rupert peddle

thanks guys, and those that PM'ed me too! the unanimous advice is not to bother with a small B rig so I will take that on board. It makes perfect sense thinking about the points you all make, mainly that a Flyer cannot be used as a backup to an Archer and I can fly the smaller cameras on the Archer with a weight plate anyway so not really any need for a smaller rig. I will bide my time and allocate the money towards kitting out the Archer with accs, cables, etc :) cheers! rups

Think you may be a bit off topic for this thread, try posting in steadi-newbies (where I usually hang out) ;) TBH I don't think the little go-pro type stabilisers are designed for adding any accs at all.

Hi! I'm in the process of purchasing my first proper rig ( probably an Archer2...see my other thread ;) ) and have been considering getting a small rig to tide me over while I finalise the purchase (my old rig has given up the ghost) and to use for small student/dSLR type shoots where the Archer would be a bit OTT. I'd like a Flyer LE but there does not seem to be many around for sale, but there are a few Flyers knocking about. I was wondering, are the enhancements in the LE worth waiting and paying a bit extra for if it's just going to be a 'B' rig or is the original Flyer close enough to make it not worthwhile, especially if I have an Archer2 as the main rig? Any experiences with either would be great to hear about, thanks! rups

Thanks Grant! Interesting point about the Clipper post and gimbal. I was also thinking the extra payload capability of the Clipper would not really count for a huge amount in the 'real world' where we can sometimes push payload limits anyway, and as the Archer2 is a more modern rig it would hold its value a bit more. Also the Archer is a bit lighter so generally easier to handle? I have considered the 'Big Rig' route but I really am just starting out and don't think I have the experience or work contacts available to justify the layout on a top level big rig yet. I would be reasonably comfortable investing in one of these 'entry level big rigs' but would probably need to double the outlay for the next step up and that would be a step too far for me at the moment. I have been doing some soul searching deciding if I can justify going up from a Zephyr but decided that in order to progress my career I need to invest in more capable gear ;) If I do progress and have the opportunity to work on shoots needing a bigger rig, there is always the hire option and if it looks like I can get enough work to justify it I would be very happy even to get to that level and I can decide if I want to move on up again then... rups

Hey all! After a few years testing the water of operating with a 'learner rig' I have reached the point where it's time to dive in and do things properly, and invest in a 'proper' rig. The last couple of jobs I've been on have been a bit too much for my current gear so in order to keep progressing I need to move on up. I have the opportunity of acquiring second hand either an Archer2 or a Clipper2 for the same price and would love some advice from you guys on which would be the better option from your experience relating to operating, flexibility, performance, reliability, etc etc! As far as my operating level goes, I'm in the film world and have been working with dSLRs and also the Red Epic on an increasing number of shoots. I would also like to be able to handle an Alexa as some of my contacts will be using one later this year and have asked if I can fly one and it would open up a new area of operating for me. I was considering a Zephyr but it wont really handle an Alexa and think if I keep progressing I will grow out of it pretty quickly. I was thinking of getting an old Flyer for dSLR work when I can afford it but the immediate need is to upgrade the primary rig as my old one finally gave up the ghost on the last shoot haha. Cheers in advance for your help! rups

i was browsing these old posts looking for inspiration for securing 'stuff' and found this reference to bongo ties....ordered some and i think they may be my new favourite thing! thanks!

Hi, I have been operating a Flycam for a couple of years and am currenlty planning to ugrade to a better quality rig such as a Zephyr. I would say that the flycam has been great from an affordability point of view, allowing me to get some on-set experience and practice operating to see if steadicam is 'for me' but without needing to make a large up front investment. I've recently been on a Tiffen workshop so can compare the rigs, and I would agree with Jarrett when he says you will be dissapointed moving from a Pilot to a Flycam. I would even suggest that the models you posted are actially not as capable as a Pilot so you would be having a significant 'downgrade' moving to one of those. Do you own the Pilot or are you borrowing it, and is this purchase for your first personal rig? My flycam rig is a combination of a 5500 arm/vest which I originally purchased and a 7000 sled which I bought as an upgrade as the 5500 sled was fairly poor, along with a plate to mount 15mm rails to the top stage. I can actualy fly a Red Epic on this setup and it works 'reasonably' as long as you dont get too ambitious. One of the major differences between this rig and a 'proper' steadicam is the arm action. I was quite amazed at the 'iso-elastic' performance of the steadicam arms and how much better the isolation of the sled is becasue of this. The other major difference is build quality, with various parts of the flycam being a little 'sub par' haha, and the lack of certain adjustments. If you are purchasing a rig for personal use, and for no/low budget productions I would say the more expensive flycams would do the job but be prepared for a drop in build quality and stabilisation effectiveness, otherwise scour the second hand listings and see what you can afford ;) Rups ps So you can see what I've managed to achieve with my rig so far, here's my reel, all shot on my flycam and almost all on 5D mk2: vimeo.com/53004629

Hi Peter, I'm just starting out on 'the journey' and have my eye on the Tiffen Bronze weekend workshops which seem like good value. This year they had one in Oxford at the start of the year so hopefully they will do the same in a few months. They have all the details at http://www.flysteadicam.com/. Might see you there! rups