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Which Steadicam Pilot ?


Steven Nichols

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I had a Glidecam 4000 and a Smooth Shooter for over a year and it never worked well for me so I have decided to go for a Steadicam Pilot. Any feedback on that product so far ?

 

I'll be using the Sony PMW-EX1 with it and was wondering is the AA version was OK if you just need to power the LCD. I don't plan to use the Pilot everyday, so I don't see the benefit of investing in a $1000 batteries/charger set. How many AA batteries do you need, and how long will they last ?

 

Any feedback would be appreciated.

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Please revise your profile to include your real name as per policy here.

 

You will undoubtedly really like the Pilot as it is much easier to adjust and is a more precise rig overall. The action of the arm will be a revelation after the Smooth Shooter.

 

It's worth getting the Pilot vs the Copilot due to the bigger screen. No reason you can't start off with the AA batteries and if you find you are using it more and more and the batteries become an issue, switch over to a more sophisticated mount down the road (you will be paying extra for the new mount and of course the batteries, but you may find it worth it).

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I found that the ten AA batteries last about 2 hours and 20 minutes of continuous use with the 5.8" monitor.

 

Does anyone know how long the IDX E-7S batteries last just powering the Pilot's 5.8" monitor? This is the battery that the Pilot manual recommends.

 

I can only say that on the Flyer with only powering the monitor and no other stuff on the rig, i got approx 5 hours en 15 minutes average with the E-7S bat's. On the Flyer it is a 7 inch screen, so maybe with the 5.8 inch you get arround 7 hours ?? ??

 

Erik

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Thanks Erik:

 

I learned how to compute watt hours today and and it all adds up.

 

The back of the 5.8" display on the pilot says it's 9 watts and 10 AAs are about 18 watt hours, so in theory the AA option should last 2 hours. I got a bit more in my test.

 

The IDX E-7S is 71Wh so it should in theory last 7.88 hours - just powering the 9 watt display.

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