Robert Starling SOC

As Eric said, not the tool for the job. I do a LOT of aerial work from helicopters. You can email me directly but the short answer is you have about three choices listed below lowest to highest in terms of quality and budget: Tyler mount Wescam Gyron I'm off topic and out of time... Best of luck!

Good morning Andrew: Before I got a bigger rig, I started with a Flyer and one of Peter's workshops (www.thesteadicamworkshops.com) just as Jerry already suggested; I recommend it highly. Peter is an excellent instructor and a great peson as well. I flew the HVX200, Sony DSR-300a and Panasonic Varicam with my Flyer. With the later two cameras I removed the viewfinders, on-board mics and battery holders to save weight. As you'll soon see and if you look at some of the photos posted here, you'll ultimately end up adding remote focus, iris, transmitter and other accessories to the rig, plus cabling so if you're going to use larger cameras in the long run the Flyer may be at the top of it's range. Call Peter and take his workshop. The Steadicam Operators Association also has a week-long workshop coming up in May and I can attest it's an invaluable experience or at least it was for me. Tiffen is holding a week-long workshop the end of March in California as well; Jerry Holway is the lead instructor for both I believe. It's money and time well spent. Sorry, I tried to catch your post and name change before you got "moderated" but it was too late. Welcome aboard! Best of luck to you and Happy Holidays!

You have to use your real name on this forum.

That was shot in Charlotte, NC; I lived there at the time and a good friend of mine was the stills photographer on the shoot. Nice 80's hair!

Last night I was shooting mixed martial arts UFC fighting, flying an HVX200 HD camera (8 lbs) plus weight plate (11lbs) on my Clipper 2 w/G50 arm. They went on the mats into grappling work so I quickly switched to low mode with my low mode bracket and extra dove tail plate, leaving the weight and other dove tail plate mounted on the bottom of the camera. The HVX has a metal handle so I felt fairly confident it would be okay and it was. My question is in retrospect from an operating point of view would I have been better off with the weight plate mounted to the top of the handle close to the mounting stage instead of the bottom of the camera? Of course that would have taken a while to rebuild. Balance wise in low mode the gimble was within an inch or two of the mounting stage so I had very little "grip" area and the G50 arm still had more travel than my left arm had the ability to reach for control. The tilting stage was a lifesaver and I'm happy with the shots but I really wanted to get about 6 inches lower. Thanks!

For a new Flyer it's hard to beat Peter Abraham at The Steadicam Workshops; call Peter before you do anything. For used gear Tiffen has a few year-end deals and demo Flyers on their site; you can also find the list on the SOA web site classified section. Regarding the V-mounts - we just returned two IDX 10s V mounts to our dealer in New Mexico. They are factory standard for the Flyer but don't work the way I need them on my Clipper. We used them for a few weeks to power some Marshall HD field monitors before we realized they didn't cross over to the Clipper. The dealer was nice enough to exchange them for the batteries we needed and I suspect they would love to make you a deal on them if they still have them. This all just went down within the last 2-3 weeks and these batteries only went through two charge/discharge cycles at most. Contact, Andrew, Kevin or Katie at Video Technical Services in Albuquerque 505-265-4045. Ask about the "Starling" returned batteries and they'll know what you want. I can also recommend VTS as a great source for anything and obviously their customer service is superb. Good luck!

Notes would be nice, but why not just audio record it or video tape it and make a little Podcast? If you do it at a location with broadband you could stream it? Tell you what... if someone will either audio or video tape it, I'll do the compression work and post it on a non-public link on our server for everyone to share; or I'll turn it into a Podcast. If we just knew someone with a video camera and mic............

Thanks again for trying to help Charles. I finally got through to someone at Tiffen today, Rob Orf who explained that the new Clipper sled does not have a DA; the DA is built into the FL generator in the monitor and only works on the FL video out from the monitor thus you get framelines along with it. The rest of the sled does not have a DA. Apparently the older Clippers with the FL knobs built into the sled/electronics housing had a DA. Rob also says there is a connector inside the electronics housing that will accept a DA. Hopefully I can find out which one. Otherwise, I'm going the route Eric Fletcher wrote about the PRO DA mod. Thanks a million!

Thank you Charles, I'm already at full brightness on the monitor. It's not like the LCD goes almost black but it definitely is a marked effect on the brightness and contrast, not slight IMHO. Regarding the inputs and outputs on the sled itself they're vaguely marked at best and there is very little in the manual that is of use. None of the photos of the I/Os and sled match the actual sled I/Os. My understanding from the first conversation I had with Tiffen was that the unit has a built-in DA but they were busy that day cranking out the first Ultra for shipment. Best regards,

I have a new Clipper 2; about five-six weeks since I purchased it. About three weeks ago I noticed my LCD monitor dimmed whenever I plugged in my Archos AV500 into the BNC video out on the bottom of the sled; the same as it does when I plug it into the back of the LCD. A quick call to Tiffen and they came back later that day with something about the Archos unit either terminating or not terminating the video connection properly??? The dimming is considerable, not just barely visible... I would say 30-40% dimmer. The Archos seems to record the signal at the proper level / brightness. Tonight I connected one of our Sony 8" 8042Q field monitors to the same BNC port on the bottom left front of the sled and it does the same thing, dimming the LCD on the sled. I've tried different cables as well. Prior to testing with the Sony field monitor Chris Konash and I discussed the issue via email and he suggested it could be a DA problem. Before I call Tiffen on Monday morning do any of you have any ideas or experience with this? Thanks!

Paul- For special jobs far from electricity and w/out high amp loads, rent more endura 10's... Just a really quick comment on ordering Endura 10's. We ordered several sets of "Endura 10's" in August from our normal dealer because of course we needed them in two days. The dealer sent Endura 10s as in model 10s which is different than a model 10. It was an easy mistake to order some Endura 10's and get 10s. The dealer made it right but it was too late by then and we had to borrow from a friend that day. Model 10s does not stack back to back with the V-lock if you need that option.

Probably a long shot, but ask Tiffen if they'll take the G50 as a partial trade-in for the G70. Dan It may not be such a long-shot; I recently did a trade with Tiffen from a Flyer to the Clipper 2 w/G50 / Ultra vest and feel like I was treated very fairly in the deal.

Sydney: I found my Archos 500 brand new on Amazon.com a few weeks ago for $299 and the travel adapter kit as well. I'm pretty impressed with the playback quality on a 36" TV; at least for what the device is anyway. It creates AVI files you can drag and drop to your computer. For my Mac I had to get a special plug-in to play and save the files as Quicktimes. All the best!

Hi Afton: I'm not getting anywhere close to a full day on the battery of my Archos AV500. What power saving settings are you using for screen / HDD etc.? Thanks!

Steve and others; I just noticed a year end clearance sale by Tiffen that is posted in the classified section on the Steadicam Operators Association web site. It's quite a range of complete rigs, arms etc., including a few Flyers if that is what you're looking for. Robert Starling Las Vegas

Kip: Email or send a private message and I'll send you some photos and/or drawings. Again, based on recommendations from instructors, operators and other students, I've been extremely proactive seeking opportunities to practice as well as promote myself locally doing Steadicam work that I feel qualified to do. As soon as I get a clip I think is okay, I just go look at some of the top pros shots and then I delete my clip and start over! After 28 years as a camera operator it's a bit anti-inuitive to start over but there is a learning curve and challenge to it that has been refreshing. One thing I've done is to develop a relationship with a very reputable acting school that's here in Las Vegas. Their advanced students need more camera experience and I need actors and scenes to expedite building a demo reel. We're collaborating and creating scenes to shoot just the same as we would for a client; permits, crew; insurance included. I've invested in the equipment and education so it makes sense to invest in the practice and work to build a demo reel with scenes I might not otherwise be hired to shoot for quite some time and where we control the quality and time constraints. Luckily we have our own cameras, lighting and audio packages and a staff who is as excited about it as I am. Best of luck to you! Robert Starling Las Vegas

Kip: If you haven't done so already, you should try to take one of Peter Abraham's Steadicam workshops as well as the Steadicam Operators Association workshop. These were invaluable to me; I started with a Flyer and recently moved up to a Clipper 2. Since the workshops I've set up quite the elaborate obstacle / practice course on my rear patio and backyard based on the exercises we practiced at the workshops. I put in at least 4-6 ten to fifteen minute practice sessions a day when I'm not shooting. Walking the line, even with a creative course set up can get pretty mind numbing but it's the basics and practice. What the second workshop did as well was to help me identify bad habits I'd developed as well as skills to develop. Even this week, I uploaded my Steadicam work for review and critique by Peter, including production stills of me operating for feedback on posture etc.. I don't think this is something he offers unless you were a prior student but there are plenty of people here with plenty to share and ample willingness to tell it like it is. Robert Starling Las Vegas

Thanks Brant, your point and previous experience is appreciated and well taken. If you've gone through the trouble and time to cut and size your own screws then you've obviously spent more time than I have thinking about their high price and the alternatives. Rather than risk someone reading my post and damaging a camera with a screw that is too long, it might be best that the moderators delete my post altogether. Thanks! Robert Starling Las Vegas

Maybe this is new news for me and old news for the rest of you but I want to share a resource. For the last 28 years I've paid out the wazzoo for the little 1/4 20 and 3/18 16 stainless steel screws used for camera and tripod mounting plates. As in I just paid $16 EACH for some from a leading manufacturer of "camera stabilization systems". Ouch!!! The biggest ouch was when a friend pointed me to a local industrial hardware store and they sell them for .40 CENT each...stainless just like the $16 versions. You can even get them with an allen head instead of flathead. And those nice little $14 winged thumb screws we use to adjust the arm to the socket blocks: Buy another .40 cent screw and add the same plastic winged tightener for another .10 cent plus a dollop of epoxy. McFadden / Dale Hardware - Las Vegas 702 251-8059 There's likely a local industrial hardware store in your area as well. Robert Starling Las Vegas

My G50 weighs 9.5 +/- while holding it based on my digital bathroom scale Robert Starling Las Vegas

Hi Dan: You asked about tips or tricks operators can use to improve transmitted signal quality and reception. I’ll start from the source and work in the logical path. Transmitter Circuitry For simplicity there are two types; single channel and multi-channel transmitters. In a perfect world a single channel transmitter and all of it’s internal circuitry would be optimized during design and manufacture for the most efficient delivery of that specific frequency to the antenna. But it’s not a perfect world and most manufacturers simply design and build one chassis and either change the frequency with a crystal or more likely synthetically. The result is that there is really only one channel the design is optimized for and the farther you get away from that channel the less efficient it is. For the most part, the same goes for a multi-channel design; though some of the higher end models of either type may modify their componentry for optimization in several segments of the channel range or frequency spectrum…ASK! The unit may be rated at 250 milliwatts output but a 20% loss in efficiency just cost you a good part of your power. The trade-off is the flexibility you gain by having a wide range of channels to choose from in the presence of interference. You now have a few good questions to ask when considering a transmitter and if you get the right tech on the phone you can find out what your most efficient channel to transmit on is. Good luck getting a straight answer on this. No one transmitter will transmit perfectly on every channel unless it is designed with individually tuned circuits for each channel. At the prices I’ve seen, I would be hesitant to believe someone in this industry is doing that with multi-channel transmitters. The loss may not be as high as 20% but it could just as easily be more. Antenna Design Again for simplicity we’ll just say there are two types; directional and omni-directional. In either case, the antenna can only radiate at its peak efficiency on one specific frequency and it gets worse the farther you get away from the ideal. Some antenna designs introduce gain or a slight boost in transmission but there can be a bit of smoke and mirrors to calculating gain claimed by manufacturers. Directional antennas; usually shaped like a triangle offer gain in one direction and rejection in the opposite direction. Think of the drawings of directional microphones that have “lobes”; the primary sensitivity is in one direction but there a usually other lobes of sensitivity about 45 degs off the rear. For a transmitting antenna, substitute transmission for sensitivity in the above example. Directional antennas have their place but in the case of small reflective spaces, you may actually do better with an omni or several omnis (diversity) so you can take advantage of the “bounce”. Directional antennas work well where you need distance and gain but you also have to be diligent to aiming them properly. The down side of a directional antenna for transmitting is the loss of signal in the coax cable and connectors. Thin UHF cable is VERY lossy so you need to keep the run short or go with cable that is better shielded but also much thicker. As you can see, it’s not that hard to stack the odds in your favor on the transmit end, but it’s just as easy and more likely to lose a great deal of your signal before it ever leaves the antenna. Example: Let say your transmitter design is optimized for the highest channel but you’re using the lowest channel for whatever reason; less power reaches the antenna. Now add an omni directional antenna that is cut for the highest channel and you lose again. Add a directional antenna tuned to the wrong channel with 25’ of thin coax with cheap connectors and you might as well be using two soup cans joined with kite string…sort of. I’ll do reception and interference in another post when I get a few minutes. If this post is too long, just remove it and I’ll post it as a link on my web site or something. Hope this helps! Robert Starling Las Vegas

Can you educate those of us who don't know on improving the quality of our transmitters/receivers with antennas or other 3rd party tricks? Hi Dan: There are no "tricks" persea but you can certainly stack the odds in your favor. There are simple solutions and complex solutions; none with a short form answer. I'd like a day or so to write a concise set of suggestions. As I mentioned, Peter Abraham and I were discussing RF transmitters and reception this morning. Peter reminded me to take a look at Radial Larsen; probably the most well respected portable and mobile antenna manufacturer on the planet. Check out their web site http://www.radialllarsen.com/ while I work on this for you. Robert Starling Las Vegas

It should be fine on the water as long as you maintain line of sight. What you won't have on the water is the luxury of a signal that is bouncing back to it from reflective surfaces like walls, ceilings, light stands whatever. If the antenna is inside the boat, unless there is something that reflects the signal to that antenna you'll have poor reception. The 5 ghz -vs- 2.4 is a good question, both are highly subject to absorbtion and deflection and as you state, 2.4 is limited by other interference. Based on what is known about radio wave progagation, given equal parameters and NO OTHER INTERFERENCE, 2.4 would be the best choice but both are incredibly directional and limited in distance no matter what you do. Good luck! Robert

Lars: Maybe the audio guys are complaining but the signal degradation has nothing to do with water or "land to travel by". That would be some sort of urban legend as such or just plain BS. Open travel of a radio wave is referred to as Line Of Sight Propagation. High frequencies such as UHF and VHF are purely line of sight; the more open the space the better. Harder surfaces reflect or bounce RF around in a closed space so they may experience better results indoors from a "scattered" signal that is bouncing around the room. You've probably experienced this with your FM radio when driving between buildings and/or trees and the signal is stuttering which is called "picket fencing". Diversity receivers use multiple antennas so that at least one of the antennas has a good signal at any point in time. But you already know that. The higher the frequency the more that signal or wave is either absorbed or reflected. The lower the frequency, the better able it is to pass through solid or dense objects. As an example, UHF is easily affected by trees, foliage and even fiberglass, wood or steel hulls in your case. Lower frequencies tend for lack of a better word plow right through. Thus the reason the Navy uses ULF / VLF (ultra low / very low) frequency and super long antenna "farms" buried underground to commuicate with submarines under the sea. Lower frequencies from about 3 mhz up to around 50 mhz bounce off the different ionosheric layers around the earth like a game of billiards so to speak. Higher frequencies such as VHF/UHF require a more solid object to bounce off of. In some cases you can bounce off charged electrons created by meteor showers or even the aurora borealis. Sorry to ramble off on a tangent but I hold a world record that has stood for over twenty years bouncing 21 mhz signals around the earth... antennas and signal propagation is something I know a little bit about. On the other hand, I'd be much more pleased if I could do a long Steadicam scene with a perfect lock-off at the end every time. Peter Abraham and I were discussing RF issues this morning and it really boils down to having the best tuned transmitter that is matched specifically to the transmit antenna frequency and a receive antenna tuned for that frequency to match it; anything else is less than optimal on both ends. When you're dealing with frequencies / wavelengths so short that even a millimeter makes a difference it all adds up to the weakest link in the chain. Antenna length in feet for a half wavelength antenna is determined based on 458 divided by the frequency in megahertz.... you'll need to do the remaining math on your own to get down to inches or cm. Hope this helps. Robert Starling Las Vegas

Brian: I can't speak to using a Steadi for boat to boat but I have over 25 years experience shooting traditional boat to boat, air to boat, land to boat, underwater to boat etc. etc.. Your post really does not provide enough information to determine the best approach and solution. I'm new to Steadicam so maybe there is a single answer approach from those with more experience in that area but I've never seen a Steadicam on a boat to boat shoot. No doubt it's been done. Can you provide more detail? 1. The size and hull design of both boats 2. The body of water; lake, ocean, river, bay 3. The typical weather conditions, specifically wind for its effect on the water and Steadicam 4. Tidal influences 5. Speed of the two vessels 6. Camera 7. Crew / support you'll have 8. If you used a Steadicam would you hard mount it or try to wear it? 9. Can you swim or float with a Steadicam attached ;-} Robert Starling Las Vegas