Darren Schmidt Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 Some of these questions might be a little dumb, so please don't spank me. 1. Should the Flyer sled be in balance when there is no camera on it? I realize it would be bottom heavy, but it seams funny to put a camera on it to compensate for a rear heavy sled. 2. Is there any tricks to flying a JVC HD100? Fully loaded it is close to maxing out the arm, about 13 to 14Lbs, but I am having trouble dynamically balancing it. I have tried all sorts of battery, monitor, and camera positions with no total success. 3. Last question. Shouldn't I be able to thrust the rig on the arm forward, backward, and side to side without the it going askew? I believe I have seen that in videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jerry Holway Posted April 7, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 Some of these questions might be a little dumb, so please don't spank me. 1. Should the Flyer sled be in balance when there is no camera on it? I realize it would be bottom heavy, but it seams funny to put a camera on it to compensate for a rear heavy sled. 2. Is there any tricks to flying a JVC HD100? Fully loaded it is close to maxing out the arm, about 13 to 14Lbs, but I am having trouble dynamically balancing it. I have tried all sorts of battery, monitor, and camera positions with no total success. 3. Last question. Shouldn't I be able to thrust the rig on the arm forward, backward, and side to side without the it going askew? I believe I have seen that in videos. 1. NO. The sled should be slightly FRONT heavy without a camera, but don't waste your time without a camera attached. 2. NO. Doesn't matter what camera or lead weight is carried. If the arm carries it, the sled has no preference for camera brand, shape, material. The only thing that matters is the mass and its c.g. 3. YES. So as we repeat endlessly on this forum (spank spank, you could have searched): Take a workshop, and get the EFP video training manual (click on the blinking Tiffen logo), and download the dynamic balance Primer. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members JobScholtze Posted April 7, 2008 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 That would be a good idea, make that info a sticky one in the newbie forum titled READ THIS FIRST Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Underwood Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 Here is what I have found to work when trying to get the Flyer into dynamic balance such that you should be able to... "to thrust the rig on the arm forward, backward, and side to side without the it going askew." The first thing to do is find the center of gravity of your camera. Rig everything on the camera the way you are going to fly it, like tape or cards in the camera, lens cap off, viewfinder off, rails attached, focus assist, whatever. Put a pencil on the table and put the camera on top of it. I move it until the camera will balance on top of the pencil. That point is the center of gravity of your camera, so put a piece of gaffers tape or something on the handle above the COG (center of gravity). Next mount your camera on your dovetail plate and then onto the Flyer so that the COG is directly over the center post. This will get you 80% of the way to getting dynamic balance. Attach your video tap cable and power cable. Next, with your batteries installed, you use the swivel of the battery mount to get your front to back balance as close as possible. Adjust your gimble for drop test. Re adjust the swivel position of the battery mount if necessary then make your fine adjustments with the knobs under the dovetail plate. This will get you in the ball park most every time. Dynamic balance makes a HUGE difference with a light rig like the Flyer. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Schmidt Posted April 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 Thank you for the help. I am in the Philly class in May, but I find my self inpatient. I was told that for insurance purposes that I cannot bring my own camera or rig to fine tune, but I have a lot of dumb questions. Thanks again for your patience. Darren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Mueller Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 If your rig is getting out of whack when you thrust the camera forward and back or side to side, you may be too bottom-heavy. (For instance if the bottom of the sled is kicking out at the end of a forward thrust.) A too bottom-heavy rig "feels" more stable but causes other issues that are a real pain. Try a drop time closer to 3 seconds. Be aware that this will affect other aspects of your operating but this is actually a good thing when you learn how to handle it. You will have to be more aware of holding your horizons. Good luck in the workshop. Kevin Mueller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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