Kevin Gallagher

I have a Heden Carat system and need to ship the handset back to Heden for service/repair. While trying to navigate the customs forms and product descriptions as well as the unit cost and duties I am totally lost. The last thing I want to do it have this handset sitting in customs somewhere for lack of a specific form and as a result I am paralyzed with indecision. On one FEDEX shipping attempt it looked like I was going to have to pay $800 in duties and taxes on top of the $200 in shipping charges. No way am I paying that for this crappy unit. Any guidance/advice is greatly appreciated. Comments like "should have bought a Bartech" I already know. This is definitely my last purchase from a company that does not have a US repair presence. Thanks Kevin

Thanks Jim for clearing that up. cheers Kevin

Thanks, Louis but I don't think Jim sells directly. At least not from his website. I guess that contacting him directly would be the proper route. Thanks Kevin

So, interesting follow-up. Having sent our Heden Carat back to Sweden via USPS it has been lost in customs. Gone. Now for a new follow focus. I want to purchase a Bartech. Any suggestions on the best vendor in the US from whom to make said purchase? thanks Kevin

If anyone cares here's what I got back from Heden. At the moment there is only our workshop in Sweden, but we are looking into licensing service stations in the US in the coming year.

I have a Heden Carat FF unit that needs servicing. It appears from the Heden website that I can only get that done in Sweden. Is that right?!! Is there anyone in the US that services these devices? thanks Kevin

Well, color me red in the face. It appears I am dealing with a potential bad batch of ProCell batts. Thank you Magnus for your attention. I'll look into the rechargeables you recommended. humbly, Kevin

Hi Magnus, My concern is not with runtime. That is fine. It is with constant power draw even with the handset completely turned off. Can you address that? thanks Kevin

I have a brand new Heden Carat FF and really enjoy using it. My only gripe is that when powered down it still draws enough juice to totally drain the internal 9v battery in the handset. This means that I have to constantly remove and replace the battery which involves putting strain on those small connecting wires. Anyone else have this happening? thanks Kevin

Jason, Your steadiforum.com is a great resource. Thank you and keep up the good work. Kevin

Sebastian, I shoot quite frequently with an Arri 16BL. It's a workhorse. I hope you're not shooting sound as it's a noisy beast. But I have never used it on my steadicam as it does not have a video tap. Here's a link to visual products and the 16bl they are selling with a video tap. http://www.visualproducts.com/storeProduct...&Cat=17&Cat2=31 Perhaps you can call them and get some tips. They're nice guys and I do not in any way represent the company but I have had them service a camera for me once several years ago. I do know that you will have to frequently adjust your fore/aft balance as the film runs through the magazine. cheers Kevin