, had some nasty handling issues with jitter over HD-SDI, where it would misread it as the HD-SDI record trigger, so you'd wind up with a hundred small files from it triggering on and off.

REVIEW: As I found my work increasing on features and longer shoots, I realized my operating and survival as an operator necessitated an onboard recorder. Simply put: I wanted to be able to review my shots and determine what I needed to fix WITHOUT reviewing playback with the DIT, without asking everyone to watch it with me, and especially without the DP needing to come ask me for those improvements.

Problem was most of my work was HD: RED One, RED MX, Alexa, Epic, even the occasional Varicam shoot. Investing in an Archos to use with my Decimator, while cheaper, wasn't future proof. Also, taking home high quality footage to edit into my next reel was a priority.

I bought a BlackMagic Hyper Deck Shuttle back in September 2011, but I was never thrilled with it. DIN pins for HD-SDI in and out required I build cables ONLY for use with that box. Recording time on SSD drives was crap (11-12 minutes on a 120GB SSD). The biggest problem: cannot format the SSD, nor pick clips to keep. To format the SSD, you must plug it into a computer or laptop and format like an external hard drive. The device was, as Eric has described, a "bit bucket", but without any practical way to dump out the bucket. F or the price it's decent, but I needed something with more control to let me get through the day.

To me, the Samurai is a great device: HD-SDI recording, records to SSD or HDD, you can select your quality of Apple ProRes codec (and I believe you can get an upgrade to include Avid DNxHD for $149US), etc. The quality of video is just what you expect, it has a menu and file system where you can watch playback on the touch screen, delete clips you don't want/need, or format the SSD/HDD entirely to keep shooting. Of course, quality and functionality come at a price: $1599.

Doesn't have an internal battery, but instead runs off two small Li-Ion battery packs. When you register the device, ATOMOS says they'll send you a D-tap to dummy battery cable (still haven't received it yet). I think the external battery only is the biggest drawback, as it made mounting to my sled a bigger pain than it needed to be. I just velcro it to the video recorder mount of my PRO2 battery base, and add a bongo tie for added security.

You can read all the specs of the device, but here are the things that immediately come to mind with why I like the device:

• Long recording time: on my same 120GB SSD, recording to Apple ProRes HQ, I get 1 hour 30+ minutes recording 1080p24. That's a great improvement over the BlackMagic.
  
• Screen lock: with the 2.8 firmware, you can enable a screen lock that also turns off the display (via the power button). You can do this while recording, which saves battery life. As much as I didn't care for the battery, a single brick made it through my whole day by screen locking the display during takes and between shots.
  
• Weighs about as much as the HyperDeck Shuttle with a single battery, once the D-tap to dummy battery cable comes, I expect it will weigh less?
  
• Better HD-SDI jitter handling, which the RED One/MX have terrible problems with.
  
• Trigger over HD-SDI, so you could keep the display off and it will take the record command on its own.
  
• Transport controls are easy: when manually rolling, I just hit the enormous red, on screen button (instantly turns grey and timecode runs) and then press the power button once to kill/lock the display.
  
• Has a screen to watch playback of previous clips. The screen isn't anything special, but it's better than the options of other recorders out there.
  
• 1/4-20 screw holes on top and bottom mean I have a variety of mounting options, so it opens up possibilities for the future when velcro and bongos get old.
  

Attached a picture of it on my sled. My future plan is to use the D-tap to dummy block for powering and a single battery for backup, which will let me move the recorder more centered over the recorder mount (and also spin it around so the mini-BNC pigtail off the back of the recorder isn't sticking out behind the sled.

p.s.- I know, I need an Alexa adapter block, it wouldn't have helped me on this job: lots of last minute BS, no clip-on matte box, had to have the bottom rails, blah blah.

Thomas: when it comes to HD vs. film gigs, I find the same to be true. Of course, in the digital age, the UHF "fuzz" makes them a bit more skiddish since they're spoiled by clear, digital images.

Personally, I just want one system with great range and clear images for all cameras: HD, film, pixel vision, iPhone (god help me).

I came from flying a PRO2 monitor, but I spent some time on a friend's Ultra 2 HD UltraBrite monitor. That being said, I haven't found the wider monitor of my Cinetronic 4:3 6.5" monitor challenging or compromising, even this summer when I was doing walks through a narrow, CLUTTERED house (art department had trash everywhere... and not just because they're art dept).

Regardless, once the new housing and features are unveiled, this whole argument will be pretty outdated. Then, the housing will be barely wider than the LCD panel itself. Maybe that will entice some people to change up?

Yea, I'm doing research now for a decent 12v regulator that has 3 amp capacity that's also small enough to function as a decent cable (or in-line module of the cable). Of course, 12v @ 2amps means the unit is 24 watts, which is already 9 watts higher than the power consumption on the BriteView Air Sync HD I was hacking apart. Once I get this unit, I'll tear it open and see what/where I can add antenna.

The 12v and the multicast capability are the most exciting, in my opinion.