Johan Tarland Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 Hi everybody! One simple question for you, the oppurtunity has come up for me to get my hands on a Provid 2+rig. And so I wanna know, is it a good rig? I havent been able to find very much info about it around... I havent taken a workshop but sure would if i bougth this, so the thing is more if if the system is worth having. My plan is to fly cameras like DSR570, XDCAMS, P2s and such. Maybe OB-cams with wireless units aswell. Im thinking, is this is a rig to grow with? if you know what im saying. Is it possible to upgrade the rig? As you notice, im kind of new on this, but if someone has some thoughts about this i would be more than happy! /Johan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Erik Brul Posted March 15, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 Hey Johan, First of all, welcome on this great forum and world of Steady Knowlegde.. Second, one of the board rules is to use your real and (full) name.. Starting with a workshop and / or one on one with a Steadicam op in your region is the best way to start. Try rigs first at for example convention shows like NAB. The Provid2 is the succesor of the SK2 rig. It can lift a max of 19 pounds of Camera, so mentioned Camera's wouldn't be a problem but you don't have a lot of spare weight for extra's on the Rig. Upgrading the Rig is almost impossible and expensive. Extra questions : - single or dual action arm ? - arm pin connector to the vest or socketblock ? - and.. : A big and important thing is, what's the price the current owner wants to have ? Because we see several second or even thirdhand rigs from the late 90's and the current owners still think they can charge big time for the Rigs.. (excluding the really big rigs like, 3A, Master series etc etc) A better starter rig is still a nice secondhand EFP, there are for sure 2 for sale at this time. 1 in Florida and 1 in Sweden.. Best, Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Andre Trudel Posted March 15, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 Hi Jonathan, I took the steadicam workshop last year in CA and, it?s a must for anyone interested in operating. The lead instructor said to stay far away from the steadicam pro vid. I own an efp rig. The modification and upgrade possibilities on the rig are almost endless. You can find a lot of info on the efp here on the forum. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Tarland Posted March 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Hey Erik, thanks for the welcome and sorry about the namething, taken care of now :-) I gonna check on those extra questions you had about the Provid 2+, thanks alot! Actually i have always kind of thought that an EFP would be the best starter-rig, but they seem to be hard to get a hold of, now you say there is one in Sweden, lucky me who lives in Sweden:-) I have found one here on a small advertisingsite for BC-equipment, he hasnt replied on my mail though. Were did you find the one i Sweden? Wonder if its the same one... If now the EFP should be sold, back to the Provid. I am aware about the weigh tissue,l but if i keep to the limit(or under) is it a bad steadi to fly with, i mean, will it be harder to get good images with this one? About the pricing i believe its a good price on the Provid, that is part of why i got interested from the first place. In euro it would be around 3600:-, how does that sound? Also, what would be a reasonable price for a EFP you think? /Johan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Tarland Posted March 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Also thanks to you Andre for the input! /J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Erik Brul Posted March 16, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Hey Erik, thanks for the welcome and sorry about the namething, taken care of now :-) I gonna check on those extra questions you had about the Provid 2+, thanks alot! Actually i have always kind of thought that an EFP would be the best starter-rig, but they seem to be hard to get a hold of, now you say there is one in Sweden, lucky me who lives in Sweden:-) I have found one here on a small advertisingsite for BC-equipment, he hasnt replied on my mail though. Were did you find the one i Sweden? Wonder if its the same one... If now the EFP should be sold, back to the Provid. I am aware about the weigh tissue,l but if i keep to the limit(or under) is it a bad steadi to fly with, i mean, will it be harder to get good images with this one? About the pricing i believe its a good price on the Provid, that is part of why i got interested from the first place. In euro it would be around 3600:-, how does that sound? Also, what would be a reasonable price for a EFP you think? /Johan Hi Johan, Sorry, my mistake about locations : It's one Rig in Georgia (USA) : http://www.steadicam-ops.com/database/soaC...p?recordID=3686 and one Rig in Denmark : http://www.steadicamforum.com/forums/index...?showtopic=7468 I had some email communctions with Torben and some pics, the Rig he has for sale looks really really good and seems a good buy ! About the Provid, 3600 euro seems a nice price, depends on the mentioned questions and the general technical and cosmetic condition. Flying a Provid would be no problem but a must have (to me and many others) is a adjustable socketblock which maybe is not the case in mentioned Provid. If it is only a socketpin connector you will be fighting with the rig to keep it close to your body. With a adjustable socketblock you can change the angle of the connection between vest and arm and therefor can let the Rig float besides or at front your body. This will for example result in less fatigue and ofcourse easier operating. Best, Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bittner Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 I had a Provid for a number of years, and I've flown most of the rigs out there, including the "off-brand" rigs. The biggest problem I have with the Provid is the arm. The Provid arm is a classic example of a design that looks really sexy on paper, but falls short in the execution. The engineering of that arm was full of cut-corners, primary cheap and under-spec'ed bearings. As a result the arm is very stiff. This makes operating more challenging, especially when attempting a slow creeping shot. You can do it (and I did for years) but eventually you'll find yourself frustrated with the limitations of the arm, and how it gets in the way of elegant operating. At some point they updated the Provid to include a standard socket block, but the old pin-block wasn't as bad as folks say, because on the Provid it was adjustable, vs. the SK where it wasn't. So, overall, the Provid is a workable rig, but it's been surpassed by the newer rigs. The new low-cost rigs from Tiffen are vastly superior. That said, as a an inexpensive starter rig, the Provid might be a good choice, especially if the price is right. Dave Bittner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Tarland Posted March 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Ok, thanks a lot Erik. Its a lot of new words for me, but the socketblock thing, i guess that means that you can slide the camera on top of the sled back and forth? http://www.blocket.se/vi/15339614.htm?ca=8_s this is the link to the swedish page, but is it possible to see on these pictures about this you think? Im gonna check with the seller but i dont think he know very much about his system.. I would be more than happy to buy that EFP but then the pricing is an issue. This i would be able to buy and try, you know... Well see, very thankful for your help this far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Tarland Posted March 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Also lots of thanks to you Dave, i think i have two choices right now. Either i buy this Provid2+ which i can afford and get a steadi of my own :-) or, i have to wait a long time for more money or prices to drop on better rigs... I tend to get stressed up sometimes and dont think logical when i want something, so im gonna go over this in my head now. Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Erik Brul Posted March 16, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Also lots of thanks to you Dave, i think i have two choices right now. Either i buy this Provid2+ which i can afford and get a steadi of my own :-) or, i have to wait a long time for more money or prices to drop on better rigs... I tend to get stressed up sometimes and dont think logical when i want something, so im gonna go over this in my head now. Thanks guys! oops.. deleted post. Ok, Dave is right, you can see the adjustments on the pin of the Vest. To be honest, i didn't know that. :ph34r: For mentioned camera's i would buy the rig for max 3600,- euros.. Good luck, Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Brian Dzyak Posted March 17, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I couldn't afford to buy an all-purpose rig for a long time. The opportunity arose where I could buy a used Pro-Vid at a reasonable price. It's not perfect and definitely is limiting in the weight I can fly, but for the kind of work I generally do, the ProVid is enough and works quite well. I think that the choice of rig is dependent upon the kinds of projects you wish to work on. A ProVid is good for F900R, DigiBeta, Betacam, and lightweight film camera work... generally non-narrative. So if that's what you are going to do now, getting in with a ProVid or similar isn't a bad choice until you have enough money or promise to upgrade to a rig that can carry more weight. Good luck! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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