Another Choosing a Stabilizer Thread

[invalid username]

For those of you asking about workshops, etc, I am taking one this spring, and over the summer I've aranged to meet with a Swiss operator who can work with me more.

 

As far as the Pilot goes, it really is the rig that fits my situation. Right now I'm NOT working as a Steadicam operator for a full time gig. I won't be doing that for a few more years when I'm in a different market. Here, in the market I'm in, I only want to do Steadicam stuff so that I can get experience working with people, doing market research, putting together a business plan, etc for a Steadicam environment. Honestly I don't expect to work more than 4 hours a month!

 

Now the ONLY clients that I have are shooting on cameras weighing about 5-6 pounds, none of them have any interest in mounting a FF unit (in fact only one person even has rails on their camera), and I can't see a single client comming up who needs more capacity. Even the local news station uses 6.5 pound cameras.

 

In short, unless I'm missing something, it just doesn't make sence to pay more money for a rig that's too excesive now, but couldn't get me very far later on.

 

Addressing the MK-V rigs, the AR is really a consideration for me much later down the road.

[William Demeritt]

Alex, you know your market better than anyone, and one of the things they tell you at the workshop is "buy the equipment that fits your market." If you can find a used kit that suits you, go for it, after all it is a "buyer's market" right now. Take a look at all of the equipment available, but in the end, buy what makes sense to you.

 

Sure, some people make the strong investment up front and it works out, but I think the Steadicam Marketplace is full of rigs/kits offered by people whose big investment (despite their market, location, clients, availability of work) didn't work out for them.

[Andrew Stone]

Alex, your thinking is sound. If you are going to be flying cameras that are in the weight range of say a Sony Z1 or a bit heavier then a Pilot makes sense.

 

Just a couple of things to keep in mind though. One, parts of the industry have been moving from prosumer cams to shallow depth of field cameras, if you think you are going to be flying a DSLR or a 2011/2012 equivalent, like a Panasonic AF100, then you could easily start to consider motors and wireless controllers. I am seeing it happening with some smaller rig owners. However, if you see yourself running a 1/3" chip camera in a wide angle view then you don't have to go near a wireless follow focus setup. Second, if you are considering a AR rig, then you should definately look at TIFFEN's Tango rig and this may ultimately force your hand on exactly what kind of Steadicam rig you are going to get as you will want to get a rig that is "Tango compatible." In the end a Tango rig paired up with a Tango compatible Steadicam rig will be far cheaper than an AR setup and, in my view, much more useful for the kind of cameras you will be using.

 

-Andrew

[Nigel Barker]

As far as the Pilot goes, it really is the rig that fits my situation. Right now I'm NOT working as a Steadicam operator for a full time gig. I won't be doing that for a few more years when I'm in a different market. Here, in the market I'm in, I only want to do Steadicam stuff so that I can get experience working with people, doing market research, putting together a business plan, etc for a Steadicam environment. Honestly I don't expect to work more than 4 hours a month!

 

Now the ONLY clients that I have are shooting on cameras weighing about 5-6 pounds, none of them have any interest in mounting a FF unit (in fact only one person even has rails on their camera), and I can't see a single client comming up who needs more capacity. Even the local news station uses 6.5 pound cameras.

 

In short, unless I'm missing something, it just doesn't make sence to pay more money for a rig that's too excesive now, but couldn't get me very far later on.

That was my thinking too as I was choosing which lightweight Steadicam to buy. I eventually decided on a Pilot for much the same reasons. I will be flying Canon XF305, Canon 5DII & Panasonic AG-AF101 which are all well within the weight limits of the Pilot.

 

I would love a Zephyr with a Tango but the runs to about $20K which is at least 5X the cost of a Pilot. I am quite prepared to find that I outgrow my Pilot but then will sell it & invest the money in a larger system when I can justify the expense. I should be able to recoup a large portion of the price of the Pilot when selling.

 

BTW It's not a buyer's market for used Steadicams here in Europe as over several months I found it impossible to find a used Pilot & could only find a couple of Flyers that were considerably more expensive than the good deal that I got on a brand new Pilot.

Edited December 30, 2010 by Nigel Barker

[invalid username]

Thanks again everybody for all the feedback.

 

I do have one more question regarding resale value. Based on what you guys know, if I were to buy a new Pilot right now, at the $4000-ish retail value, use it well and frequently but keep it in good condition, what do you think the resale value would be in two-ish years?

 

Obviously it can't be predicted to the dollar, but I'd like an idea about what I might be able to get for it.

[William Demeritt]

Obviously it can't be predicted to the dollar, but I'd like an idea about what I might be able to get for it.

 

Really hard to determine, especially since the gear often reflects market factors: overall availability of similar or "within the same range" equipment, overall health of our market, demand of used gear, etc.

 

I think, since the Pilot costs less than what many people in this field spend on accessories or cables, you may want to look at it in a light of: how soon will the equipment be paid off, how soon will it start turning a profit, and now long beyond that will you be able to work.

 

Since you've mentioned your intentions of growing into a larger rig, I think the resale of a used Pilot will maybe give you enough cash to pay for a piece of a Bartech, an additional canister for a PRO arm, maybe a small collection of power cables for your future rig, etc. So, instead of getting starry eyes over selling the equipment at a good price, I think you should weigh the profitability of the equipment, the growth you'll experience, and the money you'll make that you can reinvest in the future rig.

 

I think the perfect goal would be to make so much money with the Pilot, and earn so many clients, that you can keep the Pilot around for smaller deals when you're not flying your hulking beast of a MK-V + AR rig.

 

I guess the moral of the story is: if you can't figure out what the resale value of the Pilot is (which I seriously doubt you can), then just expect to never sell it and determine how to make it profitable.

[Nic Owens]

Hey,

Mark Schlicher has just listed a Flyer for around $4000 in the marketplace. Looks like the kinda thing you might be interested in.

Cheers,

Nic

[Nigel Barker]

I do have one more question regarding resale value. Based on what you guys know, if I were to buy a new Pilot right now, at the $4000-ish retail value, use it well and frequently but keep it in good condition, what do you think the resale value would be in two-ish years?

My observations of the market over the last few months while trying in vain to find a used Pilot is that the price that is asked is around $3000. Whether they ever sell for that much is open to question but even if you only get half your money back when selling after using it for 2 years then that's not too bad.