Craig Kovatch

Thanks for all of the input. Jerry, when you mention "very little weight on the shoulders", do you mean the shoulder straps should not be as tight? I've been keeping the chest and shoulder straps pretty tight. I put the vest on tonight and made the waist tighter than I normally would, but kept the chest straps a bit looser. I made sure the vest didn't slide around as I was doing the line dance. I noticed a real difference. Alan, do mean walk AROUND the rig, or walk around WITH the rig. I wasn't sure. One more question... When practicing, I will sometimes let go of the rig at the end of a move just to see of everything is still in balance. Quite often at this point the rig will either move towards or away from me. This tells me I've lost balance at some point during the move. Are you guys still in perfect balance at the end of the move?

Thanks for the reply Victor. I think my vest may be on too tight in the chest area. I try to make sure it doesn't shift around when I'm operatiing. It could also be my posture. I can't even take the first step without the rig moving in an undesirable way. I've spent the better part of the last two years just figuring out how to walk. Still don't have it down. Time for another workshop me thinks. I've read that chapter in the operators handbook a number of times, but I think I need to set up a camera and get footage of my technique. Or lack there of.

Hello all. Let me first state that I did take the two-day workshop a couple of years ago, but i'd like some advice on wearing the vest. Everything I read states that the vest should be snug around the hips so the weight is taken down through the operators legs. I've been wearing mine a bit higher around my waist. Not entirely around my waiste, but more so than my hips. I find if I wear the vest around my hips, I don't have enough clearance for my legs. It's not bad on a level surface, but completely useless for stairs. The reason I'm asking is it feels like my back is "compressing". I'd like to add additional weight to the sled, but my back tires very quickly. I'm thinking either the vest is too tight, or the spar is in the wrong position. Should the vest be more snug around the hips or shoulders? Thank you.

I'm not seeing too much input from other newbies so I'll throw something in. Thomas, I've had my Zephyr a little under a year, and have maybe 150 hours in the vest. (I know, I should have two or three times the number of hours :) ) While I did eventually take a workshop, I found things started to gel shortly after I first started operating. After maybe 15-20 hours. My operating was far from perfect, but I was getting a feel for things. All I had initially was the book and the DVD. I watched the entire dvd 3 or 4 times, and I read the first 100 pages of the book countless times. Take advice from the pros here and just start operating. You have all the tools. I realize a lot of people get hung up on things like dynamic balance and suffer from information overload. I did. And then it wasn't any fun. And it's supposed to be fun. Trust me, when you start nailing shots or a particular move, it's extremely gratifying. Craig.

Thanks guys. It was a Zephyr workshop and I did end up taking my vest. Good god what an incredible amount of info to remember!

And if anyone knows how to correct "Toronto" i'd appreciate it! :blink:

Hi All. I'm attending the 2 day workshop in Toronto later this week and was wondering if we're allowed to bring our own vest. I have a Zephyr and would like to bring just the vest if possible. My apologies if this isn't the place for this question. Thanks. Craig.

Hi Iain. I'm in the same boat you are. I bought a Zephyr about a month and a half ago and I can say that flying is not what I expected. It's a lot more difficult than I though. I'm already seeing progress after six weeks, but it's a FAR cry from what you see on tv. The biggest misconception? It looks easy. If you haven't picked it up already, you should get The Steadicam Operators Handbook. One of the ops on here recommended it to me, and it's loaded with info. I'm taking a workshop in Toronto at the end of June, so i'm trying to digest everything I can beforehand. Good luck!

Thanks Mark. Just what I needed to hear. Dave, what was the model # of your Marshall?

I'm getting a 3 second drop with the gimble half way down the post, Otherwise it drops pretty quick. I should also note I attached all of the supplied weights to the bottom of the sled. I checked the arm last night and I was able to dial it down a bit more, but it feels like it's binding in that position.

Thanks for the input guys. One last question before I head off to the newbies area. Are you recommending I don't add additional weight to the stage? I was about to order a weight plate but I'm wondering if I should wait until after my course in June. Thanks.

Hi Dave. The camera sits about the same height as my head, if not a bit higher. It just feels to high. Even with the arm lowered all the down, I'm still hitting my elbow on it. With the sled mounted, is the arm supposed to be horizontal? Because it isn't. It's angled up about 30 degrees. There's no doubt most if not all of my problems are from inexperience. You pros make operating look waaay easier than it is! With a drop time of 3 seconds, the sled seems to roll quite easily. I figured more weight on the stage would help with this, along with more practice :). Sorry Mark for hijacking this thread.

Hi Mark. Any word on the min/max payloads for the Zephyr? I just got my Zephyr last week, and while I won't be taking a course until the end of June, I'm having a rough time cotrolling the sled with an EX1 mounted. I'm thinking the EX1 is too light for the arm. I've even tried adding additional accessories to the camera to bring the arm down a bit, which hasn't helped much. Thanks.

I see on the Steadicam website that the Panasonic AG-HVX200 is near the top of the weight range for the Merlin and the Pilot. Is this really an issue for either unit? Or is the Flyer more suited for this camera? What about using additional lenses? Would that put the weight over the top? Thanks