G50X and G70X arm

[RonBaldwin]

call Glendale in 1 hr 10 min...you know, the place where they put the stuff together and all the decisions are made?!

 

I had to put down my pro arm to google this info for you:

 

Steadicam Warranty Service

(U.S., South America and Pacific Rim)

The Tiffen Company

6933 San Fernando Road

Glendale, CA 91201

Tel: 818 843 4600

 

Call them and ask them these 6 questions:

1 -- how much for the upgrade?

2 -- how long will it take to do the upgrade?

3 -- will they decide to use Lisagav like they should have in the first place?

4 -- is there a loaner arm if they decide to drag their feet?

5 -- if they voted for Pedro?

6 -- is there a discount if one has been bitching about it publicly on an international forum?

[RonBaldwin]

 

Hey guys, I did a search for "Zeuss'' butthole" and found this thread. Most of the posts were from Ron.

 

:-)

 

[James Davis]

Literally just got off the phone with a customer Service rep over in Tiffen America (thanks for the contact details Ron):

 

Apparently they are very much aware of whats being discussed on the forums and had a meeting this morning about how they are going to address the current "situation" the potential upgrade process (or not)/concessions/trade in's etc.

There should be a press release within the next 2-3 days where everything will be outlined openly to the general public and all of us on the forum.

I've given them my email address so I can get it on email as well, i'm sure others are welcome to do the same.

 

Regards

 

James

Edited January 25, 2012 by James Davis

[Rob Vuona SOC]

Ron . . . .Hahahahahaha

[Rob Vuona SOC]

Chris, I'll do it for sure and let you all know.

 

A little clip of me working, the arm flies beautiful as said, I only need it to be more precise in slow walk, something for the maniacs. Hopefully the upgrade will do.

 

backstage

 

 

onstage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkssIz5re40&list=FL52ZwVUdWK4z38mF2qHx3rA&index=3&feature=plpp_video

 

What are those strings hanging from her skirt ? Oh never mind those are her legs . . . . . =)

 

Sorry couldn't resist

 

Nevermind, back to discussion about the G50x and G70x arms -------------->

[Matteo Quagliano]

Ahahahaahaha... but did you see how she plays soccer?

[Garrett Brown]

To my Steadicam colleagues around the world, here's some information on the history and future of the 'G-series' arms:

 

In 2004, I wanted an arm that was lighter than ever, that was inexpensive, tool-free and stiff, with huge vertical travel, continuous single-knob adjustment of its wide lifting range, and unprecedented control over 'ride'. 

 

All of that we accomplished.  I also put in teflon bearings, like the two bronze bushings in our flyer arm, to avoid the 'bounce' we experienced when those arms were too free.  We described the result as 'silky' and it was much admired...except recently, to my chagrin, during extremely slow moves.

 

However, our new G70x and G50x, which has been in beta release for several months, employed ball bearings -- along with a number of other recent improvements and discoveries -- and the resulting arms are superb...more iso-elastic throughout their range and ultra-smooth, as in more 'transparent' to vertical input.

 

On behalf of previous owners, we also decided to offer a ball bearing upgrade to existing arms, but my original physical envelope was extremely tight, so it's  been difficult to find room for them.  The engineers at Tiffen Steadicam have done an outstanding job on that score, and the several owners who have gotten beta upgrades also report being extremely pleased.

 

I hope that we will never stop improving these arms...and unlike.. well... iPhone, for instance,... we'll continue to offer an upgrade path whenever possible!

 

Our formal release announcement will be in February and I hope that you will soon have a chance to try out the new Gx series or one of our upgraded versions.  I am extremely proud of the results, and grateful to Tiffen for supporting our ongoing R&D efforts and numerous future improvements on behalf of the 'noble instrument.'

 

Happy New Year to you all, and best regards,

 

GB

[Alfeo Dixon SOC]

Matteo! I can't believe after all this you had not even called ANYONE at Tiffen about what you felt was not working for you properly, before someone on the forum had to give you a phone number. For Gods sake man, be more professional and stop the crybaby act of wanting for someone to come to you and baby you back to giggles before you shit your undies again!

 

To anyone and everyone following this thread, this is a business we are in and you are expected to be professionals. I do not have a single vendor that I do not have direct email, phone nor mobile to a sales rep or customer service. If at all possible I always make friends with someone on the inside and someone available to problem solve if I get stuck without results AFTER my own initial attempts to take care of the situation. Nothing like calling them in the middle of the night and they ask you "is it plugged in?"

 

I have spent many hours with Robert (engineering) @Tiffen on the phone dealing with an issue with my Ultra Bright 2 before we FINALLY found out that the 24fps on the F900 (camera onset) differed from the EX 24fps (Sony Factory Test Camera)

 

My point being, yes this is a place for us to discuss our craft, but before the witch hunt, please make sure there is actually a witch and not just some lady with a black hat riding a broom

[Michael Wilson]

Garrett or anyone in the know,

 

Why did some arms work fine and others not? I took the workshop and loved the the g series arms. A year later I ordered the G50 and it bounced. Got a loaner while mine was being looked at and it bounced as well. Got mine back and it bounced. So I decided to go with a different arm.

 

I don't remember this bounce in the arms at the workshop. I believe Jerry said it happened later in production. Why would one arm have stiction that is made of the same parts but a few years apart?

[Matteo Quagliano]

Alfeo cool down, never cry like a baby or shit in my pants. I just had respect for ops who asked me to stay quite. I knew about bounciness for a year and half, got really frustrated but never say a word. No witch hunting, just putting down things plain, simple and clear as they are.

 

I called when first noticed the bounce and asked Chris (the man who sold me the rig) explanations, then I tried to talk to Robin on this issues (i'm italian so I have to refer to Tiffen UK) but he's out till next monday, then James talk to Tiffen USA, then Garret comes to explain us the situation.

 

I'm just willing to have my beautiful G50 working as it should, I demoes that it works beautiful, I just want it to do it in every single situation I'm in to shoot (slow walk dolly style as well).

 

 

"Garret, I thank you for taking the time to come here and answer our question, that is a great aftersale policy. I have great respect for you and your work, I love G50 arm and this is why having that problem was more then frustrating. I hope you understand the goodness of my intention, I never ment to bash Tiffen nor your work, at the opposite I want to fight for both you and Tiffen but you got to give me the right weapons to do that.

 

My best regards,

Matteo"

[James Davis]

Alfeo, there is no witch hunt here, just people with a product who want it to work properly in all the scenarios it is designed for.

In my opinion the forum is a place to openly discuss issues both positive and negative about equipment, no one has fabricated anything here, we are talking about a known (and now confirmed by Tiffen) issue that has been experienced by many operators, some of them infinitely more experienced than myself who have spoken out on this thread.

 

Garret, thanks so much for coming on and speaking to us, letting us know that you acknowledge the issue and that you have worked to correct it means a lot.

Can we still expect an additional press release from Tiffen regarding upgrades/fixing the issue/trade in's etc?

 

For the record I love everything else about the arm and the rest of my Steadicam kit, it's just this one issue that has frustrated me for some time now.

 

Regards

 

James

[chris fawcett]

Garrett or anyone in the know,

 

Why did some arms work fine and others not? I took the workshop and loved the the g series arms. A year later I ordered the G50 and it bounced. Got a loaner while mine was being looked at and it bounced as well. Got mine back and it bounced. So I decided to go with a different arm.

 

I don't remember this bounce in the arms at the workshop. I believe Jerry said it happened later in production. Why would one arm have stiction that is made of the same parts but a few years apart?

Hi Michael,

 

It might be an operating issue as well. Some walking styles—and I'm categorically not saying better or worse here—exhibit more of a bounce than others. One of my favourite exercises is a the slow walk, and I always grab a rig at workshops and walk a line or two, so I've flown many G50s & 70s, and haven't experienced the bounce problem.

 

I'll put ISO on full, then back it off till the arm flows. I usually back it further off in the inner section than the outer. I'll crank the lift up so each arm section rides a little high, then I'll bear down on the arm somewhat. Maybe this helps break the stiction. I look forward to experimenting more with the new bearings to see if they change my approach.

 

All the best,

 

Chris

[Jon Beattie]

Anyone who has done the upgrade care to chime in? What was the cost? Was there a cost?

 

G50X and G70X arm owners, can you weigh in as well? Have the concerns been addressed?

 

 

I've owned a G70 for over 2 years now. Overall very happy with the arm. Its smooth, the range is great, its relatively light and fast. Now on slow moves I have noticed the g wobble. It's not huge but happens.

 

In October I had the chance to fly one of Mike O'Shea's arms after he got it back from Tiffen. He had just upgraded it with them. He was quite pleased with it. As I was really happy with my g70 I was interested to see how much different the new setup could feel.

 

Jumped into a rig and spent a good 3 or 4 minutes really playing with my arm to have the feel and muscle memory in my hand. Then I put O'Shea's 70 with the new setup on. I boomed the arm up and down once and my jaw dropped. The difference in friction and smoothness was crazy. I was shocked that something could feel that much measurebly better then my stock g70. It responses to a much lighter touch than the old arm did. The wobble I saw creeping around on my arm while doing a roundy round wasn't there either. So I was very impressed with the improvements.

 

I think the upgrade was 2500-3000 usd. takes a few weeks to do. Its been on my list of things to do to the kit since I tried Mike's arm. That and gyros, more focus units, cables, batteries, better cart, van....... it never ends

[Matteo Quagliano]

That is a wonderful news Jon. Thanks for sharing.

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

I think the upgrade was 2500-3000 usd. takes a few weeks to do.

 

 

Hold the phone....

 

$2500-$3000 and a few WEEKS for a BEARING change? Wow