J. Christopher Campbell

My backup arm is a Robert Luna modified IIIA. It was modified before I purchased the arm. I used the arm for a few years and need to have it serviced. I have searched the web and can't seem to find Mr. Luna's contact info. Can anyone put me in touch with him??? Chris Campbell chris@crookedsmilefilms.com 404-630-8200

Hello, I am having difficulty finding contact info online for Rob Luna. I am in need of a servicing for my old IIIA arm which he previously upgraded (before I bought it). Can anyone provide me with this? Thank you all.

This is all fantastic work!!! I am thrilled to have a low cost option on the horizon. Can you post a pic of what got soldered to what on the inside of this box? I would like to see exactly where the pigtail was soldered! Again, this is great!

from one newbie to another... Blair, I finally (after 4+ years of trying) pieced my first rig together last April. I got a used Pro I sled (unmodified serial no. 128), a used IIIA arm that Rob Luna had already upgraded to 63 lbs, and a brand new Pro vest. When I got my rig, I knew nothing about the building and the tinkering side of this business. Well, in less than 9 months, all of that has changed (and mostly out of necessity). As problems have come up on set, and living in Atlanta where we don't have George Paddock or Gregg Bubb right down the street, I have been forced to solve them (with help from the steadicam community of course). I learned to solder and now can solder simple cables (I learned on the Radio Shack counter 4 hours before call time while making a box that would power my bartech from 8 AA batteries - glad those days are behind me), I have ripped into my top stage to fix a set screw issue that wasn't allowing me to trim fore and aft (while on top of a mountain mind you), I have replaced my center post with a two stage, tool-free, carbon fiber post, I have replaced my gimbal housing with a tool-free version, I have replaced my upper j-box, I have built and soldered my own photocell tally light the day before a shoot (again at radio shack), and today I had to rip my gimbal apart on set because it stopped panning in low mode. My point is, that as you do gigs you will find things on your rig that have to be changed. You will find yourself coming up with ideas to fix problems and to make things better. And solutions are possible because of the amazing network of people on this forum (and in your city). My local operators here (Roman Engle and Alfeo Dixon especially) have been crucial to my tiny successes thus far. So, don't fear if you aren't a tinkerer yet... bc you will be. It's how steadicam was invented in the first place.

I have a J-7 zoom control somewhere in a bin in the garage . . . . . I'll be back in the states after the new year if your still looking hit me up Awesome, thank you very much. -chris

Chris, Get the cable from Mohawk, personally I don't like the 6 ft, so I had them make my second one a bit shorter as for the Tally, Make it !!!! $15 • 9v LED, white that illuminates red • Wire • 9V Battery • 9v Battery case with connectors • light sensor • Heat shrink • Velcro or you can wire it directly int your sled and use a 12v LED Radio shack carry's everything you need if all else fails Terry West can help, but he's on Vacations for a while. I actually just printed a diagram to go make one myself simply for deadline's sake. And for the future I'm looking into wiring it directly into the sled. I don't think it would be too hard and it would save a cable running from camera to monitor. Thank you very much for the ideas. -chris

Hugo Langer replied to me. I think he is with Steady Rigs in Australia. He still makes a tally light box. It runs on 9V batteries, comes in an aluminum housing and is all stored in a little pelican case. I'll let you know the price when he gets back to me early next week. His website is http://www.steadyrig.com/ I hope this helps. -chris

Call Leslie Hicks @ Mohawk and ask for the 6ft steadicam fiber jumper. Her # is 978-728-5292 I put in an order with them today. 3-6 week lead time. yikes! Oh well, I'll have it for next year. Leslie is no longer with the company. A new girl is handling broadcast sales. Also, I really like the G-zoom. Thank you for the many posts about this device. I will probably be contacting Erik early next year to add this to my arsenal. Thanks again, chris

Thank you very much for the help. -chris

Read this thread for some resent good intel Gimbal zoom control for video cameras? Personally the G-Zoom is looking pretty good, especially because you already have a Bartech Yeah, I like that one. Thanks for the direction. -cc

Alfeo, Have you ever tried to search this forum? The search feature is probably the worst part of this forum. I typed "tally light" into the search field and came up with three hits, one of which was remotely relevant. I find the search function on this website to be almost as useless the search function on REDUSER.net. -chris Chris, stop gripping and search/read the forums more... http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=4614

I might have some multi-camera work coming up where I would need a gimbal-mounted zoom/iris control for Fuji/Canon lenses on F900/950's. I've seen the setup that Jimmy Jib makes for this application and it is ok, but $2,000. I have also seen something called a J-7, but I don't know who makes it or where to get it. Any advice or help on where I can buy a reasonably priced setup would be greatly appreciated. If they took credit cards it would be even better. Thank you, J. Christopher Campbell

I am a fairly new operator flying a Pro I sled. I have new (hopefully to be recurring gig) on a late night talk show that uses F950's tethered with fiber for a multi (7) camera shoot. I have 2 immediate needs... 1. A tally light. My monitor does not have one, so I need an external tally light. -I've seen people tape these type boxes to the camera tally light and I am fine with this. I just need to know where to buy this device (and in a hurry!). 2. I light-weight, fiber-optic jumper. Maybe a 6-footer or so. Again, where can I buy this? Thank you for your help/advice. -J. Christopher Campbell