Mike Germond SOC

You might try Terry West for something like that. I'm almost certain he can make you a breakout cable for that goofy sled cable. I'm still toying with the idea of having him make a breakout box for my Flyer LE's lower spar that would give me power/vid out on the bottom, and still utilize the monitor. If you feel like a do-it-yourself'er, you may find these links interesting.. 9-pin MiniDIN cable MD-9P/MD-9S plugs only

What do you think about this guy Rob: http://www.autoscript.tv/product-MiniScript-1047 Golf Channel wants to get 2 of them for above and below the lens; 1 for PGM, 1 for Prompter. At 1lb each, I'm mildly impressed! Do you think it will be big enough? Keep in mind, it's impossible to get more than 20ft away from someone in our studio, although on occasion I'll come in thru set pieces with some wild moves..

Haha yes, the other Rob! I've designed a couple brackets to work off 60mm rods that will put my prompter panel right on top of the lens shade. We haven't gotten to test it in action yet..

oh man! I feel for you...I'm glad I never have to fly "thru the glass" style prompters. My attitude is this: if Robert Starling can get away with a 7" LCD above the lens on Lopez Tonight, you client's can deal with it..

The single riser American Stand with 8" pneumatic soft wheels is on our order list...Tiffen sent over a couple demo sleds, and we ran out of stands.

yes, they mentioned to us that they can furnish teleprompter and PGM return as well. We only tested the HD Link and camera control..

i believe they will take a trade up...not sure how much of a deal it is.

They do the same thing with the G-50 and G-70 arms then, because the way Peter explained it to me was the Clipper's 35lb capacity is determined by subtracting the 15lb sled/monitor/battery weight from the arm's 50lb limit. The same goes for the Ultra2 with the G-70. But on those sleds, the weak point is in the stage, not the gimbal. I was under the impression that the Flyer LE gimbal has roots in the Ultra 2's bearings.. This is probably bad, but I flew an EX1 w/ Letus35, 70mm canon lens, zacuto rails and mattebox, and a 2lb counterbalance weight on a 1st gen Flyer. The arm took it!

Each PowerCube weighs 1.5lbs and has 6000mAh. To put that in perspective, a Hytron 50 weighs 1.9lbs and has 1100mAh. You can do the math...you get longer life with less weight in an IDX PowerCube.. As far as payload goes, I can fly 25lbs on the topstage of my Flyer LE with 2 PowerCubes on the bottom and the SD monitor (or spread that weight between the top and bottom depending on what accessories I fly). It has been my experience with Tiffen that every arm has some variance, but they won't sell you an arm that will allow you to overload your sled..

A note on the rigs, I explained the stage remote/zoom remote situation to the Ops Director and we mutually agreed that at $1500 per motor, the money and weight savings could be better spent. For example, on 8 PowerCubes and a charger, and the extra weight can add back into the headroom that we have with the Clipper312 (I think that will be our rig of choice). We should have 12lbs of capacity left in that G-50 arm for the Link HD system after we build the rest of the kit. We had Link in our studios today, and their transmitter and brackets only add 4lbs to the mix. I think the Ultra2 was probably overkill for us because we don't need the extra capacity, and would rarely have use for the superpost. Anyways, all of the pointers in this forum plus my hands on experience with the demo rigs and all of the demo litepanels and wireless links that have been graciously sent to our studios have helped me recommend a final decision. Thanks all!

To follow up with what Tim said, we had Link in our studios today demoing their RF link, and they had some demo units from AVS in fact. The results were very pleasing. We found that we can cover all 3 studios, 3 control rooms, master control, our newsroom, and everything in between with 1 strategically placed antenna pair. The antenna location is also close enough to Shading that we can use standard 75ohm coax to connect them to the CCU/receiver. The delay was about 45ms behind the fiber cameras when interfaced with our system (very unnoticable lip sync). They split screened it and recorded the talent discussing for reference. In a nutshell, everyone on up to the VP of the network was pleased. I think I got their attention once I was poking around in the VP's office, then they really grasped the versatility of that unit. In the whole demo, we didn't take a single wireless hit (the Link unit we demo'ed was using the 6.5ghz range). As you can imagine, the world headquarters of a major cable network has a multitude of frequencies swirling around, not to mention the make-up of the building's structure. On a sidenote, I had a seperate Hytron 140 dedicated to running the Link and the camera. I drained 1 battery per hour on a consistent basis. On the final camera package, all of that plus the monitors and the rig will be pulling off 2 IDX PowerCubes. We will be changing batteries after every half-hour show at this rate..

Don't they supply you with a Red/White/Yellow composite out cable from their goofy A/V jack? I can't imagine that they would eliminate the SD output..

For me, the appeal of the G-Zoom is that it will use the built in zoom servo and built in focus servo. It's literally a plug-and-play controller with 2 little cables to connect.

Idiot proofing :P There are several different LitePanel/Prompter configurations that will arise on a frequent basis and saving memory presets will allow me to get the rig close to a final balance. After all, I can't be in the studio 24/7/365...If I want a day off, someone else has to come in and operate their rig!

The good news is that Golf Channel will be buying the controller, so they don't have to worry about using it on non-digital lenses. I'm in the same boat as you, in that I had no idea such a lens existed. I've seen enough abuse on the Jib with the stanton motor/controls around the studio, so I'm happy to go with a built in option..

I should note, Erik's G-Zoom utilizes this connector and built in servo motor. Looks like my decision is made! http://g-zoom.com/index.php?main_page=prod...products_id=182

Check this out and tell me if you've ever seen it...built in focus servo (Canon HJ11ex4.7B): I'm using a regular tripod handle zoom right now and it's obstructively bulky. I can't live without it on on a Live show though!

Hey all, I know I've seen this question brought up somewhere before, but I can't seem to find it. Here at the Golf Channel, we are demo-ing the Ultra2 and Clipper 312 for live studio working conditions tethered with fiber (they got me 2 Mohawk jumpers :P). I had planned all along to get a Stanton controller or maybe even try out the G-Zoom with the focus option on it, all the while not taking into account that the motorized stage controls on the gimbal really restrict where you can mount a zoom/focus controller. So here's my question: What are you Ultra/Clipper motorized stage guys using in this situation? I know I could remove the remote, but I want to maintain the functionality of both (after all, that's why we're getting it). Thanks in advance, Mike

It's the DSLR Docu Kit #Z-DSLR-DOCU...We also put a Manfrotto 394 quick release plate on the camera itself.

The Pilot has a 2.1mm DC power jack on the front of the top stage for powering components on the top end of the sled (including the camera if you so desire). It would save you weight because you could ditch the EX-1's batteries and fly it naked. You'd be using the sled's power for both the camera and the monitor, thus consolidating your battery collection (less to worry about carrying and charging every day). You can find the 2.1mm plug at any Radio Shack for dirt cheap, and I can point you towards a few off-brand Sony laptop chargers which you can then cut the plug end off of and wire directly to your 2.1mm plug. I think I got 2 laptop chargers with Sony's proprietary plug at $10 a pop. Now one has a 4-pin XLR end and the other has an P-Tap end, each at about 6" long.. I'd recommend the V-Mount "Power Cubes" that Steadicam came up with. They are lighter than their AB counterparts that have the same milliamp hours (and are certainly going to run longer than AA's and cost less in the long run). And don't even think about going the "rechargable AA" route. A common misconception is that each battery starts at 1.2v off the charger where as their disposable counterparts are something like 1.4v. That means you have a much smaller window of voltage drop before they just cut out completely. They are relatively useless for Audio/Video guys and the gear that we like to run off them.

I did a commercial with the 5D (same concept) on my Flyer LE. I actually added a 13lb steel weight plate with my Manfrotto quick release adaptor on it. Add in the zacuto rail plate for matte box and follow focus, and you get this: It balanced fine on the Flyer LE, but it's length makes for some crappy inertia. In hindsight, I should have mounted my antlers on top going front to back..

"flip it in post" is the poor man's low mode. In theory, you could have an issue with the scanning being reversed if you shoot interlaced. My guess is you are shooting progressive of some sort, probably 1080p? I'll have to recommend that you stay away from the glidetrack. I've used it before on weddings with a Canon 5DMKII where it works great for quick run-and-gun "dolly shots." The problem is that it glides on Teflon (not bearings). So 9 times out of 10, it catches mid way down the track and your footage gets a little jerk in the frame. It works for some things, but not for long/slow/smooth stuff. I know there are similar products out there that do glide on bearings and have heard rave reviews about them. Welcome to the forums! If you get the Pilot and needs specs for the power cables to lighten your EX-1 and run it off the rig, it's floating around here somewhere. I've made up a couple of them for different applications, and it's a great weight saver..

I wouldn't mind hearing what your guys' favorite clamping methods are and where you are sourcing the set screws from. I am designing a handful of 15mm rod brackets to hold various components and this has left me scratching my head..

I had trouble viewing your reel from within a corporate network (as expected). I've noticed that problem with quicktime on other sites too. That's why I opted for a flash player on my site: http://www.mikegermond.com/demo.html If you're at all design savvy, I can point you towards the resources to pick your own skin and implement the same player..