WalterKlassen

hey all, Jennifer here. normally we don't post since it's an operator forum but I'm happy to provide some information. the main advantage of the flex is that it's 20-30% lighter than any of our other harnesses due to the lighter carbon shell, the reduced leather trim and a slimmer padding design. there's also some flex in the front half of carbon though the back is still ridged. This along with a higher cut around the leg makes movement and sitting/squatting more comfortable. Since the Flex is slightly less labor intensive we're able to offer it at a lower price. I put a round of photos up on our facebook page yesterday and are updating our website this week. let me know if you have any questions or feedback.

This is truly heartbreaking news to hear. Jeff was an amazing man to know and we'll miss him.

hey Ron!! How are you? Walter, Taku and a few others from the shop will be at Cinegear but I'm still on maternity leave until the fall (I have a 6 month old bundle of drool, Benjamin). I'm sad to be missing it but will be there next year for sure! Jen

OK, so I have the info now. Allen will have the Walter Klassen Fx Carbon Remote Head at the MaxVision Corporation booth, SL10605 He's also going to be doing demos at The Renaissance Hotel. If you're interested in checking it out give him a call. His phone number is: 416-725-4450. Erwin, sorry to hijack your thread, if you want me to move this post somewhere else let me know :D and a warm "hello" to you and everyone else Jennifer

Hi all, Jennifer Klassen here. Hope you don't mind me adding to your thread Erwin, but Walter told me that he's sent one of his Carbon Heads down to NAB as well. It's with Allen Lennox and I'll get the booth details up later today here if that's OK. thanks and hope you all are doing well!

Walter and I will be there if there's room for us. Can't wait to have a beer and chat with you all again :) Jennifer

Hey guys, Jennifer here from Walter Klassen FX. normally we try not to invade your discussion forum but Walter has been reading all your posts closely and wanted to give some general advice, thoughts and feedback about the "leg tingling" and sore hips issues. He's talked to many operators about all this and here are some suggestions: One operator recently told us that he used to get numb legs but found this solution. He asked him grip to watch his posture and remind him to keep his legs shoulder-width apart when he was standing so as not to overload one leg when standing still. Apparently this has worked really well for him and as far as we know solved the problem. It also seems like operators are being asked to do longer shots and hold the camera longer without docking. It?s important to keep spreading the load on both legs and not crush the load on one leg. Lawrence Karman posted a similar story here back in January 2004 (Lawrence, hope it's OK that I re-type this since I can't find the original link). "I do have that tingly feeling. More of a numbness on the outside of my left leg which I find comes more with a heavy camera package... Last week I brought my vest over to my chiropractor who feels that it is not pressing onto a nerve as the vest rides fairly high. He seemed positive that when I lock my leg in a lock-off position there are muscles that work to stabilize the leg left and right and they are being over worked in this position. The muscles' reaction is to shut down feeling in that area. This kind of makes sense in that I am more likely to feel it only with a heavy package. Who knows. I am also trying to stand with the weight distributed between both legs more and this seems to help as well" Finally, everyone is talking about proper fit and we agree it's very important. As Jerry posted in this other thread it seems like posture and working to find the best way your harness/vest fits your body to minimize impact is key. http://www.steadicamforum.com/forums/index...?showtopic=2426 In a Klassen harness, adjusting the position of your carbon arm, putting the right pressure in your air bladder and getting your harness in the right position on your hips and around your waist can make a huge difference in your comfort level. Once you get used to finding that ?sweet spot? then it becomes second nature. This is why we encourage new customers to have Walter talk you through your first time set-up so that he can get you as properly fitted as possible from the get-go. Walter and the rest of us here are always available by phone or email to answer any of your questions. walter@walterklassen.com (416) 778-7848 See you all at CINEGEAR :) Jen

Hi Markus, no problems at all... you're definitely not the first one to make that assumption :) about a year ago Roger Tooley even asked me how long Walter and I had been married :lol: thanks again everyone for your positive feedback Jennifer (Klassen) Platz- a very happy newlywed

one more suggestion Walter had is to take the carbon arm off the harness and pack it in the leather arm-bag and then pack that inside your harness bag. This makes everything more compact and protects the knobs on the arm. Then you are good to fly :) Jen

Hi Markus, I don't know about the hand luggage regulations for Emirates but generally you have to check the harness as baggage. You don't need any additional cases though. The harness bags that you have is designed and used for air travel as luggage. If anyone has any other suggestions that would be great to know. Vielen Gruesse <--- hope I got that right Jennifer

Thanks for the kind words Charles. All of us here at the shop are so glad that we were able to get you comfortable in the right harness. :D Jennifer

Candide Franklin here in TO -Jen

Wow, that's wonderful news congratulations... I'm so happy for both of you. Yay baby! *smiles* Jennifer

Hi Eric, my goof. I checked with Walter, he's definitely planning on bringing something to CineGear for you to try. cheers Jennifer

hi guys, Jennifer here again. We have definitely had some successful reselling of our harnesses, usually an operator sells when he wants to upgrade from an older to a newer harness. It can absolutely work fine as long as the two operators (buyer and seller) are relatively the same fit, though we can work with adding/removing foam padding etc. to componsate for some difference. This doesn't require bringing the harness to our shop for any custome fitting unless the buyer wants something specific done to it. Walter often works with operators when they sell their harness to help compare the fit and compatability of potential buyers. This process works best when we have the measurements of the person looking to buy so we can cross reference with the harness for sale. We take measurements of people at shows like CineGear and Cinec, but there is also a "measure yourself" section on our web site. hope that helps, Jennifer :) Edit: Bryan, I just noticed you're here in TO. have we measured you before? you should come visit the shop some time.

Hi Eric, Jennifer here. As it stands now Walter and I will be there at the MK-V booth at CineGear with: Walter Light harnesses Traditional Deluxe harnesses Universal/Genesis harnesses an assortment of arm types Hardmount (vehicle mount) our SideSte II quiet rails looking forward to seeing/meeting so many of you

Hi Thomas, I'd be happy to answer your questions: The "Walter Light" comes standard with our carbon fiber Low-Profile arm. What we are planning with the Universal/Genesis is to have an introductory price for the harness itself without the arm. There will be the option of either a metal, original carbon or the low profile carbon arm- each at a different price point. So it's up to the operator... sort of a build your own system based on your priorities and price. We are still working on confirming the price points. We only came up with the idea for the Genesis at NAB and we have to get a clear idea of the time and costs involved. The exact prices will be available soon and we plan to make it comparable to the front mounted vests. So at the tope end of our spectrum will be the Traditional, closely followed by the Light. As a more entry level option, possibly for operators who want to start with a back mounted Klassen vest but don't want to spend the premium price, we will offer the Genesis. You will be able to buy the Genesis from us or MK-V- I suspect through MK-V Howard will be offering a package deal if you get the harness with his Genesis system. The advantages of the Walter Light and the Traditional vs. this new model is that the new one is designed for lighter cameras while the Light and the Traditional are designed to maximize comfort with even the heaviest load. And as always the Light and the Traditional have the fine tailoring and personalized fitting. However, all the harnesses offer the benefits of a back-mounted vest. Currently we have no designs for a cheaper vehicle mount. The one we have now is quite competitively priced and my office manager (and daughter) Jennifer will give me way too much grief if I tackle developing another new product any time soon :P Jennifer will be sending an information mail-out before CineGear which will include photos, then new Universal/Genesis harness web link and lots more details. Walter

Hi Thomas, Let met explain a bit about the harness you saw, it wasn?t a Walter-Light harness but a new design concept we?re working on. At NAB this year Howard inspired me to make an entry level back-mounted harness that has a more universal application potential. Howard is calling it the ?Genesis? as it was originally designed for the MK-V Genesis system. The harness has real versatility e.g. the adaptor plates works with the EasyRig ? and the Bodycam ? systems. We?re offering it with a metal arm at the entry level stage, but it can be retrofitted with either our original carbon arm or the new low-profile. We'll have this harness at CineGear so everyone is welcome to check it out. We haven?t launched it officially yet as it's still being fine tuned but when we do the info will be on our web site and Jennifer will be sending out an email update. if anyone has any questions contact me at walter@walterklassen.com Walter

Walter Klassen FX is looking for a used professional/heavy arm. It needs to be in reasonably good shape so we can use to demo our products in-house and at trade shows. We will trade you a new custom Walter Light backmounted harness with all the trimmings for it: Walter-Light details here Please email walter@walterklassen.com or phone us at 416-778-7848 thanks, Jennifer :)

Hi all, jennifer again Walter and I had a discussion about it and we've determined an new option for anyone considering an arm upgrade: Any current DSD/Klassen harness owner can send back their current arm and we can use some of it's machined parts on your new low-profile arm... and we will knock $800 off the price. So a Low-Profile arm will cost $1700.00 with a trade-in. hope that helps :)

Hi all, Jennifer here from Walter Klassen FX, Thanks for your interest and thanks Larry and Eric for talking about your experiences. In response to feedback from the operators who tested the "Walter-Light", all ordered models will have a wider upper-back. This way operating with a heavier load won't cause this pressure on the shoulder blades. It's a small adjustment and will have a minimal effect on the weight. I'll keep an eye on this thread and would be happy to answer any other questions.

hi Joe, a quick response on that one- all DSD vests will continue to be supported under their manufacturers warranty with Walter Klassen FX. None of the vests will be orphaned :) Jennifer