Pana XL base plate

[LaytonBurton]

Hi all, I'm starting a job that's using Panavision XL's. I'm told that Panvision has its own plate for mounting the XL to any steadicam. I've got a Chroszeil top stage. Is there a specific mounting plate that I'd need to mount it to my Chroszeil? I already have the power cable for the XL, is there anything else I should get prepped for? Thanks, Layton.

[Jerry Holway]

Go to the checkout and make sure your dovetail plate mounts to both the high mode (bottom of camera) and low mode (top of camera) Panavision to Steadicam adaptors/plates/brackets.

 

Panavision has changed the spacing of some of the 10-32 mounting holes over the years which may make things interesting. The top pattern is not exactly the same as the bottom, and the same oddness goes for the Genesis.

 

Checkout, checkout, checkout!!

 

All other worries should be no worries.

 

Jerry

[WillArnot]

Also, you don't want to just rely on the low mode plate alone if doing low mode. The connection for the low mode plate to the camera is entirely insufficient and will result in gross lens vibration, since the whole mass is hanging from the top mag port. To correct this the low mode plate must be connected to another point on the camera.

 

The best solution I find is to use the Jerry Hill "Pana Bracket" which attaches to the round accessory plug/matte box rod holder on the camera right side of the XL or Lightweight. I don't use the top half, the 'L' part of the bracket, just the vertical bit that slides onto the camera body and provides 2 or 3 options for mounting Jerry Hill square to round rods.

 

This combination provides an extremely solid foundation to mount 1,2 or 3 lens motors and have vibration free low mode by dog-boning up to the low mode plate/baseplate & rod.

 

Don't chance it. I did 50mm low mode when the XL first came out and it looked like a serious registration problem, the vibration was so bad. I have always braced to a 3rd point ever since.

 

I have never thought the XL plate connections are solid enough. The lightweight is much better, just a solid plate connected directly to the camera base, no silly flimsy plates sandwiched together.

 

Jerry is right. Checkout, checkout, checkout.

 

Will

[Jerry Holway]

Will-

I forgot that I had that awful, hopeless problem early on... I could not do low mode at all, a real suprise after the LWII, which one of the best mounts for low mode.

 

But I thought that Panavision had changed and corrected that... yet I have no specific memory either way. Really too bad if they haven't...

 

I'm going to the checkout next time around!!

 

As a community, we need to be all over the manufacturers when something like this comes up, continues...

 

And it's why a question, an incomplete answer from me, and Will's advice is so valuable to our community.

 

Now what to do about the "not so nice" spam that will find its way into this thread? What's happening??

 

Jerry

[LaytonBurton]

Jerry, Will, thanks so much for the excellent info! We start prep on Monday and I will checkout, checkout, checkout! Cheers from the your colleague's up north. Layton.