Premium Members Nicolas Doldinger Posted December 21, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Hey everyone! Till now I've been working with a fairly simple system by ABC-Products (Clip&Go combined with easyflex arm and vest) adjusted for my PD-150 and am now looking into investing in a more sophisticated system to hold larger cameras (Digibeta, 16mm and 35 mm). As I have already established good contact to ABC-Products and actually benefit from a nice discount, I'm therefore planning on going for their highend-system "Handyman CN" which "only" costs 12.000 ? (http://www.abc-products.de/english/HM_CN_e.htm) . Has anyone got any practical experience with this system and/or could give me an opinion on the perception of ABC-products. How important is the choice of brand of equipment in order to get good jobs? Thanx in advance for your help! Nicolas Doldinger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members JobScholtze Posted December 21, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Hey Nicolas I don't know that abc system, and are not sure by it's preforming. Did see one on the ibc in amsterdam and was NOT impressed. For that 12 k you can find something better. But you also can try to find a secondhand rig, like the provid. There is one on ebay right now. LOOK HERE You also can check Glidecam for a v20 LINK Try the rig before you get one. Let us know what your new rig is gonna be. Greetings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mikko Wilson Posted December 21, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 I tired the ABC (along with every other rig at IBC 2004) and it SUCKED! No ways about it, it was by far the worst rig at the show in my oppinion. My biggest gripe about it was that, I at least, couldn't find any adjustment for the arm's angle at the vest connection (one of those peg in socket things.. with the peg on the arm) The defult (only?) angle was bad enough that the camera was pulling away from me almost hard enough to pull me over. - now I'm sure I wasnt' standing compleatly properly, but I dind't have any problem with any of the other rigs. Also that peg was also the only pivot at the vest end of the arm if I recall correctly, so the rig was a little sluggish to move around. - I didn't even bother taking more than about 5m from the stand before just redocking and moving on. My advice would be to spend your $12k on a Steadicam ProVid2, it will fly your DigiBETA, and 16mm, don't know about 35mm tho.. Just my 2 cents. - Mikko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Nicolas Doldinger Posted January 4, 2005 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 Thanks a lot for your imput, I really appreciate it. Currently I'm thinking of buying a Pro-Vid 2 (maybe +). It says its modular? What does that mean. Can I actually upgrade it to such an extent (maybe with a glidecam gold arm) that it can take 35? or would I then have to upgrade everything? Thanks again for your input Nico Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonMcKelvey Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Please don't buy any ABC product above what you have!!! I know a guy personally that bought the CN and it's awful. Of all the bad things about it, it is NOT Steadicam/PRO/Glidecam/MK-V compatible. Get a used IIIA, EFP, ProVid 2, Glidecam Gold or whatever, just not an ABC CN. Stay standard compatible. Happy flying. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Nicolas Doldinger Posted January 31, 2005 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Thanks! :D No I too came to the conclusion myself that I shouldn't go for the Handyman. I only got the small rig for my PD-150 because I got a really good discount on it and I lived in Munich at that time. At the moment I'm looking into buying a ProVid 1 with 26lb capacity. Do you have any opinions on that? The one I'm thinking of getting is the basic kit without any extras. How easy is it to upgrade a ProVid as it seems quite "out-of-one-piece"? Thanks for your advice! Nico Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonMcKelvey Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Please search the archives, there is a LOT of discussion about ProVid upgrading. The jist of it is, the ProVid sled and vest are also rated up to 26 lbs., so you could upgrade the arm to a IIIA or something, but you would put strain on the vest and sled. You can get a used EFP or IIIA package for about the same price as a ProVid if you are patient. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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