James Elias

Hi Alan:

We have pilot courses coming up at the end of next month in London and also have a more advanced 3-day course held at BBC Wood Norton in Evesham at the start of May.

To try and answer some of your questions, your only real concern when moving the camera to and from the pilot is how quickly you can use a screw driver! The settings on the Pilot wouldn't change during this procedure, so you should have minimal trim adjustments when you place the camera back onto the sled.

Dynamic balance is best documented in an article on Jerry Holways website at jerryholway.com - also see Jerrys book.

I also recommend the old Steadicam efp training video available from Tiffen-Europe.com

Your only concern with the cables is getting an image from the camera to the monitor on the sled. If the camera has the sony-type composite connector, then be prepared to carefully wrap the provided Sony cable to minimise the effect on balance or have a shorter cable made up.

Regards

- James

Hello Everyone:

Those of you who are keen to try out the Steadicam Merlin and Steadicam Pilot and learn a little about how to use the rigs at the same time, may be interested in our upcoming one-day seminars being held at Calumet store locations around the UK!

For full details please see:

http://www.tiffen-europe.com/Steadicam_Workshops.html

http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/ctl?ac.ui.pn...n.CalumetEvents

Whilst not a fully fledged workshop, the day aims to give you a good idea of what the systems are capable of, the set-up procedure and the operating basics.

Booking is directly through the Calumet site on the link above.

Any questions, please feel free to get in touch at jelias@tiffen.com

regards

James

James Elias

Technical sales support

Tiffen Europe LTD

+44 (0)1869 343835

Hi Chris:

Many people have used the ex-1 on both the Pilot and the Flyer LE.

It really depends on both your needs and budget. Do you intend on upgrading to a larger camera in the future? Do you need the 24v capability?

Most people over here make up their own Sony cables to get SD out of the camera... you could use the one Sony provide, but be prepared to so some taping up so it doesn't flop around too much! Not ideal, but it would do the trick.

I'd give Dan Ikeda or Peter Abraham a call and have a look around the forum. I'm sure a few people on here have been in the same situation.

best regards

- James

Charles,

Yes, we are still making the AB version of the Pilot.

- James

Hi Leo:

If the arm fails to support the load then you will find operating difficult if not impossible depending how high over the limit you are.

If you are over the limit of your system then you could be putting several components at risk, not just on your arm but on the vest and sled too.

Regards

- James

Hi Liam:

I think Robin responded to your email, please see if you can get the sled into us so we can take a look at it... we've not heard of this problem before.

Drop me an email if you need anything... jelias@tiffen.com

Best

- James

Jay;

Keep practicing and bear in mind all I said. Best of luck with it.

You know where to find us if you need help,

Regards,

- James

There should be one there.

Best

- James

I have looked at vids on YouTube and couldn?t find any decent comparison of the Pilot and Merlin (with Arm & Vest) so if anyone knows of any particular resource where i could see the differences? myself, that would be marvellous.

 

Thanks again...

Jay:

I mentioned some of the major differences in my above post... the key thing is to try them both and then you'll really understand it.

If you have any questions, give me a call at Tiffen Europe.

- James

Hi Jay / Erik:

I understand Erik's point but don't forget the Pilot comes with Merlin weights so you can use these up top for the lighter cameras. They fix onto the front and rear of the stage. Unless you want the choice of a handheld rig, there isn't really much of a need to own both a Merlin and a Pilot.

The results don't differ too much with practice, it's more in the features. The Pilot has a heavier max load, telescoping post, LCD monitor. The balancing principles are basically the same, but its true to say that the Pilot is larger so inherently more stable.

Regards

- James

Peter:

Feel free to give Robin and/or myself a call when you need help - thats what we're here for! As Ed said, we make a 12v power cable for the Red... drop me a line if you need one.

And for those who love to watch rigs in DB... here is a new Flyer LE at full extension and in DB.

http://www.blackberrystudios.co.uk/steadic...0Perfection.mov

- James

Peter:

The new Flyer LE has a thicker grip - just over 1.5" and it's very sweet. Check it out when you can.

- James

Sorry, Ron!

Infact, I use a green one also!

- James

Its James Elias's fault, He (probably) set the flyer at broadcast live up that I used and then bought, ive never tried it any other way, ive only operated the merlin with arm n' vest standard.

Don't blame me, Peter! lol. All the ops we had on the stand were goofy hence why the rigs were set up goofy.

Always helps to practice both ways.

Regards

- James

Hi Sam:

You really should go out there and try the rigs and see what is best for you.

Try and get to the BSC show next week and come and see us to try the Steadicam gear.

14th and 15th March at Elstree film and television studios.

Regards

- James

Hi Pouyan:

No, the screen isn't green... that was the on the older rigs when the screens were CRTs.

The Pilot screen is a 5.8" 16:9 LCD and as Peter said it's not HD. It's a nice little monitor... you should try and see one. Maybe visit a dealer?

Regards

- James

Lukas:

To be honest, I think it will just be NTSC with no region coding... so it shouldn't be a problem.

- James

Just to add to Franks message... European orders can be placed through myself at the Tiffen Europe office in the UK:

james.elias@tiffen.com

Thanks

- James

I'd drop Peter an email... he may be using both the Flyer and the Pilot on the workshops. Thats what we intend to do here in the UK anyway.

Best

- James

I have a very small rig (Pilot), so I was led to believe that the SK training video would be more appropriate, but I may have that wrong as well. Any advice appreciated. I would like to order the training video quick before I start to develop bad habits.

Who told you that!? The EFP video is much more detailed and is taught by Jerry and Ted. The SK2 video is like a corporate instruction thing - it serves its purpose for sure, but I'd recommend the EFP DVD any day if you really want to begin to understand the art.

- James

Peter:

Drop me an email to remind me... the EFP DVD is due out soon as Jerry said and we should be getting some in stock.

It's brilliant, well worth the watch.

- James

I personally find steady shot useful if the camera isn't rigidly mounted to the stage or if you're running really fast with heavy feet. It can help stop image vibration.

I'd turn it off for any slow work...

- James

Peter:

Adding extra weight is fine and a lot of operators do it on their bigger rigs with a weight cage. Maybe you could get a weight plate made up? I know of a few people who can help you with that.

If you're picking your flyer up this week - I'll see you in the office!

Best regards

- James

Alan:

Best of luck with the Archer!

Your Pilot video is bloody fantastic, very nicely done.

regards

- James

Fixing your eye to the viewfinder transmits motions to the camera and defeats the purpose of disconnecting operator from the camera in the first place.

As for the LCD screen, it's not a natural place to look. Plus it would restrict movement of the rig. Do a switch and totally loose sight of the monitor.

Seeing where you're going is obviously a bonus... I personally prefer to frame through the Steadicam monitor rather than the viewfinder.

- James