Anthony Graham

Hi It would have been Xandy Sahla if it is the bts Ifor Downton Abbey am thinking of. Ant

Oh forgot re the heden gears try Derrick Whitehouse I beleieve he had some heden bits floating around. dw@whitehouseav.com Just be carefull with the FMG.6 as you could kill it. DON'T grease anything unless you know what it is and does. As I know somebody who accidentally greased the clutch and made a motor with only minor problems driving stiff lenses into a useless item! As no amount of cleaning could fix it! Like I said be carefull as fixing an FMG isn't easy. Ant

Hi After checking the cables and connectors and cleaning the connectors! The main reason for this happening is the motor pot has deteriorated or got dirty with age. Meaning that the motor controller is trying to chase a moving target, or one that doesn't follow the rules of a pot going in a smooth arc for it's values. For example 1-2-3-4-5 and so on instead it goes 1-2-3-2-5 so the controller tries to bounce around between 3 and 5 looking for where 4 should be (at least the pot equivalent anyway). Try replacing the pot in the motor assuming 1 you can open your motor and 2 you can still get the pot in question (the original one for the sld-100 is discontinued). If you can't get one and you are confident AND you understand you may actually kill the pot, try cleaning it with DeoxIT or Servisol super 10 fader and switch cleaner. I say may kill it as sometimes as the pot is that bad the tracks actually flake off when cleaned. Another option is try contacting Spintec in Israel. As the designer and maker of the original FMG.6 started Spintec however I am not 100% sure if he still owns the company or even works there anymore. Even so they may be able to help with part numbers are may even carry some stock from when they made some motors for somebody who shall remain nameless! They may even still repair them if they are feeling nice! Anyway the contacts are (sorry no email) Phone +972 2 579 7999 Mobile +972 54 4907 107 Fax +972 2 579 1463 Address Motion Dynamix Ltd. POB 150 Beit Nekofa Israel 90830 Good Luck Anthony

Tom The pic from Ben is a bracket Baer Bel makes/made they may have more or be able to run one of for you. Baer bel bracket Ant

I would guess at the add weights that are on the Pilot, Scout and Merlin. They kind of stack and screw together. They normally have a little rubber o ring that stops them locking up. I little light grease/oil (or lisigav should work too if so inclined!) should stop them jamming and locking together in future. Ant

Try and use a spray on waterproofer nikwax etc. I used it on a tent once and the difference was night and day. It improved the water run off massively. A cheap and simple option! Re coat every year as with flexing and being crumpled up and packed away the weave tends to reopen over time. However like mentioned earlier I cut the legs off a pair of waterproof pants to make covers and they are totally waterproof. I can actually use them to carry water if needs be (I actually used them as when bought found them too waterproof and non breathable in normal use as they would not let sweat out). I just added a pull cord channel at one end with a an elastic pull cord through it. I have also recently modded a waterproof jacket with a third arm at the right height for this lovely UK weather we have. Ant

It would have been usefull if pics had been included with the manual. Maybe the main full manual has part numbers and pics? wouldn't know as I have never owned a master! Anyway hope this helps Anthony

I thought the Phantom V level sensor was on the sled anyway? It just talked to the Transvideo to provide the graphic overlay. Am I miss understanding this? Another question is has the Transvideo on the Phantom V been specially made for this or do all the new Transvideo Cinemonitor HD series have the ability to do this? Regards the sensor being in the monitor. I think another issue several ops myself included assume in/on the sled may be the best option, is that the tilt/angle on the monitor may influence the sensor operation and reaction. For example if it is table flat or at 45 degrees. Plus the monitor itself may have a slight twist or skew on it's bracket (say 1 degree or 2) that operation wise may not bother us but will screw up the sensor orientation with the sled. If it is in/on the sled base atleast it should always in theory be in the same place and axis when used from one time to the next. Most ops who use external sensors mount it on the sled base somewhere, it may be on the left or right underneath etc. Usually it will stay there in the same place for the rest of it's life. I agree exact placement isn't that much of any issue as long as it is fairly close to the sled centre (it's not like it's 6ft away from the sled!) but always being in the same place so you will learn when to compensate or ignore it's reaction. Where as if it is in the monitor it may be slightly off axis each time when set up out of it's case/bag etc. Regards Anthony

To take the strain off mini hdmi sockets look at these too http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1080P-HDMI-to-3-RCA-AV-Composite-CVBS-S-video-Converter-fr-PS3-DVD-Camera-Sky-HD-/300657750683?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item460099329b http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hdmi-to-mini-angle-90-cable-for-Canon-Digital-IXUS-IS-/320884186724?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item4ab6301e64 Maybe even look at one of these as it has a clamp to grip the hdmi plug to stop the camera socket being pulled. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trusmt-DSLR-camera-CAGE-Ultimate-with-HDMI-clamp-and-extend-plate-/290685113171?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43ae2ed353 Ant

This is the same unit I have (same as the one from amazon but cheaper) I just made up a little power convertor that takes 12v to 5v. The power convertor actually lives in the box and has a 0B4 connector to the sled for power and video. An external power adaptor should be simple enough for you to put outside the sled. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1080P-HDMI-to-3-RCA-AV-Composite-CVBS-S-video-Converter-fr-PS3-DVD-Camera-Sky-HD-/300657750683?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item460099329b

Not had mine die yet....... When it does I will have sniff around to see what is dying in them. Intermittent seems to be a connector issue. It could also be down to the power regulator dying due to heat etc. Unless anybody in the UK has a dead one lying around for me to play with? For alternatives I will probably go over to the blackmagic design series of convetors when mine dies. They offer a rugged version which though a little heavier will probably stand up better to knocks and bumps. They are close in price to the decimator units too unlike the aja. Ant

I personally have a pair of horse riding gloves. They are neoprene on the back side and a soft ish leather on the front. These are fairly good in rain/snow etc too as they seem to repel the water quite well. I tried neoprene and thinsulate plus some other funky fleece type gloves but they all got wrecked pretty quickly by the knurled grip on the gimble was using at the time. Leather seemed the most durable on the palm/finger area. In extreme cold I could also put a thicker pair of insulated gloves over the top between shots! The coldest I used these in was a wind chill of -30/40 centigrade on the top of Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m) in the French Alps. Ant

Watch out for the hole spacing. I had and MK-V iris rod and it only seemed to fit the MK-V plate The CP and Pro plates didn't seem to line up correctly. Metric and imperial issues maybe? Try and get the rod from the same people that made your plate Ant

Hi If you don't manage to find the old CP one, you might want to try through your Tiffen Europe branch. I believe they sell through the ones made up by Mike Scott in the UK. I believe he keeps the fisher and lemo triax in stock. If the client wants to buy a rig then they could also buy the cable if needed through Mike/Tiffen Europe. http://www.steadi.co.uk/sale.htm Though not the same cable they are still very very good. Anthony

Oh and just so your aware the for and aft is on the rear of the stage now! Ant

HI Your Zephyr is fine! The ridges or "geartrack" are on the older style of plates like the ones on the EFP/3a or upto and including the Flyer. The Flyer topstage is actually a modified and updated design based on same topstage as on the older provid/SK rigs. The newer rigs tend to have a "Drop and Lock" type topstage and use a geartack and gearing (probably actually wormdrive but not 100% on that) system built into the topstage itself. So does not need the for and and aft gear system on the dovetail anymore. I think the Zephyr uses a locking screw clamp to hold the dovetail vs the "Drop and Lock" on the more expensive systems. It is basically the same thing though. So you lock in your dovetail adjust your course for and aft by losening the clamp a little and moving the whole camera and dovetail back and forth manually. Lock it down then finally use the for and aft and side to side to fine trim the topstage. It is far quicker than the older geartrack system I find. Plus it is less likely to fly forward or backward on the geartrack and give you a minor heart attack should you be triming balance on the arm between takes (assuming you remembered to lock the safety screw down, otherwise smashed camera). The fine trims can be adjusted without having to undo any locks unlike on the Flyer etc. DON'T undo the main lock when on the arm though! Hope that makes sense Anthony

HI Just a word of caution regards Ebay, be aware a clone sale of this bargain EFP keeps popping up now and again. IT IS A SCAM! Be careful the original sale was genuine but beware on Ebay. 1)ASK questions that will trip up a seller who does not know what they have. 2)LOOK at what else they are selling. if the have loads of high value items going very cheap beware. 3)LOOK at what they have sold before have they a track record in this line of business sale (one stolen account sold baby clothes for 4 years then suddenly an EFP, motorbike, expensive stereo etc). 4)NEVER EVER buy outside ebay unless local and direct personal contact is available. 5)NEVER do a direct bank transfer or western union etc use paypal. If the seller says this in there sales listing run away. Using paypal you are protected by 1 Paypal and 2 your credit card (use your credit card not debit card with paypal) as this way the credit card insurance helps protect you too (this is uk based info I assume the same applies in the us etc) 5)EMAIL if the seller has listed a different contact email in the listing be carefull. They use this because to change your mail settings in Ebay a verification mail is sent to the old address, which will alert the seller of the stolen account details. So only use the ask seller a question link on Ebay, as it will only go to the genuine account holder. Many Thanks and good luck. Anthony P.s. I Bought a used EFP for £4500 (not from Ebay)!

HI Just a word of caution regards Ebay, be aware a clone sale of this bargain EFP keeps popping up now and again. IT IS A SCAM! Be careful the original sale was genuine but beware on Ebay. 1)ASK questions that will trip up a seller who does not know what they have. 2)LOOK at what else they are selling. if the have loads of high value items going very cheap beware. 3)LOOK at what they have sold before have they a track record in this line of business sale (one stolen account sold baby clothes for 4 years then suddenly an EFP, motorbike, expensive stereo etc). 4)NEVER EVER buy outside ebay unless local and direct personal contact is available. 5)NEVER do a direct bank transfer or western union etc use paypal. If the seller says this in there sales listing run away. Using paypal you are protected by 1 Paypal and 2 your credit card (use your credit card not debit card with paypal) as this way the credit card insurance helps protect you too (this is uk based info I assume the same applies in the us etc) 5)EMAIL if the seller has listed a different contact email in the listing be carefull. They use this because to change your mail settings in Ebay a verification mail is sent to the old address, which will alert the seller of the stolen account details. So only use the ask seller a question link on Ebay, as it will only go to the genuine account holder. Many Thanks and good luck. Anthony P.s. I Bought a used EFP for £4500 (not from Ebay)!

Give Thomas English a call. I Believe you already have his details. He rates the system package very highly. Ant

Hi The funny and timely part about this is your old WRC-3 is on ebay at the moment Eric (look close at the TX pic)!!! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Steadicam-follow-focus-/250902632958?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a6af659fe Are these as much "fun" to work with as the Seitz? I got a Seitz as a bit of a Steadicam history thing and it is a bit sketchy in use to say the least! Thank god it's not my main focus, must have been fun using these back in the day. Ant

Take a look here http://www.thomasenglish.co.uk/news-and-blog Thomas is one of the few people who has used this rig and knows a fair amount about it. He Demoed the rig for P+S at the BVE show and BSC show in the uk. regards Ant

Hi I wasn't sure if I should post this here or in follow focus. But this has to be one of the ultimate iphone apps for Steadicam. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9M3sSsmH4w http://www.plcelectronicsolutions.com/qs/category/76/13337/0/0 Not sure what to make of it myself! Would be interested to here if any body has tried this. Interesting cheap (ish) backup to a digital motor based system maybe? Ant

Hi I've also seen this happen with a pag charger and pag battery (both less than 4 months old). The prongs on the charger had been slightly bent at some point, Meaning they were not making a good electrical contact. This caused arcing on the terminal causing it to heat up and melt the plastic surrounding the terminals on both the battery and charger. The charger eventually shut down as it sensed something overheating, pure luck really the temp sensor in the battery was just behind the terminal that was overheating. I've heard and seen people having problems with V-lock batts having bad contacts. So many makers and each with varying tolerences. Only the other day I saw an issue with a batt/camera cutting out when tilting the camera up. So another option is the batt or charger may have had a bent or distorted pin and or socket. Regards Ant

HI Just a heads up I believe Jerry Holoway/Tiffen holds the rights to the EFP tape, as he has a C type master of the whole thing too. Just with Jerry remastering and selling this too I don't want you to get your fingers burnt with copyright infringment. He is available on this forum so you can PM him. Regards Ant

Hi You will be wanting Brian Busby he can supply alsorts of camera screws and bits and pieces for steadicam gear. his number is 0208 863 5666 Ant