Lee Clements

With all due respect, I'm only asking for the measurements. I have a lot of ideas about this system, and were I to go through with this, I would not simply throw the arm on the vest: I would work to adapt it, either milling the current post down, or searching for the correct parts to replace it with something more appropriate. While I am the first person to preach about the Tiffen/Steadicam "name-brand" stuff (I have been the Steadicam teacher at my school for the past year, having to work with a Glidecam X-22 system is infuriating to say the least) I am also a realist and an engineer. Which means (1) I recognize that the Virginia Beach market will simply not support a lot of Steadicam work, so I don't know how long it will take me to pay off a loan of $10k or $15k to buy the Tiffen system that I really want, and (2) I can see, from messing around a fair amount with my friend's Flycam system, that the principals are all there, and that it will support what I'd need to mold it to my requirements. The sled has some minor issues that I've already corrected, the vest is atrocious, but the arm is solid. On top of that, Flycam has been very communicative and supportive. So if I can get the sled and vest for under $1,000, I can afford a nicer vest, and give myself more options in the future to upgrade arms and sled. But right now, I need to know what the socket block size is to see if this is even a possibility, and/or how I would go about it.

The arm is a "Proaim 7000". A friend of mine bought the whole "Flycam Fluojo" set on eBay, which I have been pretty leary of, but it's actually quite solid--they've taken a lot of cues from the higher-end Steadicam systems, even if some of the execution is a little off. The arm is almost a cross between the Flyer/Zephyr arms and the G-50/G-70's, and works pretty well as yet, but the Flycam vest they provide is a nightmare. Again, it takes cues from the Steadicam vests, with the ability to clamp down to provide that extra snug fight (which is much more than I can say for the Glidecam X-22...ugh) but the design does not fit a human well, and the socket block is pretty much fixed where it is--you can't drop it lower to the waist because the waist-band clasp gets in the way. The arm feels very solid, and works well with the system, despite some things that simply aren't making sense. Perhaps it's because they're not Steadicam operators, or they just copied what Steadicam has done without understanding why. So my hope is that Flycam would be willing to knock a few hundred dollars off the price if I don't get a vest from them, and I can find a real Steadicam vest somewhere online or on this forum, and start building my rig piecemeal. If I had the money, I would go right out and buy a Zephyr (well, if we're dreaming, I'd rather get a Clipper) but the market around here will not support the work I'd need to repay that amount of money in a decen time. The Flycam system is cheap enough that I'm comfortable spending the money on it, knowing that I'm going to be making severe modifications to it, but well built enough that I know it'll handle a lot of what I can throw at it. But in order to know if I can do that, I'm looking for the socket block sizes, so I can measure my friend's Proaim arm, and determine I if I can start down this road.

Does someone have a measurement/size of the socket block holes/posts? If you have both the smaller and larger sizes (Zephyr/Flyer and Clipper/Ultra), that would be greatly appreciated. Reason being, I have an arm that works, and I am trying to see if I can get a Steadicam or Klassen vest that will work and be more comfortable than the one that's included.

I'm looking to buy a Steadicam Zephyr--a demo model, gently used, or somebody who wants to upgrade and is selling their old system. I would like the V-mount, but I'm willing to take anything. I've looked at all the rigs and used the Flyer LE quite a bit, but am currently stuck using a Glidecam X-22. I think the Zephyr is exactly what I need for my market. My price range is negotiable--tell me what you want to sell it for, and I'll see what I can work out.

Fascinating. The only 24v camera at my school is an Arri SR3, which I've just flown on their Glidecam, so I know it'll work with the Zephyr, but obviously the Glidecam doesn't do power through the sled (one of its oh-so-many shortcomings.) I'll be sure to check the other thread about power-hungry cameras, but the market around VA Beach isn't exactly saturated with much above a RED One.

I'm looking at a Zephyr for purchase sometime in the near future, and I'm trying to suss out what I want to start out with for accessories. My questions are about the 12v/24v options. 1. Is this a future-upgradeable option, or would the sled come pre-wired with it? 2. If I were using a 24v camera but 12v accessories, what would I need to switch the 24v back to 12v for the accessories (or would that even be possible)? 3. Are there 24v batteries, or will it always require two 12v batteries? I imagine any 24v camera will be beastly enough to require two batteries to counterbalance anyway, but just in case...