The NEW steadicam Ultra2

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

Did you do the first season of the show too? Do they shoot in Miami or LA? I was wondering what it was shot on. Are you saying you use the F900, or just the same lens you mentioned? Great F-ing show, by the way. Great look and great story.

 

 

Jeff Haley and Andy Shuttleworth did season one. It's shot in LA. Last season they did the pilot and 2 weeks in Miami, this year we won't be going though. It's a F900 show and we get them from Panavision.

 

Tons of fun to shoot with a great crew and a great DP.

[Alfeo Dixon SOC]

Hold on, Time out, Back up.

 

the 900 is NOT too heavy to fly. It's heavy but lot's of us fly them day in and day and yes WITH the 6-27mm zoom. Infact on the show I'm doing now (Dexter) that is my normal lens.

 

If you had the 900 configured correctly you should not be maxing out a G70 arm. I use 2 light spring's and 2 heavy's in my PRO arm and have plenty of excess lift available.

 

I also agree with Erwin 1000% the reality of you situation is that nothing of it is funny.

 

You are right and the 6-27mm is just a bit more weight than the 10mm and 14mm prime. But between added accessories and high CG of their placements on the camera, we couldn't get anything below the nose of the sled because of lack of cables or length. It was a painful reality that I was flying the same studio configured camera without the eyepiece and adding the modulus and audio receiver in place of that. Everything was above the sled... nothing could be placed under the nose or on the bottom of the sled.

 

It is possible that I did not crank the 'Ride' knob to its max, but I did max both 'Lift' knobs and had to pull up on the arm.

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

You are right and the 6-27mm is just a bit more weight than the 10mm and 14mm prime. But between added accessories and high CG of their placements on the camera, we couldn't get anything below the nose of the sled because of lack of cables or length. It was a painful reality that I was flying the same studio configured camera without the eyepiece and adding the modulus and audio receiver in place of that. Everything was above the sled... nothing could be placed under the nose or on the bottom of the sled.

 

It is possible that I did not crank the 'Ride' knob to its max, but I did max both 'Lift' knobs and had to pull up on the arm.

 

 

HUH?????? What are you talking about?

[JimBartell]

Do they shoot in Miami or LA?

 

Actually, they shot a lot of the exteriors in that local substitute for Miami, Belmont Shore in Long Beach (my home). Seriously, so much of "CSI: Miami" is shot here it should be "CSI: Belmont Shore". I see as many Miami Police cars as I do Long Beach police cars. 1AC Jeff Graham, who just moved here, got back from a shoot in Miami and said it looks more like Miami than Miami does.

 

And I agree Afton, best show on HBO/SHO. Can't wait for the new season.

 

Jim "representin'" Bartell

[Jerry Holway]

You are right and the 6-27mm is just a bit more weight than the 10mm and 14mm prime. But between added accessories and high CG of their placements on the camera, we couldn't get anything below the nose of the sled because of lack of cables or length. It was a painful reality that I was flying the same studio configured camera without the eyepiece and adding the modulus and audio receiver in place of that. Everything was above the sled... nothing could be placed under the nose or on the bottom of the sled.

 

It is possible that I did not crank the 'Ride' knob to its max, but I did max both 'Lift' knobs and had to pull up on the arm.

 

Alfeo-

 

Odd about the lift knobs being maxed and not lifting the camera - if true, that's several pounds more than 70.

 

The ride knob has some influence on overall lift, but not much.

 

I would, however, suggest that the ride knobs be maxed with that big of a load for maximum isoelastic response...

 

Also, for top to bottom balancing with that big of a load, (and having a shorter sled) be sure to use the lower monitor bracket set low, and/or rotate the batteries down.

 

Jerry

[Alfeo Dixon SOC]

It is possible that I did not crank the 'Ride' knob to its max, but I did max both 'Lift' knobs and had to pull up on the arm.

 

 

HUH?????? What are you talking about?

 

G70 Arm

[RonBaldwin]

I just finished a show with that piece of doo-doo as well (Panavised f-900). I weighed it with the 6-27, clip-on mattebox , 2 filters, large miranda on the back, low mode bracket, the iris controller/paint box thingy on the side, distrib box, 2 pro plates, 1 preston motor (dm-1), all cables (including the 6 ft control cable/bnc that went to my vest).

 

34 lbs (not too much...but it's a tall 34 lbs)

 

the 6 to 27 is 6 lbs (almost exactly the same as the primo 50mm). I had to fly the 8 to 72 a few times because the dp liked it better (uggg) -- it was 7.5 lbs and about 2 inches longer -- extra length is all you need with this camera.

 

rb

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

It is possible that I did not crank the 'Ride' knob to its max, but I did max both 'Lift' knobs and had to pull up on the arm.

 

 

HUH?????? What are you talking about?

 

G70 Arm

 

 

No you clipped what I was asking about. I understood about the arm.

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

I just finished a show with that piece of doo-doo as well (Panavised f-900). I weighed it with the 6-27, clip-on mattebox , 2 filters, large miranda on the back, low mode bracket, the iris controller/paint box thingy on the side, distrib box, 2 pro plates, 1 preston motor (dm-1), all cables (including the 6 ft control cable/bnc that went to my vest).

 

34 lbs (not too much...but it's a tall 34 lbs)

 

the 6 to 27 is 6 lbs (almost exactly the same as the primo 50mm). I had to fly the 8 to 72 a few times because the dp liked it better (uggg) -- it was 7.5 lbs and about 2 inches longer -- extra length is all you need with this camera.

 

 

I'm pretty much the same setup but with me add a 2nd motor for zoom and a dual display cinetape, make my plates XCS and subtract the distro box since I feed the camera both 12 and 24 volts from the Rig (I'm flying an XCS Ultimate now). we also carry the 8-72 and I have flown it twice.

[Alfeo Dixon SOC]

I just finished a show with that piece of doo-doo as well (Panavised f-900). I weighed it with the 6-27, clip-on mattebox , 2 filters, large miranda on the back, low mode bracket, the iris controller/paint box thingy on the side, distrib box, 2 pro plates, 1 preston motor (dm-1), all cables (including the 6 ft control cable/bnc that went to my vest).

 

34 lbs (not too much...but it's a tall 34 lbs)

 

the 6 to 27 is 6 lbs (almost exactly the same as the primo 50mm). I had to fly the 8 to 72 a few times because the dp liked it better (uggg) -- it was 7.5 lbs and about 2 inches longer -- extra length is all you need with this camera.

 

 

I'm pretty much the same setup but with me add a 2nd motor for zoom and a dual display cinetape, make my plates XCS and subtract the distro box since I feed the camera both 12 and 24 volts from the Rig (I'm flying an XCS Ultimate now). we also carry the 8-72 and I have flown it twice.

 

Hmmm. I see your point. I can't see the Anton Bauer Hytron 140, 6x6 Swing away Matte box w/ 2 filters, distro box for the RDC and 2 motors (iris & focus) taking me over the scale. Did I forget about that HDCA-901 Camera Adapter thingy... Somewhere down the line I must have screwed up in my setup of the rig. ;)

[Brad Grimmett]

Did you do the first season of the show too? Do they shoot in Miami or LA? I was wondering what it was shot on. Are you saying you use the F900, or just the same lens you mentioned? Great F-ing show, by the way. Great look and great story.

 

 

Jeff Haley and Andy Shuttleworth did season one. It's shot in LA. Last season they did the pilot and 2 weeks in Miami, this year we won't be going though. It's a F900 show and we get them from Panavision.

 

Tons of fun to shoot with a great crew and a great DP.

I covered Andy for a day last season. I don't believe they had a 6-27 last year. I had the Canon modified ENG zoom from Panavision. Definately a nice show to work on. Enjoy Eric!

[Brandon Zachary]

It's been a year since the last post on the subject. Any update on the Ultra 2? Specifically in regards to the weight of the sled vs. the weight of camera plus accessories? Is the sled too light for heavy loads?

[Steve Fracol SOC]

It's been a year since the last post on the subject. Any update on the Ultra 2? Specifically in regards to the weight of the sled vs. the weight of camera plus accessories? Is the sled too light for heavy loads?

 

 

WOW, Alfeo...you really need to get into your next prep yourself. Confusing indeed. I have never bottomed out my G-70...Including flying a BL-4. Do you have any photos of what your set up was? This I gotta see! Also, why fly a battery on the camera? Especially that one??? Not knocking you but would love to hear the reason!

 

I have had my Ultra2 for over a year now. Some growing pains for sure in the beginning but Rob and the gang at Tiffen have bent over backward to make everything perfect for me. My rig has been flying high for about 8 months now without any major issue.

 

As for the weight of the rig, it is light on the bottom. It is great with an XL, 435, VariCam or an LT. But heavy cameras do create the longer post effect. But we have ways around this issue.

 

I am on a show right now with a Clairmont/Sony F900 and modified Canon zoom, Everts-fiber back and 3 Preston motors. It was pretty funny on our prep day at Clairmont because Erwin, Geoff Shotz, Dave Frederick and I were all there prepping gear for various jobs. Erwin brought a scale and was taking notes on what sled weighed what. I won or LOST I guess by having the heaviest sled. I think I was 60.5lbs for sled and camera pkg. Geoff had the F-23 at 57ish on the XCS sled and Dave had an Arri LT at 47-49 something like that on a PRO rig.

 

My CineAlta on the Ultra2 is heavy and does create a long post. You can put the batteries in the down position to help compensate for the weight per Jerry's advice and that does work well. I decided however that I prefer to keep my batts in the usual spot so I added a weighted dovetail to the bottom of my sled for the heavier loads. Yes, more weight but It works very well not to mention the heavier load flies silky smooth. (Not quite at BL-4 weights yet either). That puts my post length back to or much closer to what I consider "normal". The extra weight does not seem to be a big deal...and the G-70 arm seems that it can handle anything you can toss at it.

 

The U2 is alive and well and working great. I keep mine very tight with my own basic maintenance and all has served me very, very well. One thing worthy to note is that I got into some pretty nasty sand at Dumont Dunes near Vegas on a feature recently. Tiffen was able to clean the G-70 arm for me at a very minimal cost. I take that to be because it is so easy to take apart and clean as in not like the 3A cable arm system that took many hours to take apart, clean and put back together. They had my arm ready the next day. It was great!

 

My .02

 

Steve Fracol

[Jon Beattie]

I was wondering if anyone knew or could measure the length of the rods that come with the u2 for the monitor and batteries?

[Alfeo Dixon SOC]

It's been a year since the last post on the subject. Any update on the Ultra 2? Specifically in regards to the weight of the sled vs. the weight of camera plus accessories? Is the sled too light for heavy loads?

 

 

WOW, Alfeo...you really need to get into your next prep yourself. Confusing indeed. I have never bottomed out my G-70...Including flying a BL-4. Do you have any photos of what your set up was? This I gotta see! Also, why fly a battery on the camera? Especially that one??? Not knocking you but would love to hear the reason!

 

Flying a HPX3000 with the rod weights and an extra batt for weight also (which gives quick access to battery changes) on the bottom to help and I thing I'm less than an inch in expanding the post... I'd would say those longer post may have been contributed by operator error and lack of learning my rig!

 

And yes... I will now get a prep if I can, even if its on my own time and figure out a way to make production pay for it. I had to fly the battery because all the panazied crap and we had and issue of 12V supply and getting the 24V for the accessories. It was a crazy first day for me and the rig, so in short, we had to slap on the cameras AB Brick to supply the Accs.

 

I was wondering if anyone knew or could measure the length of the rods that come with the u2 for the monitor and batteries?

 

Long as hell... i would guess about two feet, but will measure tomorrow.

Edited August 1, 2008 by Alfeo Dixon