Geo vs Pro

[benedictspence]

Hello All!

 

I don't want to start a row over kit etc. but I had a little query I'd like to put to the floor.

 

I have recently sold my old Glidecam and have sorted out a finance deal to buy a proper rig now that I am starting to get enough Steadicam work. I was originally going to go the whole hog and buy a full kit (one of Howards lovely MK-V's) but I have decided to wait on the sled for 9 months or so and just get the Arm and the Vest for now... and continuing hiring the sled.

 

I had my mind set on a pro arm (why settle for anything less) and I was infact going to place the order next week (I probably still will....). However I can't help but read about the G50 (and eventually the g60/70 etc.) and it's $8,000 price tag. Apart from the weight range of the Pro vs the G50 , the G50 sounds like it's some kind of super amazing next generation thing...

 

I just wanted to ask; if you guys were in my shoes would you take the plunge on the ($20,000) Pro or wait and see for the G50 etc.??

 

I think I'm gonna still stick and get the Pro but I am curious- if you were to have $20,000 to spend on an arm would you get the Pro or the G50 and spend the rest of the cash elsewhere??

[JamieSilverstein]

It really all depends on what you want and what you want to do with your cash........ Remember one very very important concept: Its not the equipment, its the operator..... I love the PRO arm and might buy one were I not perfectly happy with my Masters arm. Yeah it has cool features and is incredibly smooth, but my Masters arm is great and I have never had a problem with it in the 8 or so years that I have used it.

If you have the money, do what you want with it, but if you are pinching pennies, wait and start to make a living before you mortgage the house for a PRO arm.

What ever arm you buy won't dramatically improve your operating. So put your cash into sensible appropriate equipment and learn to use it well.

[benedictspence]

Hi Jamie!

Thanks for that; I understand totally what you are saying. I do strive constantly to be the best operator I can be but I also want kit which isn't going to hold me back in the future. I operate on video about 70% of the time with 16 and 35 jobs making up the rest and I would feel better to be able to say; OK no problem (and mean it) on whatever format and camera the production is using...

 

This is one of the things that I liked about using my old Glidecam. Sure it was crap and poorly made. Sure it didn't have up the post wiring and was impossible to get dynamic balance on it. But it did teach me that its not about the bells and whistles on your equipment- its about the operator. (Although the bells and whistles are cool!)

 

Ben

[nealnorton]

I haven't tried any arms other than the Pro recently so I don't know how well they compare to the Pro. I can tell you that my experience with the Pro arm has been truly wonderful. The Pro arm has been flexible, reliable and after 8 years of use shows very little wear and tear. Also, as a vendor, GPI has provided the best service of any company I have ever purchased equipment from.

 

Best of luck,

 

Neal Norton

[sebastianjewell]

Hi All...

 

I was just curious Ben is it possible for you to just rent the sled and get a lesser daily rate?

I am based in Sweden and have tried that a couple of times and the rental houses don't seem to be so keen on the idea! The idea of having my own arm has struck me too.

 

When it comes to the purchasing a rig option, personally i have spent a lot of money on buying my own vest and all possible accs. like cables, widgets etc. I guess it feels a lot better knowing that a rental rig that can sometimes come up short isn't a problem when i have the extras myself...

 

All the best.

 

Sebastian

[Ben Semanoff]

I think the G70 will be the way to go. Have you tried the G50 yet? Quite impressive.

[TJ Williams]

This year at NAB my son and both, tried out the G arm at the Tiffen booth, and also tried out the AR which was mounted on a pro arm. So we both got to fly both arms.... in one day.

 

Should mention that the usual arm we both use is the newest version of the old standard IIIA Type arm. Previous to this when we've considered upgrading we'd talk about the Rig Engineering arm, because of the increased range of weight over our current arm.

 

We both noted the following:

 

The G arm profile is very small whereas the Pro arm is quite a bit higher and bigger than our usual arm.

 

Both arms are very high quality and smooth in their operation. In neither case is there any issue of feeling limited in what you can do as with the glidecam arm

which we also tried out.

 

The G arm is so much lighter that it is hard to believe that a G70 will not still weigh significantly less than the PRO.

 

The PRO feels more familiar to us as the movement is more similiar to the classic IIIA than the iso-elastic arms.

 

The G can be adjusted to feel more live like the classic are or more isoelastic and the boom range has gotta be worn to be believed. another nice plus here was the smoothness of the stops at the end of the boom range, the arm kinda ramps the stop to a boom to the absolute top stops in a way that would look good with a pretty long lens up.

 

The range of the PRO and the G seem to be similiar however the PRO may have slightly more range??? does anyone know for sure? but requires changing canisters to change load ranges.

 

Both are sure nice pieces of kit!

 

TJ

[Peter Abraham]

The Tiffen G-50 arm has a 32 inch boom range with zero bump or lock-up OR shift in dynamic at each end of the range.

 

Despite any angry protestations to the contrary, it is a simple fact that the boom range of the G-50 arm exceeds that of a PRO Arm.

 

I have flown the G-40 and G-50 arms ( both for short amounts of time, to be honest. ). To be blunt, they solve every single problem that every single other arm has. Yes, including the PRO arm.

 

Peter Abraham

New York

[Thomas English]

Is there a date yet for the release of the G-50?

 

or a confirmed price?

[Frank Rush]

Hi Everyone

 

On behalf of Garrett Brown, Jerry Holway and Tiffen we thank you for the very nice comments on the G-70 Extended Range Stabilizer Arm. We intend to produce the Arm but only after extensive testing throughout the Steadicam Community. Those Operators wanting to test the arm and willing to give feedback should contact us.

 

Next Monday (see seperate post) Garrett will be at our office in Glendale, California to have a Technology Showing of the new G-70 Arm. You will be able to ask about any part of the design criteria and try first hand the arm you have all been waiting for. As you can tell from the various Post, you will be pleased.

 

A little information about the arm.

It uses a new extrusion design that produces a very light weight arm. Coupled with the Titanium Springs the G-70 Arm is a little over 10 pounds and the G-50 about 8 pounds. The Unique spring within a spring design of the G-70 is quite unique. Both arms feature "Geo" plus "Ride" control. The exclusive No-Tools adjustment apply to both Weight and Ride controls. Either arm may be fitted with any current or previous stabilizer rig Post size for instant use. The post size may be changed to be used with various rigs owned by one operator. The current price of the G-50 Arm is $9,950.00 fitted with the standard Steel Arm Vest Interface. The same arm supplied with No-Tools Titanium Arm/Vest Connector is $10,600.00. The G-50 Arm is available for Immediates Shipment. No price has been set for the G-70 Arm.

 

We are very proud of both the new G-50 and G-70 arm designs. The G-50 is shipping with new Archer and Clipper2 systems worldwide. I am sure you will soon hear reports from those operators. We will have demonstrator systems in the Glendale Showroom for you to stop by and try at any time.

 

We look forward to seeing you Monday, October 17, 2005 between 5:30 and 7:30 PM to spend time with Garrett and both G-50 and G-70 Extended Range Stabilizer Arms.

 

Frank Rush

Manager

STEADICAM Division

Tiffen Acquisition

[RobVanGelder]

please, let me try, let me try !!!!! :) :) :)

[George Grammatikos]

Hi i also have in my mind a new arm (always thinking the pro arm )

The g 70 look like a good alternative and a way to save some euros or $ (i want to believe ,still wait the price)

as i have read for g 70(unfortunly i was not in ibc this year)it look like a good and fine part off equipment ,but the pro is tested many years now in the market ,the g 70 is just new so you will take the risk to test it and have an opinion after some years

all the best

[Robert Eder]

g70 and g50 are really amazing arms,

i am not a professional op. but i´ve tried them next to the ultra, glidecam, pro-gpi,progear, and the sachtler arm on ibc05, for shure i was only able to try them for about 5mins but especially these geo/ride controls on the g50/70 which can be adjusted in seconds amazingly changed the arms behaviour dramatically.

 

if i had the money i would go for a g70.

 

does anyone know how it technically works?

 

thanks, robert

[AndySchwartz]

hey all

 

 

well i got a G-50 arm and it is pretty amazing. i used the G-50 and G-70 at the recent SOA workshop and I had been looking at arms for a few months. I finally broke down and bought the G-50 and klassen light vest. I do all video on SDX900/DVX100 and DSr500's etc, so I think the two are good combo.

 

i have a SK2 and wanted to upgrade but financially I am not ready for a whole new setup so I decided to get a new arm and vest for now. I have to say that have the klassen vest and the G-50 with my sled is enormously different than the arm and vest of the SK2. The boom range on the G-50 is nuts, extremely free and smooth all the way through, and I have been playing around with the iso-elasticity a bit and it is nice to be able to make the arm fairly stiff to move quick. I have been shooting some Womens Professional Football for a TLC show and I think it will make a huge difference being able to run a bit with them and have the arm stiffer. I will find out on Saturday I guess.

 

Also, the klassen vest is the best. For me, it seems to give me a little more stability and control and it seems to really spread weight more consistently on my body, instead of pushing/pulling in certain spots. I was using an SK2 vest though.

 

I have never used a pro, so I cannot compare it. but i hear that they are the best of the best.

 

So next year I upgrade my sled and I am good to go I think.

 

If you want some pics or have more questions on the G-50 I can post em.

 

Ciao

Andy

[Matt Burton]

Yo Andy

 

Glad to hear your having fun with the new setup :D

Would love to see some pics or even better a video of that boom range ?

-matt