Would upgrading my arm from zephyr arm to g-50x arm help smooth out my shots?

[Edward David]

Hi guys.

I fly just a steadicam zephyr and I put the max payload on it or even over payloading it - flying an arri amira with cinema glass, follow focus, etc.

I find myself have bumps and jitters in footage and seeing if it's the arm being stressed.  Would upgrading the arm be useful? Like the G-50x seems a lot more stabile and able to handle the higher payload.

Or is upgrading the vest better? 

I'm not in the market to spend more than $10k with my funds limited.

Let me know thoughts.

 

Thanks!
Ed

[Maxwel Fisher]

Hey Ed,

While I don't own anything made by Tiffen, the two most likely culprits for bumps, gitters and vibration are usually play in the topstage or something loose on the sled in general that is being transferred to the camera. Could also be the arm if you're overloading it.

Upgrading the arm to something more robust like the G50X could certainly help and there is a member in the forum with one for sale for around $5500. I don't know if the Zephyr vest is compatible with larger arms so that would be something to look into first. You should also be able to find a used Pro, Klassen, Exo or Xspine for around $4000. For something more old school Peter Abraham I believe still have Larry McConkey's old vest for sale for $1500. You'd have a comfortable vest there with an incredible amount of history. Plus it's for sale in Jersey. 

Hope this helps.

[Sam Bennett]

The solution:

Add two small wooden wedges, cut to size, and wedged in between the upper (monitor) and lower (battery) rods.

I found a tendency on the Zephyr for those monitor and battery rods to bounce up and down, causing vibrations.

As Maxwel alluded to, the vibrations can travel up the post and to the camera.
The wedges when placed where the yellow arrows are, eliminated my vibration problems 90% of the time.

The other 10% was usually from something slightly loose on the camera (the worst was always bulky rod-mounted matte boxes).

Also, if using V-Mount batteries, try adding small amount of soft-side velcro to the battery plate to close any wobbly gaps.

(You can also try adding tension to your post like a jib using lightweight non-stretch Vectran string).

 

Add wedges where the yellow arrows are in the picture.

Edited February 8 by Sam Bennett