Nicholas Davidoff

New price! - $7500

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FYI - The rental rates on these transmitters is pretty good these days. And I must say, having used this side by side with a Camwave, this system pretty much blows it out of the water. The lower end HD transmitters aren't even in the same league.

More pics just added.

For sale is an HP Video high definition transmitter and receiver system. Me and my camera crew have had the pleasure of field testing this unit on our TV show. And I must say it's a great piece of equipment and has been working beautifully, just as described by the manufacturer. It's a dozen times stronger than the Camwave and most of the other lower end hd transmitters out there. It's also much smaller than a Camwave or a Boxx, about the size of a Canatrans. This unit was purchased new in June and is still well within the 1 year warranty period. (Website says 6 months, warranty has been officially extended). The whole package is pretty much in new condition and has been lightly used and very well cared for. I am in no way dis-satisfied with this system. I am selling because we got two transmitters for rental on our show and we've decided to scale down to one for budget reasons. With this system you have the option to mount the receiver to the ultra high gain 5 bank antenna array. Or you can remove the receiver and attach 4 N-type antennas for a more portable unit which can be attached to a handheld monitor for example. Also included are two magnetic car mount antennas with extension cables which are great for mobile car to car shooting. The transmitter uses the same wiring and 6 pin Hiroshi connector as the Modulus so all Modulus power cables are compatible. Receiver is powered by a standard 12v 4 pin XLR plug. This is a solid and dependable system which I've been very happy with. Hamlet at HP video in L.A. offers great knowledge and tech support. This system cost $9000 new and I've also added about $250 in cables and custom high gain antennas. I am asking $8000 for the whole system. Everything is in like new condition, except for the Pelican case which has some light wear from riding on the carts. Save over $1000 on a practically new HP video high-def transmission system! I can ship international and accept check, cash, paypal or wire transfer. VIEW PICS BELOW, AND FOR MORE HIGH REZ PICS SEE HERE: http://photobucket.com/HPvideo_Pics You can read alot about this unit and the great reviews here on this thread: http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=14689&hl=hp-video&st=0 And learn more at the HP Video website, direct product link here: http://hpvideo.tv/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=63&category_id=46&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2 Included in sale are the following. 1- HP Video HD-SDI transmitter 1- HP Video HD-SDI receiver 1 - Five bank ultra high gain antenna array 2 - additional 5db high gain transmitter antennas 4 - N type portable receiver antennas 2 - high gain 7db magnet mount antennas with extension cables for transmitter 1 - Anton Bauer P tap power cable for transmitter 1 - 4 pin XLR power cable for transmitter 1 - 12v AC power supply for the receiver 1 - Fitted Pelican 1620 rolling case Call or email Nick NicholasDavidoff@hotmail.com (310) 567-9668

Sold

New price - $2800

Sale is getting a bit flaky. Open to other offers.

Sale pending.

bump

Camwave CW5 HD transmitter and receiver for sale. This unit is just over a year old and has seen moderate to light use during this time. Like all my gear it has been properly maintained and always treated with great care. Never been dropped or abused and only has light marks and signs of normal wear. Unit has been working great and recently upgraded to latest firmware by IDX. Also included (but not pictured) is original box and owners manual and paperwork. Price is $3000 plus shipping. Can accept most payments including Paypal, check or wire transfer. Call or email - Nick Davidoff (310) 567-9668 NicholasDavidoff@hotmail.com

The whole "band together" thing has been discussed over and over for the past few years and has NEVER come to fruition. Maybe this somehow worked back in the glory days, but it's a dead concept today. Too many operators, too many rigs, too little work. Forget about it. With all due respect, you guys are all veterans who have been doing this a long time. Maybe you're right, maybe you're not. No way to know for sure. All I know is that things are very different now. The industry and the world are changing. What used to work needs to be rethought. There is already a union minimum rate in place for our position, wether you recognize it or not.

I've been following this thread and I'm compelled to throw in my two cents. I have to agree with Michael about the solution for the rate decline. As an operator working in the TV side of the industry for a little while now, I've been witness to different sides of these negotiations. I too have fought valiantly for a better rate and am finding it more and more futile. I too think the time has come for a union minimum steadicam rate, at least in the TV industry for starters, similar to a tech rate bump for a first AC. And just like a DP, this leaves every operator free to negotiate a higher rate based on their clout, experience and demand. You can still command your rate and if people want you, they'll pay for you. For years people have been negotiating their own rates, way above scale and a new union minimum rate will not affect this process. What happened to Michael is a perfect example that we are fighting a losing battle and the tactics need to be changed. New rate standards are being put in place by the studios, like it or not. If this regression continues, soon the studios will only be obliged to pay us OPERATOR SCALE and if you don't like it, f--k off, there's a hundred other guys lined up for the gig. "Sticking together" obviously doesn't work and never has and that's plain as day. Our current minimum is already established and that's operator scale. A union TV minimum around 15-20% above operator scale is, in my humble opinion, fair and entirely appropriate for the work we do. This would firmly establish the fact that we as steadicam operators provide a specialized skillset, and our workload is high above the demands of a regular camera operator. I don't understand how this minimum would possibly prevent any high level operators from negotiating their personal rates as they have been for years. If we don't start at least a closed discussion on this matter soon, in a couple years we might all be working for operator scale.

I agree with Charles, it's great to have both a heavy and lightweight rig. I have a nifty lightweight sled myself that I assembled from leftovers of my old sleds. However I've had this small sled for over a year and have yet to use it. But it's a nice weapon to have in the arsenal. There will certainly be occasions were I might fly it, not only for small cameras but maybe as a viewfinder or rehearsal camera on big mondo 3D shoots. I've also customized my big rig in a way that it can be "built down". The batteries, balance and monitor can be reconfigured into a lightweight version. Although I don't own a small arm, I've discovered that I have a certain minimum weight that I like to work with. Anything below that and I find the rig too delicate, flimsy and unstable. Sure I can make the commitment to get used to this kind of delicate operating, but why bother when I can simply add my 10 or 20 pound weight plate and get myself in the operating weight I'm comfortable with.The heavier rig has better balance and stability with more inertia. I personally don't have a great interest in mastering the delicate finesse techniques of a superlight sled. There are probably some benefits to training with a light and delicate rig and that finesse work would translate to your heavier operating. So having two rigs could be a good idea. But having only a single lightweight rig as your exclusive piece of gear and expecting to maintain a worthwhile career as an operator? I don't see how this could work. Big rigs are certainly here to stay for many more years, I have no doubts about this whatsoever. I'd be curious to hear from an operator who makes any decent income exclusively with a small rig.

You're an interesting and unique case Sarah. I wish you luck with your ventures. My advice was more geared towards the aspiring operator interested in steadicam as a career. Hope it's helpful.

I'm certainly not an expert on all things steadicam. And perhaps there are some thriving, niche markets out there for small GoPros or DSLR's, etc. But I've been working primarily on feature films (large and small, 3D and 2D), music videos and television. And I have not flown anything lighter than a fully loaded Red Epic. A fully loaded Alexa (quickly becoming the industry standard) is the same weight as a light 35mm film camera. With a codex it's even heavier. The new F65 is a heavy, bulky camera. 3D is a heavy, honking monster. I flew a DSLR on my rig but once and that was on a tiny spec spot I was helping out a friend with. Sure there are some occasional independent projects and music vids being shot on DSLR's or GoPros or whatever, but from my personal perspective, nothing in "prime time" is using mini cameras, nor will they be anytime soon.

I think the key perspective here Sarah is not what rig should you buy for 8K, but what your real goals are, both long and short term. Do you plan to be a professional, working camera operator in the next few years, or are you content with this as a hobby, filming student short films or your freind's weddings. If it's the latter, then the little pilot or scout or whatever will suit you just fine. But certainly don't expect to get any high or even medium pay jobs with this piece of equipment. Having been a working operator for the past few years, I can guarantee you, nobody will take you seriously with this little piece of gear. If it's just a stepping stone to a larger rig, something to hone your skills, then fine, I guess it's a start. But to enter a professional level you will need to invest in your business a rock bottom minimum of 50-60K, and that's for a beat uo, ghetto, minimal full size rig with essential accessories. So prepare yourself for this if you intend to do this professionally someday. You cannot expect to book any decent paying jobs with a flyer/pilot/scout/jr, etc. Pro cameras are NOT getting smaller and not getting lighter. I've heard many stories from DP's who hired a steadicam operator who showed up to work with a mini rig. Needless to say, their number was deleted from that DP's phone. Don't know your market, but nowadays, there are so many people with "rigs" and the rates are so competitive, it's harder than ever to break through and make a career out of it. Keep all this in mind and plan ahead with your budget. You will very quickly outgrow that little rig and will reach a crossroad wether to move up to a bigger rig, or give up on steadi and dump that flyer that's not bringing in any return. Just some advice from a working operator. Oh and by the way, building your own wireless follow focus: Bad, bad, bad, bad idea. Even if you do succeed at creating something that actually functions in the real world (i.e. long range, through walls, extreme weather, etc), NOBODY will take a homebuilt follow focus seriously. This is a joke, I can assure you. Redrock is currently designing something that'll cost a couple grand, but anything less than a Bartech is money in the trash. I wish the good people of this forum were a little more honest and realistic when giving advice. It would save many aspiring operators alot of money and heartbreak.

http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=16084&st=0&p=76548&hl=+colin%20+colberg&fromsearch=1entry76548

I'd like to give a plug for my pal Colin Colberg, a machinist and designer at Camera Accessory Solutions. He creates a nice variety of products including base plates, specialty brackets, widgets, and Alexa and Red accessories. He makes a fantastic set of modular handheld grips called "Spidergrips" which are pretty awesome. Many people have seen these at rental houses but don't know where they come from. I own a couple sets which I use all the time. Colin also does some great custom machining from his shop in Sun Valley, CA. Thanks again Colin for your great work. Colin Colberg www.CameraAccessorySolutions.com

Thanks Will, good info. It's as I thought.

Dumb question here. Is a distro amp necessary if you have SDI loop throughs? I'll wire a signal to my HD monitor, then output from the monitor to a Camwave transmitter. I can also loop out of the Camwave to another monitor or whatever. So is this distro amp only necessary if you don't have loop throughs? Or does it somehow "amplify" your main video signal. Will you get a stronger picture through the transmitter or something?

Looking for used Cat Griller plate. Pic attached. ~ Nick (310) 567-9668 NicholasDavidoff@hotmail.com

Agreed with all the other operators on this forum. By accepting the job under their terms and providing your own insurance you will be setting an awful precedent for all other future operators who work with this school. If you research the business section, you will find much discussion on this topic. We all fight very hard for our equipment to be properly insured by productions who are constantly trying new tactics to release themselves of liability. Much harm comes to our whole industry every time an operator accepts a job under these conditions. Even on a student project where all their other rental gear is properly insured. And this affects all of us from the bottom up. Five years from now, this student producer will be managing TV shows or features and will uphold the precedents from her early career. Even on my earliest of jobs I never worked without an insurance cert and was never denied one. My advice to you is to respectfully decline this job if they do not provide a proper insurance cert. Every other operator in your circle should do the same thing. Most likely these producers and this school will respect you as a professional and do the right thing. If you throw in the towel and take the gig, you screw every operator who comes after you. Brian adds a good point. Think of yourself if not all the rest of us. Let's say an AC moving your rig knocks it off the stand, or you take a tumble over some steps they had you climb. You're out a few grand or more in repairs and it's all on you. Even if you have your own insurance there will be a deductible and a possible raise in premium for each incident. Are you willing to take that risk for a lousy student project? Does your DP/friend understand the risk they're asking you to take?

Iggy, Industry standard huh... I guess I'm just a "Yinzer" from Pittsburgh and don't know these things. The K-4's were all I ever used... I wanted light. I bought them for a film where we were using infrared film and the lightweight didn't have the pressure plate changed for it. I had to use a platinum with the auto base and the panavision Fitzac for ramping speeds. The majority of the shot was at 6 frames a second, the result was very long takes covering a lot of area... it became very heavy. The gyros helped the side to side movement significantly. I haven't used the k-6's so I really can't speak to there effectiveness. I've had the k-4's on many highspeed car rigs, quads, griptricks, and running shots... there were all I needed to help out. Hey Buzz, By "industry standard", I guess I meant most operators I've heard of fly the K6's maybe since that's what GPI goes with. I'm sure plenty of people prefer the K4's. Smaller, lighter, quieter? So this raises the question: What do operators out there prefer, 2 K4's. 3 K4's, 2 K6's, or 2 K8's??? Or some crazy combination thereof?

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