Mitch Mommaerts

Oh those were mini-bnc connectors on your mod? I assumed they were full size! But looking at them now and re-reading your post, yes they are mini-bnc. Unfortunately I already put my full size BNC's on, otherwise I would have loved to incorporate that as well. Once your AB plate comes in and installed I'll take some final photos. Thanks for posting that, I wouldn't re-read your post otherwise!

That's a tough one. There's lots of great shots you can get but your positioning wouldn't be ideal or distracting. Would be cool to have in the editing room tough.

Dave, much respect to you and this thread.

Alan, nice job! You did the ever so sought after mod eliminating the Dins! Love it. Email sent about the Anton Bauer Plate. Thanks for sharing!

Yeah I liked your mod very much. Some good tips and shared concerns!

Being inspired by similar designs by Rencher, Germond and Bard I finally received the parts to do something I've been wanting to do for a while and thought I'd share it as I'm sure others can build and improve on it. It always bothered me that I had an internal battery in the Hyperdeck which really doesn't last long enough to be useful for my purposes other than if an alternate power source was disconnected without me knowing. I also didn't like how heavy the BMD cheeseplate is as well as always having to come up with some sort of way to power the thing from p-tap to barrel which aren't always available after adding FF, HD Transmitter, Monitor etc. I've always liked several camera back solutions I've seen where we can just stack devices with the last item being a battery powering it all. So with all this in mind and getting some info from Iain on his great mod, I went to work. Here are photos of my phase 1 mod: Male Gold Mount Plate powering Hyperdeck and the Female Gold Mount: http://www.mommaertsdmp.ca/images/url/IMG_1534.jpg http://www.mommaertsdmp.ca/images/url/IMG_1536.jpg Unfortunately given the size and design of the female plate I had to offset it to keep the centre balance correct: http://www.mommaertsdmp.ca/images/url/IMG_1538.jpg Mounted on an AB mount installed on back of camera cage, could also go on the back of monitor with an AB plate: http://www.mommaertsdmp.ca/images/url/IMG_1541.jpg http://www.mommaertsdmp.ca/images/url/IMG_1540.jpg Stacked on battery hanger: http://www.mommaertsdmp.ca/images/url/IMG_1542.jpg Alternate method however I haven't tested this yet as I need to investigate and ensure that it's safe to power the Hyperdeck from the CAM PTAP to Hyperdeck Barrel which would essentially loop the power back in the system which may be a huge no-no. If I can't do this then I'll have to stack a battery on the hyperdeck or install a kill-switch on the female AB plate. I do like the balance of a single battery setup when possible so hopefully I can get it to work. http://www.mommaertsdmp.ca/images/url/IMG_1545.jpg For Phase 2: - I want to put an on/off switch on the Hyperdeck but am weary of it getting accidentally switched. - Like Iain's mod, I'll be installing some BNC terminals. - I'd like to install another switch which would disable the power to the female plate, again though would want to make sure it's located in a knock free zone. - Maybe both these switches will go on the bottom of the male AB plate as that area is fairly protected. - Another option, if I can't loop the power, would be to use the male side of the hyperdeck and use an intersex plate from Alan when available, then run a ptap to barrel to power the Hyperdeck. - I'd like to use authentic AB male and female plates however I have been unsuccessful finding the latter, so I ordered from ebay/china which is never my preference as nothing is every exact fitment wise (If any of you know where I can buy a smaller but good quality powered female plate please let me know). Anyway, I welcome any ideas, thoughts or comments good or bad.

I see your perspective and agree with your logic.

Hi Terry, I have yet to order cables from you but am looking forward to the day I do. My 2 cents on building cables for these guys are. If you have the time (without sacrificing time for your professional users) and can make money doing so then great. Some of these guys may eventually upgrade to a better "real" rig or whatever we want to call them and they could eventually be on par with your current customers. In other words, some of these guys may be potential long term customers as they go from rig to rig. The more they use their gear some will build a wish list leading them to the professional rigs and having custom cables built adds to creating a wish list for their next rig given the proven features of the pro rigs. I do applaud your dedicated support for the professional market and am glad to have guys like you on my side (when the time comes).

I agree with Blaine, as hard as it may be, try and push for a big rig or a system which contains components for a big rig. I've seen some great deals on big rigs here. I'm wondering if you're better off renting the wireless and focus systems and investing that money into a larger rig. Too many stepping stones may cost too much time and money in the long run. Anyways back to your post, I would recommend anton bauer chargers, if you have the right cables you won't need a vmount adapter although it's good to have at some point if you're powering vmount cameras with your ab's. Very excited to hear you're moving up!

Hi Randy, http://www.cam-jam.de I use the Quattro as well as the bottom mount. Really worth the price in design and quality.

Thanks Andrew, Marianne was very helpful.

I too would like to know this. The Pro telescoping monitor arm seems very rigid.

Looking for some good recommendations based on service/price on where to buy TRANSVIDEO PRODUCTS in Canada and US other than B&H and PRO. Thanks guys! Mitch

Hey Joseph, Only advice/feedback I have for you at this point is to attend a steadicam workshop(s). At your level, having used a steadicam enough to put a reel together, you'll be able to focus on the skills that will make you a great operator and allow you to critique your own work. For that reason I don't have any more feedback to give you that would be just as valuable.

I had this issue earlier this year with a couple of units. After doing the firmware upgrade I haven't had any issues on the 2 systems I use. Hopefully that's the issue.

Damn, very sorry to hear that. Hope it all works out for you as painlessly as possible. Maybe post some photos as well if you have any?

Thanks for sharing that info Mike. Good luck with the rest of your shoots.

Hi Mike, so I don't foolishly blow a gasket, how did you get your monitor so fast? Did you get a new or refurbished one? Glad you enjoy the monitor.

Thanks for the clarification Alan!

Great thread! Question, what does L&D mean? Being relatively new to the Professional Market of Operators there's a lot of terms not familiar with or haven't used myself yet. I like Laser engraving the best and hope to do that at some point (although would rather sell stuff that isn't engraved as would the buyer i'm sure). RFID or GPS trackers are cool too but I'm not at that stage yet and given that some of my cables are too small to put a tracker on yet worth more than some of my larger gear I'm not sure how I'd do that. I may eventually do each case only. For now I have mini foil stickers on all my gear and as many parts as possible. Each with name, email, and serialized. In the lid of my cases I have schematics listing all the items and serials which allows me or my assistant to do a quick check at least ensuring everything is there. I think every deterrent helps but nothing is guaranteed, as there seems to be loopholes to everything. :( Mitch

Gerard, the holes on the Gimble handle are inline with the handle. For the low mode bracket, the holes for the flight pin are also inline with the low mode bracket. so when everything is assembled the low mode bracket is inline with the gimble handle. Check out these photos in case they may help you: Low mode bracket: http://gpiprosystems.com/images/new-pics/low-mode-bracket.jpg Gimble Handle: http://gpiprosystems.com/images/new-pics/gimbal.jpg NikitaRo, I also couldn't find a single clear photo of the arm post on the Pro arms when I was looking a while back. I put a second post clamp below the lower post flange. Hope this helps. Mitch

As Alan mentioned freefly or similar gear forums may help you out and even in the long run may worth finding a good related forum. However general answer to your question is regardless of battery brand you can find a battery mounting plate which has a ptap plug on it. Use this to power your rr receiver. Enjoy your system. Mitch

Welcome to your dreamland man, enjoy your well deserved successes! Mitch

Janice that's a great tip for consideration thanks for sharing! Mitch

Thanks for the testing and updates. I look forward to reading them. Mitch