Premium Members John Buzz Moyer Posted August 18, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 Sorry, dinner... I haven't made significant modifications to the sled over the years. I added a collar on the post for a Gyro mount and had a bracket made for an lcd monitor. I changed to Anton Bauer batteries a few years ago instead of the CP type. I still hear from the assistants..."You mean there's only one battery...jeez I'm used to having to deal with nine or so..." I think you make of it what you will, everyone lives in a different house. I chose to go with C.P. back then...they were good to me over the years and the equipment never failed me (well almost never). When it did go wrong they were there to take care of the problem. The Master Series is a quality piece of equipment and I will always appreciate what it has allowed me to do in my career. I also anticipate the continued support and improvements by Tiffen and look forward to all manufacturers improving the state of the art in what we all know as Steadicam.... John "Buzz" Moyer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Iain Baird Posted August 18, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 I owned a master series for seven years, and like John I remember dreaming of the day it arrived. It was my first sled and as such served it purpose very well. The arm was easy to adjust, there was only one battery to worry about, the frameline generator was built in with a level to boot. It was perfect for the begginer I was. But as time went on I found it to be lacking, the 24v problem was an issue, and dirty video from all the power coming from the same battery was very annoying. The biggest problem that I had with the unit however is that it's not modular. You can't interchange any of the pieces. With so many companies out there now, it's nice to have choices. It's also an ever changing field of options that are available. I now have a sled built by a total of 7 companies including the vest. As each part becomes obsolete or is improved upon I can replace just that part, instead of being locked into a rig that is molded as one unit, like the Master Series. All in all I loved my Master Series but I definately outgrew it. Iain Baird Toronto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattmarek Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 i've added an anton bauer mount to the bottom of my masters sled for 24V, so power wise, i'd say the masters can be modified easily enough for any camera. the dirty image with some taps is solved by powering the tap separately with the 4 pin hirose 12v/video connector. usually found with the arri 3. other than that, you may want to replace the monitor mount with an xcs or mkv bracket. sure different sleds offer different bells and whistles, but they're all sticks with a gimbal and monitor. it's the operator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M. Andersen Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 '...unlike all you owner.operators ' this is a bit of a generalisation...no??? thomas was being tongue in cheek with you. lighten up :D <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well howz about communicating that tongue and cheek attitude with a little smiley like you did? Otherwise it can be read as insulting. Sheesh! I'll say one good thing about being an non owner is I don't have to play the gear game, the trends, etc. Was that too general? I don't have a say in the gear and must make do with what is (or is NOT) supplied to me. As an owner/operator for many years this is a great relief! Why is everyone busting my balls? Has this forum turned into an elitist clique? I was a charter member years ago and I don't need to be lectured to. Why all the negativity? Thanks for the answers buried in the lectures and ball busting. Now, back to your show... Kevin "doesn't want to be a part of that elitist negativity club" Andersen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattmarek Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 ' Kevin "doesn't want to be a part of that elitist negativity club" Andersen ' ok. good luck with your decisions. fly safe :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Iain Baird Posted August 19, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 sure different sleds offer different bells and whistles, but they're all sticks with a gimbal and monitor. it's the operator I'm not so sure about that. In theory it sounds great, an even playing field for all sleds. However it's not even close to the truth, the range in quality of sleds and vests ranges from 0-10, you'd have to be dumb to think that with a good operator a low end sled can perform as well as a top end sled. They are not all created equal, and thus can't perform equally, otherwise the cheap ones would rule the field. IB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Guido Lux Posted August 20, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 Hi, I have had mine for a while and I loved it! It's highly modified! Been thinking of selling it since it's been hanging on the wall (cause it's just beautiful!) and I'll be getting my new nexus any day now! If you want pix email me! lux@steadic.am Guido "3 sleds are too many" Lux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattmarek Posted August 20, 2005 Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 ian, dont think i mentioned 'low end' sleds here. :) sure the bassons and the bottom feeders wont compete, but look at mcConkey using his mod'd 3A up until 2001 was it? this was my point, the ms and 3a is fine. sure there's updates and newer things, but there always will be in this field. a bl4 delivers just as good a picture as a 535 does. i think that was my point. i hope i'm not 'dumb' :D MM - toronto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Iain Baird Posted August 21, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted August 21, 2005 i hope i'm not 'dumb' :D MM - toronto <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My apologies Matt, my comment was uncalled for. It was rooted however in that I don't believe that even the high end sleds are created equal. How many people do you know that have sold their PRO sled for a Master Series? I don't know of anyone. But I can list a bunch that have gone the other way, including me. The reason being, that I was unhappy with the MS. It just didn't cater to my needs. I wanted a tilt plate added on - a big mod to the MS but now only five minutes away any time I need to put it on my new sled (chrosziel tilt plate). Broken springs (three in 7 years) and my MS arm is gone for two weeks, but my PRO arm, (if it ever happens) the springs can be exchanged on set in five minutes. I wanted a super post, my MS option - send in for an upgrade. PRO option - buy the MK-V and do it myself. I could go on. Sure the BL4 and 535 offer the same image, but the 535 offers so much more, (non coax mags for 1) If you were asked which you would rather fly my guess is that you would chose the 535. I agree with the fact that the end image on the screen will only be determined by the skill of the Operator. But it's the sled that can make that journey easier or harder. Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattmarek Posted August 22, 2005 Report Share Posted August 22, 2005 cheers iain :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Peter Abraham Posted September 12, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 Oye gevalt. Kevin, congrats on finding gold in them thar Thermodyne's. Feel free to email me. I've never been to Foxwoods and am in the Hudson Valley of NY. Be glad to come up and take a look at what you've got ahold of. I owned a MS Elite- similar in many ways to your rig. There are some minor tweaks unique to the MS rigs that I can pass along. The strike plate locks on the gimbal handle and telescoping post sections can indeed slowly become more gentle. They won't lock hard and if you whip pan, the sections can rotate out of alignment. ( Or, the gimbal will slide on the post slightl ). Easy to fix. Using the small allen wrench that will fit into those two tiny set screws in the strike plate lock, give each one a TINY turn- I mean, about 5 % of a full rotation turn per set screw. Keep them even, and turn them a tiny bit per try. You'll hit that magic point where they lock totally hard, can be opened quickly but cannot slip. Also, because the centerpost is carbon-fiber composite, I rubbed the post down with denatured alcohol every coupla months. It takes the light bit of dust off the post and stops things inside the gimbal from becoming mucky before their time. ( It is an absolute of the world of Steadicam and knock-offs that the gimbals can and will become dirty and gritty. No matter what brand, eventually the bearings will wear or gather grit and go south. ) Move the gimbal/handle way down on the post and clean up top. Then move the gimble/handle up north to the top and do the rest. Fred Davis is the man, he can solve your wiring woes and has an elegant touch with both solder and shrink-tubing. :) Hopefully the gentle jibing in this thread hasn't turned you from the Forum- I highly doubt that anyone was really trying to be snarky. As is always the case here, your bretheren and sisteren (cistern? Hmm. ) are glad to listen and offer suggestions. And welcome back to active Operating. Nice to return, isn't it?? Peter Abraham New York Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Hervé Colosio Posted December 14, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 hi , does someone know the link for the pdf of Masters Series Broadcast Sled manual ? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jason Torbitt Posted December 14, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 (edited) There is no specific manaul for the Broadcast Master, but there is a generic Master Series manual which covers the whole MS range. I'm not aware that it exists online. My sled is the Broadcast Master, and I have the MS manual - if there's anything specific you would like help with, send me a PM or an email and I'll get back to you. Try a search of the archives here too for anything specific Edited December 14, 2005 by Jason Torbitt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members DavidWest Posted December 14, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 http://steadicam.com/filmUltraManuals.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Afton Grant Posted December 30, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 30, 2005 I'm creating a 24V solution for my Master Sled by replacing the removable old converter on the front of the sled with an Anton Bauer Proformer. I'm looking for the pin outs of the old 12/24V converter. Kyle at Tiffen has sent me an accessory dovetail plate onto which I am mounting an AB Gold mount and a Proformer. I've taken just the pins and connector plate off the old converter so it'll fit nicely back into the sled. I just have to connect the Gold mount to those pins which is why I'm looking for the pin outs. Is my description clear enough? Is there anything serious I might be overlooking? Thanks very much for help. Have a great New Year! Afton Grant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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