Johanwindfeld Posted June 10, 2004 Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 look at www.progear.dk ( the site is not working great, but look arround) The steadicam is made like CP, and its light weight. The prise is about 25.000 USD. But the company is going slow, and they are not trying to sell this steadi.. they have only made the steadicam systeml -and now the production is only standing still untill orders come or the intrest gets higher. Normaley they are making light/sungun and other things in metal/alu.. I have not tryed it but I know a operator with a Master rig that got his arm stolen from his car, and then he got the Arm from ProGear and he said: :D Its amasing that this arm is so mutch under the normal price and it works just as great!! I feel that I have used a lot of money on CP steadicam... :unsure: Take a look and see if you like the European version of steadicam? :ph34r: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RobVanGelder Posted June 10, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 Johan, this company has been around for a while, I have seen their rigs, arms, vest and sunguns for several years on the IBC. In fact, what they make is not bad at all, their arm, which could be a copy from the PRO arm, although they say otherwise is very well made, I have one and am very happy with it. Their rigs are well made as well. With clever options, good materials and such. However, customer support is not really 100% and that´s the weak side of this company. Probably they are very busy with many different things at the same time with not enough people to support that. That makes dealing with the guys very difficult. To bad, as they really make some good stuff! Rob van Gelder, Bangkok, Thailand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Erwin Landau Posted June 10, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 Eh... em... oh... Ah whatever... read the Archives... not in the mood. Erwin "I can't belive they are still around... " Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Thomas English Posted June 10, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 european steadicam rigs mk-v - wicked and innovative - UK baer -bell - seem very good - german who makes the artemis again? ... action products - switzerland stabicam - spanish - make a wooden steadicam by the looks of things....... im sure theres plenty more lots of european rigs... i say where u can buy euro! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarloTomic Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 The Artemis system is made by Sachtler. Rob and Erwin seem to have these opposing views on these Progear guys but this is the first I've heard of them, I own a solid rig so I'm not in the market for anything now but it's always helpful to know the good stuff from the shite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RobVanGelder Posted June 11, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 -----Rob and Erwin seem to have these opposing views on these Progear guys but this is the first I've heard of them, ---- In fact, I am neutral in this. I have spoken with the man that makes and sells this sytem en the arm, he is very clear in his statements about who was first,but there is no way for me to check them. And really, I don´t care! There is at least 1 other company that has a similar working arm available, only in a different housing and look, but the same principle. I just use the equipment, it was affordable and it performs very well. Other sentiments are of no concern to me. Rob van Gelder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johanwindfeld Posted June 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 hello Rob.. Do you have the ProGear arm? it's sounds like it, you wrote that you are very happy with it? Please tell more about the arm and what price did you give.. :D That is if you have a ProGear arm Regards JW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RobVanGelder Posted June 11, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 As I said before, I have a Progear arm, it performs in my opinion very well. I tried the 2 arm, Pro and Progear side by side on the IBC, with the same rig and vest and the PRO is definately smoother and also the finish is certainly better. On a scale of one to ten I would give the Pro arm a 10 and the Progear around 8 ( and my old IIIa a 6,5) So the Pro is not 2 times better than the Progear while the price (by the time it arrives in Europe) is almost 2 times as high. There are of course other concerns, like customer support and I mentioned that the Danish company has not a very good track record. For the yes/no discussions about patents and such, look at the archives as Erwin suggested. Rob van Gelder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonMcKelvey Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 I searched the archives, but didn't see any info on this. They are selling stuff on Ebay a lot. There website stinks. Anyone seen one in action? The seem to have a full system, rig, arm and vest. Cost? Useability? Reliability? Curious, Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Thomas English Posted September 28, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 the mysterious sprint! basically u need to try and find an agent because you wont be able to get hold of them.... there are some in the "lighting" section of the site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RobVanGelder Posted September 28, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Sprint... or Pro Gear as it used to be. I´ve seen the sled on the IBC several times, also with the vest and arm (which I have) and it is build in a similar way as the Chrosziel, or the Sachtler or more like that. They were the first to present a HD greenscreen but I have never seen it working. search for Progear or Pro Gear and you find more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ Williams Posted September 30, 2004 Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 progear@progear.dk was a working E mail address yesterday they have changed their web site address the new one is www.tntv.dk but there is only a Danish Language placeholder in it now. Jan says it will be up soon! They sell everything as parts. The sled vest monitor etc is available in the US. Their arm conflicts with Georges' (pro) patents and cannot be sold in the USA. Hope that helps. What do you think of your arm and vest Rob? TJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RobVanGelder Posted September 30, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 Hi TJ, The arm performs good, very good. But I also have to say that i have had some issues with the socket block (which is now redesigned) and I had a broken bearing in a hinge. Nothing really unusual, and very easy to replace on set. It is capable of more payload than my knees can handle! And with the lightweight springs you can also fly very light rigs, with dv cameras. The vest is to my taste too lightly build, but it has a good fitting. When mainly doing (light) videowork it is a good and relatively cheaper option in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicolasDuchene Posted October 1, 2004 Report Share Posted October 1, 2004 Hi everyone ! I'm new on this forum even if I've been spying you for a long time ! By the way thanks for everything I've learned by reading you all... I'd like to purchase a light system to work on feature films & documentries mostly in 16mm, HD and video. I went to the IBC in Amsterdam last month (I even met Master Garret in the flesh - respect !!)... and I also met Jan Schmit from Progear. He presented me his "sprint" system which seems to be a nice & clever adaptation from the pro... He's working on a light version of his arm (soon available) which may interest me; he proposes a cheap HD monitor, and he intends to finish a new back-mounted vest as well before the end of the year. I'm deeply interested in this system which is far less expensive than all other "leader" systems. But is it strong and serious enough ? (In my case it wouldn't be for an everyday use - just when steadicam is the right answer to propose to the director) So, any feed-back about this Progear system ? What do you think of it ? (If you want to make some comparisons, I already worked with Pro, IIIa, provid, and I just tried the Artemis and Tiffens new models at the IBC) Thanks a lot... and sorry for my english ! Fly safe Nicolas Duchêne, Paris, France Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RobVanGelder Posted October 3, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted October 3, 2004 Your english is ok, better than mine and some others...... :D I have met Jan several times, his system looks well designed, though a bit lightweight so mainly for video work and light filmwork. I don´t know any operators flying a complete rig of him, but several that have or had parts of his system. You can look around in the archives about progear or pro gear and find several items. I own a arm from him and find it performing very well. One concern is the service of Progear that has been a bit problematic in the past but Jan tries to improve on that. The system you are talking about is strong enough for most video work. However, a full sized Panavised CineAlta with its zoomlens and motors might be too much. But that is the same with a lot of other rigs like the Chrosziel, where you have to extend to the max and still put extra weight on the bottom. The arm is capable of handling all camera´s though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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