Sam Morgan Moore

So I bought A30 arm and vest. Firstly those things are good - vest actually goes on hard unlike my Pilot. The arm is phyically heavy but seems to support any load I could throw at it. -- Ive got my movi plonked on it and have also tried 'jerry mode' - jerry mode is cool but very heavy! Ultimately a Movi is a poor device for using near the human as one cannot get it close to the body which drives one to an off balance load. The steadicam and post can be much closer. So this (movi and arm) seems an OK compromise but a steadicam sled (and volt) will be better and less fatiguing Ive made a socket block for my rickshaw. I look forward sitting back and enjoying that :) S

A year into shooting I bought a Pilot (2008) being pxssed off with tripods - as a RnG item it is completely impractical. For a planned corporate less so. But even doing that solo it is annoying. For RnG Im pure shoulder now. I have a 'cinematic' FS7 but really like camcorders for true running and gunning. (less gack = more story) It has taken me a decade to be able to afford focus control and to be regularly working with an assistant. Im getting on (srcipted) jobs slow enough and big enough to be working with a Movi and re-igniting my interest in Steadicam. I would say firstly that the Pilot was an technically anexcellent thing as it no doubt the 15 setup - Im not knocking them as items. These small rigs are therefore, IMO, for poeple who want to learn steadicam (very good thing to do!) or are working on low budget multicam shoots where they are responsible for the wides, while someone else does long lens on sticks. A small rig may also produce excellent images with something like the BMC pocket cameras. Most RunGun requires switching from wide to telephoto and telephoto is not easy on a small rig. Cheaper steadicams also have issues with seeing the monitor in the sun (not one Ive cracked) and RnG may certainly need to shoot in the sun.

I dont have a Steadimate.. I might buy one. I have a Pilot with a homebuild Steadimate. Clearly the arm requires significant assistance from my arms. Initial observations are.. -It seems to have as few footsteps as my poor operating. -it seems smooth. -I might get better pans if there was a pan bearing at the 'pin' (where the arm meets the rig) - I can make that The boom range is not great.. same as a regular (sc) rig the size problem is not height (like an easyrig) but width.. doorways could be a problem one has to move the rig out in front of you to get through a door The stress on the body is more than a regular rig as you cannot hug the camera. I think an SC 30 could fly an alexa mini.. the largest package I will offer. -- Ultimately I like the look of a 'larry' rig as per the telephone room shots. With a small package fs7 I think I could make a larry rig.. that is prefered as you can both do huge booms and also hug the post to the body to provide the best load on the body. Ive built a larry rig too heavy for my vest. I can handhold it for 10s.. it feels great but is entirely impractical without an arm vest. I think an SC30 would give me the ability to fly an alexa mini in steadimate mode and my fs7 in larry mode. Unlike any easyrig I can rig a steadicam arm onto my rickshaw.

So Ive got to the point of Steadimate and A30 arm. My worst case seems to be 16lb load with my Fs7, which leaves 14 spare pounds should I have to fly Alexa Mini (300g heavier, plus bigger lens and batts) any comments?

After a few years of 'newb' operating on a Pilot I moved to a Ronin now the Movi Pro. I make good use of that Movi rig as a 'head' on the end of a jib or hanging off the back of a vehicle with my homebuild black arm. But Im not at all happy hand holding it. Simply the Movi Pro is too heavy for my puny arms and knackered back with all but the smallest camera. I think the rig is about 7kg with my FS7, animon and small focus device and lens. I need to get either an Easy Rig or a vest and arm. The vest and arm appeals to me much more especially if the Movi could be matched with a counter mass on post to allow a decent boom range, ability to fly over a table and the like. (as per the shots of the 50's call centre) Easy rigs look like one would hit doorways and even ceilings (Im 6'5") Anyone using electronic gimbal and draditional vest and arm? ANy thoughts? ps I did search - could not find much. Thanks. ps homebuild 'black arm' - going from this rig to handheld rig super fast would be very good.

Another thought.. London van parking culture. I think a 'proper van' bigger than a Transporter seems to have.. I dunno, basically you have to pre book it with security at you location and sort of get taken seriously. Every theatre or whatever has a secret place the lorries and vans get in round the back. Its like in Preproduction you send em the spec and it get booked in which is way better than finding parking on the day for £90 a mile from the location, if parking is not squard in pre you just don't go to the job! - As well as my Boxer we also have a LWB Renault traffic.. it is the full stand up make tea.. but hard to drive park - basically you wont park it unless your parking is booked.

Vans. I think you need to make the basic design choices/compromises. Up to 1.98 - you might get in a multi story (transporter/vito) Above 2m you wont (My Boxer) Above maybe 2.5m you will be able to stand up (TrafficMaster/Sprinter) Actually standing up in a van is kind of amazing for doing things like building Steadicams in the rain. Then you got wheelbase which is a compromise of being able to park in a normal space through to kind of having special parking at any location Then you got seats, 2-3 or a second row that you can/not remove. I think once you nail the basic spec the options will have narrowed? -- Im a massive fan of a metal bulkhead.. cos when you roll the thing you want your little flesh body and your pile of flight cases not to mix. -- My personal experience of vans Fiesta ex bt van - great runabout 2 seats Maestro.. bigger as above now all dead! more serious.. 2005 (bought 2008 sold 2012) Vito, nipped into a multistory, rusted apart (apparently later models are better) 2008 (bought 2012-current) boxer - a proper small lorry wont get in a multi but seems to eat 2X the volume of the Vito. Another thought.. Turning Circle.. my Pug Boxer is like a PeeWee it nearly rotates upon itself. I was driving a crew in a hire van and tried to swing a U and it took me about 10 goes.. so check the turning circle.

Yep I have vibration reduction. Basically a home-build Black Arm built with some steadicam arm inspiration and lots of head scratching. Same towbar/scaff pipe arrangement. It does up down and L-R with shocks, and the whole thing has wire rope isolation to soften fore aft and higher frequency vibrations, very much a work in progress... If my arm did not work and my gimbal did I would consider purchase of a black arm (Tilta also have something on the way, doubtless cheaper) But my arm (and a Black Arm) are completely useless if your gimbal loses horizon upon cornering G. The local rental house has a black arm and their horizons seem poor too.. https://twitter.com/virental/status/807171095455526912 So the hunt is on for a G friendly gimbal. Very few examples of work that I can see that include corners apart from Shotover which I guess is out of budget to me..

I dont know if anyone wants to comment on this.. possibly another weakness of electric gimbals. Ive got mine now stuck on an arm on a car.. all good but the Ronin M seems to be confused by cornering G, aka it loses horizon in the turns, now to me turns are where life gets interesting so that is a bit of a downer. In the vid below esp at about 25 seconds you can see horizon loss that seems to 'match' the lean the cyclist (me) makes. Im pretty sure it is not a motor power/setup issue Im sure the 'leveler' is being fooled by the turning G. Now I might get rid of the Ronin and get something more 'professional' maybe a Movi M5 or something. Apparently a GPS module and or accelerometer might be the answer.. but I want to see some results before pouring more money down the rabbit hole :) Anyway any comments on this and on a gimbal that would not be fooled?? Thanks

I have two 'solutions'.. Single operator.. have a manual lens, set the focus shoot, the ronin does not need switching off to adjust the focus, you just can not do it mid take as grabbing the focus wheel will upset your shot Two operators. DJI remote focus seems to be a good value system for pulling focus on small DSLR lenses, you might even be able to rig it on to your rig handlebars somehow or ideally get someone to pull for you.

For example would it be appropriate to ask for feedback on a 'technology' like this (the spring mount not the specific brand) and where would it be appropriate to post? http://www.rigwheels.com/product/cloud-mount-camera-vibration-isolator-system/ S

A sub heading would only help users to not post 'dirt' onto the other sections of the board. For example there are some inappropriate (I guess) threads in the 'gimbal' section. For example http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=23404 I think Tim's definition is excellent. "discussion of professional motion picture camera stabilization" On a personal level Ive just been out in a car with my Ronin.. I think I can do better with my Steadicam currently - although I was able to operate a few shots and be belted in which is legally useful here on the UK highway. S

OK thanks. Currently I feel that posting about them at all is innapropriate? Best Sam MM

This is a typical question that could be answered by board members here, and unlikely to be correctly answered on any other board. So returning to the thread title "A place to talk about brushless gimbals" .. I would still ask for a section on this board :) S

also it would appear that without a huge rewiring job that it will stop infinite pan as the cable will wind up?