Tiffen WXB

[Dave Bittner]

Still curious about this little magic box, which seems to be more elusive than the Loch Ness Monster, post NAB. I'd love to demo one. Any idea how it works, in terms of technical details? I've got a few guesses.

I've got a message in to Frank Rush, asking for a demo unit, but haven't heard back, yet.

 

http://steadicam.com/userimages/Steadicam_WXB-ss.pdf

[David M. Aronson]

I'm not sure how many of these currently exist in the world, but I think it's just a few prototypes.

 

To put it simply, you mount the unit to the bottom of your sled and there's a decently heavy weight on a servo mounted inside. When your horizon is off, the weight moves to the opposite side to make the sled seek vertical without effecting the pan and tilt. So you can have a very slow drop time for shots with a lot of tilts, but it will act like there's a 2-3 second drop time for roll.

[James Davis]

That's pretty much it David, it works very well, I demoed it recently in England, I was very impressed.

[Victor Lazaro]

I tried it at the last SOA workshop. it does work well and isn't too heavy. Definitely something to keep an eye on.

[Alessandro Ugo]

I recently tried it and felt pretty comfortable.

 

I think it's still a prototype though as I heard it still needs some improvements.

[Thomas Gottschalk]

Gentlemen,

 

does someone know how much it will cost?

[Alessandro Ugo]

Gentlemen,

 

does someone know how much it will cost?

 

It hasn't been officially released yet.

 

A few grants I reckon.

[Hans Helmer]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1001015-REG/steadicam_815_7940_01_steadicam_whm_bg_artificial_horizon.html

 

indoors works fine .... outdoors poor light!

[JamesSainthill]

Any new info on the WXB?

 

Steve?

Tiffen?

[Victor Lazaro]

I heard that they are waiting on new PCB boards since the first batch had issues. No dates as of now.

[James Davis]

Keen to hear more on this too.

[William Demeritt]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1001015-REG/steadicam_815_7940_01_steadicam_whm_bg_artificial_horizon.html

 

indoors works fine .... outdoors poor light!

 

I put hard side velcro on top and bottom of the readout. Whenever sun is around, I have a long piece of soft side velcro over the top and bottom, and I can bend it up or down so I can see the level but it also acts as a great shade. Brighter would be nicer, but for now it works.

[Marc R. Berger]

Any idea about pricing for the WXB? Approx., what would you think?

[Rich Cottrell]

I just do not understand something about this tool. The big complaint i have heard is it it too hard to see because it is not bright enough.

 

How hard is it to use brighter led lights?

Seems like such a simple fix.

[Thomas English]

Any news on the WXB?