Dean Smollar

I thought they stopped making the Stanton. You got a line on one? BTW, this is a good deal. People should jump on this one.

Janice, thanks for the advice. I'll start working on that this weekend. Andrew, I deleted my copy to prevent the temptation of posting it. At least, I think I did...

What do guys like Rob and John Perry use when they work live? Boxx? LINK?

Twojay is absolutely right about weight loss, I can attest to it in a more extreme way. In the past 18 months I have gone from 285 lbs. to 225 lbs. I have also increased my muscle mass, and am sitting at a BMI of just over 20% (about 5% higher than healthy range, so I still have some work to do). The difference in the way I interact with the rig has drastically changed; almost the opposite of Janice, I find myself more comfortable in my natural standing and walking positions, though I still try to move with less bounce than a natural walk. My vest barely fits right now, in that it almost doesn't latch tight enough around the waist anymore, and as a result the angle of my socket block changed dramatically ( probably reason why I feel more comfortable in my rig). The only shots that tire me out are shots with long lock-offs in them; standing still bothers my back muscles and hips a lot more than moving does. Eric, I'm also curious about the toe test. I used the search bar and couldn't find anything.

I just did one of their shoots 3 weeks ago. It was an interesting situation, and I was given a great deal of freedom. 3 handheld cameras, one tripod on dolly, one jib with remote head, and myself. Rik and the crew were really cool, but I'm not sure they were the same crew that Brian worked with. I was told to make up my own shots, and that he didn't care if I was in other people's shots or if my own shots were completely in focus. It was a little difficult to navigate, especially when I was asked to attempt shots that had me crossing over stinger cables, stepping over the dolly track, or weaving underneath the jib. I feel like he seemed pleased with my work.

Here's where I slightly disagree with you Sanjay. In the case of a piece of gear like this, the operator's performance is of the highest importance in relation to the product. In my opinion, the operating in this video makes the gear's ability to perform look spotty and inconsistent. We all understand that it's a new piece of equipment still in testing phase, but mediocre sample shots do not entice potential buyers. A demo reel should be comprised of only the best footage. There are a few shots worth keeping in there, but a lot more that I would cut if it were my demo reel.

any new updates?

I'm with you Sanjay, but my thinking is this: If it's a tie between two vests in terms of comfort and support, I will go with the one that has the lower price point. I already know how I feel in a PRO vest; I'd like to try this one to compare. In this situation, I'm only using the cost as a tiebreaker.

I'm personally hoping it's at least a little less than the Pro vest. If this vest rivals how I felt wearing a Pro, then a lower price point could make a difference for me.

LEAVE ME ALONE LLAMA!

Goddamn 10 lb. lens is what that is. I actually wouldn't mind it with the Epic; that camera can use the extra weight.

You got my vote.

If you say you don't see it when you test on tripod, and that everything is tight on the rig, it may be possible that something is moving inside the camera when you fly it. Factory defects are not unheard of. I'd like to see a shot from sticks with some panning movements just to be safe.

It's the Phantom-V (for Vuona) and it's specifically designed for live TV. It's a great sled; I got to try it out at Operator Night up at Lake Arrowhead. Rob did an awesome job with it.

I saw it throughout the video. It's more noticeable when you make sudden side-to-side jerks (overcorrecting your shot). You said you checked all the components of the sled, but did you check the quick release plate?

Also, did you take any photos of how you had the camera built on the sled?

I have the Marshall 7" as my primary monitor, and I love it. I did fall in love with Will's Cinetronic, so it's on my list of upgrades, but I'll always keep the Marshall around for backup. Don't know why you would want an HDMI option though.

What if you pull it in a panic, and then it turns out you didn't need to? You've lost the camera and damaged your rig for nothing. Also, just having the option might make operators feel more comfortable with doing crazier/more dangerous maneuvers, which in turn causes more risk to themselves and the gear. HOWEVER, it seems like the system is not a mandatory feature. In the interview video posted above, Chris said that it wasn't active on the op who was wearing it during the demo. It seems like something you have to manually arm, and therefore is something you might only activate if the shot you're about to do has some risk. That being said, if the shot has enough danger to warrant arming an emergency release strap, then I might think twice about doing the shot. I don't think this feature is anything to be concerned about unless it adds a significant cost to the price tag of the vest. If it does, I think there should be an option to buy a model that doesn't come with it.

As someone who will be in the market for a new vest, I'm interested in hearing the critique of people who got to try out the prototype. What do you think they're going to change/improve before they have a production model?

http://www.digitalbolex.com/ Reminds me of this, with a little bit higher specs. I'll just wait until a production I work on has it before I make a judgement.

I've been using this exact monitor since 2010 on my Pro sled. I love it and it's served me well. My only issues are that it stinks in direct sunlight, it's very light, and even though there's a battery mount on the back it's not centered, so my monitor bracket is slightly offset when I add a brick to it for extra weight.

initial thoughts - 1) the size was slightly annoying. It's extremely light, but bulky in shape like a camwave (only a little bigger). This was a problem when I had to figure out how to mount it; since production didn't rent a RED cradle I couldn't place it at the back of the camera like I wanted, nor could I place it on my battery rack because it was too long to mount on my recorder rack. I had to put it on top of the camera, and it looked silly. Combine that with the IDX brick powering it, and I added an extra 4-5 in. extending upwards on the rig. Wouldn't have been a problem with a little preparation. 2) the transmission was solid & accurate enough to shade from IMO. The claimed transmission range is 150 ft (50 m) without obstruction, and I have no reason to doubt that, though I never had to travel further than 100 ft from village. However, we did have a signal breakup when a 12x12 silver bounce was set up between me and village, even though I was only 30 ft away. Also, there was one instance where the receiver and transmitter stopped communicating. However, I just restarted the tx, and it came back up immediately. Those two moments were the only issues I had with the function of the unit. All in all, I was a fan, especially for the $3200 price point. Edit: I forgot to mention the fan. It's not very loud; I couldn't hear it at all when we were working unless I put my ear next to it. However, it is there, and in a sound controlled environment I could see it being slightly noticeable. Not as loud as the RED fan.

Also, if the Epic package you're working with has a REDMote, you don't need a run stop. My 2nd could roll and log all the metadata from it.

Using tomorrow for 2 days, will post thoughts

Might I recommend calling it the "Magnus"?