Erwin Landau

No takers? Okay off into the trash they go... Thanks for the interest!

Hi Ingo, I forwarded your request to Tim. Sincerely, Erwin

Darn! To late... I have a box of those in the weirdest shapes, sizes and colors... oh well... off to the trash they go...

I have a box of stuff that I kept for "just the right moment" or "just in case" ... I had one of those gears, they used to be "useful" with the old FMG or Heden Motors... I really, for the life of me, couldn't think what you would use that thing for with a modern motor or set up... I never used it in all the years I had it sitting in my kit... but then again... we are dealing more and more with prosumer gear... so there might be a use for it. If you have space for it keep it. Yeah I remember the time when I ripped out the lens mount on a Canon XL-1 with my Preston Motor... good times...

Kevin, Next time you talk to him, you might want to make him aware about the bad press he is getting here? A little post would go far right now... Just a thought... Erwin

I know a little off topic... It's usually when you try to save some money, that's when they get you! Very important to stick with a reputable and long standing company. Everybody is moaning about the price of the likes of Preston, but did you ever hear about stories like that? Wait a little longer, save and then spend the cash once and be done with it. I am very sorry to hear things like that from Don. Looks like he went the patch of the non reputable companies like CIT and the likes. Don't know what to say or advice... short of just showing up on the door step and demanding your money back. Don't get the motor, get the cash and buy something with a better costumer support. Good luck!!! Erwin

I use my old knee pads that came with my wife's roller skates, remember those? But barley use them. Usually if the shot calls for a very low start or finish were I end up on one knee, but then only use one. After a short while you start to sweat and then they scuff... so no thank you. If you wear them to safe yourself... that's what the rig is for. If you try to safe the rig you will pull something and hurt yourself seriously... burry it into the ground and call the insurance company. The Hospital route will be more expensive and take you longer to recover... Shin guards... then nobody will see my scars, scraps and holes that I amassed over the years... ;) Just my 2 cents. Fly safe, Erwin

Sooo... There is a battery on the sled AND the camera... There is a yellow coded cable going from the bottom of the sled (from the battery?) to the camera... yellow means video in my book... and it looks like a continuos one... either there is a hole drilled in the post or there is actually no connection or support on the top of the post. But there is no cable going to the "monitor" neither power nor video (wifi maybe?) Monitor Bracket... we have been doing it wrong all these years... I am not even going there... I especially like the weights... you can work out while waiting at one??? The Vest is called "Camera Support" and the arm is called "hotweel" I can see Mattel suing... it does have wheels... kind of... and it looks like a toy... Even the operator does not want to be seen wearing that contraption, or he is blurred out for his own safety? You get what you pay for... and you get what you support, according to e-bay some poor schmack actually put his money where is mouth will be... or something like that... and paid money for that! Yeah, support Chinese workers they have a billion mouths to feed! wow...

Note taken... he is banned! Unless... he returns to his old self that is...

Oh, found the original post: http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=14528

Good question... Their website http://www.modular51.com is still up and there are no indications that they are out of business, but then again that's no guaranty either. They always were very slow in replying to costumers in the past, no matter from were, including me... ended up not buying a Vest bag from them because of that. There used to be a second company (rock steadi) that made sled socks (I got mine from them) and there was a legal battle between them which modular won. They are out of business for sure. There was a post a while back about a company making soft cases: http://www.caseworksoft.com Not exactly a sled sock... I don't have any experience with them, but check it out and see what is what. And let us know. Hope that helps, a hi from Switzerland. Fly safe, Erwin

Hi there, This forum is a good will of Tim Tyler the owner of this website. He was kind enough to provide us with this space after the AOL folder... hem... folded. Server space is pricy and we decided that it was more then fair to contribute financially to keep this website up and afloat. So a small one time donation seams fair enough. You can enjoy the content of the site for free, but if you want to make money by selling something, the donation is required. All people that are involved with this website, besides being full time Industry professionals, are volunteers, nobody is making any money or getting any benefits from helping out also this is an international site with most people being spread over the planet. So have a little patience, once we get a chance after a 12 hour work day, we will get back to you. A nicer tone would help as well... and would go a long way. Fly safe! Sincerely, Erwin

It's obvious, but did you try to contact Tiffen? They should be able to, if not take care of you, at least point you in the right direction, no? Also try Brant, he used to service 3A Gimbals and even used to make his own, he is a member on this forum: Brant S. Fagan, SOC Steadicam/Camera Operator Missing Something? Technologies, LLC Like This Brant S. Fagan, SOC H: 603-826-3445 www.brantsfagan.com

e-mail send!

Interested in a trade?

Additional Equipment... Base rental: It used to be rig (sled, arm, vest, cables) including FF and wireless transmitter (sometimes receiver) and car mount (sometimes also additional depending again on negotiations and how high your base rental was). More gear also justified a higher base rental... Additional rental (if you had them) were: Gyros, Superpost (if not negotiated into base rental), Low-mode bracket if not included from the rental house, Video-tap (XC-75/77, XC-999) and or adapters for some "odd" cameras. The new additional rentals were down converters (before HD rigs and HD transmitters/receivers, now they are a necessity for guys like me that still hang on to there SD sleds/monitors), remote iris, remote zoom, FX-box, second FF, etc. And now HD Transmitters if you want to spend the cash and shoulder the responsibility of it working in the field. (If you end up trouble shooting interference and poor reception more often then you can spend with the DP, Director, Actor discussing the shot, you might want to walk away from that headache.) Everybody will remember that guy that never was listening to the directions that were given to him, because... he was never there... busy trouble shooting his faulty gear... I usually tell the production that I have the means of transmitting comfortably SD and if they want HD they have to rent it them selfs which they most often do to begin with. Also if they insist on the HD and don't want to spend the extra cash, they have to do with SD as I don't tether during the shot (I will give the DP the chance to light but once the camera rolls, the cable goes bye-bye.) I got UPM's in the past that called me and asked for my rate and rental. After I told them they complaint and wanted to push my rate, but later were like: "Okay and how much for the FF on top of the base rate and for the Transmitter and for the car mount, etc" and ended up doubling my rental... go figure. Whatever you do, don't compromise your operating, meaning: make sure that you get everything on set that you need to do your job properly. For example: ending up tethered, or using the productions lousy cheapo FF, or the like is not in your best interest. Don't make it harder on yourself as it should be... Make sure you have all pieces on Set and are comfortable with what they pay you. Then you can forget about the money and concentrate on operating and not thinking that they took advantage of you... makes for a lousy work day / production and you will not do your best work... IMHO. Which results in not getting asked back for the next one... and we all work for the next one. Charge fair, don't compromise on your gear, Fly safe! Just my 2 cents. Erwin

I saw a box full of those back at Cinema Products... way back... Nobody wanted them after the Gorelock and similar docks came to be... oh well.

Hi Iain, Looking for a WiFi solution, I looked into the Cube myself for the same reason (to silence all the department heads that wanted to squeeze behind the monitor at video village or even just the 1st AD to get an idea what was shot) and heard all the delay and unreliability talk... I wanted to pair it with the new i-Pod touch for my 1st AC, just velcro (or make a bracket) the touch to the Preston hand unit and he knows were I am aiming at. Great for music video fishing. Not meant to be used for color checks or for actually focus pulling. More about framing... But everybody that was complaining was talking about the HD versions. I was looking into the model 550 which is an SD only version, everybody was talking about the conversion rate from HD, which seams to be slow. All the reviews I found so far were positive, not stelar, but positive. And at under $1000.- worth a try... Everybody it seams these days has either an i-Phone or i-Pod/Pad on set. You can download the receiver app free from the app store. And if it doesn't work... nobody will be terribly upset as it's just an added convenience. Haven't had the chance to source it here in Europe. But might pick one up for the next bigger show... I'll make a little write up if I ever get to it. Fly safe, Erwin

I saw my first PRO during my Cinema Products Malibu workshop... I learned there that I couldn't stand the Master Series... nor the Ultra... And that there was an alternative... actually alternatives. And the following week I was standing in George's shop... and another 3 months later I took the PRO workshop... I learned a lot at every single workshop that I took (six in total !!!) Take as many as you can and can afford. Every instructor will teach you something new or approach the way of operating slightly differently... The more the merrier... If you can afford them, take both! Fly safe, Erwin

A little bit bulky with the computer and all... and way to much lag...!!! ;) I also think that you would lose the respect of the crew showing up with that... ehm equipment. :blink: But you would be a hit with all kids on set... for sure...

Got an e-mail asking me about the color... seriously? Yes, they are RED!!!

Not really getting why you are selling your spare... because you are not needing it? That's what a spare is for. Have a back up for the occasion that you might need it and hope you never will. Had my spare TB-6 sitting in the case doing nothing for ever... guess what. I had to pull it out a couple of weeks ago... finally. High Voltage took a dump on my primary which is actually the newer of the two... go figure. The moment you sell your back up, the primary will give you problems... no matter of make or year. And when you buy a new one and you like it... buy a second, just in case... it's cheaper in the long run... Just my 2 cents. Happy New Year! Erwin

You can sell anything with a nice bod... hem... oh well...

Hmmmm... Pink Monitor Bracket, Red Wrap... The parts look familiar... but they used to be connected to a PRO Lite bottom...

These are pictures taken during the build... just to give you an idea how the arm and vest are fitting into the case. FYI: In the finished case, the back half of the arm is covered in the additional compartment.