G50X and G70X arm

[Hilaire Brosio SOC]

I purchased a used Archer2 last year (I'm told it was one of the first 5 built and sold) and I was very frustrated from the get-go with the G-50 arm. Soon there after my producers on the two NBC shows I shoot for noticed a bounce in my slow shots, and while they didn't beat me up too bad about it, they wanted me to fix it quickly. So I have been keeping tabs on this thread with great interest. And fortunate for me our offices are just down the street from Tiffen.

 

I just got my G-50 back from Tiffen with the upgrade and I am very happy with it. I was fortunate to be able to borrow a G-50X while mine was being worked on and I did not want to give it back. I was blown away by the difference between the G-50X and mine. I was hoping Tiffen was going to forget I had the G-50X and let me keep it.

 

But, when all was said and done, my upgraded G-50 is a VAST improvement from what it was a couple of weeks ago. The new bearings and internal set-up make it feel like a brand new arm. While the G-50X has a couple of bells and whistles in terms of bumpers and such, I am greatly impressed with the upgrade. My slow "dolly type" moves look solid and I don't have to overcompensate or ride the arm low anymore in an attempt to cover up for the stiction (also known as hysteresis...thanks for that SAT word Mr. Fletcher I use it often now).

 

My thanks goes out to Tiffen and Mike Craigs for getting it done quickly and helping me with dialing in the arm's settings such that it is now smooth as mayonnaise.

 

'nuff said

Edited May 15, 2012 by Hilaire Brosio

[Phil Thomas]

Hilaire, that's good to hear for all operators. My G-50 should hopefully be boarding a plane back to the UK soon fully upgraded so can't wait to give it a try. What help did they give you with dialling in the upgraded arm, any tips you can share?

 

Phil

[Hilaire Brosio SOC]

The way to fine tune my G-50 was explained to me like this (or at least this is what I heard). First get a camera on your rig and balance your rig as you usually would. Then set-up the arm as you would typically have it in terms of Ride and Lift, work with it for a bit and get a feel for it. I like my Lift set so that both segments of the arm have a bit of rise in them bringing them just above horizontal (yes, basic stuff). Then back out your Ride counterclockwise almost all the way (don't force the stop at the end). Now again spend some time flying it to feel the difference. Then give the Ride a turn or two clockwise, and you will feel a big difference. The first few turns of the ride create a dramatic difference in terms of hardening the ride, while the last few turns are very incremental (and don't force the knob on the high end either). Slowly take the ride in a half turn at a time and fly your rig to get the feel for how the subtle change affects the rig. Find where it is comfortable, and take note as to whether you end up where you started (in terms of your usual set-up). Then play with this new comfort zone by going back and forth a half turn to feel the subtle nuance of your Ride's new (or maybe the same) sweet spot. From here you may want to adjust your ride, in subtle turns, to further enlighten yourself.

 

Yes, it sounds very fundamental and obvious. But so is cooking once you have a clue or a recipe.

 

I'd love to know how other operators approach this, because I am always up for trying new recipes and I am a newbie compared to most folks here.

[Hilaire Brosio SOC]

Near the end there, I meant to say...

 

From here you may want to adjust your Lift, in subtle turns, to further enlighten yourself.

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

I'd love to know how other operators approach this, because I am always up for trying new recipes and I am a newbie compared to most folks here.

 

 

I approached it buy buying a PRO arm and not worrying about it

[Hilaire Brosio SOC]

Well played Eric!

[James Davis]

I leave it turned almost all the way out, prefer it with little to no iso dialled in.

[Evrim KAYA]

Hello everyone,

 

i Just bought a used Ultra2 set complete with g70 arm. during the demo of the rig with the seller i cheked the slow walk "sticky" problem and it seemed non existant. Prior to having my own, i rented several rigs with master, ultra, IIIa, Progpi arms. although slow walk was problematic with master/ultra and IIIa arms (very old and not serviced since purchase i suppose) progpi was indeed very smooth. my only experience with g70 was during workshop but this was long time ago when i haven't the skill set to detect the problem described. now i'm fairly confident with my operating that if something THAT wrong was there i would have sense it during demo. note that i did the demo after reading this post so fully aware of the potential issue.

i dont mean that this issue doesn't exist but i think that this problem exist only a limited number of g series (mostly g-50s) arms produced in a timeframe.

since purchase i played quite a bit with the rig at home base and i'm extremely happy with it. in two days i'll start a feature film and will be able to test it in the field. i'll update my experiences as the production goes along.

note: the arm and the rig was serviced by Tiffen just before my purchase. perhaps they throw in an uprgrade? :)

 

other than that i looooove my ultra2 and all its bells and whistles. i know some of you have very strong feelings agains Tiffen products and most of you have way more experience than me (just 4 years) but i think ultra2+g70 is a great insturment with lots of potential.

[JobScholtze]

We did send in our arm ( g50 ) for a regular service. The arm needed new bearings and other stuff, as it was well used. We did send it in on the 11th of april. On 24th of may the emailed us that the are still waiting on parts from tiffen usa. Its now 5th of july and still no arm. I am glad we are not depending on that arm right now, as it would have caused us a lot of problems.

[Evrim KAYA]

so first day of on the job; after waiting eagerly for 6 hours they call me. finally i`ll get to play with my new toy for real. technical setup is a Redmx with on board red battery (didn`t received my red power connectors yet) bartech and decimator2+titan sd (with 9db high gain antennas)for wireless video feed and of course ultra2, ultrabrite2, two powercubes and g70.

 

the first scene i was asked to do is a low mode inches from the ground with a 18 mil lens, creeping in a looong coridor to find a dead body lying on the ground. i though `wow! this is the ultimate test to the potential problem!`. As i would need the boom range at the end i maxed out the iso setting as instructed from the manual. neither me or the dop didn`t see any footspeps. i re-checked the recording from my onboard monitor in the evening and also nothing. i guess the owners of g70s are somewhat spared from this issiue or the problem only exist with `very light` setups.

 

i wont be sending my recently serviced arm to tiffen for an upgrade but when the next service is due i might buy the upgrade if it will be still within the reasoble 1000 dollar vicinity.

 

 

Hello everyone,

 

i Just bought a used Ultra2 set complete with g70 arm. during the demo of the rig with the seller i cheked the slow walk "sticky" problem and it seemed non existant. Prior to having my own, i rented several rigs with master, ultra, IIIa, Progpi arms. although slow walk was problematic with master/ultra and IIIa arms (very old and not serviced since purchase i suppose) progpi was indeed very smooth. my only experience with g70 was during workshop but this was long time ago when i haven't the skill set to detect the problem described. now i'm fairly confident with my operating that if something THAT wrong was there i would have sense it during demo. note that i did the demo after reading this post so fully aware of the potential issue.

i dont mean that this issue doesn't exist but i think that this problem exist only a limited number of g series (mostly g-50s) arms produced in a timeframe.

since purchase i played quite a bit with the rig at home base and i'm extremely happy with it. in two days i'll start a feature film and will be able to test it in the field. i'll update my experiences as the production goes along.

note: the arm and the rig was serviced by Tiffen just before my purchase. perhaps they throw in an uprgrade? :)

 

other than that i looooove my ultra2 and all its bells and whistles. i know some of you have very strong feelings agains Tiffen products and most of you have way more experience than me (just 4 years) but i think ultra2+g70 is a great insturment with lots of potential.

[Aaron Medick SOC]

I hope your arm continues it's excellent performance. My g70 arm was working great then one day the sticktion problem surfaced out of now where. I had the upgrade done and now all is well.

[Evrim KAYA]

I hope your arm continues it's excellent performance. My g70 arm was working great then one day the sticktion problem surfaced out of now where. I had the upgrade done and now all is well.

 

i though the problem is there or isn`t. now i understand that it might be a gradual process thus favoring the theory of dust settling within teflon bearings being the cause. we`d better protect our g series arms agains dust untill upgrade then.

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

I hope your arm continues it's excellent performance. My g70 arm was working great then one day the sticktion problem surfaced out of now where. I had the upgrade done and now all is well.

 

i though the problem is there or isn`t. now i understand that it might be a gradual process thus favoring the theory of dust settling within teflon bearings being the cause. we`d better protect our g series arms agains dust untill upgrade then.

 

 

That's not the cause. and if it were to be that would be a MAJOR failure in engineering and design.

 

Funny how the pro arms cleaning procedure is "Step 1: Remove arm canisters. Step 2: Rinse arm with garden hose. Step 3: reassemble" My 12 year old arm has NEVER needed a service. it just works

[Janice Arthur]

Erik;

 

Do you get a $1.00 every time you mention PRO?

 

I recently tried the arm and its great and I remember it's debut it was great then too.

 

We get it.

 

Janice

[Evrim KAYA]

I hope your arm continues it's excellent performance. My g70 arm was working great then one day the sticktion problem surfaced out of now where. I had the upgrade done and now all is well.

 

i though the problem is there or isn`t. now i understand that it might be a gradual process thus favoring the theory of dust settling within teflon bearings being the cause. we`d better protect our g series arms agains dust untill upgrade then.

 

 

That's not the cause. and if it were to be that would be a MAJOR failure in engineering and design.

 

Funny how the pro arms cleaning procedure is "Step 1: Remove arm canisters. Step 2: Rinse arm with garden hose. Step 3: reassemble" My 12 year old arm has NEVER needed a service. it just works

 

Eric, how do you know that is not the cause. i beleive touching a tiffen product would burn your hands (silver & vampire analogie) :) but seriously if the upgrade means changing teflon bearings to ball bearings, logically it is clear that there is something with teflon bearings. it`s either teflon deterioreting or the dust makes it`s way within bearings, mating with the oil already present and obstructs its proper fonction by making it sticky. and if the service makes the problem to go away for a while i bet it`s the dust messing with our arms.

 

also constantly making fun of tiffen products with bearly usable suggestions about our equipment is not very nice or helpful. i know i`m very new to forums and fairly new in steadicam world but your comments seems pointless other than making us feel bad. of caurse each should tell about his/her experiences and favor a product over another but i think this isn`t what you`re doing.