The Zalex Arm Repo Mount.

[Peter Abraham]

Good evening !

 

As is the case with every Zalex accessory I have come up with, this latest bit was borne out of a desire to solve two problems that have come up repeatedly for all of my 30 years as a Steadicam Operator. I finally got tired of facing these situations and so designed and had machined by Steadicam Operator and creative machinist Tom Wills the new Zalex Arm Repo Mount, or A.R.M.

 

Depending on the rig and the build and where I placed my monitor, I sometimes encountered these issues:

 

1. Difficulty in seeing 100% of the monitor. Sometimes the arm as it left the handle departed at an angle that made the arm segment block my view partially.

2. The possibility of the arm bumping the edge of the monitor. Also depending on the shot and monitor height on my rig.

 

The partial view issue is typically handled by operators in one of two ways. We either push the arm handle away from our bodies so that our hand is holding the handle at an awkward angle. This creates a nice “hole” through which we can clearly see the image. The other method is to lean over, craning our neck to clear the blocked view afforded by the edge of our metal arm.

 

The arm bumping the monitor is addressed by developing a stance that minimizes the possibility of a bump. This has mostly perturbed me when running or when shooting on stairs or when wishing to pan to the right a bit during a shot. If the arm is very close, as they frequently are, then we have to turn our bodies slightly as we move to avoid the arm and monitor edge touching.

 

An important aside- these two situations are agnostic. They can occur with any branded rig and any camera. They are simply an issue that many of us deal with at some point. It’s a truth that some Operators have a monitor placement and arm post/ arm combination that allow them to not have to deal with either a blocked view or the potential for bumping the arm against the monitor.

 

For those of you who have faced either or both of these issues, the new Zalex A.R.M. offers a simple solution. The A.R.M. shifts the socket block farther away 3.5” on center of the socket block. The plate is a bit over 4.5” wide. The hole pattern is the classic socket block hole pattern, regardless of branding. If you own a vest with any standard size socket block, you can use the A.R.M.

 

The photos show the arm placement shift clearly. The A.R.M. is placed behind your existing arm bridge. The A.R.M. comes with stainless steel helicoils inserted on the required end and is made of 6061 aircraft grade aluminum. It also comes with 8 mounting screws. ( Because at some point, we all lose a screw! )

 

The Zalex A.R.M. is now shipping. The price is $ 200.00 USD and includes free USPS shipping to the Lower 48 United States. Overseas shipping costs extra. To place an order please email me at: peter@steadicamproductionservices.com

[Peter Abraham]

View of arm in place.