Steadicam flyer shake

[Ryan Somerfield]

Gday all,

 

Ive been operating my flyer heaps lately on work with a whole range of different cameras, im finding now when im operating im getting a really mean shake on the top of the sled at speed, especially on the bigger cameras 6+kilos. The rig is flying nicely but the whole camera bounced around crazily, this also destroys the shot, anyone else had this problem or know a how to fix it? its getting really annoying as im getting shakes in most shots i do.

thanks

 

Ryan

[Michael_Craigs]

Hello Ryan,

 

Which model Flyer are you using? Is it the Flyer LE?

Is the top stage loose on the post top? There are four flat head screws that tighten the stage to the post top. Make sure those are tight first. If those are tight, it could be the post top has come loose from the post.

 

Please feel free to email me at mcraigs@tiffen.com

 

Best regards,

Michael

[Brad Smith]

I've experienced this with a flyer. It was caused by movement /play between the yoke and gimbal ring. The gear I was using was rental gear, the techs said it could be fixed by shimming the gap. I don't know if or how successfully it was resolved. Maybe someone from Tiffen could shed more light on the solution.

 

Brad.

[chris hagen]

I also had the same problem with my flyer, but also with lighter cameras like the jvc hd111, really annoying, i couldnt figure out what the problem is so far, would be really interesting to get some feedback / suggestions on what to check for!

[William Demeritt]

I also had the same problem with my flyer, but also with lighter cameras like the jvc hd111, really annoying, i couldnt figure out what the problem is so far, would be really interesting to get some feedback / suggestions on what to check for!

 

Well, the checklist begins:

 

- Have you checked the camera plate? Is it securely attached to the camera?

- Is the screw underneath the plate clearing the top of the stage? Are the screws into the camera grabbing properly? Do you sense any play between the plate and the camera?

- Top stage securely attached to the post? All the screws good at tight? Any play in the top stage?

 

Lighter cameras create less stress on the camera plate and screw(s) than heavier cameras, so any play would be avoided because less force is exerted. The rig could be "almost" doing it with the lighter cameras, but since it's lighter and flown on the rig, it becomes negligible. Heavier cameras become the big best, and action transferred to heavy weight exaggerates the play or points out the flaw in a big way.

 

Is that explaining it properly? I don't think I am, but I have it in my head what might be causing the issue.

[chris hagen]

Hey,

 

thanks for the list, I did check all those points before, I get the feeling its more in my gimbal though. If I take it at the

bottom (the spinning piece where the arm attaches) and move it I think I can sense a little bit of play in that, dont know if

thats normal, and also the 2 flat screws on the side attaching to the gimbal seems to have a little bit more than they should.

 

Anybody got an idea how to check that out more thouroughly? Any instruction manual around on how to disassemble the gimbal?

Maybe any bearings ned replacement?