Frank Born

Hi Ryan, been off the grid a bit, what's on sale? :-) Cheers, Frank

Looking for an affordable Zephyr/Scout class vest (not size s version) with the small socket block. Cheers, Frank

Hi Justin, sent you a pm. Best, Frank

That should be a 3D-printed grip by Frederic Sturm. Works nicely on a Pilot with the original Gimbal. Best, Frank

On my rig combined with a GH4, these adapters are powered from the camera battery via HDMI. I tried 3 different brands, did not have to power any of them via USB. Have you tried without power cable? Best, Frank

Will Tiffen show the vest at IBC Amsterdam? Best, Frank

Had to see that movie last night - only saw then Ted Churchill was operator. Solid, wow. *sigh*

Hi Victor, the construction of the Pilot docking bracket is quite feeble - seems like they took the Scout bracket and left away the stand pin adapter part. There's just a hole for the pin instead and a side screw, but that's not enough to fix the bracket to the stand properly, it gets pulled down by the weight of the rig. Also, after tightening the screw a few times, the thread is gone. Not enough material in the light aluminum profile, I guess. Post size of Pilot, Flyer, Scout and Zephyr is the same (afaik). The Flyer and Zephyr brackets are sold as spare parts, but are not THAT much on the budget side over here. Bummer I already bought a 2nd Pilot bracket; then again, for short stays on a second stand that's okay. The zephyr docking bracket is of course very preferrable - for dynamic balancing. For comparison: Scout version (Part#803-7900): http://cvp.com/index.php?t=product/steadicam_803-7900 This one would be about €390,- That's about €220,- more for one additional piece of aluminum and 3 screws (compared to the Pilot version, european pricing). Way more compared to US prices. Best, Frank

As I wrote in my other topic: Looking for a better docking bracket for a Pilot, so any Scout, Flyer or Zephyr docking bracket would do. Anyone got a spare? Thanks. Best, Frank

No, haven't tried asking Tiffen yet - but maybe I should, good idea. As an alternative a scout or flyer docking bracket would do, too: I just want a more stable replacement for my pilot docking bracket (that doesn't have a proper way to tighten it to the stand). If you have the possibilities to copy the Zephyr dock: How much would that set me back? Thanks for the kind offer. Best, Frank

Looking for a Zephyr Dock. Anybody? Best, Frank

That's a Pilot rig without vest, arm and batteries. Only good of you already own the parts from an extended Merlin set and you have V- Mount batteries available. A complete set is more in this range: http://www.ebay.es/itm/Steadicam-Pilot-AB-Camera-Stabilization-System-/360440929427?hash=item53ebf41c93:m:mvjHbRjuHjPQ4qp3h5E4vMA (AB Batteries, couldn't find V) Best, Frank

Hi T.O., the converter I linked to is under 20$ - try a search for "hdmi2av mini". The sled's monitor is not THAT bad at all (okay, the colors are), but at least it's non-reflective and quite daylight viewable. Enough for framing. A really better and bright enough replacement starts beyond 1,000$ and you'll probably have to change the wiring. ;-) Best, Frank

Hi T.O., there is a cheap solution that for most frame rates works okay and is powered by HDMI Out from the cam: http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=22397&view=findpost&p=110563 Also some other solutions are mentioned in the thread. Best, Frank

Just had time for taking a pic and a quick run through the system frequencies: NTSC/Base 60 and PAL/Base 50 work flawless with this converter, Cinema/Base 24 is converted, but with many artifacts and stuttering. Also there's a then noticeable delay. Not nice at all. Might work in a pinch as a fallback if you have no alternatives, but not for normal use. Also (as I wrote before), QuadHD/25p is barely usable as well (framerate/choppy look). Funny thing, as QuadHD/30p looks smooth to me. Cheers, Frank