Brad Hruboska

how are you guys dealing with two dionics in parallelon the PRO 2? so far my eforts have not beeen successful without the diode circuit available in the AB twin pack adapter ( which I use for Red on the secondary HS power circuit to allow hot swapping). :blink:

Its funny I remember discussing the idea of exo skeletal legs with Daniel Sauve years ago when he was prototyping the DSD ( now Klassen) harness. At that time we also discussed the pros and cons and agreed that there was a setriment in getting in and out of the harness and withought the benefit of adsdtional power to assist the operator, it was more weight. The early prototypes of the back mounted harnes had leg / thigh straps and they were the first thing to go based on the early manouvering tests. I think those early prototypes still hang in the rack at Walter Klassens FX shop.

Charles happy Birthday from the great white north. Hope to catch you and some of the lads at NAB this year..... Brad . :lol:

Charles , I was running my own tests here in T.O. with the new camwave and also had no luck with the 24 psf setting on the sony camera. I did check with the dealer at Precision Camera and his info is they are 6 weeks away form the software upgrade that will allow the unit to work . I was impressed with the test at 60i, and 50i, really strong, no breakup unitl i put a steel loading door between me and the receiver. I was also looking at the Boxx site, and would love to run a side by side comparison when the two units are available for a real test.

Sandy, I tell you Crane step offs are a worrisome thing. I have had a few step 'ons' that left my stomach behind, especially if the rise up gets a shimmy in it and you wind up surfing to maintain balance on the platform. I do have a background in Cranes and Fortunately was never involved directly with an incident, but have heard my share and seen the aftermath. The Horzontal bar on most break down type cranes is comprised of either square or round bar stock, and the means of fastening vary greatly. Some are held by bolts that have to be inserted and threaded in to secure them, some use aluminum plunger pins which actually have a very good weight rating in the larger sizes. There are also turnbuckle assemblies for adjusting the length of the bar precisely to achieve level. The threads in the turnbuckle can also wear. There are usually more incidents with Crane tip overs, than parts failure. Often cribbing is insufficient, and the wood splinters. I check all the fittings and track before I ride. It would be nice to see a representative of the Movietech company making an action statement re; this incident and come forward with an upgrade to alleviate the possibility of a repeat incident. Brado ;)

I use the wrong way bend for tight corridors all the time... I find with the Pro arm and the XCS ergo handle I can swithch on the fly with the back mounted vest and keep the sled centered better in a tight corridor. I think Garret made an article about that techniquewhen he shot 'Philadelphia' with Tom Hanks, some time ago in the infamous steadicam newsletter. I twist the gimbal handle all around the wrong way and the arm follows and assumes the wrong way bend, making the profile much smaller...not comfortable but managable for a few minutes..... Brado. B)

I think the model 1 from 1976-77 sold for 15,000 U.S. I think the model 2 was 17,500, then it jumped to like 36,000 with the 3, and 40,000 for the 3A. :ph34r: I have a model 2 sled in the garage....no batteries, but the gimbal is good. make an offer. Brad Hruboska. I sold the arm years ago after it was upgraded to 3A stats with new trunions and the full on double hinge. The original arm was also a fixed weight, non adjustable so the camera range was kinda limited.

but was it a 17 hour day in the harness.....my kneese are still protesting..... :(

For the unbelievers. Yup heres my busted titanium socket block from a few years ago. Probably got its start at a crack on a vehicle mount. I notice the steel ones dont have that curve shaped lightening cut out anymore. I sometimes show this block to producers when they are pitching a heavy camera.... Brad.

I have to vote short as possible as well. I am also a fan of keeping the gimbal close as possible to the camera body. This seems to play into keeping headroom control where you want it and also maintains the feel of the rig so that you can pan and tilt the beast with some predictability towards where the frame is going to land. Consistency is key to great operating. And yeah short rigs don't hit knees as often! :ph34r:

The preston quick change gear system is a hit. The AC's think its a hellish good idea. Some feedback on getting a M-1 changed to digital would be cool. Its a great torque motor, if the preston MDR can handle it, I'm very interested. ;)

I dunno guys, I took the collar from an old model 3 monitor bracket and had two 1/2 "carbon steel solid arms machined to a block that lets me slide it in and out like the xcs, and it is super solid. Zero vibration. This was a custom job though by a local toronto machinist.

Ah haaaa. thats why Garrett was sniffing around for some old model 2 gimbals a few years ago for the prototype development.......

Now funny enough in a local rental house here in T.O., we got to talkig about the supposed ban on Lithium Ion batteries in checked luggage and the discussion seemed to suggest that the ban is aimed at consumer products, not pro gear as we have safer levels of manufacture. this may be a break or an omission oin part of the Airline safety authorities, but is it accepted practice. Can anyone fill in any details on your expereinces or is everyone just saying shhhh... and not raising a rucus on this issue? Brad. :huh:

Who is attending NAB this year, are we having a Steadi get together of our own or are we depending on the Tiffen nights to chat? They only hold those open house niughts at the Flamingo for a few hours...... Brad Hruboska Doing NAB cuz my girlfriend loves Vegas......

Well, it really stiffens up the rig and the shot considerably. I use them only on special occasions, like on car mounts, or on really windy days where you are trying to do a controlled tracking shot and the wind is killing you. Some Clients know what they do and know that they can work at a longer lens length with the steadi than without. The trade off is , you have to commit more to the shot, and you can't float little framing corrections as easily. The rig starts being more like a mini remote head in my experience and you have to plan more. They are noisy, heavy, and draw a considerable amount of additional power. I usually try the antlers first if i am getting screwed by the wind, as they are a much lighter and faster option. But if you want to do a rush-in shot on a longish lens, they really owrk great. Long lens off of a car or golf cart, they are fantastic , to hold an actors closeup at speed. But: pan speeds are limited, or the gyros 'cage' and kick a fair bit. B)

Anyone have a contact number for Jimmy Muro, former steadicam artist, now D.P.? Many thanks Brad Hruboska.

Well Dan if its any consolation, i 've had the situation where the rate is so low , the job happens, and a new underskilled guy comes out, for cheap, to build his reel and everyone slams the poor bastard. The feeling I get lately is that they will shoot anyting and let the editor save them, so long as the price fits. We had this chat when we had dinner at the BBQ place last month, thanks for a great night by the way! Give your evelovin' my best. What shocks me now is how producers are playing ops off against one another, and we are falling for it. This is what happened with gear rental too guys, ask panavision the last time they got a three day week on anything! I Guess in some markets there is a big dog, a couple of underdogs who hold the pole positions, and everyone else, regardless of 15 minutes or 15 years of experience. I encourage you to hold out for fair rates, play the experience card as hard as you can, and follow up fast with the producer as to weather they found their magic free steadiman or not, also try to solicit the DP's aid in the bargaining, use every means of guile and while at your disposal. Brad. ;)

All of the canatrans units have been sold. Thank you very much for your interest all of you. Brad Hruboska

Thanks Alec. The response to these transmitters for sale was overwhelmingly quick. I have holds on all of them pending funding. If that situation changes , i will let the guys here know. Brad Hruboska

Well I seem to be overstocked on transmitters for my personal use. I have currently 5 units , 3 all under a year old that were purchased to go onto shows for long term rental. Those deals are now done and I am looking at buying other gear such as a cinmatography electronics cine tape, so I am looking for homes for three (3) of my Canatrans 2 transmitters. These units all have the software upgrade form last summer with the new menu structure, expanded channel range, and have the red and Yellow antennas for the lower UHF frequency bands 20- 35, and 35- 50. The units will be provided with one cable of your choice, normally a 4 pin XLR. Extra cables as available are available for 75.00 U.S. each. Old arri, new arri, panavision, AB available currently. New, these units list at 3995.00 US each. I am selling them at 2995.00. US. ( one free cable ). Firm. These units do not have 30 days work cumulative on any of them. I think if you read the forum, and the testimonials, you will find these are a fantstic unit, and will bring raves on set. These units are curently set up as NTSC. On request of the buyer I will have them changed to PAL if required. I can also have your company name loaded onto the encryption software which acts as a theft deterrent as only Lentequip has the decryption to unlock the digital serial number and name. Buyer pays all shipping and duty. Brad Hruboska steadi@sympatico.ca (416) 822-8496 C (416) 251-3233 H

Neal, don't say that , I have had one dionic 90 die on me this winter, and they are all the same vintage ! RE: the power issue, yeah pro Y cable is a great idea for the dionic 90's BUT the dionics must be perfectly matched as a pair in order to work or the weaker one will detect the current form the stronger one and your battery will shut down. I guess you have to buy batteries and make a red , blue, yellow, orange set an make sure they charge togther. I am much more a fan of the 2000 diagnostic charger than the Titan, as It seems to have promoted long battery life for my dionics. It was explained to me by my Toronto AB rep that the chemistry of the dionics is self destructive, more so in the discharged state. So my battts live in my shop on the charger all the time. If they are basically charged when i pull them form the case they go on the totan for a top up. If thye have any significant discharge form the days job, they go on the 200 for a slower more monitored charge up, and i check the analyis on the readout. I'm still getting good solid performance from some packs that are 3 years old now. The one that died outright strarted really falling off in performcnac in the fall , so you will know when its on its way to battery heaven. I agree and have insisted on production buying cells for the rig as part of the genesis curse, its like a can of film per cell, its now a consumable item, cuz the camera is so hard on batteries. OR get panavision to provide cells appropriate to the job, and a batery belt is not appropriate to fine control steadicam work. I believe Dave Crone used the fibre optic option for sending signal to the deck on Scary movie 4, and that saved a lot of weight as well.... Cheers, see some of you at NAB, my first time, very excited....! Brad H. B)

Nice Tip, thanks guys will check out the free pass scenario. I'm booked at the Mirage for16th throuygh the 19th then off to a wedding in Oregon, keep us all abreast of the steadi get togethers. Brad Hruboska Toronto, Canada. B)

Now hee is a question for youo tech types. I bought the parallel distribution block from george paddock last year for a genesis gig. He mentioned that you had to use matched D90 batteries or the strong one will cause the weaker one ( even slightly weaker) to shut down. Indeed in practice this is the case. Has anyone come up with a system other than buying new cells and always working them in matched pairs, so I can have that extra capacity for 12v ( 14.4) camera systems. For HD work I actually power the camera off of the accessory power port and let the default camera power run the preston, and sometimes the downconvertor, which spreads the load a little bit more, without the batteries shutting themselves off. Brad Hruoska. :angry: You can also use larger capacity anton bauers like hyron 120's on the back of the pro sled. If the rental company is providing them, don't burn your own supply. We are providing batteries like consumable film stock anymore. On a Genises job I made the producer buy batteries to use as I suspected they would have a short life with the large draws.