I need of some advice in relation to doing a workshop, and buying my first rig.

[ali refae]

I am an aspiring Steadicam op and need some help/advice. 

I have some experience on Steadicams, not many hours. Most of my hours was done in my college 3 years ago and I didnt realise how privileged I was to be able to have access to rig. Fast forward, 3 or so years nothing has changed in that my goal is to be a cam op. 

First of all, there is only 4 spaces left in the Tiffen workshop. However I dont know whether to do it now or wait until its next available which god knows when that is, because I'm not ready to buy a rig yet. So do I wait when I am financially ready to buy a full rig or do I take the leap, do the workshop and then keep working till I can buy a rig. 

Also I am thinking of getting the Aero 30 but cant seem to find much info on the rig, is it a good start? 

[Kevin Kisling]

Doing the workshop is a great place to start, it'll give you a very solid foundation. If you can't do this workshop, there will be others. I did the two day bronze workshop and it was wonderful. If you've missed the workshop, reach out to ops in your area and see if you can do a practice with them. You should also  buy the Steadicam Operators Handbook, it's very good. If you are still close to your school, see if you can use/borrow their rig to practice. 

As for buying your first rig, there are many different ways to go about it. The biggest deciding factor for which rig to buy will be, what cameras do you expect to be flying immediately? Will the cameras weigh over 20lbs or under 20lbs?

If under 20lbs, then you have many great less expensive options. Tiffen Flyer, Tiffen Zephyr, Tiffen Aero30. 

If over 20lbs, then you have many great options, but prices will vary. You can go the older route, 3A, EFP, Master, Archer, Ultra, Pro1, Pro2, etc... which may be roughly the same-ish price as a newer lightweight rig, but won't have all the bells and whistles BUT will be capable of carrying heavy payloads. OR you could go with a more modern big rig, M1, M2, Shadow, Pro, XCS, but prices are higher. It kinda all depends on your budget.

The Aero30 was my first rig and it was great. I learned so much with that rig! It was what I could comfortably afford and I knew the cameras I was going to immediately have to fly would be under 20lbs. After a year though, I bought a Master since I needed to be able to fly heavier cameras. That was what I could comfortably afford at the time. 

Best of luck! If you are in LA hit me up and I'd be happy to show you my sleds.