LA/NY gear trial

[dafttemplar]

Hello steadicam brethren.

I'm new to the steadicam game and will be travelling from down under to the land of the brave in late August to do a little steadicam training and will inevitably be looking at buying myself a rig while I'm over there. I do have a very knowledgable and respected cameraman guiding my first steps into flight (he runs a serial 001 pro rig ) which will be extraordinary to cut my teeth on. However from all the reading I've being doing here it seems the most sensible option when making such a large investment is to fly a few rigs in order for me to get a feel for what I would like to own. I'm wondering I there is some form of facility for me to try a few different systems out while I'm in LA or NY . Ultimately I will be at the mercy of what's available used around that time of year but it would be great to know I hate the feel of a G70 before I drop 10k on it.

 

Obviously my time in the rig by the time I'm about to purchase will be very minimal however I don't see the sense in buying a rig that won't fly the cameras that I generally work with.

 

Any enlightenment into the first rig purchase?

 

[Rob Vuona SOC]

While in LA , swing by the Tiffen Steadicam factory and meet with Dan Ikeda , he'll hook you up to fly anything you want

 

Try the M-1 rig you'll love it !

[Jens Piotrowski SOC]

please change your name to your real first/last name, thx

[Louis Puli SOC]

Hi Steadi-Newbie .

This is a real name forum ok .

I hope you have read through all the steads-newbie section on this forum as ALL of your questions the answers are here. Have you spoken to your local operators for feed back on their gear ?

You know it's great having a rig but what about all the other gear FIZ ,HD Tx/Rec.,hard mounts ,extra cables,etc ,etc, etc.

Give me a call if you need any help ok .

Good luck

Louis Puli

[Jake Iesu]

Apologies,
My tapatalk account was logged into the wrong account. (not sure how that happened)
Thanks for the Feedback. I have done some reading but as is always the case it is very easy to get lost in the abyss that is online forums (yes i know about the search feature ;) .
I guess the priority Louis is to get a rig, Yes the other things are important but most of that stuff can be worked around while im new ;) I have some pretty generous colleagues down here with a (sh** tonne of gear) and anything else can be rented when I get gigs, But getting work will come with time and I will get the missing bits and bobs progressively.
How does that old saying go? You need to learn to fly before you can crawl.. Bah close enough.

While in LA , swing by the Tiffen Steadicam factory and meet with Dan Ikeda , he'll hook you up to fly anything you want

Try the M-1 rig you'll love it !

Thanks rob, I'm leaning toward GPI pro atm but could definitely be swayed and It just wouldn't be right to go out and buy a Porsche without at least trying the Aston Martin right? Is tiffen over on Winona Avenue in Burbank? Do you mean to say that Dan has Other Rigs other then 'tiffen Steadicam' branded ones at their store?

 

Edited June 15, 2015 by Jake Iesu

[James Puli]

Hey Jake.

Head to SMPTE in July. There'll be rigs around, have a play, get a feel for them.

I know I'll be there at some point checking out new toys and seeing what's happening.

Once you've done your training and figured out what you like and what you don't like in a rig, then make a decision. I hear a lot about people buying gear before doing workshops and knowing what they want / need / love / hate in a rig and regret their purchases.

 

Dan will only have Tiffen rigs there Im sure, but he's a great guy and knows his stuff! I haven't been to the new LA factory yet

as I missed Cinegear this year.

 

Who knows, there may be a rig or 2 for sale in Australia in the not too distant future. In fact I know there's a Zephyr and another bigger rig for sale right now! And remember you don't need to spend $40k upwards on your first rig. Don't be afraid to buy an older 2nd hand rig, build your skills and upgrade as you can afford to! Thats what I did and its worked pretty well for me.

Any q's hit me up! Im in Syd for a job next week at this stage!

JP

[Jake Iesu]

Thanks James,
I'll be working on the Gold Coast until at least the end of July at this stage, however ill take on board all comments and do what I can to try as many out as possible. I'm more then happy to buy an Old rig as long as it take a large kit, I see no point in buying a rig for a kit I never use.

Thanks.