Zephyr for Red One?

[Matthew L. Perez]

Ok Thank you Alan. That makes more sense. I'll definitely go for the HD monitor instead. Thank you for your recommendation.

[Victor Lazaro]

The cable for the Red is draining power from the Lemo on the top stage then goes straight to the power plug on the red.

[Mark Schlicher]

Alan, with due respect, I don't understand your advice, unless someone has no interest at all in making two phone calls, buying one rubber washer, and unscrewing one hex grub screw to save about $1500 and get the exact same result.

 

The Steadicam HD monitor for Zephyr is the Marshall LCD70XHB rebranded, with a slightly different mounting bracket (an irrelevant difference in my experience.)

 

Buy the SD Zephyr. Call favorite vendor and buy a Marshall LCD70XHB. Call Terry West and buy a breakout cable (the SD Zephyr does not come with the 4pin xlr/bnc breakout. It comes with a cable specific to the SD monitor. Tiffen wants double what Terry charges for the HD power/SDI breakout cable). Go to Home Depot and buy a rubber washer. Back the grub screw partially out of the Zephyr's monitor bracket so it doesn't stick up. Install the rubber washer between monitor bracket and bottom of monitor to eliminate unwanted rotation.

 

Plug it in. Enjoy the savings.

 

PS: Now you also have an SD backup monitor.

[Victor Lazaro]

Just did that with a TVlogic monitor while our monitor was out for repair. The rubber washer works like a charm.

[Alan Rencher]

Mark, I wasn't aware of the discrepancy in price. The Zephyr price has dropped quite a bit since I bought mine. What I was referring to was not that he shouldn't save money on the same monitor, but that he shouldn't get a cheap, low-quality monitor with an investment of that size.

[Matthew L. Perez]

So Mark, If I were to go to purchase the Marshall LCD70XHB and purchase a break out cable from terry I'd have two monitors options and pretty much be paying close to what the HD model and instead have the SD model and two monitors choices. Which is pretty good. Also Terry makes a cable which would power red through the sled.

[Mark Schlicher]

I don't keep up with the pricing on the Zephyr variants but as of a couple of years ago the HD Zephyr cost about $3000 more than the SD Zephyr as I recall. So, by buying a Marshall for $1200 and a $240 cable, you have an HD monitor solution, a backup SD monitor, and $1500 in savings.

 

The math may be different now, YMMV.

 

I will also say that I was an early Zephyr adopter and Tiffen drove me crazy with their inability/unwillingness to give me specs or any description of either their HD or SD monitors prior to purchase, despite repeated requests to the factory. I was only able to see that it was a rebadged Marshall by looking at a user-posted photo (I later had an opportunity to compare actual units side-by-side).

 

As for the power cable, Matthew....I own custom power cables for Red One/MX and Epic. Both cameras are pretty power-hungry so it's good advice to power the camera from an onboard battery if you can. I won't wade back into the threads on that subject, but suffice it to say that Red's sensitivity to voltage drops, combined with the wiring used in the Zephyr, can result in operational problems. Specifically, when you power up a (analog) Bartech receiver after the camera can cause a voltage drop that can shut the camera down. Workarounds are necessary. Easiest workaround is power the camera separately. Don't know if digital BFD receiver has the same issue.

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

combined with the wiring used in the Zephyr, can result in operational problems. Specifically, when you power up a (analog) Bartech receiver after the camera can cause a voltage drop that can shut the camera down. Workarounds are necessary.

 

And that 22ga wiring is not at all up to the task of powering anything like a Red or Alexa

[Mark Schlicher]

Like I said, I'm not getting back into that discussion.

[Victor Lazaro]

Like I said, I'm not getting back into that discussion.

no matter what the wiring is, I feel like the Epic/Scarlet is better balanced with a battery on its back.

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

Like I said, I'm not getting back into that discussion.

 

There is no discussion needed and I must correct myself it's actually 24(!)ga wire. it is totally unacceptable. Here's a photo to refresh your memory.

 

[Alan Rencher]

Geez! Not this again!

[Matthew L. Perez]

Sorry about starting up a disagreement. I didn't mean too. This is version I was looking at: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/856848-REG/Steadicam_Zephyr_Camera_Stabilizer_AB.html It has some good stuff to start with the batteries my not be name brand but It seems like a good deal to start with and I'm gonna look into that monitor deal as well. which looks pretty good and contact Terry about the cable to power the monitor.

[Mark Schlicher]

[Matthew L. Perez]

I had one last quick question. If I want my Zephyr to have 24v options and to hot swab batteries. would I have to order the extra 12v battery part when I first get my zephyr or can I order it after?