Mark Schlicher

Indeed it does. :-) I believe I read that it has to do with the available transflective panels.

yeah, I found some stuff. just seems weird that an HDSDI monitor would be 4:3 format.

Correct. 4x3. Search the forum for lots of detail on this monitor. There are other outdoor viewing choices but much more expensive. Search "great monitor shootout"

I don't recall offhand but all the options are on Marshall's website. The 6.5"s are on a page for sunlight viewable monitors.

You'll need an HD-SDI BNC cable of course, and either power from a sled-to 4pin XLR (just like the one that comes with the rig) or get a power/composite video cable (all but the very early Zephyrs have a 6pin Hirose power/video connector on the sled) You can get a cable from Tiffen or have Terry West make one up for you. Guess which is cheaper. :-) If you ever do live TV you can feed the composite video to a program return monitor.

The Zephyr HD monitor that Tiffen supplies is based on the 7" Marshall monitor, but not the high-bright version.

Upgrade to a Marshall 800 nit 7" (around $1000 US) or their 6.5" transflective. It makes a huge difference. :-)

John,

Welcome! My post clamps don't swivel freely, but they do swivel, and so it required a little practice for me to work with them quickly and confidently. I did find that, from the factory, neither clamp was adjusted tightly enough to keep from slipping under heavy load, so I had to slightly tweak them, and I check them at every prep.

From the specs and the look of the front of the monitor, I'll wager it's the 800 nit 7" Marshall. Squinting at the picture to try to read the labels, it appears there are HD-SDI outs (maybe two) and an HDMI out on the back. Correct? If so, you could just loop out to a big video village monitor.

EDIT: just checked the website, there are two SDI outs.

This looks like a sturdy and well-thought out unit. Again from the specs, it sounds very much like a re-housed, re-engineered Asus wicast or other Amimon chipset-based unit.

Thanks, guys.

What do you generally charge for rain cancellations and postponements? This is for a music video.

Background:

Out of town shoot, roughly three hour drive. I'm riding in the production's van. Friday afternoon travel, Saturday shoot morning and travel back the same day. I'm booked for Friday travel day (day rate x 50%), and shoot day on Saturday. Sunday is on hold as a weather contingency.

Two possible scenarios:

1. If Saturday looks like rain, production may postpone the shoot to Sunday, shifting our travel day to Saturday. They want to make this call on Friday morning. Should there be any penalty for the shift?

2. If we travel on Friday, thinking the weather looks good for Saturday, and it rains unexpectedly on Saturday...then we would postpone to Sunday. So, travel Friday, rainout at the location Saturday, Shoot/travel on Sunday. What is the appropriate charge for Saturday?

I'm speaking mainly of labor...is it reasonable to assume no additional gear rental on days when the rig doesn't actually work?

The socket block size is a pretty easy workaround. If you don't already know, the mounting screw pattern is the same as a fullsize socket block so you simply swap it out. I bought an extra Flyer/Zephyr socket block for my Garfield mount so I can easily switch.

As for the safety stop, I'm not sure we're talking abou the same thing. A hole...? Sounds like you're talking about the arm-post-to-gimbal-handle connection. Dave and I were discussing the fact that you shouldn't be able to extend your main post far enough for the two sections to come completely apart.

Ozzie,

Love to hear the results. With the Zephyr, ounces count....but dollars count, too!

Job,

I'd like to talk with you about possibly buying your MK-V plate. Please send me a PM or email at mark (at) sunporchmedia.com.

Thank you!

Give me a couple of days, and then remember me once or twice, becose i have a plate like that ( mk-v ) wich i dont use.

 

Greets Job ( who is to damn bussy )

It's a bit confusing, it's true.

The G-zoom solution goes like this: To control focus you need the g-zoom gimbal controller, which has a cable with two connectors-one for zoom and one for focus. The focus cable plugs via specific adapters into one of three places:

1. Canon or Fuji lens with internal focus servos.

2. Analog focus motor via Bartech receiver

3. Analog focus motor via "g-focus amp" which you can purchase.

Another option if you already have a Bartech analog receiver and motor and, for instance, a Zoe zoom control, is the Bartech "Gimbal mount hard wire focus module remote" (on the Bartech accessories page). Rig this to the gimbal next to the Zoe.

G-zoom is wired. Interfaces directly with video zoom lenses for zoom. SOME (but not many) video lenses have internal servo motors for focus. The G-zoom can directly control those also (with the appropriate cable.

Otherwise, you need to add a Bartech (analog) receiver and motor. Bartech units have a "pot in" port that allows wired control.

 

"if we hire someone with their gear, it's up to them to provide insurance since they will be there" - ie, it's NOT like a camera rental because the owner is there.

 

I got a variation of that today. "We can provide a COI but usually subcontractors provide me with a COI, especially if the gear is under their care, custody, and control." I take this (relatively young) producer at face value that he really does work that way with (often hungry and up-and-coming) crew, but it made for an awkward moment, since this is the first time I've been hired by this company and I found myself balancing between staking out my position clearly, without appearing "difficult" right out of the gate.

The "under my care custody and control" principle feels tricky....especially considering a small crew where there may not be many others touching the rig through the day, so this position makes sense to the producer.

Nice work!

I'm not a Merlin owner so I can't give you firsthand info, but check out

this thread

for some info that might help.

Also, post details of what you are experiencing (tilting up or down, side so side, are you mounting accessories on the camera, etc.) And please don't post in ALL CAPS, it is hard to read and looks like you are yelling.

Dave, did you ever resolve your lack-of-safety-stop problem?

Ryan: not having your loaner arm yet is unacceptable. Sorry to hear you're experiencing delay. Maybe Peter or Dan can help you put the heat on.

James: Does your dovetail hold-down knob have a slot for a screwdriver? Very early Zephyrs did not. You should get it replaced if you don't. If you do, then make sure you crank it down tight with a screwdriver.

I've been nervous about this problem as I've read about it, but I haven't seen it firsthand. If it continues, then by all means Tiffen should be made aware. It could be a design shortcoming they should address.

Brian's troubleshooting advice is good, to confirm exactly where your problem is coming from, and I also use Ryan's technique of being cautious of how far I tilt the camera back when in rest position.

Vest: it has a chest pad, ratchet clasps, heavier-duty vertical spar, and the shoulder clasps are adjustable (the straps are velcro'd to the back pad). The rigid waist band is wider. There are several other smaller refinements.

Many differences from the Archer. Archer is engineered overall for larger payload, with a G-50 arm, bigger post diameter and gimbal, LX vest, more power and video connections, tilt camera stage (with optional motorized stage), and comes configured for 12/24v and two batteries standard (option with the Zephyr). I am sure that the Archer sled weighs more overall than the Zephyr but I don't know by how much. That's off the top of my head.

I've mainly flown the Sony 1500 series with a wide Fujinon lens. It works quite well. I flew a Sony XDCam 800(?) with a Telcast Copperhead fiber back once. It taxed the limits of the sled (mainly due to the weight of the Telecast unit) and I probably wouldn't do it again with this rig. I've used a couple of different ENG cameras with ease, including the Panasonic HPX500.

Pretty cool. That would work on an Archer or Zephyr, too.

Bad news is that I can't find anyone online who stocks it. Mouser's lead time is something like 9 weeks!

Where did you find yours?

FTG.0B.303.PLFG.tiff

Welcome to the forum.

The HDMI won't work. The Scout is standard definition.

You need to use the standard definition cable that came with the 7D, it has video and two audio outputs, RCA-type. You need an adapter from Radio Shack that converts RCA to BNC. Plug that into the top of your sled. Tidy it up with velcro or twisty-ties and gaff tape so it doesn't flop around and mess up your balance.

Andrew,

I missed your post that went up just before mine, looks like we're on the same page.

I've spoken with Peter and Micheal Craigs about the Tiffen bracket and it's supposed to work. But again, I never was clear in my mind whether they mount on top of the Flyer dovetail.

Matthew,

Alas, like many things Steadicam, there is no one-size-fits-all solution if you are wanting to fly a variety of cameras. The PRO rods are not expensive, can solve at least part of your problem, and are good to have in the kit for when you're flying with the weight plate.

The Zacuto (or Chroiszeil or Redrock or Cavision or ????) rods baseplate will probably serve for most cameras that can reasonably be slapped on a Flyer without a weight plate.

If you use a lightweight broadcast camera on your Flyer (like a Panny 500), you can have Tom Gleason at Cinewidgets machine your Sony plate to accept the PRO rods.

These should work on the weight plate...does she sell them with pre-drilled holes? I have to look at mine and see...

As for the Flyer plate, won't work. I don't think the mounting holes line up, but more importantly, the dovetail is too narrow, so there's no way to get 60mm centering without mounting a bracket to the dovetail.

Tiffen sells one, but I don't know if it mounts on top or underneath the dovetail. Underneath would definitely be better.

Another alternative for Flyer, if you're flying light enough cameras, is to buy a 15mm rods baseplate like the Zacuto Universal plate.

Wow, yeah.

And kudos to the focus puller and spotter, too! (and audio recordist...or was it foleyed?)

You won't find any SD monitor (your Flyer is SD? or do you have an HD sled?) that will be good enough for focus and exposure checking.

Even cheap HD monitors (Lilliput, etc.) won't look much better than the Flyer monitor with an SD composite input. Not good enough to check exposure or focus, and most are much dimmer than the Flyer 500 nit Flyer monitor.

Try a reasonably lightweight HD monitor with good color rendition like the 800nit Marshall 7", or Marshall's 6.5" transflective. Or, if you can settle for a smaller panel, the SmallHD DP6. Even these won't be good enough to focus when you feed an SD signal, you may need to run HD down external to the post.

As for the monitor connector, it's a 9 pin DIN, you'll need a custom cable made, or just hack it off and have standard connectors installed. There is no "standard" adapter cable available.

Depending on the weight and simultaneous video outputs available on the cameras you usually fly, you might just feed an HD signal to a DP6 attached to the camera. Feed the SD signal down to sled monitor for framing. Check exposure/focus with the DP6 between shots.