Help with Pilot vest

[Herman Wong]

I need some help with my Pilot vest. There are no buckles... all purely velcro straps. With the arm in place there is more weight on the right side of the vest which over a short period of time when I move, it causes the vest to slightly rotate to the right. The center spar is no longer centered and is shifted to the right.

 

Any suggestions on what to adjust here? Is the bottom hip strap supposed to be super super tight? Currently there is a little bit of room (not easy tightening the bottom when the whole thing is velco. if only it was a belt/strap). But if I were to push/pull the bottom to either the left or right, I would still be able to rotate it around my body. Or maybe I need to tighten the chest straps?

 

 

[Alan Rencher]

It sounds like the vest is too loose. I had one of the older Pilots before Tiffen added buckles to the vest, and I never had a problem with spinning. It sounds to me like you should take workshop.

 

Edited September 22, 2013 by Alan Rencher

[Herman Wong]

Yup I plan to take a workshop but unfortunately it would have to be next year. In the meantime I'm practicing the basics via EFP/Steadicam Op Handbook/Flyer manual which should help immensely for the workshop.

A loose vest certainly doesn't help during practice. Could be that my hips are not very wide (I've got a relatively slender body frame) so I think I'm really going to have to pull that bottom hip strap really darn tight then.

[Frederic Sturm]

Hi Herman,

 

the pilot vest is really comforatble because it's ridiculously light, but it's not the most stable one.

I've first practiced on a pilot before taking a workshop and it's a great little rig to start on, you'll
develop a really sensitive touch.

 

Yes, by all means, try to tighten the waist strap as much as you can. Snug up the chest straps

really well, too. Still with a camera load that's a little on the heavy side, the vest might shift - a little -

towards the sled.

 

Also, Tiffen has a buckle upgrade for the pilot vest for $50 which is really worth getting:

 

http://www.tiffen.com/displayproduct.html?tablename=steadicam&itemnum=801-7816

 

Mine had that already and I can't imagine opening and closing velcro everytime!

 

Have fun with your pilot!

[Herman Wong]

Thanks for the link Frederic!

A belt upgrade would definitely be helpful!

[Victor Lazaro]

Make the hip strap snug but not tight to cutting your blood flow or giving you hip pains http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=19167&hl=

And the strap upgrade will help you a lot (for fairly cheap)

[Elliot Gabor]

The vest need to be very tight and I've noticed that it helps to strap yourself in and then loosen and readjust the height of the hip pads to fit properly while pushing down on teh shoulders so that they sit flush. Hope that helps.

[Dave Gish]

Hi Herman,

 

If you can't take a workshop for a while, get the "Steadicam EPF Training Video DVD". A quick Google will find it. Yeah, the EFP is an old crusty rig, but Steadicam basics are the same, and its important to remove bad habits as quickly as possible. Its harder to "unlearn" things if you've been doing them for a while.

 

As for the vest, yes, it should be tight, but you should also be "under the rig". In other words, if you remove both hands for a second or two, the rig shouldn't move. If it does, you're using your hands too much, and your hips too little. Your hips should be positioned so that you barely have to touch the rig with your hands.

 

Hope this helps,

Dave