Brad Williams

Hi Eric, No Op yet. Ya gotta love some producers: "Hey! Let's give it a higher production value and use a Steadicam! We'll rent one!" "Uh....yeah. You know that's a valuable skill, right?" Jokes aside, it's gear we get to add to the studio, and I've always wanted to learn, it's just that on top of the learning curve on what to buy, education and EXPERIENCE is extremely important. Either way, this is the hand I'm dealt, so yes, reaching out to you all, and we're speaking with an accomplished OP here in the SF bay area. He recommended the Archer series, because of the higher-end loads we can use. Might break the budget though, so we're still hovering around the Flyer, or the Zephyr.....

Hi Andrew, The main camera will be the HPX300, with two wireless receivers attached. We just weighed it and we got 17lbs. In most scenarios, we wouldn't add lights to the camera, but thanks for the heads up. Obviously the monitor and battery would eat up some weight as well, no? Another Op from Oakland just contacted us and suggested we go directly to Tiffen and skip B&H....

Hello gents, Lurked this board awhile back, always wanting to fly. Now, it looks like I'll have the chance, and with no skin off my nose (or rather, my wallet). I've been assigned to spec some gear for purchase for our studio. The producers want the steadicam for a new show, and after tabulating rental costs over the course of the show, it's easier to just buy. We need a system that will support larger cameras, like the Panasonic HPX's. We're researching, with budget in mind, these two systems: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/732311-REG/Steadicam_ZEBASDBVZZ_Zephyr_Camera_Stabilizer_AB.html and http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/446403-REG/Steadicam_F24VLBHS_F24VLBHS_Flyer_24_Camera_Stabilizer.html We looked at the Flyer first, because it seemed to have everything we need, but we just weighed the gear, and it comes to 17lbs and change. That's why we considered the Zephyr, because it says it can handle more weight. Although I have a lot of questions, my main one is: why would a system that can handle more weight cost less? Also what struck us is the fact that the Zephyr photo doesn't include a spring-arm pictured, although it says it includes a, "iso-elastic arm". Any advice for what to look for? Any recommendations on other brands/systems? Cheers, -bw