Oliver Roetz

Well, I am very happy. I've been using it since January - works like a charm. Reliable and solid peace of gear. Great customer service. Oliver

Chris, I got some imperial tools from Christian Betz today (thanks so much!!! Why isn't there anything included in the package???) and played around a little bit. I tightened up the nylock nut as well - so it should be working. I'll be leaving thursday for a job in Myanmar / Laos until christmas so there should be plenty of opportunities to test it. Thanks, Oliver

Chris, enjoy the mountains...! And thanks for the quick response. No, not the socket block. I mean the front / rear rod length clamps - the rods are sliding like crazy. Over a 3 hour operating period the vest does get about 5-7cm longer. Now get back to the nice mountain view...;-) Oliver

Chris, what Allen Key size do I need to fix the front / back sliding "bridge"? That stuff is sliding like crazy... I have all the keys for the PRO stuff here - but they don't work. Oliver

Chris, thanks for the quick response. Please, don't apologize. I never meant to blame you for the price. All good. And I forgot to mention that if the price tag is just crazy - I have to be at least a little bit crazy to buy it, right? :rolleyes: Well, obviously I am. I probably still have another 10 years of operating and I want to be prepared. And the Exovest seems to be the right choice. Played around with it this morning and made it fit perfectly - works like charm. Thanks for your input on the latch. I tried it and it's getting better every time I touch it. Best, Oliver

Hi, I just received my exovest a couple of days ago (thanks to Betz-Tools Munich) and used it right away for a 2 hour TV-Show. And even though I feel I can make it fit better it worked great. Way less fatigue in combination with a lot more freedom to move and breathe...phantastic. Loooong time ago my steadicam career started out with a backmounted. Years later I switched to the PRO for various reasons. And now that the PRO is old and worn out (don't ask me how that happened.. :rolleyes: ) I moved on to what will hopefully be my final vest. However there are two things I don't like about it...First off: the price. It has been mentioned a lot but I have to say it again....it is just crazy. Second, and this is more a technical thing: the latches. Coming from the PRO which is very easy to lock I struggle with the shoulder latch in particular but I guess and hope that it's just a matter of time to get used to it. Well, I am very happy to have it - now going back to make it fit perfectly. :) Oliver

Dear colleagues, I don't post very often but I have to chime in here... I called Betz-Tools last friday, received the DNR today - the installation was done after not even 10 minutes...this is a very well made and solid peace of machinery. A great addition to the kit, making my life easier. Standing around on location, geared up and holding the frame either for lighting or matching multi-camera setups for live-tv...those days are over now. No further workarounds needed - just move your stand, dock the rig and change the angle to the desired position...quick and easy. I already love it. Thanks for taking your time to read this, Oliver PS: I do not have any personal relation to Philippe - actually I never met him in person (just contacted him after reading this thread)...it's just that I've been waiting for this little piece of gear for a long time... :rolleyes:

Guys, thanks a lot...I appreciate it. Unfortunately I was not able to shop at all. As usual we changed the schedule regularly and in the end I did not spend one single dollar... Oliver

Matias, i just had a look at my carnet and could not find Argentina on the list of the participating countries. But I am not sure if that necessarily means that you can't get one over there. As Job mentioned, keep the values low - here in Germany it's about 15.000? for the entire gear. This is obviously way to low but it indeed helps keeping trouble away in some countries. Make sure you know the procedure because of the lack knowledge at some customs offices. It really is pretty easy to understand. My carnet is valid for one year and I have forms for 5 trips in it so I don't have to order new ones every time I travel. I just got back from the US and even there I had to tell them where to put the stamps and which paper to keep. In some places they even don't know that they are a Carnet ATA country. When you make the list for the equipment set up one item titled "various items" or "various lights" or "accessories" so you can carry stuff without serial numbers which gives you a bit more "headroom"... ;) and flexibility. A couple of years ago I lost the most of my camera gear in a boat accident in Malaysia ( the boat sank in the middle of a malaysian river...what a nightmare...) and the upcoming weeks where a nightmare as well. Even with police reports the departure was a huge problem because of the carnet and the listed items I could'nt show at customs. But the worst thing was that the chamber of commerce did not give another carnet...for one year. Just another horror story... :blink: Good luck Oliver

Hi guys, I am in San Francisco for the next couple of days, shooting some travel program. I was wondering if anybody could recommend a good place where I can buy some stuff...like a Kamio ringlight or sound accessories? Maybe a kind of B & H's little brother? ;) Searching the net I found quite a lot of places in LA of course but is there something in SF? It is not urgent, just that I'd like to do some shopping... :rolleyes: Thanks for your help Oliver "my wife wanted to keep my credit card" Roetz

Marc, I had to buy a special mounting bracket to get the rods for the motors (Heden M28-VP) closer to the lens. Otherwise the distance between lens and rods would have been to big because the mount for the lens on the Ikegami is higher in comparison to Sony or Panasonic cameras. Though I had to fly the HK 355p, the size of the camera seems to be pretty similar to the HL 55. Correct me if I'm wrong. In my opinion there are no other issues than that. I found the Ikegami easy to fly, the plate was rock solid - no shaking. Oh, ckeck all the different connections (Triax, VF, Video...) on the camera. Depending on its age some of them can be, well, interesting... :blink: Hope this helps. Oliver Keep flying safe

Jay, thanks again for your mail. It turned out to be a heavy set up but everything worked very well. Drop time was about 4 seconds and the rig was pretty easy to handle. The images are not really the best but maybe you just have a look. Keep flying safe, Oliver

Hi everyone, again, it's about dynamic balance. I searched the forum but could not find any helpful information. The procedure of achieving DB is absolutely clear and has not been a problem for me so far. But now I have to do some TV work with a triax cable and zoom remote. Fast pans are to be expected. Since I can't spin the wired rig for obvious reasons, I was thinking of balancing the rig statically and dynamically without being wired at all(no triax, no zoom, no tally light). Then I would connect all necessary cables and rebalance to be as close to DB as possible. Am I right? Or would you guys do it in a different way? Any help is highly appreciated! Keep flying safe, Oliver

Unfortunately I never got the chance to meet Ted. Then I did this workshop 2 years ago. Of course I had heard of Ted before, but all of a sudden he was there. I mean, the instructors started telling stories about him and we as newbies were just sitting and listening. It was...incredible! In preparation for the last day of the workshop where the groups had to do their final shot they've shown us video footage of former workshops. Again Ted was there. On this big sreen we could see him talking, acting, joking and of course...operating. His sense of humor was so phantastic - we were laughing ourselves away. As Alec said: That crazy lack of "oh, I can't help him; he will be/is a competitor" is one of the best things Steadicam has going for it. I had exactly this feeling during the entire workshop. That's one reason why I am here. I am glad you guys are remembering him for ops like me- thanks for sharing your stories. Keep flying safe, Oliver

Hi Guillermo, take a look at Anthrazit-design/Chrosziel; "Steadicam and acc." Oliver

Benjamin, I second that. Thank you guys for your great input... Keep flying safe, Oliver "looking for the frames between the frames" Roetz

Hi Marc, thanks for the congrats. Steadicam has been a dream to me for a very long time. While I was reading a lot and watching movies very carefully it became obvious that there is no other way for me but taking a workshop. That eventually happened two years ago. After the workshop I tried to stay as close as possible to the steadicam - I used to rent one from time to time. Since I am running my own little (video)camera/production business there were enough toys to play with. A couple of months ago I decided to buy a rig. I bought it as a complete unit, everything was brand new except the Genio. The day I got it, I started my daily practice. My office is covered with tape on the floor and crosses on the wall...and my little daughter spends her weekends walking in front of this strange looking guy ("Daddy, can we go swimming...please!"). But I guess the best practice I can get is being on a set. BTW: How do you guys practice? Any good advice? Just curious... Keep flying safe, Oliver

Hi Nikk, I fly the Chrosziel RIG LIGHT with PRO arm and DSD Harness, Cine Monitor III and the Archos AV 340 for on board recording. For wireless focus and iris I use the Genio system. Keep flying safe, Oliver

Rob, I know I am off topic...but since you seem to live in Bangkok, I thought you might have an idea where to go for a nice dinner... :rolleyes: On our way to the Himalaya we'll have one overnight stay in the Sofitel Central Plaza, Bangkok next week. Again, sorry for being off topic... Regards, Oliver

Guys, thanks so much for all the great advice. I really appreciate it. Tomorrow we are going to get all our gear ready - I am expecting a great time in Bhutan. @Phil: Wouldn't it be just great to share that unique experience? Next time I am going to that area - I'll let you know... ;) BTW: Do you know Harry Panagiotidis? (Australia is sooo small... :D ) He was one of the instructors at a workshop I did 2 years ago... Thanks again, keep flying safe Oliver

Michael, thanks for your response. I guess that's part of the learning process... :huh: Oliver

I am going to the himalayan region in about two weeks time. All of a sudden they decided: Let's take your Steadicam...! :o We are shooting in the Kingdom of Bhutan, doing a documentary about religion, people and daily life and of course...about the mountains. Average altitude is between 1700m and 2500m. But for a couple of days we are at about 4500m. With steadi. :blink: Anybody out there who did some steadiwork in higher altitude? Anything special to be aware of besides thin air? Any ideas how to prepare? I appreciate your responses... Keep flying safe, Oliver

It eventually happened: I just finished my first job operating on a set for a documentary series. It took place in an old museum full of glass and mirrors :angry: . Besides that I had a wonderful lighting crew and a very patient director. The days before I was full of doubts and just not able to find any sleep...but, who cares... :P First time on a set with my own rig...what a wonderful experience. And yes, it worked out well. Some problems of course and VERY tired in the end but - that's it! But hey, without you guys this would have been much, much harder!!! Following this forum for months now all I can say is "THANK YOU"!!! You shared your experiences with me - what more can I ask for? Reading your posts, watching your photos and your show reels carefully was a perfect opportunity to learn a lot. Thanks guys, keep flying safe wherever you are... Oliver "a little step for the steadicam community...a huge one for me" R.