Norbert von der Heidt

Hi Guys and Gals To go along with Hugo's notice above. My name is Norbert von der Heidt and I'm an owner of their "Silver Spring: arm. When Rig found out that I was going back to Toronto for a 3 month visit, they asked if I planned to take my rig along as they had ops interested in seeing the arm, so would I make it available? I said no worries, so here I am. I will be here until Sept 4th so I'm hoping to organize an "Arm Party" (you know, like tupperware and lingerie!) where all interested ops could come and have a touchy-feely session and get some flying time. Please let me know asap if you're interested and when would be a good time for doing a party. If you preferr I'm happy to meet in a one on one basis. Contact me directly so we can get it organized. On the way back to Australia I will be stopping over in L.A. for 5 days starting Sept.5 till 10th, so if anyone there is interested in having a look etc please let me know asap. If for some reason time is a problem, I'm happy to come to you on set or at your home if you want, that's no problem. My landline between 9am and 9pm here is 416 742 5598 and cell is 416 671 598. My email is: kewarrakid@gmail.com Cheers Norbert :D

Hi Leigh Here's another couple of Australian places to check if you're not aware of them: www.broadcast-trader.com.au + www.sandavel.com.au . Good luck with your search. Cheers Norbert

It looks great at first glance but my very next reaction was "Hope he doesn't loose it". :( In this type of configuration there is absolutely no way, that I can see, to save the rig and camera from major damage should the unthinkable occur. It's fun to use technology but in this case it has no benefit that justifies making the operator who's busy worring about framing etc to have to be the driver as well. I personally wouldn't put myself in that kind of position. If you want to go a long distance without having to lay track, use a wheelchair mount, 4 wheels beat the hell out of two. That's my two cents on the subject. Cheers Norbert

Hi gang I am in need of a charger adaptor the goes from XLR4 male to old style CP Steadicam battery packs. I have included a pic of the one that I have but I want to make use of the second output on the home made charger. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there is another one somewhere. Let me know what you want including shipping to Australia.

Hi gang :P I have two Glidecam Eclipse Green Screens for sale. They are in pretty good condition and are located in Cairns Australia but will ship world wide. They're working well with minor wear marks as to be expected and I've been very happy with them in the little time I've used them. I'm going to an LCD out of necessity with my new rig which doesn't seem to like the mass they have re: dynamic balance. I'm looking for $1400AUD as the new reduced price. :) Contact Norbert at electricimages@austarnet.com.au :D

Hi guys I've been reading through this thread about Leigh and following his learning curve. I don't want to deflate his balloon but..... I have a just one question....since when did Steadicam flying become an entry level gig? It seems everyone is being very helpful and patient but if Leigh really wants to be in this biz, he should get a job shooting news or something along those lines and learn the basics first. Wouldn't it be better to learn about frame, focus, pan and tilt (and invoice - ha, ha) off sticks when it really isn't critical or expensive for a client. I know some feature operators came in through the side door by knowing how to fly a rig but they usually had a lot of other production experience to go with it. Everyone has to pay their dues somewhere, sometime! Nothing really worthwhile comes that easily. I've been doing this for over twenty five years and I'm still learning, happily! Cheers Norbert

Hi guys and gals :) I guess it's about time I introduced myself to the rest of the rest of the mob. I've made a few posts and it's only fair that you know where I'm coming from with some of my comments etc. My name is Norbert von der Heidt and I presently live along with my wife, two dogs and a feisty cat in Cairns, Queensland, the tropical jewel in Australia's crown of great places to live. Anyway, I got into broadcast television in the late 70's via cable tv in Toronto, Canada. I worked for 8 years as a freelance lighting cameraman + director + technician + editor in both N.A.B.E.T. and I.A.T.S.E. unions. During that time I traveled extensively throughout Canada, the USA and the Caribbean working on a wide variety of projects before migrating to Australia in 1993. Fifty percent of my work was multicamera mobile (O.B. van) based in either sports or TV series work. My great "claim to fame" was that I was one of the 3 camera jocks on the popular and internationally syndicated "Twenty Minute Workout" in the mid 80's. Our company was in a major studio complex that was host to many features and I'd always sneak over and watch the big boys doing their thing. Feature production always fascinated me with the time, care and attention that was required. Over the course of a few years I was involved in the EPK production for a number of films including; Alan Aldas "A New Life", "Short Circuit II", David Cronenberg's "The Fly" and Cher's "Suspect". During the past fifteen years in Oz I've been a little more laid back and I got into professional photography as well, mainly because there isn't a heck of a lot of high end TV or film work originating in North Queensland. I'm now the casual (part-time) photographer for the Cairns Post newspaper along with continuing my local commercial, documentary and underwater video production services. Specialty camera services is where I want to work, which includes my 7m jib with a Vaizoom MC100 remote head and as soon as I get my completed vest (that's another story) I'm going to be making a push into southern markets. My first experience with a Steadicam came while I was a staff DP/cameraman with TVOntario in 1990. I got them to pay for a two day course and I was hooked. Whenever TVO had a need for Steadicam in it's productions, they hired an EFP and I was the man who flew it. In 2003 I finally got frustrated by the lack of challenges in the local market and convinced the "Boss" to let me get a Basson 800. Unfortunately, it had many shortcomings which weren't apparent from their website. These I had to rectify (I'd be happy to share my mods which would apply to other Basson models) these before I considered it even marginally acceptable for pro work. After two years, I was ready to step up again and have bought a secondhand "Make an Offer" sled from MK-V, a Pro Gear vest (see my other posts!), a Glidecam Eclipse monitor and a SteadyRig "Silver Spring" arm. It's a bit of a Heinz 57mongrel but I love it. Well that about it for now. I'm 53 this year and I hope there's a few more years of flying left in me! Cheers Norbert :D

To all Steadicam or other Stabilizer owners/operators, :D I'm writing this as helpful information to all who may be thinking of doing business with Pro Gear in Denmark. My apologies to those who have followed along on my previous thread "Where is Pro Gear" but this is my final update which puts my Pro Gear vest saga in a nutshell. What follows, it seems, is not unusual from the emails I've received from operators and many posts I've read on the various forums. Deja Vu!! After seeing a Pro Gear SSV1 vest listed on e-bay in mid August I made the mistake of buying it outside of e-bay, because the start bid was too high. I made a lower offer to Jan Schmidt directly and it was acccepted and then paid for by August 30/05. Their only stipulation being that I would have to wait till the conclusion of the IBC 2005 trade show in Amsterdam in mid September, which was fine with me as I still had my old rig which I needed to sell. In early Oct. I started asking when my vest was being shipped and I was told it's all set to go, ....yeh tomorrow for sure, .... next time we go to the post office etc. I started having bad feelings about this especially when I read some Steadicam Forum posts about other Pro Gear experiemces and my requests for information were still not being answered. I finally got desparate and bombarded them with 20 emails at a time to get their attention and was finally told it had been shipped the first week in November and was given a tracking #. This number turned out to be invalid with Denmark Post and my repeated request for an explanation were ignored for the rest of November. I sold my old rig in the beginning of November expecting the vest to arrive anytime. I waited patiently but still got no reply from Jan till it got to the point where I said "forget it, I want my money back" but these requests were also ignored. Finally after threatening them with action through the Denmark consumer protection agancy and so on, I received an email in the first week of December saying the vest chassis only had been shipped ( which means he lied about the original shipping!). It was shipped without vest pads and webbing as Jan said he wanted to give me a new set and it would be sent separately 3 days after the chassis left. I repeatedly asked for a tracking number for the second shipment over the next 2 weeks and got no reply. The vest chassis arrived the day after Boxing Day and I have been waiting for the rest for the pads to show ever since . Jan now refuses to answer my emails and I have been forced to have Rig Engineering here in Australia try to custom build me a set of pads and the support webbing. It is going to cost me $500 AUD to have this done. Bless you Dean! Needless to say, I am not happy with Pro Gear. They have easily cost me more than their vest is worth in lost income over the past two months for without a vest my rig is a very expensive paperweight. They have failed to fulfill their contractual obligations with me, lied to me, shown me a total lack of respect and even threatened me with a slander suit if I said bad things about them but that only applies if what's said is untrue. Not in this case!!. Unless you're masochistic or are happy to be constantly frustrated by a serious lack of communication, customer service and maybe not even getting what you bought, DON'T BUY FROM PRO GEAR! Unless you live in Denmark that is, ops there seem to love this guy. That's just my humble opinion based on my experience. You may have better luck if you still decide to buy from them, I sure hope so! Cheers Norbert von der Heidt B)

I agree with JD. As soon as I have a need for HD monitoring on my rig I'll get a downconverter. I'm inclined to use the AJA line of gear unless someone can offer a better or cheaper alternative. The model # is a HD10MD3. The HD10MD3 is a miniature digital downconverter for converting HD-SDI video to standard definition SDI and analog component/composite video. The HD10MD3 uses a full 10-bit data path and multi-point interpolation to produce broadcast quality downconverted video. In addition, the HD10MD3 converts either 1080p24 or 1080p24sf to 59.94 Hz output video using the standard 3:2 pulldown technique. The output can be formatted for either 4:3 or 16:9 standard definition monitors. 4 Ch input embedded HD-SDI audio is passed to the SDI output. On the S-Video output I would just strip off the luminence channel through the S-Video output connector to feed my rig's monitor. I'm not worried about seeing the colour balance, I just want as high res a picture as possible. The link to this gear is http://www.aja.com/hd10md.htm Cheers Norbert

If only I didn't live in Australia now......! This'll be a good break for some lucky bugger no matter how tough the gig. Maybe next time. Cheers Norbert

Hi guys and gals :D Happy New Year to all and hoperfully the year will start better than how it finished. I thought i'd just make a final post regarding the long runing problem with Pro Gear regarding the SSV1 vest I bought last August. This a just a warning for anyone considering buying equipment from Pro Gear. DON'T!!! unless you're prepared to endure a very long and painfully frustrating time getting what you paid for. I'm not the only one in Australia still waiting for something from them. If anyone wants more info regarding the problems please contact me directly at electricimages@austarnet.com.au and I'd be happy to fill you in. Read my other General Discussion thread titled "Where is Pro Gear?" and replies to get the background. Now, the latest developments. I received an email on boxing day demanding I stop my harassment or they would sue me etc. (it was really ridiculous and I'l forward it to any who's interested). Anyway, I finally received the vest chassis the day after boxing day. I sent Jan an email to let him know it arrived and requested the vest pads shipping details again since it still hadn't been received as promised in early December. In the week between xmas and new year I sent another couple of requests to now avail. Finally, on new years eve he sent an email saying he would check into the vest pads situation and let me know on Sunday. Well, a week has gone by with nothing again from Pro Gear so I finally said enough is emough. Now the good stuff!! I contacted Dean Merlo at Rig Engineering here in Australia. They have been absolutely fabulous getting me my shiny new Silver Spring arm. I have been keeping him up to date re: this situation so he knew what I was up against. I asked for help to complete this vest with the pads and webbing etc and Dean was more than happy to help. I will be sending him the bits this week and will hopefully be up and running again soon! Their service and products are world class. Hooray for Rig!! We're almost there! :rolleyes: Cheers Norbert P.S. I'll be sending Pro Gear the bill and see what happens!!

Hi Eric Oops, I forgot! Good that you added that very important fact regarding the high voltages!! :o I'm so use to poking around in the guts of cameras, VTRs, etc. for over twenty five years and yes, I have been thrown across the room by the 27k HV output, I just assume everyone knows to be extremely careful. I now use only insulated tools whenever I work on live gear. Cheers Norbert B)

Hi Beau It sounds like a simple matter of a loose deflection yoke on the crt. The monitor has either been knocked or during a maintenance wasn't tightened up enough. If you are mechanically inclined it isn't hard to fix. Turn off power and remove the cover from the monitor. Around the crt at the point where the tube flares out there will be a plastic assembly with a lot of fine copper wires looped symetrically together in 4 groups (I think) around the assembly. At the opposite end from the wires should be a yoke clamp with a locking screw, this is what more than likely needs to be re-tightened. Here is the tricky part. Loosen off the screw enough so that the yoke can be easily rotated. Feed a video input and power to the monitor. Keep fingers away from any components and fire it up. Now, being very careful not to touch anything else but the plastic yoke, rotate the assembly until it is back horizontal again. Be sure that the yoke assembly hasn't moved up or down on the tube's longitudinal Z axis as this can effect everything else you don't want it to e.g. focus, frame size, etc. Re-tighten the lock screw and check for horizontal again as this can sometimes shift when locking down. Repeat above till it is correct. Turn off power and put cover back on. Voila, c'est tout fini. Hope this is a help. ;) Cheers Norbert

Hi Marc Thanks for the idea with the cards. I have to find a release for my creativity somewhere since I can't fly my rig. All the best of the season and 2006 cheers Norbert :P

I agree with Stephen and then some. Do yourself a favour and learn something of the various other major production areas as well as camera before next year's Paris workshop. For me, a cameraman should above, all have an eye for composition, you're either born with it or it comes from a lengthy apprenticeship behind the lense. Sure, the basics can be quickly learned from books or arts courses but if the process isn't natural and instinctive then compromising the production with trying to fly a rig seems a little silly. When I got my first rig two years ago I was quickly able to become proficient because I only had the nuances of the rig to worry about and not how to run a camera and frame it etc. because that was already second nature to me. I started out as a gopher with an indepenent video production facility in 1978 and over the next 2 years learned the basics of every major production area until I found my niche in camera/lighting/tech. I was a grip, a sound recordist, camera control op, VT editor, lighting director and cameraman, sometimes all in one week. I took a two day course in Toronto more than ten years ago and within the first hour I knew what I wanted to do more than anything else as a cameraman. Unfortunately, it took another decade before I could fulfill that dream. Now, not to say that you fall into this category but, film/video production has more than enough hero's who are in it because either: "dad bought them a Betacam" or it's "cool", it's "glamorous", the "chicks dig it", without having a love for the biz. I got sucked in by the whole production process of creating something and have never stopped learning! I love it! Good luck with your endeavours. :)

:D T'was the night before xmas and I'm not filled with cheer 'cause the vest Pro Gear promised still is not here. Though the money was paid oh so long ago I don't understand why it doesn't show The people at Pro Gear sent it twice so they say it's not their problem, don't bug us, good day! When I asked for some answers, they didn't reply though emails and faxes and voice mails I tried It'll now be the new year, if my vest does arrive Three months and counting, my hope stays alive No more will I buy and I'll shed not a tear An xmas warning to all regarding Pro Gear! See my "Where is Pro Gear" General Discussion post for more details :angry: All the best of Love, LIfe and Happiness to all in 2006

Hi gang For those interested in the ongoing saga of the "phantom" Progear SSV1 vest. An earlier post by me said that Jan had assured me the vest was shipped on November 9, 2005. He even gave me a tracking number which turned outto be false. After another month's worth of emailings demanding my money back or drastic action would be taken (I think it was the twenty emails at a time that finally woke him up that I was pissed), I finally got a very surly reply totally ignoring my demand for a refund and saying I was acting like a child. You judge for yourself. Here is his Dec. 5 email to me: Hallo Sir, Why do you send us over 20 emails with the same content? I have responded to your initial email so I do not understand why you act like a child. I have shipped our last demo vest to you since I have to sort out the problems with our post office regarding several packages I have had problems with in the previous months. The tracking number for the vest chassis is: CC909079489DK and yes, it can certainly be tracked at: www.post.dk . I will pack a brand new set of vest pads and get them shipped as well within three days and will also supply you with the tracking number for that separate package. I can also email you a picture of the actucal shipping receipt since you are so doubtful regarding our honesty. As I have written before I must apologize for the trouble but as you can clearly see I do what I can in order to complete the order. Best regards Jan Schmidt, PRO GEAR DENMARK So, you tell me if this guy is on the level!! He assured me the vest had left on December 2, 2005 (which obviously means he was blatantly lying about the Nov 9 shipment) but to make it all worse, it was not the complete vest, only the chassis. He said he was getting a new set of pads and would send them along in 3 days and give me a tracking number. Well, here it is now 12 days later, I still don't have any confirmation or picture that the pads have been shipped or he refuses to even reply to my emails asking for info. I want to now warn anyone reading this post that to have any dealings with Progear is asking for trouble and a hell of a lot of frustration. Personally, I think he is running a marginal operation financially and is constantly "robbing Peter to pay Paul". This is not the way to run a supposedly professional operation. I cannot stress enough how much this idiot has cost me (due to not having a vest on hand to work with), which doesn't seem to worry him at all and the frustration I've experienced dealing with someone who doesn't give a damn. I am just the latest in an apparently long string of dissatisfied Progear customers and with any luck I hope I'm the last. If there are any more tales of woe from others, please contact me directly, misery loves company!! Cheers Norbert

Hi guys and gals Just to update all those interested, The vest was supposedly shipped out via Denmark Post on November 9 and it has still not arrived. The tracking number Jan gave me is not valid with Denmark Post and he has refused to answer my last 3 or 4 emails asking for info. This will be my last dealing with this company. I can accept a lot of things but not being ignored, especially after they have my money. I understand a one man band can run into difficulties at times but I don't seem to be the only one and this seems to be a chronic problem with Progear. In my opinion, if you can't do it right, don't do it at all. Thanks to all those who contacted me with their tales of woe. At least I'm in good company - Ha- Ha - Ha! Cheers Norbert

Hey Norbert, I have no idea what bits are in there, but I was at mk-v and saw your rig ready to be dispatched. Just think it?s interesting that you were the one buying it. -Rick. Hi Rick Yeah, this seems to have everyone stumped. Not that it matters as long as it flys allright. I've been waiting much too long for my Progear SSV1 vest to arrive so I can't even check it out. Jan is not even answering my emails and I'm getting a little concerned since I can't take on any work till I have a fully functioning rig again. Thanks for your input though. Cheers Norbert

Hi Folks I just bought this sled from Howard at MK-V. Unfortunately he wasn't able to supply any info as to what it is or where it came from etc. Here's a pic of the sled and any info would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Norbert

Hi Steve My first rig was a Basson 800 almost 2 years ago. I did some serious mods on it to try and bring it up to some kind of professional performance level. If you wish more info on the mods I did, you may find a previous post in the forum or if not then you can contact me for details. As for the Glidecam Eclipse, I bought one second hand for my new Heinz 57 rig I'm putting together. I'm still waiting for my vest and arm to arrive so I really haven't had a chance use it in a shooting situation but I did a test with my RF transmitter outside. It did a reasonable job but I had to wind up the contrast as high as possible to see a usable picture. A hood of some sort would definitely be useful. I paid $1400USD for mine on ebay but it is the 16:9/4:3 NTSC/PAL switchable model if that is any sort of help as a guide for what to pay. Cheers Norbert von der Heidt electricimages@austarnet.com.au

Hi guys I recently got a homemade charger for my CP batteries with the second hand rig I bought from MK-V and it included a 4pin XLR to CP battery adaptor with the PAG logo on it. I'm sure there are other companies version around as well. I'd like to get another one for the second output on the charger. Even if it is the adaptor to bare ends, that's okay as I'll put on my own connector. Send me a price including shipping to Australia. Cheers Norbert www.electricimages.net Contact me at: electricimages@austarnet.com.au

Hi Folks Jan has now contacted me and supposedly all is well and he's going to ship my vest. Go figure! Thanks to all for your input. Cheers Norbert P.S. All is not well! Please check my Dec 1 & 15 post to get updates on the situation.

Hi guys Does anyone have any idea what's rotten in Denmark, (sorry couldn't resist that one). I ordered paid for an SSV1 vest from Jan at the end of August on the basis he would be using it at IBC2005 as a demo. Afterwards he would ship it to me in Australia. I have so far received a couple of vague promises during Sept but during October he has not answered any of my numerous emails, voicemails and faxes. I have read posts that attest to his lack of communication at times but he always seem to come through. This is starting to worry me a bit though. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Norbert von der Heidt Electric Images P.S. Please see Nov. 1, Dec. 1 & 15 for updates on this ridiculous situation

Due to lack of money and considering the market I was working in (Cairns, Australia) I bought a Basson almost two years ago because, after a lot of research on the web, it gave me the best value for money. Dynamic balance really sucked so I had to fix it by some serious cutting and other mods e.g. (1) replaced 12v gel-cel battery system with movable IDX dual 14v NP1 holders, (2) added Manfrotto micrometer adjustable camera balance plate (3) added a junction box with multiple video and 14v cam power output (4) swiss cheesed the arms to reduce sprung weight (5) built new articulated mounting system for the LCD monitor that added swing and front to back adjustment (6) redesigned the spring tensioning system to get rid of big knobs that kept getting in the way (7) replaced chunky funky gimbal with smaller second hand one from the SteadiStore (8) added internal hi power (800mw) UHF video transmitter It now handles Digi-Beta and all other full sized broadcast cameras with perfect dynamic balance and ease of use. For smaller cams like the Panasonic DVX 100 or Sony PD170 I made a customizable weight that sits between the camera balance plate and the camera mount which then gives it the necessary mass to make the rig function properly. If anyone is interested I'm happy to send a pic of my rig so they can see what I've done and I will give them details if necessary. Norbert Electric Images electricimages @austarnet.com.au www.electricimages.net Digital Photography & Video Productions