Introductions! And Initial Questions

[Jerry Holway]

Justin-

 

I like Mark's advice throughout this thread.

 

It seems reasonable with this light a rig to add a little extra mass and inertia. It will never be that heavy... We tend to add weights to the Zephyr and smaller rigs in workshops, just to have a bit more stability.

 

Jerry

[Mark Schlicher]

Eric,

 

Thanks for taking the time to write from set. My best regards to Steve, I enjoyed meeting him at the 2011 Stabilizer Expo.

 

First, let me clarify that Justin brought up the idea of adding weights. I simply was recommending a source for a weight plate.

 

That said, I do think that adding a bit of mass to a Pilot with a <2 lb camera on it is a good thing.

 

When I took my weeklong workshop, I'd been operating a 7 pound camera on a first-gen Flyer for about 8 months. While I benefited from developing a light touch, the lack of mass and inertia of my rig made it difficult to adjust (in terms of grip, balance and posture) to operating the workshop's big rigs. Switches were a vastly different experience, as were starting and stopping, pans, extending the arm, etc. You might say I had learned to "under-control". Plus the Flyer's small diameter grip (similar to Pilot's) practically required a "fingertip" technique...quite the opposite of what I soon learned to be effective and appropriate for a big rig. After I went home I ordered a weight plate so that I could learn to control my own rig in a heavier, more inertial configuration. I was glad that I did, it improved my operating and provided a better steppingstone to my next rig and heavier cameras.

 

So, that was my personal experience, which formed the basis of my advice. Given the countless times that weight plates and weight cages have been recommended on the forum, and the benefits of more mass and more inertia touted, I'm genuinely surprised that my recommendation might be at all controversial. But okay.

 

I agree that a light rig can help to avoid overcontrolling. A Pilot with a 6 pound weight plate and a 2 pound camera is still a very light rig...just a little less flighty than without it.

[Justin Hayes]

Hi everyone, I'm really excited and impressed that I have so many pro's replying to my forum, even from on-set. You guys have a nicely knit community here, this is great.

 

Based on the feedback, it sounds like the overall weight can really affect the feel of the operating of the unit, I will play around with this, to find what my preference is.

 

But for training purposes it sounds like I will benefit from alternating my practices, between using it near the max weight capacity, sometimes, and other times, with it relatively light.

This way, I can learn what the subtle, and more pronounced differences are in the weight range of the pilot. And understand how the overall weight changes the feel of the camera.

 

So for heavy practicing, I'll put it around its 8-9lbs close to it's max.

 

and when practicing for lighter rigs, like DSLR's, what is a good general weight to practice with?