Eric Young

The first bit was true as far as their motors are concerned but there absolutely was NO feud. It came down to the pricing. Viewfactor wanted to make it available to a larger market at an amazingly low price point. But refusing to compromise build quality or reliability, manufacturing costs were only able to be reduced to a point. Given that they have to make some profit off it, it did not make sense to sell it through RED with even the small markup for RED reselling, as that would've brought the price above Viewfactor's target pricing. This is good for the customer - the direct selling model minimises the cost for us!

Hello Did a search, but surprised not to find any posts asking or answering my specific question. Can any UK based operators recommend pro-active Film/TV/Media savvy accountant and solicitors - preferably based in or near central London? I mean pro-active in the sense that they not only do what I ask them to, but will also actively suggest ways of reducing costs, maximising revenue and claiming back tax and allowances, etc. I am currently thinking seriously about setting up a company, initially just for operating as a freelance lighting camera/Steadicam operator, but eventually also being a production company. I would like financial and legal advice & assistance for the setup of the company, and hopefully a long term mutually beneficial business relationship. Thanks for any leads! Eric

If you find a solution, please post the solution and an exact description of the problem here. Would be useful. :)

Unlikely to see the big stuff cross the pond, but some of the smaller aks might. Do you have serial numbers for the accessories too - might help.

Those kind of pawn shops are little better than fences for the scumbags that stole your kit. :( Good luck on your insurance claim.

Thank you very much Benjamin! Jess. This has just been a tentative enquiry on behalf of someone else, so not sure about where the rig is coming from or what they intend to do about the monitoring yet, but was also interested in the answer myself.

I am enquiring about the XCS Ultimate Sled power out connectors pin-outs as I can't find them on XCS's website. A shoot is coming up shortly where it's intended to mount the new Red One digital cinema camera on an XCS Ultimate Sled, and want to power the Red off the sled. Making up our own power cables as the Red One uses a non-standard LEMO power connector. Also, what is the maximum rated current output of the power outputs? Thanks for any information. Regards Eric

"Glad you are having fun with your Flyer, mind you that PAG Superpack is a bit of a lump! I am with Chris on this one, most likely cause of the pressure as described is loose chest straps allowing the front spar to drop forwards and twist the waist band into your stomach/bladder area. Loose chest straps also allow the spar to move sideways meaning that you have to use excess trim on the socket block for anything close to comfort." Hi Robin Hope you are keeping well. Actually the PAG Superpack was just right for the job. Higher capacity than the C50 Cobalts, and the extra weight compensated for the lighter Endura 10 in the second position, so that the gimbal wasn't too high up the post. Thanks for the advice - I did tighten up the chest straps, but obviously not enough - it's the first time flying a bigger camera on the Flyer, so never had occasion to really push the limits of the rig before. Will try it out next time and see if that was the problem. Thanks again. Eric

There are no audio cables down the post - just video and DC power.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of me in the HDX900 setup. It may have been something about my vest adjustment or form, but just had zero time on the shoot to troubleshoot. I only really felt the soreness after the first looong day after winding down. As a matter of interest, Chris, what is your recommended adjustment process for the Flyer vest? How tight do you make the chest straps? Cheers Eric PS to post pics, I need to host the image file somewhere else and insert a URL in my post that points to it - is that correct?

Cheers Matt. Hope you're well! :)

Well an HDX900 worked on the Flyer OK, but the vest was uncomfortable. The arm was maxed out, floating around horizontal or just below. Balanced with no real problem, and the gimbal wasn't topping out. The front of the vest dug into me at the bottom. Couldn't find an adjustment to make it more comfortable - it really needs a wider bit of metal at the bottom so that the pressure spreads across the pelvis rather than digging into the bladder area! Could improvise something I suppose, but didn't have time on the hectic shoot. I was using a heavier higher capacity PAG Superpack 13.2V battery to power the Steadicam rig instead of my usual compact PAG C50 Cobalt 14.4V, but this was balanced out by the lighter IDX Endura 10 V-mount battery I was using to power the camera in place of the usual second C50 Cobalt. A Sennheiser EW radio mic was gaffered onto the camera handle, and I had a Teletest video transmitter and Canford video distribution amplifier velcroed onto the PAG. No viewfinder, mic or battery on the camera.

The limiting factor is the internal diameter of the Flyer post, and it's only 11mm, so you won't get a 6pin firewire connector down there, and would probably be out of luck with even a 4pin firewire connector. Your only sensible option would be to run the thinnest firewire cable you could find without connectors, then wire third party connectors on afterwords. As I said you would have to strip out the internal connector block inside the bottom of the post where the battery power cable is split to feed the monitor and the power connector on the camera plate at the top of the post. It practically fills the bore of the Flyer post and probably wouldn't allow another cable to fit through. The top specified limit of camera kit that the Flyer can fly is 15lbs. But remember you can power the camera off the Flyer battery with the right connectors and cables, and the Flyer has it's own 7" 16x9 monitor. Disclaimer: any dismantling of the Flyer would void any warranty if new, and might well do serious expensive damage to your rig. Proceed at your own risk!!

Thanks Erik, thanks Chris. :)

Hey Matt Long time! How you doing? Did you break out of music vids yet? My plan is not to overload, just max it out! :P

--------------------------- Hey Steven, I'm defering to the expert Peter Abraham regarding the Flyer, But it seems like that would be the perfect rig for you to mod for the type of shooting you are doing. I haven't taken one apart but if it does come apart and accomodate your cableing needs, it will be worlds away from the one in the picture you are flying. I've had my Flyer apart (not easy!), and can tell you there is barely room in the post for the existing cables let alone another! It MAY be possible if you completely strip out the existing cable connector inside the post, and rewire using the thinnest firewire cable you can find, but then it may be harder to sell on your Flyer as it would be very non-standard. It already has a monitor, and video cable down the post, so no need for a video cable. Cheers Eric

Even though some operators on the other thread said it definitely won't work, I'm going to be attempting to fly a stripped down HDX900 (no battery, viewfinder or mattebox) with a Canon HJ17 ex 7.6B 7.6-130MM 1:1.8 lens (1.720kg) this weekend on a standard 12V Flyer. As we are shooting two very long days, I'm making up some adapter leads to mount a V-Mount battery plate in place of one of my normal PAG plates so that I can use the IDX Endura 10 camera batteries to just power the camera, and my PAGs to just power the monitor, and a Teletest 2.4GHz video transmitter and portable DA. If there's any capacity left, will try mounting a radio mic too! Will let you know how I get on, or whether we have to go to plan B flying an HVX200 instead!

OK Chris. That's clear enough! Thanks Eric

Yes Eric, This problem bugged me until I got outsize shrink rap, and shrunk it around the two shoulder clips. That does the trick. The only drawback is that you have to make sure your "future ex-wife" is not watching from amongst the extras when you don and doff the vest. Very uncool, and totally un "Manual of Style." Fly Quietly, Chris Thanks Chris. That sounds great - especially as it obviously works, rather than trying lots of different lubes, then being left with loads of unused lube which didn't work! I think I understand what you mean, but any chance of a photo? Do you mean the shrink wrap goes around the outer clip housing or around the inner "trident" shaped bit? Cheers Eric

My wife races mountain bikes in the National Mountain Bike Series and we use a parafin wax based lube on her bike chain for certain conditions. The brand is White Lightening and essentially it's an evaporative mix that seeps into the chain links but when the liquid part of the solution evaporates it leaves a parafin coating on the parts. Most chain lubes leave an oily residue which attracts and holds dirt / residue but the parafin collects it and then essentially it crumbles away with the dirt. Maybe this lube would seep into the parts you need. It's loaded with parafin to the point you have to continually shake the bottle. Another good lube is T-9 which they sell at Film Tools in Burbank for $4 less than the bike shop. T-9 is a finer grade product than White Lightening. And last but not least is a lube called Pro Gold you can find it in a tiny little needle point applicator that gets into tight spots and apply 1/10th of a drop or less. Pro Gold is not parafin or Teflon based though but it works well. Thanks very much for the suggestions Robert! Not sure they're available in the UK, but will look into it. If not, there'll probably be UK equivalents.

Thanks Mikael. Don't think that's an option with the rather basic Flyer vest. The clasps are riveted. And there are no fittings for back straps. But maybe you know something I don't! :)

My Flyer vest has always creaked at the quick release clasps, especially the ones at the shoulders. This hasn't been an issue on the music videos I've done up to now, but will be doing a drama soon so sound dept will probably complain! Tried the Maplin silicone grease/PTFE spray but that didn't seem to help. It seems to be that the two halves of the clasps have too much play so they can rub (they are all the same, so pretty sure it isn't just wear). Lubricant should in theory help, but how to get enough in there to do the job without dripping lubricant or getting it on your clothes every time you release the clasps?! Candlewax did help, but it's hard to apply & rubs off too easily. Would ACF50 be better? What's the best way to apply it? Anyone had a similar experience and a solution for the Flyer? Thanks for any suggestions.

Yup, will do this. To all respondents - many heartfelt thanks! Still a little confused - IDX seems to have a *marketing* presence. Anton Bauer seems to have a more *operating* presence. PAG seem to be a little Tesco (and there's nothing wrong with that). Back to Google and the Battery/Power thread. <blush> I've got PAG C50 Cobalts, and they've been fine for all the Z1 music videos I've done (camera was powered from the Sony camera battery so the PAGs just powered the Flyer monitor). I think being UK based is their biggest plus for you. And I've picked up spare batteries and an AR120PLD 4-battery fast charger off E-Bay easily. Note: the C50's are physically smaller and lighter than many of the PAGs used for DigiBetas etc. They can still be used, but will mean quickly rebalancing your rig. They may be a bit "Tesco", but there's nothing unprofessional about PAG's batteries and chargers. BBC news/PSC crews have used them all the time, although they also use other brands.

Presumeably, they will only take it up if they hear about cases starting to affect BECTU members? Maybe Stephen can forward the details to BECTU, even if he isn't a member, so at least they are aware of it?

Congratulations Matt. I'm jealous! Assume you hired the MK-V? How much? Hope you're well. Eric