Frank Simpson

The minute I learned of this book from Jerry's post above I immediately clicked over to Amazon and bought it, not even looking at the price or anything, simply knowing that I had to have it! It is so much more than worth the price! I received it just a few days ago, and am loving every page. Even reading over material that I "already know" I am learning more and refining my knowledge. Living in Montana there are no workshops anywhere nearby, so until I am able to get away and attend one, this book is a God-send! Jerry, thank you and Laurie for writing this book. It should be available as a part of every Steadicam package sold.

Another thing to mention regarding the Pilot vest. It really is a marvel of engineering, able to adjust its ability to fit people of all sizes. But some people, myself included, prefer to get in and out with buckles rather than velcro. A rather lengthy discussion on the topic can be found here. I find it to be just as secure as before, and I really like the fact that my vest doesn't pick up "fuzzies" whenever I brush up against curtains, etc. because of exposed velcro. If I were needing to refit the vest for numerous people it would not be as great an idea, but since it's fitted for me it works great! Really I could not be more pleased with my Pilot.

Even if you get an old JR for cheap on ebay to use with a smaller, lighter video camera it would be a start. Granted, the hardware is "primitive" compared to bigger rigs, but if you want to experience the physics you've been reading about it's a great way to begin. The concepts translate up to bigger rigs and shorten (but not eliminate) the learning curve. If you can't afford a larger rig you can at least get some hands-on exerience to help understand the importance of a light touch on the gimbal, holding horizons and maintaining headroom and more. Of course then you'll be bitten by the bug and you'll have to get a Pilot...

I give another vote for the Steadicam Pilot. For the reaons mentioned above, but also because it is NOT an easy upgrade path from the Merlin to the Pilot. This is exactly what I had to do. I took a hit of several hundred dollars in selling the Merlin rig which was only about 4 months old. Not to mention the time lost between selling the old rig to have enough money to buy the new rig, which of course is the identical arm & vest. I had contacted Steadicam about purchasing a Pilot sled and post, but no dice. You can buy a Merlin and Merlin post to use with a Pilot, so there's a "downgrade" path, but no upgrade. But now finally having my Pilot I could not be happier with it!

Erik- Thanks for the warm welcome! I did contact Tiffen and, as Nick mentioned, they said that there are not currently plans to sell just the Pilot Sled. But does it not seem like an obvious uppgrade path? It seems that way to me, but if I'm way off-base somehow I'd like to understand.

I have a Merlin Arm & Vest which I absolutely love, but it seems that there is no way to simply upgrade to the Pilot sled. I'd hate to have to try to sell the whole thing (taking a hit on the price, I'm sure) just to turn around and buy the same arm & vest in order to get the pilot sled. Am I the only one who finds it strange that there's no way to upgrade directly?