ZEPHYR arm: adjustment knobs are super tight!

[Doug Houston]

I am a steadicam newbie. I have shot stuff for myself, and recently operated on a rock video. It went great, and it was a lot of fun. I am good with vertical, static and dynamic stability.

But I am having diffuculty with the arm. I know I am using too much arm strength. The blue adjustment knobs on the ZEPHYR arm are super tight! I can barely get them to twist, and they don't seem very responsive. I read that I should never use a tool to force the 2 blue adjustment knobs on the arm, so I haven't done that. 

I feel a little clueless, hope someone has a tip.

[Scott Calvert]

Hey Doug, the adjustment knobs are under the least stress when their segment is almost parallel, about 5 degrees boomed up. I wouldn't be able to turn mine with the arm fully boomed up or down. If that's not it, maybe there's an issue with your arm.

[Sam Bennett]

Hey Doug, yes Scott is correct. You will find a sweet spot (just above horizontal) when you boom the arm up and down where the blue adjustment knobs become very easy to turn. Don't force them if they don't move, just boom up or down until they twist smoothly. You will need to have the sled with a camera mounted on the arm to do this.