axel ebermann

I have on of those (the Alexa Mini variety). Not selling. But just learned from Transvideo support that you can not color calibrate that monitor. At all. Which seems a bit surreal. Just want you to be aware of that when you buy.

I have a Weller too. LOVE that thing.

I also had an early Letus Helix that ran on an Alexmos controller. Was quite unfortunate because the Letus Helix itself is a beautifully designed contraption However the controller was absolutely useless. Ended up returning it after two weeks and countless hours trying to make this thing work without 'jitters'. As a comparison I got a Ronin afterwards. Cheap Chinese stuff. But the controller worked straight out of the box.

I've flown both the the 4x4 and 6x6. Generally like the 6x6 better because the 4x4 tends to 'freak out' easier whenever you get over the max pan / tilt speed and then it is a bit of a bear to get the rig back under control. Just curious: How do you guys balance your sleds with the heavy gyro on the bottom ? Do you just keep the sled bottom heavy and roll with it because you don't want to pan / tilt too much anyway or do you still try to balance the sled with a reasonable drop time ? I've tried both and would like to hear other people's experiences.

As far as I understand the (again) delayed the delivery of their system to 'increase range' so I would be very surprised if their was a current working system out there. If you find one please share the intel :-)

- bring everything you need - get a local fixer specialized in production or NOTHING will work If you need a contact please PM me.

Often a quick and 'non-messy' fix is to just add a 15mm bridge. What happens is that the motor torque slightly bends the rod - aka pushes it away from your lens. Then your motor gear comes off and slips. The longer the rod and the 'bendier' the material (aluminum and carbon fiber are worse culprits than steel) the worse it gets. What the 15mm bridge does is tie your motor 'host' rod to another rod. Aka it cannot bend away that easily anymore. This usually fixes the problem for me.

ask other operators which manufacturers provide good service. there are HUGE differences. and nothing is more annoying than having your rig not operational because you are waiting for a part. the players and their respective reputation is pretty well known. feel fee to PM me for more insight.

SOLD

Price hike !!! Yeah :-) Just got the vest refurbished and serviced at Tiffen. Brand new pads / cushioning. Go and get it for $2000. Highres pic: https://www.dropbox.com/s/w19d8unfwzn8gv0/vest-large.jpg?dl=0

The last time I talked to them is that they had a problem with certain parts that were delivered not 'up to spec' which made them run out of stock.

so after quite a bit of testing here are my findings: problem is actually two-fold: yes, there is indeed some improperly shielded component - possibly a BNC cable - in the sled / monitor chain. If I tune one of the regular set Motorolas next to my sled the signal will drop out. Ahem - Tiffen - REALLY ??? This sucks, especially considering how hard it is to replace cables in the wiring harness of the Ultra2 sled. The 2nd problem is something that I encountered in my Ultra2 monitor before. The boards and the connectors for the boards are actually not glued together. I know that in my laptops they always use some ultra sticky clear tape to prevent them from separating. What seems to happen is that repeated vibration (transport of the sled, air travel etc.) basically vibrates the board out of its connector / socket. Which at one point becomes a loose contact. Solution to that: Open up the 'evil' component. Re-seat the cable or connector. Then put some thin electric tape on connector and board hoping that they shall not vibrate apart again.

Will definitely check that Kenny. That would explain the randomness of the cutouts.

thanks. will definitely have a look at that. strange thing is that this mainly seems to be happening whenever I am standing still.

thanks. as a German I sure have an appreciation for German craftsmanship. However, at this point, I was more hoping to find an adapter that would allow me to use the SmallHD on my existing Ultra2 yoke. (without having to drop another grand on a nice shiny German yoke... :-)

Would like to have some sort of adapter / conversion kit to use my SmallHD HB monitor as a backup monitor on my Ultra 2 sled. Any ideas / pointers ? thanks

My Ultra2 monitor likes to cut out randomly. Basically looses signal. Then re-syncs. Independent from camera or cables. (tested the hell out of it). Basically the signal drops in and out. Might be connected to temperature / position of sled. But could not detect a pattern yet. It seems that bypassing the sled cabling (aka running a cable down the post) takes care of the problem. Which is weird because this strangely likes to happen when I stand just waiting for a shot. Which speaks against a loose/wonky cable connection. Anybody knows if the HD line from the top stage to the bottom of the sled is just a 'dumb' wire or does it run through any electronics ? SD via decimator seems to work just fine. Any advise much appreciated.

I have the same issue. Complained with the manufacturer. They said 'all of our monitors have that'. Hmmm... - ok. But no other monitor I have ever seen has that. Then again. It does not seem to bother me too much. And I really like SmallHD DP Pro HD. Mainly use it as a clamshell for my AC.

Ideally get a carnet (which is a temporary export-import form). Otherwise you should at least register your gear with US customs when you leave.

If you turn the know manually and the stage is not moving something is broken. If the motors are engaged and you turn it manually you should feel some resistance and it makes a little 'whirring' sound. If it turns super easy without resistance and you don't hear anything the know might be loose.

This reminds me of a great discussion I once had on set whenever the Movi first hit the market. Some guy comes up to me and says "Isn't this awesome ? Now we can make movies with just like two people !!!" I gave him my most snobbish stink face and replied:" well knock yourself out. I will continue trying to work with as many seasoned professionals as I possibly can". :-)

How old is this system ?

Price drop. $1500. Go and get it :-)

You can't really see it when the image is bright / high key. The darker / more low key the image gets, the more you see it. Quite annoying actually for what otherwise seems to be a fairly good monitor...

Selling my Ultra2 Vest. Used, some cosmetic blemishes but fully operational. - there are some minor and one larger (right shoulder) rip in the outer padding material. never bothered me and does not affect functionality so I never fixed it... - there are a few loose rivets on the hip straps. however whenever you tighten the vest they are pulled right into place and work as they should. If you want to go all out you can most probably buy an entire new padding set from Tiffen or just use it as is. Vest is located in New York City. High Res Pictures here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/da59a66aug99e9i/AAAog7mVOY1eIHZsOrJZI_48a?dl=0 Price: $1750 & shipping