David M. Aronson

Ha!

You could try getting a Flyer LE arm too. They're really nice arms for what they are.

Charles, do you mind if I get that engraved on my arm so I don't forget it? I do agree with Charles, to put it as he says it, when people are all folksy and pleasant and never stop smiling. I understand being nice and all, but I almost feel like they've done something and they're just waiting for it to take effect. While some people like this, I hate it. People who blindly follow orders. If I ask you something, and you think for a second, tell me my idea is stupid and come back with an idea that works 10 times better and is 10 times easier, you're going to be called first when I need a hand. I like lazy people, I'm a lazy person. We get things done simple and elegantly. Why rebuild your set when you could have an actor sidestep 6 inches so I can clear a prop? Yes, I'm slightly off topic. Sue me.

You're going to have a lot more issues than springs if you go with a lighter camera with no weight plate. The rig will be incredibly bottom heavy and wont be very stable at all. the slightest gust of wind would make the shot unusable. adding 5Lbs of weight isn't that much. Most standard people, not just steadicam ops, but people you pull off the street can operate a rig with a 7 lb load. It's like carring a backpack with a few textbooks in it, only spread out over your entire body. Trust us, adding weight is the best option.

Yeah, I killed my original downconverter powering it in with a fresh Dionic. I could almost hear it crying. I've yet to replace it, but the black magic things, specifically the older ones are really sensitive to voltage variations.

Yeah, the battery grip is a bad idea for a lot of reasons. First off, It introduces a lot of wobble and is not rigid at all. Also, having a battery grip plus a large lens is even worse. Secondly, It adds a lot of weight. This may be a good thing on larger rigs with high minimum capacities and arms, but for a merlin, you better start working out, because you'll arms will start getting sore really fast. If you have the arm and vest, which are cheap enough that everyone should have with a merlin, disregard this. Anyway, since you're not having it in portrait mode and the only other benefit is improved battery life, scrap the battery grip while on a steadicam.

How much extra counterweight did they have to add to lift your balls of steel? Seriously, bravo. Amazing shots.

Don't we try to avoid shadows?

Yep, I'm going to visit everyone on this forum and do it personally if necessary ;) Jesus F. Christ! Chris hammered for three hours on my door at 2 a.m. and wanted to take my measurements! I had to call the cops to get rid of him, instead he measured the police guys...:D There was a storm outside when he was banging on my door. I let him in after about an hour just because he looked so cold and miserable after the third lighting strike. He walked away with some measurements and a scolding about not wearing aluminum exoskeletons during thunderstorms and I walked away with a new, but slightly singed, Exovest.

Wow. If it works well, this might be the Canatrans of the 21st century. I want one in my kit already!

You sir, have much tougher feet than I do. (and a much cooler vest. Any clue on availability yet?)

Five fingers all the way. I have a pair of both the Komodosports and the Treksports. I tend to only use them indoors or on smooth pavement. If you step on a rock or gravel with these, you'll feel it and it will hurt.

Rather than make a new thread, I may as well dig up an old one. On my latest job my downconverter died on me at the last minute and I had to spend an hour or so looking into who had a HD-SDI to composite converter. Turns out everyone near me has HD sleds. I ended up driving an extra 100 miles each way to get it. So I bit the bullet and bought an hd-sdi monitor. The next step in this is to get rid of the FLG and DA boards I never use but have to run through so I can run HD down the post. I'm fine with the current topstage (for now) and I don't have the cash on hand to buy a Pro topstage, so Is it at all possible to replace the connectors and cabling with proper 75 ohm parts? do I even need to rerun the wires or can I just find the right molex to match the bottom of the sled and bypass the boards but leave the rest of the cabling? If I do end up recabling the post, any recommendations for what cable to get? If I do end up ripping the sled apart, I'll rewire the power cables so I can power the watt sucking cameras this rig was never designed for.

Even if I run 12V through the rig and skip the down converter? It's filming a tour of some battle ground in as close to one take as possible, so having less weight and thus, less batteries is a good thing. I want to be 100% that I have to throw a couple of extra pounds on.

Thank you Brian. What's the reasoning behind not running power through the rig though? Just for less hassle or will it break my rig?

Thanks for all the help guys. Next question, this one for master series owners. Production want the lens hight as high as possible. Can a Master Series sled with stock wiring handle the draw of an alexa and arri FF if I stick the 160s on the bottom? Edit: Also, they only have 160s.

The dionics I have are the non HC model, and they put out 5.5 amp hours last time I checked. Anything I should know about mounting it?

Okay, so my first Alexa job is coming up and the camera owner got in contact with me asking if I'm going to power from my rig. He can supply dionic 160s for powering the camera/sled since I only have 90s. He wants to know because he's had steadicam ops fry 3 camera bodies before(over 16 years, but still) I have a master series and I have the little 24v converter thing. I also have the arri 2 pin fischer cable, but it's an older one designed for the film bodies. Wlll it work? Should I run 24v to the camera? Is it better to have the batt on the back of the camera and just use 90s on the bottom? The shoot is a tour of some civil war battle ground and they want to it in as much of one shot as possible. There's going to be a "park ranger" (actor) walking and addressing the camera. HELP!

I Have a pair of pants with industrial strength velco on them, a little bit on the seat of the vehicle and I'm good to go. But if you want something more practical, the Petzl harnesses are the way to go. I use this one. It's not amazingly comfortable, but it gets the job done.

I'd either go for a Zephyr or a used Master Series.

Really cool read. The more I read about it, the more I want an exovest. Anyone know pricing and availability yet?

Box Of screws showed up. They fit! Now I just need a box of every other screw on the rig for backup...

If the monitor is similar to what I have, you might need the battery on it to act as counterweight for the batteries.

I almost always wear toes shoes when I operate. I use the Vibrem five fingers komodos. The only time I don't wear them is when it's wet outside since stepping in a puddle will kill all your traction and leave you with VERY cold feet.

^^^What he said^^^