chris bangma

Yes, this is the MAT Towercam by Peter Braun. The Towercam was sent to MAT for a complete tune up, cables replaced etc. It has only been on 2 jobs since the tune up.

Something you TV guys might be interested in, Towercam XL. The Towercam XL is a vertically telescoping camera crane, which has a very small footprint and can be placed almost anywhere. It will telescope vertically from 10' to 33', and carry a 100lb payload. Includes hand controller, and foot controllers for 1 man operation. Unit is in a wheeled shipping case, ready to ship. $10,000 obo.

Pending sale

Fall Sale on Cinetronic monitors. Gen2 7" Steadicam monitor $4250 Blemished Gen2 7" Steadicam monitor $3800. The blemished monitors have some defects in the black silkscreening on the front face. The performance of the monitor is not affected. See www.film-stuff.com for more details and to order.

Price reduced $15,500.

Now available on Film-Stuff.com, Heden / 19mm rosette adapters. These adapters allow you to mount the Heden motors, or any motor with 19mm on the Preston motor arms, increasing the flexibility and reach of the Heden motor. Available now for $50ea on film-stuff.com

Still Available

For sale, Preston MDR2 and HU2 complete package. This package includes almost everything cable and gear wise to work with almost any camera and lens. Kit is in a Pelican 1620 case, with lift out tray containing all the motors cables etc, for easy access. Worldwide shipping available, payment by Check, Wire Transfer, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover. (Credit card payments + 3%) $16,850 obo. Kit includes: 1-Hand Unit 2 SN 2684 1-Digital Microforce SN D7132 (with multiturn speed adjustment) 1-FI+Z Transmitter II SN 49783 3-Heden M26VE motors SN 51013,51024,51079 3-.8mm Gears 3-.6mm Gears 3-.5mm Gears 3-.4mm Gears 2-Preston FIZ batteries in good condition 1-Omnishot FIZ Sony adapter 3-Sony batteries 2-Sony Chargers 1-Skipps Engineering modular MDR mount 8-5/8" Step Down Bushings 5-15mm Step Down Bushings 1-Motor Dogbone 1-Genesis Camera Run Cabe 1-Panavision Camera Run Cable 1-Red Camera Run Cable 1-Sony Camera Run Cable 1-Arri 11pin Camera Run Cable 1-Arri 3pin Camera Run Cable 2- R/A to R/A Lens Motor Cables 1- Straight to Straight Motor Cable 1-Straight to R/A Motor Cable 1-Serial Firmware Upgrade Cable 1-3 Pin XLR MDR Power Cable 1-Panavision MDR Power Cable 1-Arri MDR Power Cable 12-Focus Rings 1-Iris Plate 1-Pelican 1620 Case with lift out tray

Basically you summarize to say that it is just a tool in the end, and its all about how you use the tool. Granted some tools are a little nicer in the end, but they do not make a bad operator better, or a good operator worse.

Josh, if you did want to check out the brightness we do have a meter.

As for communication, yes we know this is an issue. Many days Mike and I are stretched pretty thin, running around the building, with neither of us near phones. We often are working at the machines as well, which are loud enough to make phone calls impractical. Sometimes we both realize we have been at the office for 6-7 hours, and havent even had a chance to switch the computer on and answer emails. This is why many people get short emails typed on iphones while we are assembling and machining monitors. As for the time these things take, I know it is frustrating for everyone, and that things have gone slower than anyone has liked. We try to control as much of the process as we can, and do as much in house as we can, to keep things in check. Its the outside companies that you inevitably have to deal with that are the stumbling block. If you are frustrated with the length of time things take, multiply that by the 100+ Gen2 monitors we have sold, and you get an insight into what we deal with. The biggest problem is I try to be optimistic about when things will be done, and believe the hardware and software engineers when they say how long something will take. Then there is also the day to day supplier issues which are always fun to deal with. We had sent 25 screens in for bonding, and the bonding company rejected 20 of them. This then needed to be sent back to the manufacturer for evaluation, which of course found nothing wrong, so the screens were sent back to the bonding company again. Of course by the time they get back, the company is busy, and cant get them dont for another week. In the end, it was a 4 week delay for absolutely nothing. These are just some of the daily challenges, and weekly drama. As other have pointed out, this is the unfortunate norm for this industry. Suppliers with long lead times, components that are never in stock, and shipments that dont arrive on time. Thankfully we are in the home stretch and can finish these up and get everyone up to date.

This wasnt addressed to you, but some other lurkers, who know who they are :-) It was a rant in general.

Alan, the negativity isnt toward other companies, its toward you, and your desire to always chime in on absolutely everything, despite having very little experience in this industry. If you put as much time into posting on the forum as you did finding jobs, you might have a little more experience, and a qualified opinion on things.

Pretty much you need a dedicated spot meter for this, one designed for the purpose. You can pick one up for about $5K

Well, if taking preorders for over 18 months and not delivering product is great.. BTW did you get yours yet?? If and when yours arrives, if you want to do a head to head daylight comparison, let me know.

Justin, It wasnt only until recently that you may have had a problem that was a warranty item. As far as the 8 pin not being wired for a Cinelive, we explained this numerous times, and that we wired the monitor with a separate lemo for tally for a reason, because there is no standard for tally wiring. Your other complaint was for the Anton Bauer back, not fitting properly. Sorry this didnt fit, this is the back we use, if you would like to take it off and put a genuine AB back on there, you are welcome to do so. We also do not charge the $400 that Transvideo charges for an AB back. The simple fix is to put a little velcro on the AB back, like everyone does, OEM or not to take up any play in the back. As for the responses, when have you left a message when you have called? If you do not leave messages how are we to know. Sometimes you just need to be a little realistic about gear. I have spent over $30,000 on my Preston system, and even though I know Howard Preston very well, he will not send me a new Preston if I have a problem with mine. Also speaking of Prestons, they currently have a 4 month waiting list to get system from them, so having to wait for professional gear is nothing new. If you would rather we be like the TV Logics of the world, who could care less about anything you say, then so be it. We are a couple guy trying to give the steadicam community something better to work with, but at this point with all the negative comments whats the point? The whole Steadicam community does a disservice to itself by its constant negative comments about everything. I guess the people here dont realize that suppliers and other companies read these forums, and see what a bitter, negative community this really is. I have heard comments from my suppliers about this forum, and peoples comments here, and even our suppliers question why we deal with the steadicam community. They comment that there are other fish in the sea, so why not go after those. I worked as a Steadicam assistant for over 10 years, attended the CP steadicam workshop 20 years ago, was trained by Jimmy Muro (who I also pulled focus for on occasion), and was there when George Paddock introduced the first donkey box, the beginnings of the Pro Sled. I enjoy working with Steadicam, and when asked by a Steadicam operator to build a better monitor, I did the best I could, and created the Gen1. Not being happy with the Gen1, even though many other were, I sought out to build the Gen2, something even better. This has taken well over the initial estimates of time and money, but we stuck with it, and have over a quarter million dollars invested so far. Many times we have considered whether it was all worth it, and whether there was a light at the end of the tunnel or not. So far we have stuck it though, and shipped a product. Yes, it may have some flaws, and may need some things finished up, but the alternative was to close the doors, declare bankruptcy, and say F*** it. When I look back at when I first proposed to build a Steadicam monitor, to meet operators needs, most of the comments I received were negative. People saying "oh, not another" etc... Its this attitude that discourages people from trying to make anything better for this community. If they constantly are told they cant do it, or it is not right, then why even try? I have poured a large portion of my life into this product, and are seriously considering whether it was worth it. This has taken tolls on our personal lives, and finances as well. We chose to create a monitor for the steadicam market, and we can just as easily choose to stop making it as well. Then you can be left with the companies who do not care, since the steadicam market is just a drop in the bucket to them. Its Ironic that this forum just perpetuates the worst of the Steadicam world. The people who post the most on this forum have the least experience in the field, and the people who post the least have the most experience. I guess it just boils down to those who sit at home on their A** all day with no work are the ones posting, and the ones who are working are too busy post. Needless to say, it doesnt portray a good image to anyone. If the goal of this forum is to squash any innovation, or anyone's hopes of aspiring to anything, then it has succeeded. I often think I should go back to the day job, standing next to people like Michael Bay all day, listening to him scream and shout, because it is less stressful than dealing with the people here...

Controlling contrast is also one of the items in the recipe for the Cinetronic. Much of what we do with the monitor to control contrast is outside the profitability window for most companies. They simply just cant justify the extra costs.

At this point the only option is to send it back for repair. As we still owe monitors to people who ordered quite some time ago, it would be unfair to them to delay their orders any longer, by sending a monitor out for exchange. The monitor would take less than a week to come back for repair and be returned. As for the levels, a number of them are going out next week. We acknowledge that things have not always gone as smoothly as planned, but as a small company of only 3 people, we have shipped over 200 monitors worldwide in the past 3 years. We are growing, and going though the growing pains as well, and hopefully all is for the best in the end. As we have mentioned before, this has taken far more than we ever anticipated, but we will see it through to its completion.

You use a spot meter that reads in nits.

The aspect ratio of the screen is 4:3. This is the same screen that was in the original Cinetronic Gen1 monitor, but with newer more efficient led backlight. Temperature is not a problem with this screen. It is also the same screen that is used in the Transvideo.

Lead time on the screens is 2-3 weeks.

Retrofits available for Cinetronic Gen1 and Gen2 monitors to 2200 nit 6.5" screens. Gen1 6.5" retrofit $850 Gen1 original 7" to 2200 6.5 retrofit. $1250 Gen2 Retrofit $1750 Gen2 new order with 6.5" screen. $6250

As we had told you, send it in, and we will repair it.

This may not be a problem with the camera itself. The HDMI port has a little intelligence, so when you connect an hdmi monitor transmitter etc, The device sending the signal will query the other device and ask what formats it supports. If 23.98 is not in the list it sends back, the camera will not output the signal.

The problems with the memory settings have been resolved. Updated firmware is available on the cinetronic forum.