questions questions questions

[shad wyckoff]

Im new to the steadicam. I got to work with a provid and got hooked. I signed up for a workshop in maine. I have a few questions that are probably dumb but here goes. does the sled determine the weight of the camera or is it just the arm? has anyone used the silver spring arm from australia? I've been looking at the mk-v web site and was the j box is that just to power the camera if it is a 12v or 24v? What is the diference from film and video? is it just the weight and v? I've really enjoyed reading this website. Thanks in advance. sorry if the questions are dumb.

[Mikko Wilson]

There are no dumb questions.

 

However a lot of these questions can be answerd in many places.. but as I dont' recall a post specifically for these questions, i'll throw out somethign to start with.

 

First off. You will lean so much from the workshop. Good move.

 

The weight of the bottoms of the sled combined with the adjustability of the gimble defines how heavy a camera you can ballance on the sled.

However the Arm then defines what is the maximum wiehg tof the sled, including camera. Whichever of these is lighter is generally the case. ..Though if you arm can take it, you can always add weight to teh sled for a heavier camera.

 

A "J-box" is just a junction box, it's another word for a connections pannel, it just happens to be in a Box. Generally the battery on the sled powers the monitor and the camera. The cables normally run up inide the post of the sled to the connectors on the J-Box which just a convinent, tidy place ot connect teh power to the cmaera, and video from teh camera back down tot eh monitor and other accesories depending on your needs and teh J-box in question.

Differenct J-Boxes have different features avaialable. A basic one provides 12V (which is what most video cameras run on) and composite video to the monitor.

A more advanced one would have a 24V output to power film cameras (Many of which require 24V to run) along with maybe a Component video input for HD monitoring, a Tally output for multicamera work, other power outputs for accesories like Follow-Focus, etc.. You get the idea.

One of the key features to J-boxes is that they are all correctly wired, the power is regulated, any video inputs and outputs are properly terminated (loaded) and distributed.

 

As for teh differences with Film and Video there are a few. Generally film cameras are heavier then video cameras. Often film cameras require 24V, Video normally on needs 12v. Video cameras just abotu always have the necesary video output built in, a film camera may need a "video tap" (basically a small camera stuck in the eyepeice)

 

Now, that probebly created more questions than it answered.

 

Be sure to read all the documentation you can. Get into the manuals section of the SOA website.. www.steadicam-ops.com

good stuff in there.

 

 

- Mikko

[Matt Burton]

There are no dumb questions.

 

The weight of the bottoms of the sled combined with the adjustability of the gimble defines how heavy a camera you can ballance on the sled.

However the Arm then defines what is the maximum wiehg tof the sled, including camera.  Whichever of these is lighter is generally the case.  ..Though if you arm can take it, you can always add weight to teh sled for a heavier camera.

 

- Mikko

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Too true their are no dumb questions, however how do adjust my gimble for heavy cameras ? i wansn't aware that i could do anything to it on the flyer but maybe thats just the flyer.

 

-matt

[Richard James Lewis]

He just means how far the gimbal can slide on the post.

i.e. if you have a heavier camera, you can slide it to the upper end of it?s travel nearer the camera.

[Stephen Murphy]

The weight of the bottoms of the sled combined with the adjustability of the gimble defines how heavy a camera you can ballance on the sled.

However the Arm then defines what is the maximum wiehg tof the sled, including camera. 

 

- Mikko

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

The design of the gimbal also affects how much weight you can carry - not all gimbals can accomodate heavy weight regardless of what arm you are using.