Steve Fracol SOC

AJA HDP HDSDI to DVI converter with 2 power supplies (one as spare). I used this to convert HDSDI 720p to my MAC 20" monitor. It is Like new/near MINT condition. $500.00 Steve Fracol, SOC 323.301.6790 steve@fracol.com

This is a Mitchell/Arriflex early version of the geared head. I had this head serviced by Mario at Otto Nemenz a year or so ago. This is a great head for an oldie. I used it primarily in the midwest when I lived there...as you can only find wheels in Denver/Chicago/Detroit. I purchased this used from a camera assistant and since then it has been my personal set of wheels and has been very well cared for. Those of you that know me know how I take care of my gear. It makes for a great practice head as well as a working head on lower budget productions that would not bring in a newer head. I was able to rent it back to many productions as part of my kit. I am in Agoura Hills and would be glad allow anyone to demo it. I am asking $4,500.00 but I am more than willing to entertain offers. Steve Fracol, SOC 323.301.6790 steve@fracol.com

For sale is 1 PAG Lok battery mount that came off a Masters series. $75.00 Steve Fracol, SOC 323.301.6790 steve@fracol.com

WOW, Alfeo...you really need to get into your next prep yourself. Confusing indeed. I have never bottomed out my G-70...Including flying a BL-4. Do you have any photos of what your set up was? This I gotta see! Also, why fly a battery on the camera? Especially that one??? Not knocking you but would love to hear the reason! I have had my Ultra2 for over a year now. Some growing pains for sure in the beginning but Rob and the gang at Tiffen have bent over backward to make everything perfect for me. My rig has been flying high for about 8 months now without any major issue. As for the weight of the rig, it is light on the bottom. It is great with an XL, 435, VariCam or an LT. But heavy cameras do create the longer post effect. But we have ways around this issue. I am on a show right now with a Clairmont/Sony F900 and modified Canon zoom, Everts-fiber back and 3 Preston motors. It was pretty funny on our prep day at Clairmont because Erwin, Geoff Shotz, Dave Frederick and I were all there prepping gear for various jobs. Erwin brought a scale and was taking notes on what sled weighed what. I won or LOST I guess by having the heaviest sled. I think I was 60.5lbs for sled and camera pkg. Geoff had the F-23 at 57ish on the XCS sled and Dave had an Arri LT at 47-49 something like that on a PRO rig. My CineAlta on the Ultra2 is heavy and does create a long post. You can put the batteries in the down position to help compensate for the weight per Jerry's advice and that does work well. I decided however that I prefer to keep my batts in the usual spot so I added a weighted dovetail to the bottom of my sled for the heavier loads. Yes, more weight but It works very well not to mention the heavier load flies silky smooth. (Not quite at BL-4 weights yet either). That puts my post length back to or much closer to what I consider "normal". The extra weight does not seem to be a big deal...and the G-70 arm seems that it can handle anything you can toss at it. The U2 is alive and well and working great. I keep mine very tight with my own basic maintenance and all has served me very, very well. One thing worthy to note is that I got into some pretty nasty sand at Dumont Dunes near Vegas on a feature recently. Tiffen was able to clean the G-70 arm for me at a very minimal cost. I take that to be because it is so easy to take apart and clean as in not like the 3A cable arm system that took many hours to take apart, clean and put back together. They had my arm ready the next day. It was great! My .02 Steve Fracol

ACF 50! Fracol

No respect....I get no respect I tell you. Stac could not get the curtains because we were still short of funds. You still have yet to pay the FED EX BILL! HAHAHAHA! I don't know if the Tiffen is Boland or Boland is Tiffen. I have never asked. The Tiffen monitor appears to be so far advanced from the Boland that I doubt it. They might have the same backlight, etc. but I don't think the Boland is dimable, etc. Maybe it is...I could not get them to send me one so I don't know for sure. Regardless, that is a good question that I should ask next chance I get. Even if it is the same, TIffen Steadicam has taken it to an entirely new level. Again, not trying to make this a commercial but it is what it is and it works well for me. You all can buy what you want but I just wanted to make you all aware that I like it and it is worth looking at. As for LA, yes it is true. I have been here for about 8 weeks now. Inner LA would have been a huge culture shock to my wife and kids so the further I could get out of the city and still be able to mentally deal with the commute the better. We settled on Agoura Hills. Nice and quiet neighborhood. And...because it is a nice and quiet neighborhood Rob and Robert, your not invited to any of my Steadicam parties. The rest of you are welcome to come. Date TBD. Haha! Starling, I saw your post before you edited it. You were not fast enough. Hahaha! So far LA has treated me well. Let's hope this strike does not happen and if it does that it is very short. Then I think all well be good. And by the way, anyone in a pinch in LA, please feel free to call for help/gear, etc. Glad to help anyone in need. Just paying it forward from when I was in need and found help...and trying to stay on the path that GB and the early steadi pioneers paved for all of us as a Steadicam community...always helping each-other. Boy this thread has gone a bit off topic. Whew...Sorry about that everyone. Best, Steve

Not that I am trying to add fuel to the fire here but I have nothing but great things to say about the Tiffen UltraBrite2. Rob Orf separated the electronics from the heat eliminating the Fan issue that the original Ultra had along with fixing initial power cable size issues with strong power draw. My U2 system has been working flawless for nearly a year and believe me it has been put through the paces from westerns to sandy beaches in the Bahamas, salt water splash as well as 25 mph sandy winds at Dumont Dunes last month. Last year I tired to get Boland to send me a DEMO monitor and I had a very, very hard time trying to get the customer service person to get back with me and after 2 weeks of trying I finally gave up. I have heard others ops had the same issues with them. Perhaps it was just bad timing as I do understand being busy... but as a potential customer I expect a call back within a week. I never did hear back from them. I am sure the TransVideo system Neal and Joshua speaks of ROCKS as most of their gear does. I would like to see that myself...hopefully at CineGear. One thing that you all need to realize (perhaps you do-but in case you don't) is that once you pipe HD down your post and into a monitor you will no longer be able to have an on screen Level or framelines. Nobody is doing a Level with HD GFX overlaid (that I know of). Unless I am reading your post wrong and the TransVideo system does have HD lvl and framelines. If not then those only work when NTSC is piped into the monitor. Please advise us on this subject??? TIffen worked on it for a long time then decided the R&D was not worth it (at least at this time). I talked to Bubb and he said he had no plans of doing an HD overlay either. My point to this is that even though I have an HD UltraBrite2 monitor, even on HD shoots I use it 97% of the time with an NTSC signal because I love having my on screen level. I only use an HD signal on HD shoots when an Assistant really needs to see focus clearly....and that is very rare because most of the assistants I work with pull by eye. BUT...I love the UltraBrite because it is large, very easy to see in direct sunlight (1400 nits I think), what is not to like.?. I am not trying to just promote GB's and Jerry's gear here but I gotta tell you it is a great monitor and they have backed it with great customer service. Rob Orf has gone way beyond the call of duty for me. It is not like the old days. They really take good care of me. I would say before you spend the money on a TransVideo go by Tiffen with your rig and demo a UB2 monitor. I am not sure of the price of the monitor by itself but I think it is around that same price of the Transvideo. And it does come with Frame Lines, etc. Also has Lemo connectors as well as 4 pin XLR and many others. I think you can power this thing about 4 different ways, BACKLIGHT Brightness dial on the monitor (actual turn knob), tally lights, PIP, image flip, mirror, assignable hot buttons, etc. The list goes on and on. This thing rocks! BTW- The way Tiffen has gotten around the HD overlay on screen level for High Def is they added an LED light system just under the monitor so that when I do have HD into the system I still have a level indicator but it is not on screen. Quite clever and it does work well. It takes some getting used to but does work. Good Luck making your monitor decisions... Steve Fracol

Congrats on the big move Stephen! It takes a lot of guts to just sell it all and walk away but I believe that to bump up that is the best way. I wish you all the best as you move forward!!! Enjoy! Steve Fracol

tv event, and "HD" will actually mean "High Def" instead of "Huge Delay." here's to getting the future here sooner than later, and bending over to welcome it. HAHAHAHAAHA! Now that is funny Ron!

Mike, Although I understand what your complaint is (I think), you need to get a grasp on the HD thing. Nothing is going to stop it. You?re way off base on comparing 16mm to HD as a general statement. 16mm is great, I love it, I miss shooting it (still do sometimes) but you can only compare 16mm to HD of the 2/3" format. (Sony CineAlta, VariCam, Viper, etc). The Arri D20, Genesis and most of the other larger image HD cameras clearly take on the look and dof of 35mm film when handled properly. The "handled properly" part comes with knowledge of that particular HD camera. The latitude, exposure values, Gamma set up, black levels, matrix set up, LUT's (look up tables)....understanding how to deal with all that as a DP. Not our job. But my point is that many DP's I know are taking these cameras and making them look every bit as good as 35mm. Yes it usually comes at an extra cost....but not always. With the image of the camera being tweaked much closer to what the DI or Telecine transfer will look like but at acquisition, Producers and agencies get a perceived savings and it just feels like they are making progress. It is very political believe me. No one can explain how and why money is spent the way it is in our crazy business. I have worked on many HD sets and with the right crew it goes every bit as smooth as a film set. I have also been on a few that did not go so well. More often than not it is usually a DIT (digital image tech) that does not know the camera very well. I am not trying to bust your chops here but I guess I am saying like it or not HD is here and it is not going away. Yes, I think it will get much better and very soon...but it is here to stay. I also prefer to shoot film however, a VariCam set up on the sled with the right lens and matte box is a beautiful thing. So is The Red. My point is that it is in everyone?s best interest to get out and learn as much as you can about HD. Take workshops, go to rental houses, also talk to the post guys. I have found that I know more about HD than a lot of the people posting things I shoot. I am not bragging, but I have found this to be a fact. I took it upon myself several years ago to learn all I could about HD and the cameras I use and yes even about post. You can learn a lot about HD from a good post house. But getting back to your original post... I think your point (if I read through the lines properly) is just simply that you prefer Film over HD. I think most of us agree with you. That said...HD is not going away...deal with it...learn how to use it! Best, Steve Fracol

I would go with the SK personally. They might even have a few new ones left in inventory...Not sure. Then again if I were starting at this all over again I would buy a Steadicam Flyer. It is all the real stuff just smaller, lighter and cheaper. It will hold up to a 15 lb camera. The Flyer was not around till recently. Great system for starting out. Contact Frank Rush or Peter Abraham to see if they still have parts for the Video SK. I am pretty sure they do. If you can't reach them try Kyle at ext 17. You can reach them at Tiffen. Tiffen 818-843-4600 Good luck with your decision. Steve Fracol

Lars & Peter, The best oil I have found is ACF-50. It has been mentioned several times here on the forum. It seems to stop anything from squeaking, creaking, etc. Works for quite a long while as well. I got mine at our local small downtown airport at the parts counter. I recently saw it advertised in a British Motorcycle restoration magazine as well. Lars-Good luck and sorry for the fall. Hope your OK. Best, Steve Fracol

Rob, You obviously have not heard about Tiffen's latest add to the Ultra2. They put a basic version of the iPhone right in the sled with Bluetooth. Yep, they got with Apple and together they designed a phone right into the latest Ultra. Voice activated dialing so you don't have to touch the rig at all. And...if your on a Sync gig you can even put calls on hold when they are about to call ACTION right from the Ultra's wireless remote. Tiffen was way ahead when they designed the extra buttons into the remote. Real cutting edge stuff!!! It is awesome. It is now called the Ultra-iFlyMac 2.1 So no need to carry my iPhone with me while shooting. I need the new iPhone case for when I am loading and unloading the truck and all the other crap we get ourselves into. Of course I am kidding....but I bet I had some of you thinking, WOW really. TURN YOUR PHONE OFF AND PUT IT IN YOUR BACKPAK or CART WHILE ON SET! Last thing we need is the distraction of a phone. I am not saying to not make calls or return them from set but be smart about it!!! iFracol's .02 with the iRebate iRegards, iFracol

I have been talking with Ken at Porta Brace and trying to get him to design a new case for iPhone use for those of us in the film business. He and I talked about all the current options for belt use, cases, covers, etc. and we both agree most of what is available does not really keep the phone safe. He also uses an iPhone by the way. He said they (Porta Brace) currently have no plans to make a product for it. I begged him. He then said if I could come up with 100 people to order he would do it and name the product after me. Hahaha. I don't care about the name but I sure would like a better/safer way of keeping my iPhone safe. If any of you are interested please e mail me off line with your name, e mail addy and phone number. I will keep a list going and e mial it to him when we get close to 100 names. We did not speak about price or specific design but if you have ideas for what you would want please feel free to add that to your e mail. E Mail me at: steve@fracol.com Thanks, Steve

Brooks, I just finished a movie in Santa Fe with an XL. I was flying a similar set up as you, XL with Canatrans on top of the low mode bracket, brain on matte box, etc. and most often set to 1/2 or 1/4 watt on the Canatrans. Only major difference was I was using an Ultra 2. We had some problems with our Panatape but not right away. The assistants sent it back to Panavision and got another one in and we were able to finish the show with the second one without any issues. So our case though similar to yours...did not seem to be related to the Canatrans. We did not get a report back regarding the tape sent in for service...so I do not know why the 2nd worked but the first one did not. Hope this helps but I doubt it?only seems to make this more confusing. Very interesting however! Eager to see if anyone else has had issues. Steve Fracol

Beau, I forgot to show you Brant Fagan's VLS bracket while I was in Santa Fe, sorry. It rocks for ENG style cameras...even though the Viper is a bit different without the typical "built on" tape transport recorder. A much lighter camera indeed. If the bracket they send you does not work well, call me and I will ship you Brant's VLS to demo. Also, it was great working with you in Santa Fe!!! Have fun in Low Mode!!! Keep me posted. Best, Fracol

Brant Fagan's VLS bracket is great for HD cameras and all video "ENG" style models in general. I also agree with Fletcher regarding cages and low mode brackets. Use the good stuff if you want your work to shine. That said I still keep a cage in my kit for that day that I get stuck without anything....Only had to use it once...but at least I had it. (put tape on it that says "for emergency use only"). HAhAHA To own every low mode bracket is expensive but well worth it if you can swing it. Most of the time I can request the camera house to supply what works with each camera. Older cameras are a bit harder these days but low mode for Arri, etc. can almost always be supplied by a reputable camera rental company. Not always but most of the time. I am partial to Jerry Hill products if your going to buy. He makes good stuff that works well. Well worth the price in the long run. Good luck! Steve Fracol

Paul, I am betting that the switch got bumped. Where I live I rarely let assistants mess with my stuff (with the exception of one or two) but one day I did pass the gear off...and sure enough same thing happened. I had it up and running in just a few minutes but that switch or the remote charge is probably your issue. The remote seems to run forever on a charge and it only takes a few minutes to re-charge. I guess there is a very slight chance that you would need to change the frequency on the remote transmitter and receiver for the top stage but I seriously doubt that is an issue. I have tried to take the time to learn the rig inside and out so that I don't have to deal with sending it back when something seems not right. This rig is VERY user serviceable (even though it is full of cool stuff) as to not have to rely as much on factory support....which is paramount to me! Small price to pay for such PERFECTION!!! The system rocks. You just need to know where to look when something like that comes up. All that said...I have gotten incredible customer service out of everyone at Tiffen especially Robert Orf. They have bent over backwards for me. Kudos to Tiffen!!! Not the same as the old CP!!! They seem to have transitioned into a company that better understands OUR NEEDS as operators regarding customer service. I hope they continue down this same path for a long time and continue to support everyone well! They seem to be on the right path and the Ultra 2 seems to be selling very well. All that should lead up to a healthy company...lets all stay on it to make sure they continue to deliver this good service to everyone!!! In the Steadicam selling business it is nice to have the coolest rigs with the latest gadgets BUT....your only as good as how well you treated your last customer with a problem. That is more important than the original sale in my book!!! Customer service is everything. Repairs with quick turnover, back up rigs, discounted rental rigs, loaner rigs, whatever it takes to keep the end customer making an income. When our gear is down we don't make money. Remind them of that next time your rig is in for service. They have their ears open right now! They are listening!!! They want to do things right. Regards, Steve Fracol

Like everyone else I have also had noise issues with both my Ultra Vest and my Klassen. I have not had any issues with my new Ultra Vest (much improved system) but on my original Ultra Vest.... I added a drop or two of ACF 50 oil (no other oil seems to work as well) and usually that fixes the problem for about 8 weeks or more depending on the workload and use obviously. The Klassen is usually a tightening thing for me just as Charles pointed out. For me it seems when the Klassen makes noise it is usually much lower pitch and rarely if ever noticed by the sound dept. but I hear it. Regards, Steve Fracol

FYI- Not trying to stir up the pot to much but....Two movies coming from LA shooing in KC (Kansas City) in the next few months and I was hoping to work them and get to sleep in my own bed and see the family for a change. Both paying such low rates I turned them both down. They said they could get an operator from LA with gear for 2000 per week. I said bring them in. One of the movies was only paying 1000 per week with gear. I laughed out loud on the phone...but trying to not be mean about it. They asked if I knew anyone that would do it and I said NO! Now...it would be another thing if the movie was a fantastic script and the DP was someone who we all look up to, etc. You know...something that could actually help out our demo reels. Sometimes every now and then that happens....where a good script is picked up by a great DP because they want to do it, etc. Some great movies had been made that way with crew giving in, etc. But...that is so rare these days. In this case they were offering Keys 200 per day for 12hrs. One of my good friends told them that was what he was paid 16 years ago to work on Mr. and Mrs. Bridge with Paul Newman. Sort of like stepping backward in time. What is our industry coming to? I try to stick to my rates as much as possible!!! Obviously it is getting harder all the time. Steve Fracol

Greg, I had a similar problem. Although my sound was not a click but more of a squeak. Taking the bottom arm covers off as Alec suggested will most likely make the sound go away. Then you figure out where it is hitting, etc. What I suspect is happening is that your rubbing the outter cover (as Alec said) as the arm moves but only in that one spot. Should be a very simple fix (hopefully!!!). Hopefully you will not have to send it in for service. Good luck! Keep us posted. Steve Fracol

James, As said in another thread, we did put the Red Camera on a Steadicam twice. First with an Archer and then Steve Fracols' Ultra 2. Camera flew very well, similar to an F900 in weight and length. I just wanted to make this more clear. The way THE RED camera we had to fly was set up with a drive and one battery on board and hanging off the back it was about the weight of a VariCam with ENG lens but the length of a CineAlta 900 with converter on back. But all is very modular and that same camera could move the batt and drive to the top of the camera making the profile more like a 435. No worries, just wanted to make sure everyone is clear that it was not the weight of a 900 cine alta. The Red is very light weight. Best, Steve Fracol

Chris, I second Mr. Murphy's opinion of research the archives. Tons of info there. I doubt you will ever find that any one manufacture wins out over any others. Some much better than others for sure but it is always a matter of opinion. Some people like gear that is basic hardware that will not brake while others live on the cutting edge of technology. I have one sled on the edge of the latest technology and the other is just hardware that always works. For me it is a great combination. My second rig also works great as a light weight running rig/live show rig. What it tends to boil down to really is not only the gear that works well for each of us but which manufactures have the best customer service. That is a HUGE issue for us. When your gear brakes and you can't make a buck, you tend to stick with the manufacture that saved your butt in a hurry. That said, I built a second rig so that if and when I have problems I can continue to work while one rig is getting repaired. I do not like to be forced to depend on anyone that might keep me from making an income. I have too much gear to list and I don't want to see this thread turn into a mud slinging contest. That could easily happen with a post like this. We have had enough of that this year already. During your research you might search "customer service"....that could be very revealing. Kindest Regards, Steve Fracol, SOC

One correction to make from my early posting on Flying The Red...after looking at a few photos I was mistaken that I had a prime lens up. It was a short zoom that was slightly larger than a Cooke S4 prime lens. Amazing that it was that small and light weight. This RED truly could change everything. It is getting very interesting! Fracol[attachmen =1564:red_207.jpg]

I still fly my down-converter (AJA MD 10) to hit the transmitter via NTSC for HDSDI gigs 95% of the time. Fiber jobs are the exception for me. As for using the Tiffen 8" HDSDI monitor?.I actually thought I would not notice much of a difference going from NTSC composite to the HDSDI UltraBright2 but after flying it (Ultra 2) for a week at NAB and then taking a look at the down-converted signal....it is pretty nice using it in HDSDI. Not necessary for sure but very, very NICE! I talked to Bubb in January about buying a level for my modified EFP rig and as of then he had no plans to make a level work with HD. I have not checked in with him since then about it. Tiffen has a set of LED lights that is pretty cool that are just below the monitor for their HD level. They could be a bit brighter (and I think they are working on that). It took some getting use to because they are in a different spot and just different than what I am used to in general...but after a week I can handle it. It has all the same settings for sensitivity still in tact. I am eager to get my on screen level back for HD but as of now it only works on the Ultra 2 on screen in NTSC Composite mode. I am pretty sure Frank Rush will sell the UltraBright 2 monitors as a separate item so just call him and ask. I also stopped by the AJA booth at NAB and gave them a hard time about the power connector. They said they have had a bunch of complaints and they were going to look into it. They said that they did not think a Lemo would fit because of the lack of room inside but for us even a short pig tail with a LEMO would be nice. On my own personal AJA I just hard wired it direct inside. I have not had a problem with it since and I am going on 2 years now. For anyone interested in buying an AJA, try Kari Hess at Fletcher Chicago. She has taken great care of me and they have the best customer service in the biz. Fletcher 312-932-2700. Good luck and keep the info coming as I am still updating my EFP with tons of mods. Steve Fracol