Hey everyone,
first off: Many years ago, when the video DSLR hype started, i got a Glidecam and mastered it pretty well I'd reckon.
Then I got a bigger Camera so I started looking for a Steadicam. I did quite some Steadicam work in film school, fell in love with it and I'm pretty good at it I think (well, for the short amount of time I'm quite confident and happy with the results. shure, there are still many more years to come).
I have used the Steadicam Scout and a lot of research revealed that only an original (Tiffen) Steadicam could result in a statisfying experience. Especially the gimbal and the iso-elastic arm are the deciding factors for me.
This is where the actual problem starts:
Long story short: I got a used Flyer LE, but due to shipping problems I didn't get the Vest and arm, only the sled itself. The package was insured, but because i got it so cheap, theres no way i can find a vest and an arm anywhere for the insurance money. The flyer only has the SD-LCD, but my camera got a SDI-out. My camera weights around 8kg (~18lbs) fully rigged including a medium-sized zoom-lens and a heavy battery. Should i sell the sled and look for a new complete package? Should i get a converter and look for an arm and a vest? What do you think of the Proline Steadicam (Raven Sled) or other alternatives (such as Movcam; well... they're pretty expensive as well)? (I heard some bad things about Proline and the customer service+the arm isn't iso-elastic) At this moment I'm a bit frustrated because I already had an EFP-rig with an unexpected bad gimbal, so i thought, I'd come here now. Thanks in advance for any advice! Have a nice day. (Sorry for my bad english, I'm from Germany)