Iain Baird

Thanks Charles, the bracket looks great and feels fantastic in use. Thanks to Taku, Walter and all the guys at Walter's shop for their great workmanship as always. Luckily my intention was never to get anything out of it except a Vest that worked for me!! If other operators think the bracket would be useful to them and purchase one then that's just an added bonus!! Cheers, IAIN

The completed piece just back from anodizing

I've done a complete rewiring of my PRO, MK-V hybrid for this very reason! After having success with my upgrade our local Panavision Tech and I designed an upgrade for the Nexus that at least allows you to share the load between two batteries. It gives you back the separately fed auxiliary power plug that MK-V for some reason eliminated. You are still limited by the gauge issues but by dividing the load between two runs you at least stand a fighting chance. The only catch is that the AR run is sacrificed, so no more AR!! For most people this won't be an issue but if you fly one or plan on it then it won't work. Good luck, IAIN

I wasn't going to enter into this debate until I read this. I guess we should all operate with our right hand on the arm instead of the yoke, as I seem to recall seeing in a video of you? You later explained you do whatever feels right for the shot, fine then allow the possibility that perhaps some people may differ with your opinion on that!!! I operate with a my forefinger over the gimbal and it works perfectly for me, I've seen many others do the same. Some guys are goofy foot but you're not, does that make them WRONG? We all have techniques that we've developed that work for us. Perhaps some may be the long way around in your thinking but if we arrive at the same destination then that's what's important. As for the one handed Steadicam I think it would be entirely possible if your slightly paralyzed arm was only responsible for the booming and positioning of the yoke. Some sort of attachment could possibly be designed to hook onto your arm with your shoulder responsible for the lifting forces. Go for it and Good luck!!! IAIN

I've since had a chance to look at my vest and have reconsidered the goofy foot change over. Only the bottom strap would have to be changed, and you would still enter the Vest from the left side. It would require tapping three new holes and some sewing but would be quite easy. You would have to put the lower tightening lever on the other side but leave the connecting buckle in the same position (the 2" buckle connected behind your back). The female end of the buckle would need a very short strap, sewn to the left plastic vest piece, to leave it in the same position but the male end would require a trickier design change. A single strap would need to be sewn to a strap coupler (a metal rectangular loop is what I'm picturing) that would sit exactly mirrored to where the buckle is now. The strap would be fed through the loops on the back padding to the male end of the plastic buckle and fed through this buckle in the same manner as before to allow tightening and loosening of the strap. You would then just use the same strap that is still attached to the tightening lever to complete the mod. Loop the free end of the lever strap through the metal rectangular strap coupler and sew it to the slot on the right plastic vest piece. The system should behave exactly the same except the lever would now sit on the right. I've in fact done a few sewing mods already to my vest by changing out the back buckle for a single button version that is less likely to get broken. I've seen too many of the other style over the years half snapped off to trust them completely. Cheers, IAIN

I've never seen a goofy foot PRO vest, I assumed that the clamps would be reversed so you strapped in from the right side, if not then you wouldn't be able to use it. However; I know it would be easy to reverse the chest strap because the threaded holes are on each side, I guess you could tap three new holes in the waist plate to reverse the strap system. Probably quite possible, some sewing would be involved to reverse the waist straps and flip the foam pad. I'm not sure about the shoulder strap but it may be possible to flip the hard clip from one side to another. As for the Flipping the bracket idea for super high, I think the arm would be in a very awkward position if it were mounted that high, not to mention that by reversing THIS bracket the socket would be facing in instead of out and angled out instead of in. You would need a goofy foot version to work for the regular side and a regular version to work on the goofy foot side. Keep in mind that you can easily switch back to the original socket block to get the socket higher again. Cheers, IAIN

Erwin, My feeling is I'd prefer have the vest function properly for me and void the warranty then live with what I felt was a compromise in my operating. If I stress the adjoining piece then I'll go ahead and strengthen that one as well. Truthfully I don't see this bracket being so extreme as to cause any problems with the spar, especially since I'm only using hole #2 of a possible 6 in the extension. I'd rather move forwards with a product to get it to where I am comfortable then accept what I find to be a detriment. Is the GPI base designed to have a shoe attached to place it on flat surfaces? Probably not, I have a PRO base and have seen the flex in the point of attachment caused by placing the rig down on the batteries. Regardless some forward thinkers went ahead and made one anyway because they felt it would help their setup, counting on the fact that the gear was built strongly enough to handle to added stress. Does adding elastic bands to your arm to allow you to fly heavy cameras sound like a good idea? not really, but hey if your arm can't handle the weight it's what people do, again confident that the gear will withstand the added stress. I understand that testing the limits of your system can eventually cause problems and I'm not trying to critique any design choices or some gear limitations, however I do feel that what has advanced the steadicam over the years is people NOT accepting the norm and finding ways to improve upon existing gear and equipment. How many mods have you done to your equipment in your career? I've done quite a few, and will continue as long as I see improvements can be made. Respectfully, IAIN

Not the case Ken, the forces are only magnified when you extend the rig farther away from your body, sliding the socket up or down doesn't make a noticeable difference. Having flown the rig quite a few times now with the new bracket I can tell you that other than the arm being clear of my elbow now, it feels the same. In fact I used to adjust my MS Vest all the time for different shots and didn't notice a difference then either. IAIN

Since we haven't finished the piece yet I'm not sure what the cost will be, any questions should be sent to WALTER KLASSEN FX at Tel: (416) 778 - 7848 or jennifer@walterklassen.com

Many moons ago I switched from my original Master Series Vest to the Klassen GB dual Mount. The Back mount is perfect for 80 percent of what I do but since I was only going to have one vest I decided on the dual mount for the tight doorway situations that were bound to arise. It was a lifesaver on more than one occasion but I still felt like my profile was bigger than I really wanted it to be, especially in really tight spaces. I decided to purchase a PRO vest as my low profile vest. I’d heard great things about the fit of the Vest and PRO is well known to make great gear. When it arrived I fitted it at home then brought it into work to give it a trial run in between shots. I knew it would take a while to get used to the feel of a front mount again and I didn’t want that to be on company time. When I first picked up the sled something felt wrong, the vest fit but the steadicam arm was in the way of my right elbow. I had become so accustomed to the arm being in a lower position on my BM vest that all of a sudden this new position felt alien to me. I tried all day to get used to it but every time I boomed up or down I was smacking my elbow or having to adjust my wrist to see the monitor properly. It wasn’t working for me, not to mention I couldn’t boom down as low in regular mode as with the BM vest. It’s easy to add height with longer arm posts but unless you want to add an F bracket it’s not that easy to get lower. My old MS vest socket could slide up and down to change the height but the PRO vest is stationary. After a few different design ideas I took my cut out piece of paper and requests to Walter and Taku at Walter Klassen designs in Toronto and here’s what we came up with. I’ve had a day to try it out on set and it feels great, the switch between vests feels much more comfortable now without any real changes required in the arm setup other than flipping the socket on the arm side, 10 seconds with an aircraft pin. The name was Walter’s idea but who am I to complain? After a few more days of testing we’ll send it off for anodizing. If anyone else is interested in this bracket contact Walter. I believe Walter has also built a goofy foot version.

Looking to achieve the same results I modified my MK-V 4 stage post to get the Gorelock Ring as high as possible. I removed the top post clamp and replaced it with a 2" Gorelock ring, which now serves double duty as the docking ring and post clamp. The ring had to be machined to fit in the existing gap for the MK-V post clamp, the diameter is perfect but the ring is slightly taller so a small amount had to be machined off. The MK-V post had a built in docking ring that needed to be removed on a lathe and the Gorelock itself had to be machined wider by 2mm. I can now bring the gimbal all the way to the top of the carbon portion of the post, whereas I used to be limited to at least an inch lower because the docking ring sat flush with the top of the carbon portion and the gimbal was forced even lower to allow room to lift and lower the sled onto the dock.

Thanks Alfeo, very informative. What systems look to become the norm - Parallel or IO & Convergence (Beta or VHS, HDDVD or Blueray..... etc.) or will they both end up roaming the film landscape and force us to carry more gear?!? IAIN

You can't fit a 3B lemo into the upper post collet on the Pro/MK-V. No matter the 3B.309 is a 6amp connector, and the 2B's that XCS and Tiffen use for camera power won't fit in the upper J-box Not entirely true, the collet that the MK-V topstage comes with will only accept a 2B receptacle. But if you remove the entire collet you can install a 3B plug in it's place. In this case I welded a washer to a strain relief collet nut for the PHG.3B.312 (seen here) and attached it to the topstage the same way the 2B collet was attached. It's perhaps a half inch longer than the original design and equally strong.

I haven't had the chance to work with 3D yet but I have seen some of the focus setups required and they looked quite a bit more extensive than the basic system. Interaxial and Convergence et. all!! The setup I saw required 2 Preston MDR's on the rig to accomplish the controls needed. What challenges are presented with a Steadicam setup and what wireless systems being designed to independently handle the needs of 3D? I'd love to know more about the cmotion system.

The 3B.309 pins are only rated for 6 amps each, even if you split the load between two power sources you are still very limited.

I'm not sure where you come up with the 75% rule as the definition of Rated Current is the CONTINUOUS current that equipment is capable of passing without exceeding its temperature rise limits. LEMO plugs will hold their current value until 175 degrees Celsius, then drop off quickly.

You can use Dionic 90's BUT you're only going to get 20 to 25mins run time out of them IF they don't shut down from being over currented. Especially if you are still running the MK-V center post cable. you need to use Hytron 140-160's with less than 75 cycles on them. If you end up going one piece mode and flying the toaster then there is no way you can use dionics. Thanks Eric. So looks like Dionic HC's and/or Hytron 140/160's are the best power options. Even with my heavier gauge post cable, do you think you'll get alot more battery life by running power from the p-taps direct to the camera (bypassing the post) via an external 12 gauge dual cable? It's a very minor inconvenience. Could you then use Dionic 90's in 1 piece mode? IF you have a 14 gauge post cable (XCS Ultimate or U2) 12gauge will not provide any measurable difference if you are using a 16 AWG or 18AWG post cable 12AWG will help, if you are using a 20 or 22AWG cable then it's a must. The bigger problem you have is the small power connectors you have in the j-Box and the centerpost. the 1b.308 that is the center post connector is only rated to 5amps. so even with the larger gauge centerpost cable you are still only good for 5 amps because of that connector. The 1s.302/303 connectors (camera power) are rated for 8amps and the camera power cable is wired with 20awg wire.... See where I'm going, just because you have increased the gauge at some point in the system it's limited by the sum of the other parts. As for running in one piece with a Dionic 90? not going to happen the Dionic 90 has a 10amp protection board in it, and while Sony makes the claim that in one piece the F23/SRW1 "only" pulls 135 watts that's NOT during startup of the deck. Add in the voltage drop due to wiring and connectors and you're looking at more than 10amps after the powerup. A few corrections, The stock MK-V j-box centerpost connection uses the 2B.307, which is rated for 11 amps per pin, the stock PRO centerpost connector uses the 3B.308 which is rated for 13 amps per pin. Unfortunately the stock MK-V j-box doesn't give you the option of splitting the power between two power runs and you will run into problems. However you can easily change out the 2B.307 for a 2B.308, which can handle 10 amps per pin, to give you the AUX battery feed and at 10 amps per pin you are good to go with a Y-cable to share the power feed to the camera. The 1S.302 is rated for 15amps per pin and the 1S.303 is rated for 10amps per pin. The connectors do not limit you but the stock 22AWG wire definitely does, especially with the length of the total run!! If you upgrade your centerpost cable and if you are using the Y-cable and have two separate power sources to couple then you can safely provide up to 20 amps. I've used this setup to fly the F35 and the Genesis, both in one piece mode, with no problems.

This confuses me, but it doesn't take much. It seems to me that if you rewire your MK-V post with a better gauge cable, you are indeed getting away from the 22AWG that you started with. My understanding is that Nick is getting a post cable from XCS which will in fact have 16AWG.

Nick, I'm not sure how your MK-V/GPI combo has been modified but just in case you're not already aware - stock MK-V/GPI topstages have the extra 12V plug but it is not a separate power supply running from the AUX batt, it's just a split of the CAM power supply.

Thanks Charles, As far as only recording in SD-SDi is seems to claim otherwise Digital I/O: HD/SD-SDI and HDMI: 1080i, 1080p, 1080psf, 720p, 480/576i is it possible that that system has been improved since you last looked at it or am I just reading the specs wrong?

Any more details? Price? Is it easy to start and stop - could you wire in a remote? Is it easy find the last clip and playback? Is it practical for Steadicam? Cheers

I just got a promo for this HD/SD recorder, has anyone heard about it or used it yet? http://domino5.corefusion.net/website/pci/...pos=0&rsn=y

It's very disturbing to deal with these low ball offers but they seem to be coming in more and more, and from bigger and bigger shows. Part of the problem with equipment rentals is that the rental houses are renting their gear for far less than they used to. A One Day Weekly rental is not unheard of and it seems the production managers would like the same from us. The package deals the rental houses give are also making it very hard to rent our personal gear to productions as it offers production no benefit to take items off their rental deal like it used to.

After inquiry without response I have since seen a newer separate post that says this gear has been SOLD!!

SOLD, thanks