Peter Abraham

I've got a Pelican 1650 Rolling Case for sale. Re-configuring, no longer need it. Rolls find, wheels and handles in good shape. Comes with zero foam. Best to foam it out once you get it ! Terrific as a one-stop accessories/ batteries/ ff case or a vest/ arm/ docking bracket case. $ 225.00 gets it out the door. Will hand deliver to a NYC area customer. Otherwise, buyer pays shipping. PM me here or email me at: peter@steadicamproductionservices.com Best to all, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

Nothing? Damn....

I've got a "King Pelican" case for sale. Photos should appear below. There's no model # on it, just the logo. Good case, just been re-arranging and re-distributing and so I no longer need it. It has a 1/2" base of foam on the bottom and is otherwise empty of foam. Inner dimensions: 21.5" x 16.5" x 6" deep. Lid is 2" deep. $ 150.00 will get it out the door. PM me here or email me at: peter@steadicamproductionservices.com Will be glad to hand off if it's a NY area Operator, otherwise shipping is paid by buyer. Both lock hasp holes are intact. Best to all, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

Sometime in the last year, I loaned out my Tri Ax cable made with silicone jacketing. Very rare, impossible to replace since it was a one- time run for Cinema Products. If you've got it, please PM me or email me at: peter@steadicamproductionservices.com I need it back ! Best Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

When shopping around here, or anywhere online, I frequently have to refer to this web site. Mighty useful, to have All of the Pelican Case dimensions , as well as All of the Storm Case dimensions listed at one place. :) Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

Always have loved this down and dirty " daisy petals " filter gag. It won't work in the extreme cold or on a damp or rainy day, the tape will likely fail. But it is the secret to removing a huge clunky heavy matte box.

I do not know. I do seem to remember that the Scout post was round but the Flyer LE post was flatted on the sides. yes? Would a post clamp hold as firmly were it not able to clamp on to the full circumference?

The ongoing pattern of behavior from this particular vendor is unprofessional,deceptive and tiresome. It exemplifies the worst darkest corner of our culture. Any vendor who manufactures and sells material for our community should have them in stock, be able to back them up, and provide reasonably well timed customer support. Immoral, and possibly illegal, behavior like this only diminishes the quality of our overall community and the way we support each other. I speak from a position of being both an operator, & a vendor of small accessories. It is reprehensible to take someone's money and then not deliver the goods. Best to all, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

A big nod of thanks for those in our community continuously pushing to improve. This sounds like a great mod. Wish I could see the photos on my Android phone !!

Exactly, Aaron. I have carried $ 2 million USD of Liability coverage for....hmmm...17 years? A small incident involving my arm and an actresses' cheek. She was fine. I did not get sued. But I could have lost everything. Never been asked to provide it. I find the precedent to be chilling. As the operator of the moving camera, I should not be liable if a extra in a shot stumbles and breaks her collarbone. Now, my exposure in the situation would be significantly increased if Production had my Liability info. The guy with the big coverage gets sued first. I call bullshit on the concept. Best to all, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

Glad to take that slinky BFD cable as well as the HD splitter. Will PM you ! Best Peter Abraham, S.O.C

I've been using one almost as long as Chris, and I may have more hours logged in it than anyone else. It continues to be a source of delight comfort and precision. In the heat of summer time, it is wonderful to enjoy how much heat shedding I get to do in this vest.

Exactly, Jerry. When doing live shows I do tend to look at the overall image , when doing narrative I tend to look at the extreme details on the edge of the frame. This is not to say in any way that live shows do not demand precision framing, but when I am 1 of many cameras I am aware of placement of talent and set elements in the frame, so that if I'm passing my frame off to the next person in the form of a dissolve , it works out well.

Get a room, you two. Oh wait. Too late. Man, is Jendra gonna be pissed.

I will be bringing a bag filled with the new Longplates. There will be one of each type to examine, and plenty on hand to purchase. Also will have a bunch of the Zalex Tally Light Kits. Here's just one of the ways the Longplate can alter your build. Rethink Your Build ! Zalex Accessories Home Page. Looking forward to a great evening. I ran this by Kat, she's completely cool with it. Best to all, Peter

I'm in !!

My Model I Sled ( known as "Old Smokey" ) was number 022. My Model I arm was # 028. That arm was rebuilt by CP ( Robert Luna) soon after I got it, to make it adjustable. The doorway hinge broke on it, and then a cable snapped. I cannot say where it is right now. When I sent it to CP to be fixed, it was scanned into the FedEx Terminal at LAX. And disapeared. Stolen by an employee. Replaced with a IIIA Arm, thankfully. My Model I vest had a CP plate on it, and I believe on the inside there was a serial # ID Tag but I cannot for my life remember what that number was- ironic, because from 1986 to 2003 I only wore that Model I vest. Other bits came and went but man, that old vest. Custom rebuild by myself, fit like a glove. I owned the prototype Flyer arm that Garrett built. Oh, and a real bit of ancient gear. I owned the original hard-wired follow focus system that CP built. It was designed to to from hand unit by cable to a box mounted on the back of the Vest. There, it interfaced with ANOTHER small box in a weird side-by-side dual box holder thingy. From there, the signal went by cable along the vest right shoulder- there were curved metal clips to hold the cable. Then, down the arm to the sled. My working box was LC-0001 ( Lens Control ). The spare box, with knurled knob but no wiring guts was 0002. I still have that old empty box somewhere... Oh. And I am proud to say that I owned BarTech FF unit # 0002. 0001 went to the fellow who did the field testing work for Jim. A LA based Op, I do not know the person's name. But I knew about the BFD a year before Jim took orders and by god, I put in a deposit. No doubting what a game-changer THAT was gonna be !!! :D

Jacob, have you come up with a solution yet? Is it a Sony camera?

Before I do my little bit of shameless self-promotion, a note about being a Sustaining Member here. The richness of what the Forum is, the depth of info available through Search, the worldwide membership. I hope for the most positive futures and am glad to be a sustaining member. Support Tim's efforts here and maintain the Forum for the good of our entire community. Now then. I invite one and all to stop by at the new Zalex Accessories page on Facebook. It details the items I had always wanted to have in MY kit, and so have manufactured and use and sell to others. Here's the Facebook link. ( I think this will work... ) Zalex Facebook Page If it doesn't link properly, just log into your Facebook page and search for Zalex Steadicam Accessories ! Best to one and all, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

But Alec, are you willing to discuss Chinese knockoffs of V mounts?

I will take it. Fiem. Will PM you shortly ! Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

Lemme answer the second part first. True, many of us sought out a machine shop. My first one was in Woodside, NY. The guys were pretty resistant to doing "jobbing"- one-off projects for a small-time customer. I did a lot of hand-cutting and hand-drilling back then. In 1992 I moved up to Orange County, NY and found a godsend. A small machine shop about 10 minutes from the house, run by an older German fellow and his machinist and two administrators. Rolf ( true, his name ) loved the endless one-off projects. His shop also did produce runs of early accessories I sold to other Ops. Even to today, literally this morning, being able to work with a good machinist is key. The first question you asked is very likely to launch some extremely emotion-laden and political replies. Believe it or not. I think it is not a bad thing to examine your question, but it will utterly hijack this eminently enjoyable and laid-back thread. If you are game, start a separate thread on that topic, perhaps?

Brooks- awesome post ! :) Brings back a ton of memories. Some horrid, of course. Steve Byro. Lawdy, lawdy...... :huh: As for the box on top of the sled? Hmm. There's the J-Box at the top of the front post, that was pre-integral connections in the stage. Above that is a steel cage, cut as two triangles to reduce slamming my face with it as I worked on whip pans. There is a small box down below on the front angled line of the sled, above the monitor. That's a RF transmitter. I was 24 in that photo. Not to be a media hog in this thread, but Brooks' description of his sled compels me to post this. It's my Model II ( replaced Old Smokey after the fire. ). Chopped. Model III post and gimbal. IIIA X/Y top stage. ANOTHER stage, upside down, at the bottom of the post. There was a dovetail plate screwed to the long bridging plate. This allowed me to fine-tune the balance of the sled on the bottom, so when I velcro'd on accessories the sled could be brought back into true. Model III monitor arm. Note the home cut battery pivot/mount that attached BELOW the sled at the rear post. I could flip the battery all the way over and aim it up when in Low Mode, if I needed more "top weight". Eventually that was cut off and I went with A/B batts there as well. That thing was a bitch to switch with due to the sled length, but otherwise an utter dream to fly.

This part of your post I wish to address. As Garrett instructed me in 1986, as Jerry tells all students, and as I learned to tell my 1,300 + students in the last 24 years: "Share What You Know". It is incubment upon those of us who take this art and craft most seriously to be welcoming to all, to respect all, and to share what we know and also ( in my opinion ) ALWAYS be open to new ways. A few weeks ago I learned a new kind of technique that I had not considered before. Being closed-minded is most definitely not the Steadicam Operator's way. And, because thes are always a bit amusing, me- in my uncut Model I rig. Note the black handle has already been put on the grip, but the battery is still stock. I almost immediately got black plastics and hand-cut new pieces to replace the all-white vest plastics that were stock on the Model I and Model II rigs. I look frightened. :D

Heh. Well. Here it is. After getting hooked on wearing a rental Model III at Camera Mart Video Rentals ( long gone ), and lacking any formal training, I set about looking for a used rig. American Cinematographer was all we had to go by back in the day ( 1986 ). I found a used one, and called Garrett up for advice on the price, etc. He gently urged me to get some formal training. I was fortunate enough to train with him a few weeks later- by incredible timing, a workshop had a slot. After my workshop, I hunted and found a used Universal Model I. It was serial # 22, in the first production run of Model I systems. It came with a non-adjustable arm, a Model I vest with the white plastics and the metal pocket on the back for the very first follow-focus system ever made- the LC1 system. My LC-1 controller box had a serial # stamped into it: # 0001. The spare controller box was stamped # 0002. No kidding ! It had no docking bracket, however it came with 4 socket blocks. Yes..... 4. One on the vest. One on the old and immensely heavy vehicle mount ( made of steel back then, not aluminum ). And two more spares with the thumb knobs in a bag. Amazing. The lack of dock was tough. Not knowing ANYONE, I found Larry McConkey's phone number and called him up. Quite the overwhelmed newbie call. He was, of course, wonderful and upbeat and invited me over the next day. I was presented with tons of steel shelves in his apartment in Chelsea filled with....gear...and....stuff. He pulled out an old docking bracket and gave it to me. Along with an immense amount of advice and tutoring. The very first mod I did to it was to pay to have the arm upgraded to an adjustable arm. The second thing was in my Uncle's machine shop. He made me a wonderful Delrin handle grip. It fit so snugly over the stock "bicycle handle" grip that it had to be tapped home with a mallet. It was 6" long, and is the inspiration for the Zalex Handles I currently make for Gen 1 Flyer gimbal handles. Additional mods? I made my own battery pivot, crude but based on the brilliantly made Bob DeRose mod. Eventually, I dumped the NiCAD long black packs and went to Anton Bauer bricks. Also NiCAD, metal housing. Better ergonomics, easy to have re-celled, and the world used them. Also custom cut and had welded an angled bracket so I could do Low Mode with the sled. :D It had a monitor that was ( I believe ) 2" diagonal. Green and black CRT ( well. B&W with a high-con notched green filter optically bonded to the face of said CRT ). Many wonderful memories with that first rig. It wound up being destroyed in a fire at a repair shop. Then it was totally rebuilt and sold on to Troy Smith in Seattle, then it went to Dave Chaimides. Because of the fire, and the utterly pervasive scent of burnt electronics, this sled is known as " Old Smokey ". Garrett currently has it in his Steadicam Collection. On the one hand, it's a hunk of metal and electronics. On the other hand, it was my intense dream realized. Love that thing. The sled went to fire heaven, then came back. ( It shoulda been called Phoenix ). The arm was stolen by a Federal Express employee at the FedEx Terminal at LAX. ( no shit. Brutal tale... ). The vest, I used forever. When the wonderful and brilliantly intense Bex Jennings came in from New Zealand to train, I sold her my Model I vest. :) Best to all, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.