Johnathan Holmes

Thanks everyone for your interest. The package has sold.

Yup.

Thank you for the correction, I wasn't sure which version vest this was. Thank you all for the recent interest in this package, everyone. I have an offer on the table at the moment from a prospective buyer. Will keep you all posted.

Hi Amaru, I have just posted an ad for a Tiffen Ultra Cine rig that I am selling, that I have flown an Alexa XT camera with, and I believe it meets your price point. It does not come with a remote follow focus and HD transmitter system, however I feel as though most camera assistants and camera packages these days have these items already. http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=24857 Best, Johnathan

Hello SteadicamForum! I am a Toronto-based camera assistant selling a Tiffen Ultra steadicam package that was purchased second hand three years ago and cleaned and fixed up. This has been used as a practice rig for the last few years with a custom-designed weight cage I built for DSLR's. The rig is the perfect starter kit for anyone looking to get started and practice and has everything you need to start flying. If you spot any inaccuracies in models or names of any pieces of the package, please feel free to correct me. FOR SALE: Tiffen Ultra Cine Sled - HD-SDI Upgrade to existing sled, single HD-SDI in/out - Tilting top stage (non-motorized) - Existing SD frameline generator de-activated - Smooth gimbal, post sections extend and retract smoothly - Original Tiffen Ultra hard case for shipping/storage Monitor - Tiffen Ultra-Bright 2 HD-SDI Monitor & Yoke - Power (8-pin Lemo) & BNC Cables - Hard case for shipping Batteries - 6x Lentequip modified 12/24V Tiffen batteries - Most batteries need to be re-celled - Lentequip charger & cables - Battery Bag Arm - Tiffen Master series arm* - Several posts, J-bracket - 4x Rain covers for arm - Soft carrying bag for arm Vest - Immaculate Tiffen Master series front-mounted vest* - No sweat stains, very carefully worn and cleaned - Soft carrying bag for vest Accessories - Docking bracket - Rain covers for monitor, sled, arm - Two camera mounting plates - Assorted power cables including 2x Alexa Power Cables (KC-20) - Assorted BNC cables - 2x 8-Pin Lemo monitor power cables - Modulus 3000, antenna, Hirose cables (yes, I know...) - Backup buckles, connectors, assorted tools * Have had trouble identifying if this arm/vest is Master series or Ultra series. Would appreciate any advice on this. Both work excellently. Package is located in Toronto, Canada. Buyer pays shipping/duty, can ship via air cargo or ground within North America. Asking Price: $14,000 USD (negotiable)

Agreed. Too bad I just paid full price for one at $12,500 not more than a month ago otherwise I would be all over this great deal. Good luck!

Camera Positioning Systems, a Canadian machine shop specializing in Libra head and camera accessory manufacturing, has built a fantastic mounting plate for Arri Alexa cameras. This plate is CNC machined from aluminum and anodized black. The underside is hollowed out to save weight, while still maintaining structural integrity. The plate is designed to mount directly into a Pro sled (or similar). It features a slight cutout in the bevel (pictured) on one side which acts as a safety on Pro rigs preventing the plate and camera from sliding off if loosened too much. This plate mounts directly into the Alexa camera body (no other plates required). It features a small captive brass button that slides into the cleat at the back of the camera to increase rigidity and reduce flexing of the camera fore and aft. Both the brass button and the mounting block at the front can be adjusted left to right in unison and locked in position to fine tune side-to-side positioning of the camera on the sled. This is crucial to dynamic balance and provides fast repeatable results for every build. Convenient captive screws mount into the camera body and are tightened with the handy 5/32" T Handle used for everything else on the Pro sled. These are 3D CAD designed and built in Canada. Camera Positioning Systems have been designing and manufacturing custom remote heads, accessories, plates, and brackets for many years now. Similar plates go for at least $650. If interested, please check out the online store for Camera Positioning Systems at http://www.cameragak.com where you can place an order. There are many other great and handy brackets and plates for sale there too. http://www.cameragak.com/products/61-ARRI-Alexa-Steadicam-Baseplate/

Looking for a Magliner Jr. with 8" or 10" Pneumatic wheels, top and bottom carpeted shelf and any other bonus goodies to make a good AC/Steadicam cart. If anybody is parting with their Jr, send me an email! info@johnathanholmes.com I'm in the Toronto area. If nobody in the area has one for sale, any ideas where to buy one new in the Toronto area?

I'll admit I fly goofy foot. I recently took a workshop and started off with the rig on my left (traditional) and just couldn't quite get it right. Then Paul Taylor said to switch to the other side and it all just made sense. With the rig on my left, I would fumble my hands a bit before forcing myself to operate the gimbal with my left hand, which just feels unnatural. Thinking about it more and more, I have a few theories why: What I feel is most influential is the fact that I come from a focus pulling background where I pull focus with my right hand, mostly. This is the hand that I've trained to do "precise" work, and on the few occasions I have to pull with my left hand it just feels unnatural. So naturally I would be inclined to operate the gimbal (which feels vaguely familiar to a follow focus) with my right hand. I'm curious as to how many of you more experienced operators out there who fly goofy foot came from a focus pulling background, and which hand you dominantly used to pull. As well, and more obviously, I'm used to operating with the camera on my right side, right eye up to the eyepiece. So any other way feels unnatural for me. Finally, and this may be a stretch, but when I operate with the wheels, I often find that for the majority of the shots I come across, the tilting is what often requires precise control with your right hand for maintaining headroom and reframes. Of course pans are common, but somehow due to the shape of the frame, I feel as though my left hand doesn't have to be as critical as my right hand in trimming the headroom. Thoughts anyone?

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I see what you are saying about having to upgrade very quickly. My biggest concern is how deep I should jump in at first. This is definitely something I want to do for the rest of my life, and definitely something I can do, I just need a lot of practice! It is indeed deceiving to see advertisements for the Flyer with a 235 on it and realizing that it is very stripped down. I wonder if I can get the best of both worlds by buying a used rig like an older Clipper for around the price of a new Flyer and using that to practice for a while until I start getting more and more jobs, and then slowly upgrade the arm, vest, sled, etc. What I like about that is that by getting any other rig than the Flyer, all the components seem upgradable (same socket block, etc), and it allows me to upgrade over time as I get more money from working, rather than needing a whole lot of money up front to get a whole new rig when upgrading from the Flyer. My only concern with that is how awkward it was for you guys when you upgraded. I wonder how long it takes to get used to the rigs, the arms, etc and whether that was at all a problem for you guys when you upgraded. It seemed to me during the workshop that the rigs felt pretty similar, just smaller differences in weight and monitor position (though we were using all G-50 and G-70 arms). And thank you for confirming my suspicions about the HD SDI monitor. I believe most of the smaller HD cameras can only put out either SD or HD signals - some cannot downconvert AND simultaneously put out HD SDI (such as the new EX1, if I remember), which means that one would have to go the SD route anyways in order to be able to transmit.

Just finished a workshop with Paul Taylor and would love to buy a "training" rig like a Flyer LE for smaller jobs, but mostly for practice on my own. I suppose there is a revised Flyer LE out recently with a newer gimbal and extendable post. They also come with an HD SDI monitor or the regular SD monitor. $14,795 for the FlyerLE/HD (With AB, Vest and Arm) as opposed to $8,555 without the "HD". Logically I thought the only small cameras you can fly on a Flyer are things like the HVX, EX1, and other compact HD cameras (RED?), and logically I thought that this would mean getting a rig with an HD SDI monitor would be the right thing to do. As I think about it more I realize there's no point because you would need a downconverter anyways to send the signal out over a transmitter (although I hear there is an HD transmitter out now, but way out of my price range I'm sure since I'm getting the Flyer and not an Ultra2!) So it seems logical to me now to go with the SD Flyer knowing that I will need a downconverter anyways. Am I wrong here to think that? Should I pony up the extra cash for an HD rig? Realistically I don't expect to own the Flyer for more than a couple years. I would love to make a jump for the Archer right away, but I feel like I'm not ready for a "big rig" yet, even though I absolutely love the Ultra vest and the G-50 arm. They had four different big rigs at the workshop and my favorite Vest and arm was the Ultra/G-50, and my favorite sled was probably the Clipper 312. I wasn't a fan of the Archer sled because of the monitor and batteries being so fixed. To me it didn't seem worth the extra $10-$15K versus a Flyer as a first rig. Am I also right in that the Flyer LE takes a different socket block connection than all the other rigs? I.E. an Ultra Vest/G-50 will not work with a Flyer? Am I making the right move to invest in a Flyer for training and small student/indie gigs? I've been asked if I can work on quite a few Red shoots lately and I wonder if it will fly well on the Flyer. I've read countless posts here and elsewhere that give me mixed feelings about it all. And finally what is the danger in overweighing the Flyer? I've heard that the rig can handle the extra weight (of, say, a 435 or a fully loaded SR3), but the problem is in balancing the rig. Now that the post is extendable, I wonder if you can simply solve that problem by adding weight to the lower stage (I think I should opt for Anton Bauer so I can use the heavier Hytron batteries perhaps). My main concern is busting the rig, or the arm not being able to handle a few more pounds than the rig is rated for. Thoughts? My thoughts are scattered. I'm overwhelmed with information and the eagerness to get started! Help! Johnathan Holmes Camera Assistant turned Novice Steadicam Operator Toronto, ON