RobinThwaites

Hi Ian As far as I am aware there are no schools or colleges that have a specific Steadicam module. NFTS run short courses but this is not part of their regular studies and London Film Academy certainly include "taster" days within every course (we usually get involved. Why not give James or myself a call 0870 100 1220? Robin Thwaites Tiffen International

Hello Colin What lens are you carrying and are you putting a battery on the camera? Can you work without the viewfinder by re-routing the displys to the Flyer monitor? Robin

Hi to any operators in the Dublin area. I will be teaching at the workshop at Filmbase this week and bringing some gear over including an Ultra 2 and an Archer 2. If anyone wants to have a look or even just to say hello it would be great to see you. Feel free to drop in from around six onwards. I will be able to pick up e-mails on my Blackberry at robin.thwaites@tiffen.com. Robin

Hi Thomas Swinging the batteries can be a good help in low mode. Robin

Hi Robert I assume we are talking about the camera dovetail plate? If so the current Flyer dovetail will fit, part number is 601-7412 and list price $350.00. Contact me in England for a Euro landed price on my desk e-mail robin.thwaites@tiffen.com as that will probably be easier than ordering from the factory in California. Robin

Hello Francis It is a little difficult to tell what the problem is without seeing the unit and setup, maybe before you sell it off and lose money it would be worth sending it to us here in England to make sure there are no technical faults. Robin

Hi Andrew Release date for the Zephyr is likely to be quite some time (IBC??) and a price is yet to be fixed. It's probably a a good idea to call either James or myself (once I have ceased to be an airline refugee in California) at the Bicester number 0870 100 1220 to discuss camera compatibility etc. Robin

Hi Jorge Please contact me directly at robin.thwaites@tiffen.com. Robin

Hello Jorge Part number 800-7204-03 is the adaptor G-70 to 5/8" (3A, EFP, PRO ets., suggest you contact your local dealer. If you have any problems or need more info come back to me at robin.thwaites@tiffen.com. Robin

Love this pic Robert. All the best from snowy England, Robin

Hi Chris You should be safe up to 8 Amps. Robin

I have seen an Ultra2 sled with lead filled tennis balls gaffer-taped to the monitor rods because the rig couldn't be dynamically balanced with an LCD monitor, so this is hardly new, or indeed limited to this sled. Adam If you are referring to the operator that I think you are then the spherical weights were added to increase inertia to simulate the response of his older version Ultra wit a CRT monitor and not for dynamic balance. If anyone has trouble achieving dynamic balance with an Ultra 2 I would be glad to help. Robin

Hi Andrew Later Flyers and Flyer LEs will have a 3 pin Lemo to XLR-4, Flyer LE supports 24v operation on the third pin. Robin

Hi Lars, do you mean that you don't need it now as I have one waiting on standby in Glendale? Please e-mail me direct to confirm robin.thwaites@tiffen.com. Robin

Thomas Thanks for beating me to it. One point is that the centreing button is multifuntional incorporating reset and invert for low mode depending on the length of time that you hold it down. The fast press is to set the level, other are worth checking th manual. Robin

Hi Lars This may be an issue with the CRB bracket, we will get a new one sendirest to you. Please send the address where you would like it sent to mcraigs@tiffen.com and copy me at robin.thwaites@tiffen.com. Robin

Hi Lars How do you mean off? Do you need to centre it? Robin

Hi Thomas The Hard case is a wheeled hard case identical in size and shape to the sled case. It takes the arm inside its soft sleeve which then slides inside the vest which all fits into the soft bag that you get with the 312. There is room for a charger and some batteries and other accessories (there is also some room for batteries and accessories in the sled case). For me transporting in a car or van this works well as does flying by freight, if you are taking it as baggage it is very easy to go over the maximums unless you choose your airline carefully and then get really hammered for excess. The cases are Thermodyne type and will take quite a hammering although I advise taping up the catches well for airfreight. We normally ship new rigs in just these cases and an outer sleeve which is primarily to protect the case. Robin

Hi Markus You can set the Ultra 2 to run both batteries in parallel rather than series for high drain applications. Robin

"In fact that 500 nit monitor is really a part of one 27000$ system, according to theirs official site, it is not the company where are you working" OK just making sure our own literature and website made it all clear. "By the way, can you inform me is it possible to purchase G40 arm separately, and what would be the price in US?" The G-40 is not currently available separately. For any prices please contact me off forum at my direct e-mail address robin.thwaites@tiffen.com however please note that prices in Europe (or any part of the world) should be the same as the US list on the web plus whatever freight and duty it costs to get it to that country meaning that you are better off to buy from your closest local dealer. Robin

Hello Josip The 500 nit monitor is restricted to the Flyer range, "20K plus system" get the 700 nit 7" with a special anti reflection coating. "So I discretly asked asistant to move along with me to produce shade by himself." I believe that most ops have done this at some time whatever the monitor. This is just part of the coping with adverse conditions - no need to be discrete, use some sort of flag to make it truely effective. “I thaught about improvising a hood” Blackwrap or Cinefoil are a good answer for this as they can be shaped for the particular shot. By the way the SK2 had a 3.5" CRT 4x3 screen meaning that if you look at a 16x9 image it will be something like 2.8" wide (70mm) by 1.57" (39mm) high. Robin

Not meaning to start a war here, but Gerber all the way! Switzerland would be neutral.

Hi Matt There is a fuse for the motor driver in the receiver if you take the back off, have a look at that. Robin

Longest I have heard of was 300mm Canon on 16mm vehicle mounted filming lions in Africa. Focus was taken care of by tying pieces of meat to ropes behind the Land Rover and having the lions chase and nearly catch. Dust was an issue but the camera op was there for a long period trying to get a just a few seconds of great footage. Robin

Lars I was under the impression that the noise occurred once the sled had passed the horizontal phase of its rotation which is why I suggested to Hofmann that it was not unheard of. This is the same as the small shift that Jerry is referring to when changing from high to low mode i.e. a small vertical shift of the post as the entire weight of the sled is transferred from one bearing face to the other. However, if you have 1mm movement in the top stage is actually quite big and should be dealt with either in Sweden or by us. Robin