Josiah Sjostrom

I'm happy to report that a year later my modded Steadicam is still going strong. I use it quite frequently, and haven't had any issues with it yet. Mainly, I just try to be gentle when extending and retracting the center-post. I now use it with a GH3 and it continues to perform well. I've also added an RC4 quick-release system to the cheese plate, and if you usually use a similar configuration, that has helped me with setup time - the bubble level is also handy.

Hello Josiah I wanted to ask you if you had any luck disassembling the stage to its bare parts... I'm thinking of a modification but I'm unable to seperate the 2 micro adjustment knob assemblies from the stage and therefore I can't seperate the aft metal plate as I wanted. In you picture, is the one on top, where the Video RCA socket resides. Any suggestions? Sorry again for taking so long to reply. I think I'm having trouble with my email notifications. Yes, the RCA is at the top in this picture, and the power at the bottom. You only need to separate bar on the left of that picture. Don't worry about removing the forward/back micro adjustment knob, just the side-to-side. The front and rear plate do not need to come off either. Just the bar on the left. Please let me know if you have any other questions, and hopefully I get the email notification of your response ;-)

Thanks for the great info. Did you have this metal plate where the RCA and power come out? I can't take out the composite cables to make space for the HDMI cable. Sorry for taking so long to reply, I guess I missed the email somehow. Yes it did have that metal plate in there. I was able to pull it out with a pair of pliers. From the picture you posted, it looks as though you may have tried already? I do remember it taking a bit of force, but it pulled straight up and out (up being toward the top of the photo you posted).

Yeah, I think you're right - although I've never been there. Still over an hour's drive from my place Ah yes, I think I've been through Beaver Dam once before. Nice to know someone else is familiar with the area. Lived in northern IL most my life. And yes, I prefer the drive to Madison over Chicago. Overseas for about a month, so I haven't really been able to use it much since I finished the mod. But I'm quite happy with it, and am excited to get back to it in a couple weeks.

And the most complicated part. Aside from the four screws you see on that top plate, the side to side adjustment bolt also holds this plate in place. To remove this bolt you need to wind it all the way to this side as shown, remove the two screws at the end of the bar that you see loose, and the two screws from the disconnected sides of the silver guide rails. Why these particular two opposing screws? Well, it just seems to be the way it's built. The other ends you see that are still attached seem to be fastened in a different manner and I was unable to separate them. Once the four addition screws I mentioned are removed, the side to side adjustment bolt will unscrew completely. Let me know if anyone has questions. It wasn't too bad once I figured out the stage disassembly.

Hmm, apparently I'm only allowed three images per post. Continued... This is how it fits under the stage now. Same port as the composite cable And I didn't' have to grind away the top plate, yay! For those interested in the process. After removing the bottom crossbar (self explanatory) I also removed the power plug via unscrewing the nut. Made ample space to pass the mini HDMI end up the shaft.

Finally received my new Monster SuperThin HDMI cable and just finished installing it. It works a treat! Very little to no resistance when collapsing or extending the center post. Huge improvement over the standard size HMDI I first used. There is another cable out there that is supposed to be even thinner than the Monster SuperThin, and that would probably be even more of an improvement. However, the two lengths it comes in are either too short or excessively long for this application - so I stuck with Monster. Here are the final results: This next picture shows the HDMI cable coming through that same port. I simply removed the metal spacer/retainer and it fit's through without resistance. Plugged into the monitor.

Yeah, I think you're right - although I've never been there. Still over an hour's drive from my place

Hmm, interesting. Yeah, I'd be interested to know the coil diameter - might be feasible. Would certainly help with collapsing if it did fit.

I was able to successfully disassemble and reassemble the stage. It certainly took me a while to figure it out. Couldn't find any schematics, or really anything out there regarding a disassemble. Nonetheless, what goes together must somehow come apart - the only factor to consider is the size of your hammer ;) JK. Although the gentleman from the video above was kind enough to post a link to a few pictures in his video description, I still didn't want to grind anything down if possible. Having removed the stage, and the cross bar at the bottom, I was able to feed the HDMI-mini end up the shaft. Now, I have it all reassembled and it is working quite well. The only problem I encountered (as expected) is that the thickness of the cable makes collapsing the post a bit fiddlesome. Monster Cable has come out with their "SuperThin" line of HDMI cables, and I have one of those ordered. Once that arrives and I've installed it I'll be sure to post the result and see if it is an improvement. Thank you all for your suggestions! I will at some point post some pictures regarding my experience with this modification, in case anyone else was interested in attempting the same thing.

Considered it, although I'd hate to dump a bunch of money into a new monitor and converter that I otherwise have no need for - only to discover that it has the same problem as an HDMI to composite/component converter. Which I assume would be the case. I'd really like to get HDMI going through the post. Still tinkering with it, and I think I'm actually making some progress. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks! I don't think that upgrading to a better monitor would be a waste. In fact, I would figure it would be quite the opposite. You might have a more versatile rig without having to gut it, and you will have a better monitor to use on projects or rent out. Why don't you go to a rental house and demo something, or rent it for a shoot; test it out. If you're in LA, I might be able to help you out: hdpioneers.com. We have HD-SDI monitors and Black Magic converters. Bring in your rig. I didn't say it'd be a waste, I simply don't currently have a use for it - and if I was going to fork out some cash, there are higher priorities on my to-get-list. The current monitor I use has in and out for HDMI as well as BNC in and outs for component and composite. I'm very happy with the monitor and it's software and I have all the connections I need for the cameras I currently use. If/when I end up using a camera with an HD-SDI option - I will certainly get another monitor. At the moment it would simply be paying extra for technology that I don't use. Thanks for offering to help me trying out converters and such. But I'm actually in Rockford, IL, miles from civilized rental houses ;-) Have to drive in to Chicago for anything decent.

Considered it, although I'd hate to dump a bunch of money into a new monitor and converter that I otherwise have no need for - only to discover that it has the same problem as an HDMI to composite/component converter. Which I assume would be the case. I'd really like to get HDMI going through the post. Still tinkering with it, and I think I'm actually making some progress. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks!

Yeah, I have done that. Just a bit of a pain if you end up spinning it too far. Thanks for the suggestion

Hello, I'm new to the form here. Decided to join given the limited information I've found elsewhere. As the title suggests I'm flying a GH2 on a Pilot and I really need to figure out something for monitoring. For those not familiar with the GH2, while recording it ONLY has HDMI out. As opposed to the Canon DSLR's which have a composite option. Also, for some reason unknown to me the GH2 HDMI will not work with an HDMI to analog converter. I have no first hand experience with this, but from what I've read elsewhere it seems to have the same problem as the composite output (which is that it will only display an image during playback - not during recording). Yes, I know they're coming out with an HDMI version of the Pilot, but it's not available yet and I already have this one which is otherwise working just fine. So, what I'd like to do is run an HDMI cable through the center post. I know of one guy who has done this successfully and here is the link to his video: However, it's fairly unclear to me what he has actually done, and although I have posted a comment on his video - I've not heard back from him yet. Has anyone else done this modification? I'm able to get the cable through the bottom end of the post, but the top end is proving to be more difficult. The guy with the video above says he ground something to make it fit. If possible, I'd like to avoid that - but if it's the only option I'm not afraid to give it a whirl. I think if I were able to remove the stage from the top, I would be able to pass the HDMI cable through the composite port that is already there, and then put it back together. I'm having difficulty removing the stage as it is not only the four screws that hold it in place, but also the side to side adjustment bolt. I'd appreciate any help someone may have to offer. Thanks