Frederic Chamberland

Hi all, Just got my FBX from Unitcine this week. Unitcine For all those LCD monitor owners (and others with no frameline generators or electronic bubble level)...One word: GREAT addition.... The thing is big as a matchbox. Simple to use and cheap compared to others...Service from Ben Fisher was A-1. This little thing is as good news as the introduction of the Bartech in the follow focus world a couple of years ago: -Simple design -Easy to operate -Configuration with any sled design. -Twice the features (bubble and frameline) for half the price of anything similar on the market today. -Great and fast service Worth a look , a good one. Really impressed for now, I will use it in very harsh conditions next week, I will keep you posted on it's reliability.

Hi, Looked around for something on the subject but could not relate to my last night's experience. First time I was flying the DVX 100 (in the weight cage) with my Scorpio attached to it and a dented wheel attached to the rubber focus ring on the DV. If you have worked with the DVX, you know the focus wheel is infinite and focus is digitally transmitted to the camera when turning the knob. We attached the motor and calibrated the motor manually to both ends (infinite and minimum). We then took a measuring tape and eye focused to give the assistant a couple of references (2 ft, 3,4,5,6,8,10) . Then hell begun for him, Every time we would do anything to the camera (change batterie, putting on VCR mode for playback, going too fast on the focus,even zooming in or out...), the "digital" knob was resetting itself in another space dimension. The motor was not skipping the gears , everything remained the same on the Scorpio, the in and outs were fine, but the digital scale of the focus (speed and precision) was always shifting . We tried different formulas to get by this but abandonned and rechecked every freaking mark before every take . Did anyone encounter such a hassle? Focus was critical at some points in the shot and putting it on AUTO focus was not an option. Thanks.

Hi Chris, The only tip I have for cold weather is too have plenty of spare batteries as I leave everything "ON" as soon as we go outside. This is to keep all the electronics (mostly the monitor) warm and I even leave everything "powered on" on lunch time if I can't get in a warmer place. It eats batteries fast but I manage to keep everything going till the end of the day. And keep your chargers and spare batteries warm! A cold anton bauer batterie will be on the "WAIT" position on the charger. Since charging a cold batterie can harm it, the computer controlled charger won't charge until it reaches a temperature of about 14 Celcius.... So it can sometimes take an hour BEFORE the batterie even starts to charge... I also made a micro battery "warming blanket" to keep my batteries hot while outside.: Went to buy a baby bottle warmer for the car at Wal-Mart for about 10$. Took the vinyl off around the element and changed the car adapter to a lemo that I plug directly into the sled .... I wrap the little blanket around the batteries and voila. Batteries heated like a charm and the thing looks nice with little bears and stars on the blanket. Simple and efficient. Of course this takes some power from the sled batteries. I only make sure I use only the third batterie on my setup to leave the other two to the camera and monitor. Hope this helps.... And also remember you can never bring too much warm clothes with you...never. :)

Hi Ari, The only thing I can help you with is the Anton Bauer adapter (QR7-LCD) . Read this PDF attached, it is about this adapter from Anton Bauer made specificly for the Panasonic 7". I own one with this adapter and it works great. Good luck with the XCS cable adapters. PDF Panasonic

Hi adam, I have flown the Arricam ST (studio version) with video top and steadimags. Yes, same power as 435,535,SR3. Yes same 3pin on/off. Yes, 2 hytrons will drive it , no problem. Brightest video tap I have experienced with film cameras. Happy flying...

Hi Guido, Just bought the Scorpio unit (present model) too and should receive it by the end of the week. The new and improved hand unit will ship in December/January. I will keep you posted since I already am on the waiting list for the new one. No pictures, no images.. just like waiting for christmas.

Hi Brado, I own and use the Artemis everyday, and I also have the opportunity to use a PRO II at a local rental house and just want to comment on your post: Yes , the docking ring on the sled I find too low for the Sachtler docking bracket and it sends the post longer than the PRO, I would not use the term "absurd degree" but more like 3 to 4 inches longer than a PRO post with same setup... Yes, I prefer the PRO arm too, but I find this Sachtler arm the most versatile spring arm on the market today compared to others I have tried (Master and 3A). The gimbal , you found not friction free enough, I have to disagree, maybee you had a bad one (rental's are always tricky) but my Artemis gimbal is by far , the best I have had in my hands , and I have fundled with PRO, MK-V, MASTER, 3A, even XCS. But, I must admit the gimbal is , IMHO, the most "personal" piece of hardware on any rig. And finally, and that probably is why I answered this post, is the statement of getting into real problems flying heavier cameras whitouth a long post... I mostly fly 535's, moviecams compact and 435's. In the case of 535 (heaviest), I use three hytron's 50 at the bottom and my sony recorder and find myself with a decent post size, far from the 4 foot you mention. So I guess that yes, you are spoiled with your rig, (as I would for sure too!!!) and you have what I call a "dream rig" . But I do believe I have an exceptional , underestimated rig . Having flown and tried most of the "professional" rigs out there, for sure the PRO would be my first choice, followed by XCS and just behind, my Artemis... And the 20K I saved by going Sachtler all the way is my ticket to a complete Scorpio focus system...That is mostly why I went with Sachtler. And I don't regret it after 2 years of owning it. cheers,

What about playback to the directors monitor from the Modulus on the sled? If we could transmit playback to video village that would be fantastic. How can we do that simply? Chad Persons Hi Chad, One thing that struck me with my sled (Sachtler Artemis Cine-HD) is that my video power connectors (one at the top, one at the bottom of the sled) WILL transmit my playback from the sled. Great feature not mentionned anywhere in the Artemis papers. I don't remember if the PRO sled offers this option, knowing also that the PRO and Sachtler rigs share the same connectors and plugs. I think it is a great thing to have for everyone. The directors and AD'S are always stunned when I transmit the playback the first time. And the few times when I want to screen privatly, I just turn the modulus off since there is no "transmitting" switch on the sled... To follow with those hard disc recorders, I still use a Sony GVD but find it bulky and heavy, great to add weigth with smaller cameras but I am looking at those new gadgets like the Lyra and reading everyones comments, keep them comming in. And what about working these in the cold, most of these things work with "touch screens" that are so fragile in the cold, I wonder.... My Sony has taken such beatings from rain and snow and freezing nights...One thing is sure, I won't get rid of my Sony, when everything else will fail, this will save the day as it does day after day for now in every conditions.

Hi Matt, I'm from Canada and bought it direct from the Sachtler manufacture in Germany. You can ask for a price list on the web site, they should reply fast enough. Frederic Chamberland

Hi Mike, Simple, the focus puller has a wireless remote in his hands that is linked to a receiver on the steadicam. This remote emulates the real piece of equipment that is the follow focus. It has a big round knob and turning that knob sends a signal to the receiver that replicates the movement on the lens with small motors attached to the lens. Some assistants will stand by the steadicam and just look at the barrel of the lens while playing with the remote (this option is not very popular since you have to be side by side with the operator and you might be blocked from viewing the lens easily). They can also, and most of the time, they do the following: They mark the knob on the remote with the same markings they find on the lens. They usually use a white plastic ring that attaches on the knob of the remote, then take a fine pen and write down all the distances of the lenses directly on that ring. It usually takes a minute or two to calibrate the motors on the lens and mark the remote. When a tight lens is used, the steadicam operator can also sometimes call it if the shot was soft by looking at his monitor. But has somebody else said on this forum (I think it was Larry McConkey...) a good focus puller will "feel" the shot is good or not. And these feelings are , in most cases, positives. Some of the greatest focus pullers are the ones that pull focus on steadicams. You have to be quick and react instinctively to the surroundings. You have to know the technology you have in your hands and the possibilities of these remotes. Some assistants will only work with certain brands of remotes, some have their own. Hope this helps... Frederic "still pulling focus for another year to help pay the rig" Chamberland

Hi Matt, I own and operate the Sachtler Artemis Cine-HD since 2002, it's introductory year. The Cine HD is the top of the line in the Artemis family. I don't know if you are talking about this one because the Artemis family begins with the little Artemis DV up to the Cine HD (about 1500$US (DV) to 35 000$US (Cine HD)... If you go into the 2003 forum and search for "Artemis", you will find extended reviews on the system. In two words: Great rig at a good price. Service is top notch. The arm is old school but is very smooth, I would call it a 3A arm on steroids. Simple design. 2 year and the electronics are flawless. I would go for it again... Frederic Chamberland

Hi to all, Just wanted to get a bit of light from anyone who would have been in contact with the new Scorpio hand unit supposely presented at CineGear... What are the big new features? I heard rumors of a screen showing the info of the prime "LDS" style... And possibility to have a video feed to the unit... Anyone with a picture? or just plain explanations and some details? I asked about this new toy to Service vision and they answered the new units would ship by the end of the year.... Anyone...anyone? Frederic "Bueller" Chamberland

Hi, Here in Canada, we just received the Mercedes Sprinter, a very popular small cargo truck in Europe.It will sell under the Chrysler/Dodge banner. Here is a link to the most beautiful truck to come here for a while. Dodge Sprinter This would be my dream truck...No need to fold those carts, standing up position in the truck...the ultimate steaditruck. UPS are using those in Montreal right now and they sure get some attention. Wow! 0% financing....45000$ CAN (about 37,000 US) and no CD player....Where do I sign? Frederic Chamberland

Here is a picture of my car mount, changing lense with operator Francis Piquette shooting at 10 km/h on a pedestrian path (reason for no helmet). I only open the window from the gate so everyone in the truck can communicate, I also add an "exaust deflector" to accomodate the operator (heavy duty rubber hose that every car maintenace garage has to send the fumes out the door). Safety belt for operator in the seat. And of course the yellow blinkers on top when on the road (with full face helmet). Director and assistant are on the back seat looking at the 10"LCD over their head and recording with a video Walkman for playback. I can accomodate various feet positions by flipping the feet holder up or down and I can also use the rig without the seat and use more tubing to just attach the camera directly to the car with the same mount. Also had the front of the truck modified with a 2" receiver to put the car mount in front . Nice shots quickly done. !0 minutes to install and cable it... Really is a nice piece of equipment. Thanks to all that shared pictures here for me to be able to build my own. Frederic Chamberland

Hi Paul, I have the 1722 Monitor , NTSC version (the 1702 is the PAL if i'm not mistaken). serial#23010. This one was actually the demo the distributor had in Montreal for a while. The NTSC version was hard to get at the time (last year) and since everyone here in Montreal had a chance to test it, the distributor agreed to sell it to me. I was able to test it for a week and since I was upgrading from a Panasonic, I was currently very happy with the options and the packaging the Teletest offered for the price. Side to side with the Panasonic, the screen brightness was about 20-25 % brighter on the Teletest. I wanted a new monitor, and knew I wanted an LCD with more options and rugness. Teletest fulfilled my demands. What I love about it : -Casing and craftsmanship, very sturdy and feels solid and professional. -Flip-mirror-16:9-4:3 switches (great options) -RED Low voltage LED, simple and the most precise low-voltage meter ever, when the red light appears, I have about 10 minutes left...enough to finish the shot. -LCD is brighter than the Panasonic but don't expect more "resolution"... What would be nice to modify: -the blue buttons (brithness, color, contrast) are hard to dial with big fingers. And I play with them a lot. longer knobs would be aprieciated. -The sun hood mounting options, I have scratched all the sides of my monitor just trying to get that hood on and off everytime. You have to unscrew the monitor from the bracket to put the hood on, this is just too complicated, we have to sometimes take it off and on very fast and I can't do it under 2 minutes... We need velcro options here. -The holding bracket also would need stiffer aluminum or a new design. feels a bit weak when looking to the whole product. -And finally, the anti-glare coating, there are situations where this coating is killing me (like on a cloudy day, the screen reflects the clouds and my screen goes almost "blank" in many viewing angles), the direct sunlight is also problematic from time to time but I can always get around with a flag or a sun hood extension. And now the price : Paid mine 2100$CAN (about 1600$ US) last year. Price was for the DEMO with warranty from Teletest. A Panasonic costs 800$CAN (500$US) here so about 1.5 times more for the Teletest. If you are in the market for a LCD right now, consider the Teletest. The things I complain above are small details and can be avoided with ease. The monitor is sharp, bright, well made and has enough options for the Steadicam world. The Panasonic is still a great backup system but you will never want to go back to it after trying the Teletest. It is just a great, professionnal monitor. Frederic Chamberland

Hi guys, I was looking around my sled and found that there is a couple of IN/OUT plugs I never or rarely use. My last job got my sled so dusty I was wondering about protecting those fragile Lemo plugs from the elements. I went to my technician and he got his Lemo connectors catalog out and found some plastic caps designed for the 2 sizes of plugs we encounter as PRO and Sachtler rigs owners. As usual, I found the price of those little plastic caps completly insane (Almost 8$ each cap, I had 17 holes to fill, 136$).... So I went to my nearest electronic store to find some nice little soft rubber caps that fit so nicely, at a price everybody will cheer, 5 CENTS each... You just have to pinch them to take them out...And pinch yourself for not buying the Lemo ones... It really is those nice little moments I enjoy in our quest for cheaper alternatives in a world where everything seems to start with a 1000$ tag... Here is a picture of my Artemis top Junction box with my black rubber cap over the video in plug and the smallest ones (yellow) over the focus pwr... I even put some on my Bartech ("data out" and "power in" plugs you never use are now protected). Cheers, Frederic "Plug it in" Chamberland

Same here, At the Malibu workshop, I was struggling to try to keep my horizon operating on the left side... Until my instructor, Guy Bee, told me to try on the other side, the rest is history. I even have a tape where another student was filming me with my video camera while operating a walk and talk shot and you can clearly see in the frame Garett and Guy discussing my non-conformity to the others ( I was the only "lefty" on 10 students). Going right side for me is like starting over, but I still try to practice it from time to time, never had to do it yet... Frederic Chamberland

Hi , It's on Ebay, good luck. Great item. This deal could be yours. Link: Ebay item (BNC roll-up) Frederic "Canare connection" Chamberland

Here is the link to amazon.ca for the book.... Strangely enough, could'nt find it on amazon.com... But hey, you have a better deal in Canadian currency. :rolleyes: Amazon.ca Frederic Chamberland

Hi guys, Here is the link for a Provid 2 for sale from Applied Electronics in Canada. And they also have a steadicam junior for 250$ CAN... cheaper than Ebay... Applied Electronics look under "Clearance list" Applied Electronics is a big brodcast equipment company well established in Canada. I buy my Panasonic LCD from them.... Don't know anything about the steadicams for sale and I have no affiliation with them... I am just a messenger... Fly safe, Frederic "bargain hunter" Chamberland

Hi Guido, Yes, the Kamio is a nice and very small device. One glitch that my DP found annoying enough to not use it is the little black rubber that goes around the lamp at the connector. This 1 inch black spot in the ring lite is very annoying when doing close ups and you want the reflection of the ring in the eyes. makes a little dark spot. I also find it as "tricked advertising" when I check my last copy of American Cinematographer and see a complete , full ring of light in the Kino ad featuring the Kamio.... That glitch is probably not that serious for steadicam use. Just for still shots or close ups. My 2 cents... Just got the info from Kisslite... wow....and that wow also applies to the price tag... Toys for TB-6 owners... <_< Frederic Chamberland

As Jeremy mentionned, The Mountain Equipment COOP in Canada is one of the best source for shoes and outdoor stuff... You can shop online at Mountain Equipment COOP I mention this web site because the stuff is great, the prices are among the best and they ship almost anywhere around the globe. Sometimes , you just can't get it in your country and I love it when I get a hold of a web store that can actually ship anywhere. So there, a good address for everyone. Frederic "MEC member since 2002" Chamberland ***************************** For the shoe poll, I wear Salomon hicking shoes on ruff terrain, Nike Shokx and DC shoes (a sub company from Burton that makes skateboard shoes, very comfortable) inside and on pavement. I heard good things about Merell and Mephisto.

Thank you all for the great advice. Details like having something in the frame catching attention while getting off or the simple "rest seat" of Larry are just as simple and efficient to achieve and I will surely apply these tricks next time. And I will surely get a safety belt of my own that can be unlocked fast enough by the grips. Frederic "flying safer already" Chamberland steadicam@videotron.ca

Hi everyone, Last week, I did my first "crane and walk" shot and everything went great. My big question was what do you guys do to secure you to the crane while you are up there? We had a Giraffe crane set at 18' and the grips built a nice railing with aluminum tubing so I could rest my lower back while on the crane. I am not afraid of heights (as a camera assistant, they always put me in the highest cranes and roof edges and just love it) but I felt "uncomfortable" having a full rig with a 535 on at 15' in the air with no safety so I asked the grips to put their lighest technician with me on the crane so he could be attached securely and hold on to my vest while I was operating. The crane technician told me I was lucky to have just the shortest version of the crane so he could easily put 500lbs on it (me, the rig and the other grip) . As soon as we hit the ground, I was stepping off and start walking towards the actors. Of course, someone else was taking my spot on the crane while stepping off, but I was wondering if I could have done it another way. They offered a safety harness that they would have unclipped at the bottom of the crane but I said to myself this option would be too complicated and I had to step off the crane relativly fast. So there, how do you guys do it in LA? Many thanks! (by the way, I felt VERY comfortable having someone with me in the air and felt that was the best option at the time, the shot is great, can't wait to see it on my website, wich is under construction, I'll keep you posted...) Frederic Chamberland steadicam@videotron.ca

Hi, As a camera assistant, I use and abuse of the 3 VP's on every set I work with DP Pierre Gill, CSC. He loves them ... On a dolly! I have never seen anyone trying to go hand held with them or even think of steadicam with VP's... They surely "breath" a lot , far less than a 25-250 Angenieux, but much more than a what you could expect from a "variable" prime... Again, you would have to "whip" that follow focus very rapidly to notice it but it is definetly there. As for working with steadicam....You need a bridge for every VP, even the VP1 (shortest). So here goes a VERY HEAVY lense with bridge and both rods and 3 motors... In my opinion, it is as ridiculous as putting a 1000' mag on a steadicam: It can be technicaly done but at a price your knees won't agree. And I assume using filters will be a hassle. Look at the size of that front element... And don't forget to "unlock" the zooms on the lens before damaging it. This little locking knob is so fast to forget for a DP or anyone trying to zoom when locked. Great piece of equipment , just not steadicam friendly. Good deal too, enjoy! Frederic Chamberland steadicam@videotron.ca