"I seriously doubt that the Zephyr is wired with 14gauge wire up the post which is appropriate for the current draw."
Makes you wonder why Tiffen has an Alexa Plus sat on a Zephyr and being demonstrated under power at a demo day, if the Zephyr would just burn out.
If the job required a considerable amount of steadicam, then obviously a better rig would be advised and required. However, on the majority of 'real world' 'jobs' I work on, we allocate a recce day where what is required/environment and equipment needed is factored. It is at this point, should a steadicam shot be something that a production wants to throw in the mix... It can be. I haven't turned up on a job not knowing what the day had in store for a considerable amount of time. Again, if that was the case, I wouldn't recommend it. I think this is all common sense isn't it?
Mark,
Indeed the outer shell is plastic to house the twin video pathways and power, but the guts are all metal. As you say, clarification.