Kevin Packer

The bottom of the camera is indeed different than a normal Alexa, and wont work with our usual Alexa plates. The package that I was using included it's own Steadicam plate for the base to connect the front and back.

Perfect, thanks for the reply's. Much appreciated.

Hello, Just curious, if anyone has any first hand experience flying the Alexa 65? Is it the same power connector as a normal Alexa? Other than it being wider and heavier are there any other challenges with flying it? Any info would be a great help! Cheers Kevin

Preston start/stop cable for Phantom flex? Is this possible? Saw in the manual, depending on what mode your in, it needs momentary or continuous. I will probably be in loop mode, where it fills up the RAM and automatically dumps it to the mag, this mode requires momentary. Would most custom cable makers be able to make this if it is possible?

Awesome! Thank you Kareem! Exactly what I needed.

Hello, Just wondering if anyone here has a Preston Start/stop cable for the c500 or if that's even possible? I know the control port is a LANC port, but not sure if the camera can be triggered another way. Cheers

Thanks for the advice Jens, I removed the top cap but I didn't see any other retaining ring that I could tighten, I lifted the entire assembly off of the grip to see if I could tighten anything on the bottom, but there was just a bunch of little allen bolts that were all tight. It seems the play is inbetween where the bearing assembly sits on the gimble grip, not sure how this can be tightened.

Hey guys, just wondering if someone can give me some insight on how to tighten the pan bearings in an Ultra 2 gimble. I've started a long term project with a company rig (Phantom/Shadow Sled) and I noticed there's quite a bit of play in the pan bearings. For instance if I grab the yoke on each side where it joins to the pan axis I can wiggle it up and down and side to side. I have the instructions on how to center it as well which I will do once it's tight because it's not centered either. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Kevin

A friend of mine works at 3DCC here in Toronto and they seem to be innovating a lot of lightweight setups. Their newest one called the Hawk Eye is basically 2 SI2K's mounted in one box completely fixed and pre-aligned. So as long as the subject stays a min of 6 feet from the lens all is good and everything is in focus and they'll converge and adjust in post. Best part the whole thing is 10 pounds or less. It's definitely more geared toward documentary or TV run and gun style but it's still nice to know not all 3d is heavy as f***. I tested it out on my rig with this nice new touchscreen monitor/recorder deck right before they went to New York for a mock concert shoot. I was never told who the operators were but maybe they could chime in on how it went?

I've flown the Red quite a bit with my Provid2 arm which has a payload of around 28lbs. The biggest thing for me and is the first thing I ask is if it's privately own or not. If it is I have to shoot on CF cards cause the big red battery/hard drive mount is too heavy. If the camera is from PS I can use the hard drive cause they have really nice third party brackets that shed so much weight. I always power from the sled, which some times scares me cause the red doesn't give a readout on how much power is left, but I've figured out right before a take I'll tell the 1st to turn the bartech back and fourth and if I'm really low usually the red lcd will cut in and out when the motor sucks some power and then I'll just hot-swap some batteries so I don't have to power down. I have gone down while recording (only with cards) and there was never an issue with losing footage. I did a job recently with the red primes, which I thought were quite massive, recording to cards and a clip on matte box and it was over the payload just a bit. I'm thinking of getting some carbon rods and a hard drive mount like PS's so if it is a private camera I can still run the hard drive. As long as you know the configurations your rig can handle you just need to make sure you tell the suits that up front so there's no surprises on the day.

Yeah that really stuck out for me too! pretty intense, at first I was like there's no way that just happened (thought his first step was straight up to the hood of the car but at a closer look there's a tire there to act as the first step/springboard lol, still a ridiculously cool shot!

Looks pretty good! can't go wrong with the price :) Think I might give this a shot, did you get one Jess? How is it? Cheers Kevin

Wow this is a pretty sick thread! Thought I'd chime in, Alex, I think either the Pro or the G-70 arm you will like, try both see which one rubs you right, you can't go wrong with either. For the vest and sled on the other hand I would take a closer look. For either of the sleds your looking at, all will fill your needs (chose which one your more comfortable with) but what I would take the closest look at is the customer service for each. And there are a lot of great ops and a wealth of knowledge on this forum but there are probably more that are not, so I would call up as many ops that I know own these sleds and ask them if there happy with their customer service. I'm sure you'll get some cool or not so cool stories! Then I'd chose from that combined with which I just prefer. For the vest still both are really good, but if I could I'd try to test both on a full day of work if not a full week of work. I realize this might be hard to muster up but maybe you know an op that's got some time off or what not, (harder with the pro unless your the same size) The way things sit or feel after a full day or week is substantially different than after 15 mins of walking around in the parking lot. When all is said and done I don't think you can make a bad choice with this line up. Whatever you pick hope you enjoy it! Fly Safe! Kevin

Looking for a Bartech Focus Device without a motor. I already own a CP SLD100 motor, if you have a cable for this motor even better. Contacts: kevin.steadicam(at)gmail.com cell: 647 892 1086 Cheers Kevin

Just wondering if anyone has a number to contact Modular 51? Many Thanks Kevin

In AC they say there were two shooting days. The first day and a half was all rehearsal until the sun hit its mark in the late afternoon. They got three good takes and on the fourth one the light got really bad and it was abandoned. They went with take three. Sounds really tight time wise for such a big shot. Considering this I think it's very well done.

Hey Alan, Congratulations on the new rig! I know for sure you'll put it to good use. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed the pilot video, really really cool especially the last line, amazing. Good luck with the new rig! Kevin Packer

One easy way I found to add weight to a Flyer with a miniDV camera was to simply duct tape a scuba weight or two to the camera handle. One thing to look out for with this though is that the weight isn't shifting around on you. So just make sure you do a real solid taping job. Adding even one 5 pound wieght will make a real difference in the feel, with more mass the flyer will start to feel less finicky, and more like a bigger rig, I'd even take it to it's max just so you can feel what it's like. hope this helps Kevin Packer

Thanks alot guys! I'll definatly call Kyle.

Hi everyone, Just wondering if anyone could tell me the weight of the Provid sled with monitor and battery? Thanks

Alec, I have a strong passion for steadicam and it is SO encouraging to hear these words from you. Thank you very much.

Hi everyone. I'm looking to hopefully work with and learn from some operators in Toronto or surrounding areas and get some set experience. I've got 180 hours of training with a Flyer and can send you some footage if you like. I'm also going to the upcoming May SOA workshop near Philadelphia. Call or email if you want to learn some more about me. Thanks in advance 416 621 7122 kevinpacker_steadicam@yahoo.ca

Wow thanks joe thats exactly what i was looking for. Right now my teacher is trying to get me to keep objects in compostion when i don't know where there going which i can see would be useful, but i really like the idea of planning out a shot with the exact movement of actors. Also the figure eights exersize sounds really good, i'll be sure to try that right away. For anyone else, feel free to fill me with your wisdom :) Thanks alot Joe KevinP.

Hi My highschool has just bought a flyer new this year, and i've got 50 hours on it, using a 14 pound camera. I've been practicing, walking the line, going around corners, stairs, whip pans, going through tight paces in class rooms, and changing from different hieghts, but i was wondering what else i should pratice? My teacher did order Advanced steadicam techniques but i haven't watched it yet, and he said it wasn't as good as he thought it would be. Any suggestions are welcome as far as techniques, or simply furthering myself as an operator. Thanks, Kevin Packer