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

Sorry to not having posted some pics as promised - will do so tonight (hopefully). The adapter from HDMI to Composite that I use is cheap and works quite good. I wanted to try it in 4K/HD24p mode first before posting something as I have not yet used the setup in that mode (I mostly use QuadHD/HD 25p). The adapter has some quirks in QuadHD mode (framerate in monitor seems like half) since a GH4 firmware update (but I can't recall exactly which one), normal HD (25,30,50,60p/i) is perfect and pretty much without any delay with the adapter. This is the product link to german amazon, should be available around the world: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00OMZD4LQ Best thing is that the adapter is fed from the cams HDMI output; it does shorten the battery life a bit, but not substantial. It's so light I taped it to a 15mm rod system thingy. All the best, Frank

I'll post a pic of my setup tomorrow; GH4 with SD Pilot, HDMI-powered converter. Best, Frank

I had one of these when I knew close to nothing - gimbal was not centered, the arm non-responsive as a log. As I'll never have to fly something else but my own (very light) cam and focus, I got away with a Pilot system. And even with this entry-level system, the difference is beyond night and day. Try it out for yourself. Best, Frank

...and it even has to be the screw coming with the Pilot - extra narrow head. There's not enough space for a regular one. ;-) Cheers, Frank

The Pilot plate is meant to be fixed to the camera/cage with only one screw. The hole distances of the plate/cage do not match. Cheers, Frank

I tried one of these, the gimbal post bearing may be off-center. There is a procedure to re-center it - if there are screws at the small bearings of the gimbal fork with this particular model. The other possibility: The bearing seats are not horizontal. Then you can't do a thing. (Sorry about maybe not getting all words right). Cheers, Frank

As I had some time this afternoon, I did a short recording of the motor; the shot was done near a fridge close to a window with some distant traffic outside (so there's a bit of noise floor). The mic was a Rode NTG on a boom stand aiming down at my head at about 45 deg; distance about a foot (maybe a bit more). You get hopefully a rough idea about the noise emission and what kind of lag there is to expect. Sorry for me mumbling; I'm not used to being on that side of the lens. :unsure: Cheers, Frank

Hi everybody and a happy new year, There already was a thread about the focus device I was interested in - but that started a bit biased for my taste, so I made up my mind to start all over with a new one. If in need for a lightweight and affordable/shoestring budget single channel digital focus system, it seems like there are but 2 options at the moment: The Ikan (PD Movie) and the Cinegears system. As I like the design of the Cinegears better (receiver and motor in one package, 4 programmable stops on the remote) and there was a quite well documented group buy on RedUser.com with no drastically bad experiences I ordered a kit via Amazon.de (atm the only official shop Cinegears have in Germany). What can I say: The kit arrived, it is reasonably well built and works as advertised. It adds just 370 grams to a camera package and so is a good option for a Pilot system. Speed and lag: The standard motor does close to 3 revs/sec max and for the sake of smoothness there is a ramp phase with every acceleration of the motor. The lag is there but imo very acceptable. I can imagine that with large diameter lenses (proper cinema) the speed may feel too low, for my smaller diameter samyang glass (with shorter throw) I could even put on the smaller 0.8 gear for more torque. Noise: The system is audible at fast movements, the tiny amount of play in the gear box does make a soft "click" at hard topspeed back/forth movements. But still okay for the sound department imo. Precision: The system is precise, it does not drift, it remembers all settings when powered off. Of course the lens has to be fixed to the rig with a support so there is no play. The 4 programmable stops are easy to set. I did not check max range yet. Handling: With Samyang VDSLR lenses (that are just geared manual photo lenses), there is no proper hard infinity stop. I found it practical to use the systems auto mapping and set infinity with one of the two hard stops on the remote (losing only about 4 mm of way). There is a manual mapping feature that is a bit too complicated (as you can't dial the stops in with the remote) imo. Nice: Also the remote is quite light and compact, I was able to use it on the Pilot gimbal handle as it comes with a clamp (another reason I preferred the CineGears over the PD). Having 4 soft stop presets at your fingertip or using the remote as a thumb wheel is nice, although it gets a little cramped with the short gimbal handle and can get in the way of the top stage in some setups. Things I don't like so much: • Only one of the gears (the large 0.8 that is factory mounted) is made of aluminum, the 4 other gears are plastic. I'll see how long they will last. • The tiny bit of play in the gearbox is acceptable as it is (it translates to less than 0.5 mm on the lens gear) - but if this changes for the worse, I'll have to contact Cinegears customer service and will only see then how professional they intend to be. At least, communication with them was quite fast. ;-) Any questions? Fire away. All the best, Frank

@Mark: Good save - I didn't realize that. :-) I was looking for the standard size as my Pilot vest is still a tad short. It works fine, but I guess I could do better with another 2 inches in height. I was under the impression the Flyer vest family allows for a little bit more extension, am I wrong with that? Thanks, Frank

@Tom: Nice find, thanks! Yes, I think that's the one. Interesting price. You know by any chance if the missing nut is metric? @Andrew: Thank you - but I'm after a used vest only. ;-) @Anyone else: Noone around with a beat-up old vest in the closet? Best, Frank