Not even a newbie - yet :-)

[Sverker Hahn]

Hallo, everybody,

 

You have probably already come to the conclusion that I haven´t got a Steadicam yet. But I have had a short experience with our EX1 and the Pilot in Tiffen´s in Los Angeles. Their willingness to let us test the combo was so great!

 

So do I need a Pilot? Aside from my eagerness to buy any type of high tech stuff - yes, I think I need it. Right now I specialize in long clips of beautiful nature or wildlife - up to 20 minutes long if possible. They are all taken on a tripod without any panning, a little extreme, I think.

 

But the same nature scenes with a Pilot - I see great prospects of great footage. Many nature scenes have at least some movement. Some scenes, however, will be too calm to watch for 20 minutes, but with a Pilot, even these will be interesting.

 

So, I will be visiting this forum to learn and hopefully we will buy a Pilot later this year.

 

Sverker Hahn

Stockholm

http://www.lentovision.com

Sony EX1

MacBook Pro

Final Cut Pro

[Kevin Andrews SOC]

Welcome Sverker. Be sure to use the search function on the forum and you'll find lots of great info about the Pilot.

 

I checked out your work and wanted to point you to this link. It may be a good fit for your style of shooting.

 

http://www.glidetrack.com/

[Sverker Hahn]

Welcome Sverker. Be sure to use the search function on the forum and you'll find lots of great info about the Pilot.

 

I checked out your work and wanted to point you to this link. It may be a good fit for your style of shooting.

 

http://www.glidetrack.com/

 

Thanks, Kevin,

 

I have looked at the glidetrack, quite interesting for certain motifs, especially closeups of flowers and small stuff. Easier to transport and cheaper too.

[Sverker Hahn]

Great things ahead!

 

In May I will be attending a 6-day workshop in Sweden. Garret Brown and Jerry Holway will be there!!! :rolleyes:

 

Now to a question (I do not have a Pilot yet): I know I will do a lot of low mode shots - do I need the Low Mode Kit? Or could I just flip the footage in post?

[Thomas K. Jensen]

Great things ahead!

 

In May I will be attending a 6-day workshop in Sweden. Garret Brown and Jerry Holway will be there!!! :rolleyes:

 

Now to a question (I do not have a Pilot yet): I know I will do a lot of low mode shots - do I need the Low Mode Kit? Or could I just flip the footage in post?

If you are able to flip the image in post, that's just as good. No need for a low-mode cage, but the F-bracket would be great to have.

And congrats with the workshop. Jerry and Garret will teach you some cool things.

 

Thomas :-)

[Mike Germond SOC]

"flip it in post" is the poor man's low mode. In theory, you could have an issue with the scanning being reversed if you shoot interlaced. My guess is you are shooting progressive of some sort, probably 1080p?

 

I'll have to recommend that you stay away from the glidetrack. I've used it before on weddings with a Canon 5DMKII where it works great for quick run-and-gun "dolly shots." The problem is that it glides on Teflon (not bearings). So 9 times out of 10, it catches mid way down the track and your footage gets a little jerk in the frame. It works for some things, but not for long/slow/smooth stuff. I know there are similar products out there that do glide on bearings and have heard rave reviews about them.

 

Welcome to the forums! If you get the Pilot and needs specs for the power cables to lighten your EX-1 and run it off the rig, it's floating around here somewhere. I've made up a couple of them for different applications, and it's a great weight saver..

[Sverker Hahn]

"flip it in post" is the poor man's low mode. In theory, you could have an issue with the scanning being reversed if you shoot interlaced. My guess is you are shooting progressive of some sort, probably 1080p?

 

Yes, I have EX1 and shoot mostly 1080p, sometimes 720p.

 

Welcome to the forums! If you get the Pilot and needs specs for the power cables to lighten your EX-1 and run it off the rig, it's floating around here somewhere. I've made up a couple of them for different applications, and it's a great weight saver..

 

Thank you!. But let me see if I understand: you mean that I could use batteries on the Pilot to drive the EX1 and the Pilot´s screen? How can that make a weight saver?

 

I will use my Steadicam in the wilderness quite often, and then I need problemfree power. I know about the AA-battery option, which seems to be OK. Do you recommend any of the other options?

[Mike Germond SOC]

Thank you!. But let me see if I understand: you mean that I could use batteries on the Pilot to drive the EX1 and the Pilot´s screen? How can that make a weight saver?

 

I will use my Steadicam in the wilderness quite often, and then I need problemfree power. I know about the AA-battery option, which seems to be OK. Do you recommend any of the other options?

 

The Pilot has a 2.1mm DC power jack on the front of the top stage for powering components on the top end of the sled (including the camera if you so desire). It would save you weight because you could ditch the EX-1's batteries and fly it naked. You'd be using the sled's power for both the camera and the monitor, thus consolidating your battery collection (less to worry about carrying and charging every day). You can find the 2.1mm plug at any Radio Shack for dirt cheap, and I can point you towards a few off-brand Sony laptop chargers which you can then cut the plug end off of and wire directly to your 2.1mm plug. I think I got 2 laptop chargers with Sony's proprietary plug at $10 a pop. Now one has a 4-pin XLR end and the other has an P-Tap end, each at about 6" long..

 

I'd recommend the V-Mount "Power Cubes" that Steadicam came up with. They are lighter than their AB counterparts that have the same milliamp hours (and are certainly going to run longer than AA's and cost less in the long run). And don't even think about going the "rechargable AA" route. A common misconception is that each battery starts at 1.2v off the charger where as their disposable counterparts are something like 1.4v. That means you have a much smaller window of voltage drop before they just cut out completely. They are relatively useless for Audio/Video guys and the gear that we like to run off them.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Mike Germond