chris fawcett

I doubt it. When riding it, you grip the upright between your thighs. When you want to get off, you must first widen your stance slightly, then step smartly backwards. If there is no one to immobilise the machine, you must now do it yourself, or it will run off like a mad thing. I'm sure someone will be able to manage a step off; but no, it's not straightforward. Chris

Hi Sven, More likely at Tiffen. See you tuesday!

Sorry Rob, But as I had nothing original or interesting to say, I knew I'd better say it first. See you tomorrow?

Hi All, You might have guessed: I work on documentary, and am delighted with the Flyer. My only concern was that when I had a Digibeta (or pretty much any broadcast video camera), Lockit box, radio reciever, and lens controller onboard, the Flyer was maxed, and I would need to strip the viewfinder off the camera to get balance. The Archer is great, and what I like most is that the total system (LX vest, G50 arm, sled w/standard monitor & frameline generator) + one batt weighs only 12.2kg / 27lbs. This makes it only 2.2kg / 5lbs heavier than the Flyer + 2 batts (you need 2 batts to balance larger cameras, wheras the Archer has an extendable post). The camera carrying capacity is from 0.8 kg / 1.75lbs up to the stated 13.6kg / 30lbs (I make it a warranty-banjaxing 19.3kg / 42.5lbs!). On the Flyer, it's 2kg / 4.5lbs to 8.6kg / 19lbs (equally warranty-banjaxing). Of course, it's 3 times the price. Didn't fly the bugger, though. Some air-resistance in the cabling. Let you know tomorrow? I wonder if anyone reads these weight-obsessed posts of mine. Perhaps I should get out more (without the rig). Chris

Just tried out the G70 flying an Ultra at the Tiffen stand at IBC. It is super smooth, and booms forever. Interesting co-axial spring design too (little spring inside big one), to get the tension to adjust from 15 to 70 lbs. Same honeycomb bones as the G50. It looks amazing.

Tom! Surprised you (and your rig) are in one piece after that. Glad it didn't dent your enthusiasm either. Chris

Hi Job, I charge full rate for the gear (baggage handlers), and half rate for me (stewardesses). See you at the IBC, Chris

Sorry for the delay. Just back from holiday. I'll be here the whole time. I look forward to hooking up with each and every one of you. Chris +316 2391 8492

Delighted. Call or text me on +316 2391 8492 Chris

Here's where the money went on the PA workshop I attended: eight instructors for sixteen students + Garrett in attendance; three great meals a day to keep you going; and a network of contacts for support. Of course there's only one type of rig. How could you learn anything changing rigs every half hour? If you learn well, you'll earn it all back in a couple of day's work. Chris

Nobody pushed Tiffen gear at the PA workshop I attended. It was a well-organised, comprehensive workshop, with plenty of discussion of other systems. Chris

Dear All, I just finished shooting a feature-length documentary about an impoverished residential mental institution in the ex-Soviet Republic of Georgia. It was wonderful. The residents, in their mad ways, were among the nicest people I ever worked with?no exaggeration or sentiment?and it was a rare experience to meet them. I had 2 Panasonic SDX900s. One was permanently on the Steadicam Flyer, and the other was available for tripod use. Both cameras were heavily tweaked in the colorimetric and resolution departments to mimic film gamma, capturing 2.5 stops of overload, and 1 stop of underexposure (contact me off forum for details). I shot in 25p at 50Mb/sec. Sound was expertly recorded by Pepijn Aben in M+S on his Aaton Cantar. The inadequate timecode board on the SDX necessitated the use of a Lockit box on the camera to slave it to the Cantar. Guide audio (M only) was transmitted by a Micron TX/RX from the Cantar to the camera, and recorded onto track 2. Backup audio was recorded to track 1 from a Sennheiser 416 with suspension and Rycote Softie mounted on the camera. Once the reliability of the Micron link was established (it was faultless), the 416 was eliminated. A Vocas ZiF100 (with iris box) lens controller was used to pull iris and zoom from the gimbal. It is a great tool, but its large size is a serious limitation. I?ll talk to Vocas about making a stripped?down version for Steadicam use, and report back to the forum. The SDX + Canon W/A 5.2-47 without viewfinder, microphone, battery, or lens hood weighed a little under 8kg (about 17lbs). The Betacam-type quick-release plate was replaced by a lighter, aluminium plate screwed directly into the base of the SDX. This, plus the Lockit, the RX, and the ZIF+iris box brought the load up to just over 9kg (about 20lbs). To insure clear reception, the RX was on the camera (the highest point), but the Lockit was dropped to the monitor bracket. The ZiF was, of course, off sled on the gimbal. Two IDX Endura 80 batteries (sufficient power for any conceivable day), completed the system, which for almost 21 consecutive days of shooting, performed flawlessly. Before eliminating the 416, docking was tight, due to limited clearance. Afterwards, there was 30mm (more than an inch) of clearance between the sled and gimbal. Performance of the rig generally was improved, partly due to the elimination of the wind load of the Softie, and partly due to the fact that the Flyer had been working at its maximum capacity. The removal of these few grams from the high end of the system made a disproportionate improvement to its handling. Due to the low total weight of the system, just over 20kg (45lbs), I was able to fill 33-minute tapes without pause, and to fill them as necessary. At no time did the rig feel heavy (except after breakfast, when I had to walk to location wearing it?a first?). Operating around the patients was easy. Documenting with Steadicam seems, in many ways, less threatening than having a camera growing out of your head, and no patient was at any time alarmed or upset by it. I was able to remain open, and smile and shake hands when necessary, even while operating. The ZiF enabled me to hide focal-length changes in moves (remarkably easy), and to pull the 7 stops between inside and outside, and the 1 stop between cloud and sun (once a minute, at times!) with a remarkable degree of success. For close-ups and cutaways, I had to adjust focus manually, with almost zero success of a usable shot. Compared to the tripod rushes, the Steadicam rushes seem to contain a substantially higher percentage of usable material, and there is a small chance that one 16-minute take may make the final edit, due entirely to its unrepeatable content. I highly recommend the Flyer to anyone using anything up to broadcast-standard video cameras. For those using them exclusively, perhaps something with a little more carrying capacity is preferable. It would be advantageous to have a Betacam plate on the sled, and to use one camera for tripod and Steadicam, without having to strip it down and build it up each change. (Though the 2nd camera was required for other considerations.) However, if this led to a substantial increase in total weight, I?d be reluctant. Any system that would get me to the point of feeling tired, I would not consider for documentary use. Thanks to the agility of the Flyer, I felt able to negotiate awful terrain (building sites, overgrown ruins, etc. without the possibility of a rehearsal), with confidence, even walking backwards shooting unpredictable people. However, on Friday the 9th of September, at 12.05, at the IBC, I?ll be first in line to try on the Archer. (Or will you beat me to it, Mikko?) I hope this is of use or of interest to someone. Chris Hospital No. 6 is produced by Egmond Film and Television, and directed by Harrie Timmermans. Possible release: IDFA 2005

Achim, I'm based in Amsterdam right now. You are welcome to try out the Flyer any time you are here. Chris

Achim, I've flown an SDX900 with Lockit box, ZiF 100 lens controller, and radio reciever on a standard Flyer. Albeit, only in the facilities house. It seems fine, and I'm taking the lot to the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia on Thursday to shoot a one-hour documentary about a residential mental institution built in the time of the Tzars. You're right about the camera being close to the Flyer's limit, but the main problem is maintaining space above the gimbal for docking. Here's what you do: Remove the safely retaining pins from the docking plate Remove the viewfinder and battery from the camera Place the accessories (Lockit, reciever, etc.) below the gimbal Use two heavy batteries on the sled (the IDXs are too light, so I took the camera batteries instead) Forget about using a matte box. Gaffer tape whatever glass you need to the lens hood. The arm is a hair below max, but feels super. The rig is responsive, though not rock stable. The vest appears to be comfortable enough to fill a tape. I'll let you know how it goes when I get back in a month's time...if they let me out again. Chris

I have an equatorial gimbal adaptor for maintaining horizon in the tropics that I'd be prepared to part with to sweeten the deal.

Mikko, What email address are you using? I can't seem to reach you. Chris

Good luck Peter, and best wishes. Chris

Very cool. Thanks everyone for the advice. It worked out quite well with the steam, though the result was ethereal in the extreme. Fortunately, that's what was wanted. Chris

LOL Damn i forgot, you're in the Netherlands too :P O well, we need to get some beers than <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You bet!

A very generous offer, Job, and much appreciated. Hartelijk bedankt, Chris

Awesome, indeed. I just bought one. Thanks for the tip, Leigh. keep them coming. I agree entirely with the comments above, regarding assistants, and would like to state that I shoot documentary work only. Chris

Dear Goonie, I also bought directly from Frank Rush, and can vouch for the first-rate support that he delivers. Chris

High TLA levels are endemic to the industry.

Dear All, You have given me much food for thought. I'll post again in 2 weeks to tell how (or if) it worked out. Thanks, Chris

Hi Leigh, Great bit of kit, but how do you fit it? Any pics? Thanks, Chris