Alec Jarnagin SOC

Stopped by the NYC NAB booth to see you today, but you weren't there! Hope you're well old friend.

By no means a long term solution, but in a pinch (as you seem to be), add a piece of Gaff tape to the clamp down piece or wedge a small piece of aluminum foil in there to close the gap. (Disclaimer, I don't own a Betz stage - nor have I ever used one, but this is not the first time a plate has not fit into a top stage).

Brooks, I first came across this post at 4:30AM as I drank my coffee at my desk before an early call. My heart sank and I stopped reading a paragraph in as I knew I wanted to take more time to read your powerful words and to be present to your state of mind. Sorry it took so long to get back to it, but what an amazing read. While I don't believe we have ever met in person, I feel I know you. Between our emails we have exchanged over the years and your sage advice on the Forum, you have always impressed me. Indeed, as Doc says, you're a "class act." Thank you for leading by example, thank you for all you have done for others and myself. Thank you for your fine shots and being so humble. I wish you great luck going forth and I hope to spend some time in person with you one day. Take good care, Alec

Three HCs on a PRO in 24V mode (so the back two are running the camera) should last plenty long. Check your dates and cycle numbers Dan, I bet yours are older than you think. They fall of a cliff at some point - for me it was last winter in the cold. Re-celled them and they are fine.

Brooks, I'm not sure this would solve the battery issue, but take a look at the Cam-Jam: http://cam-jam.de/directorsmonitor.html Can also be used as camera handles. I have not seen it in person, but Matthias makes great stuff.

Mike, I know you guys take feedback very seriously which is why I posted and why I've bought your products all along. The 3000 looks amazing and I congratulate you on it. I certainly don't want you guys to give up on innovation, but I do have reservations on the ROI. If my 2000 had not been on a major series, I might have lost my shirt on this (time will tell, lets see what the market does....) True, the 2000 still does what it does very well and I could adopt an iPhone attitude (buy every other generation) but the difference is that I don't have people renting my phone who want the latest and greatest! Smaller markets will still be happy with less, I suspect. I do wish you guys would design products with upgrades in mind. I.e. board that can be swapped.... I'd much rather pay an upgrade fee than sell all my stuff and start over. Its also much better for the enviromennt. That said, one MAJOR note regarding the 3000 is the lack of Sidekick. A Sidekick is a must even if not compatible with other models. A smaller, lighter, cheaper receiver (without antennae sticking out) is needed for handheld monitors or even the 1st AC's monitor). As I said, on my 2000, I had to buy two full size receivers before the Sidekick was ready. Very expensive and now worth much less with the intro of 3000. For me to even consider upgrading, I'd need a Sidekick (as I'm not willing to buy two full size receivers again) and frankly, if that takes six months to come out, I'd be tempted to skip this generation and wait for the next since you guys are constantly changing the lineup. When you guys develop, you should be designing a Sidekick right out of the gate so it can be released at the same time. My two cents.

Mike, most companies don't offer upgrades as far as I know, but they also don't keep coming out with new products that destroy the value of the old ones in such a short period of time. I bought a second full size 2000 receiver less than a years ago for a show because the Side Kick wasn't ready yet and Production insisted on having two. Then I got the Side Kick cause... Well, hell, it was my idea.... and it's mighty useful. End results is something like $15K for that system? And now, knowing the way shows are today, they will insist on a 3000. But there is no Sidekick ready yet so that means buying two full size receivers. And then the Sidekick 2 in 6 months. And then the Teradek 5000 in a year? Sorry, I know you want us to be excited but right now I'm longing for the days of a Modulas 3000 that lasted me a decade plus. More likely, I'll sell everything and get out of the transmitter game.

Mike, so its a complete rebuy?! You're killing us!

Was it new or recalled? I ask because I remember someone mentioning this happened to one of their batteries that John had re-celled. He then chimed in that he would fix it for free (and that he had changed the way he packaged the cells so this was not a problem any more).

I believe Preston still service MDR-2s. Monster Remotes in NJ may also be able to help. http://monster-remotes.com

Thanks for posting Janice; I was unaware of Derrick's passing. Like Brooks, I bought my first rig from "Whitehouse Audio Visual" back in 1994 but from a classified in the SOA news letter. Pre-Internet (as we know it now - AOL was starting up, I think) it was a lot harder to find equipment! Such a knowledgable gentleman and a HUGE help to our community. May he rest in peace.

Thanks guys. I move this topic to Forum Support" so Tim will see it as well.

I'm more concerned with the width than the height. You don't need 25 degrees of correction and I'd imagine this gets in the way of the vest, etc. The height is not great, but if its not as wide, perhaps it could be slightly shorter, but more importantly, it would weigh less, which also lowers the CG.

I just wish it was smaller and then they could beef it up. Frankly, 5-10 degrees correction is more than enough then it would not have to be as wide!

"I did a soccer scene just running around everywhere with the actors and didn't worry about the horizon at all." ​Any high frequency vibration while running?

Jamie, the only one I can make is also the Abel one so I'll see you there!

If you plan on attending any of these, please RSVP to alanna@prestoncinema.com as soon as possible. Thank you.

For those of us not making it to Cine Gear, I thought you might be interested in this. Preston is bringing their new products to NCY for a few demos: Abel from 2-6 on Wednesday 6/8. TCS is 6:30-9 on Thursday June 9th. Monster Remotes is Friday June 10th at 1pm.

Bruce, That cable is the classic 8-pin Lemo that the Pro used on their SD sleds. As I understand it, there is no way to get HD-SDI down that cable. It just wasn't built for it. Thus, the complete change over. Pro now uses a 19 pin Lemo with an actual Co-axle HD cable inside the cable and Lemo connector. David Hable can answer this better. He is an electronics guru in Vancover and has been modifying Steadicams for years. He upgraded my Pro Lite to HD since I could not just buy the parts from Pro as I could with my main sled. At this point, I know he has done this mod to a bunch of sleds. He buys the center post cables from XCS (they make them as well as Pro since they offer their 2" post with Pro connectors as an option). That center post cable is $900 alone, I believe. Plus the cost of David modifying the upper and lower junction boxes. His work is fabulous and well worth it though.

Dan, Not sure anything is NEW about that camera. Its gone the way of the dinosaur! But, let us hear it folks... anything new? Just wanted to keep it all tidy in one thread, especially since I think we won't hear much of this again after this revival. I flew it once at a check-out, but alas, had to replace myself on the job because of a family emergency. Can't recall much other than it was not as heavy as I thought but still an awkward beast. Good luck.

Bruce, Let's get a few more details, shall we? When you say your wiring is based on a PRO 2... does this include the center post cable (with the SD 8-pin Lemo) or just the connectors on the Junction boxes themselves? If you have your post hard connected to the upper and lower J-Boxes, you can simply add a high quality BNC for HD-SDI. Assuming you're using the SD 8-pin PRO style Lemo down the post however, you'll need to do major changes that include replacing the center post cable, as well as the main Lemo connector in the upper and lower Junction boxes. In the case of a home built rig, I'd highly recommend having David Hable do it. Good luck.

They are so forgiving to 1st Class customers, I agree with Mike, it pays for the upgrade! In addition, whip out a "Media Card" - SOC card, IATSE Card, whatever you got... I made up a fancy card with pic ID for my company and showed all three last year to China and they only charged me $140/ each way and that's with this:

Conversation already started here: http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=15121 Closing this one. Thank you.

Gen 1 should be fine. Gen 2 owners, I strongly recomend buying the Decimator MD-HX and leaving it attached to the monitor.

They are not the same weight as an HC: