Will a Steadicam be able to mount my already purchased monitor?

MikeWilkinson

MikeWilkinson

Veteran
I currently have the Marshall V-R70P-HDA
Linky
and it is fantastic. I try not to shoot without it (unless handheld of course).

I've been looking into stabilizer options for my HVX200 rig, and was wondering about using this monitor on said stabilizer. I know some kits come with a monitor, some don't, some have "accessory plates"... but I need someone to clear this up if possible. I don't see where I can order a complete kit without the monitor. Also, how would my own monitor work with the power/cabling and the other things that are standard on a complete rig... how would this affect counter-balancing?

I'm still looking at different options, so I'm hoping the answers from this can eliminate some of the choices. My department's budget for this is roughly between $3-$5k.
 
You're probably best off calling Steadicam directly and asking them if they'll sell you a system without the monitor - their systems normally include one.

But yes, there is no reason why that monitor wouldn't work on the Pilot for example.


- Mikko
 
Well the Marshall V-R70P-HDA sure is a lot heavier than the stock Pilot Monitor, which I'd guess weighs maybe 5 or 6 ounces. The Marshall's at least 2 pounds without a battery IIRC. Between it and an appropriate bracket and battery it would probably need an awful lot of counterweighting and adjusting to make it balance out, both in the battery area and probably camera stage too since it would likely make the sled much more bottom heavy.

If you figure out how to do this successfully on a Pilot I'd be real interested in how you did, because I've got one and a Marshall too. I never imagined they could work together for the reasons above, so I never considered trying it. It sure would be a much better picture than the stock monitor though!
 
The monitor would be powered by the Pilot's own battery.

Balancing successfully shouldn't be a problem.

- Mikko
 
(I contacted Steadicam support and they haven't been much help in answering my questions so far... Mikko you should take his job :thumbsup:)

So how is video from the camera wired to the monitor, and is it lowly composite-only or is there an option for component? My follow up to that would be do I even need a higher res monitor, or do you steadicam ops find it's used just for framing?
 
The Steadicam monitor is used almost exclusively for framing.

Remember that only recently have we had access to high resolution color LCDs with good sharp video assist or HD cameras' outputs.
20~30 years ago all you got on Steadicam was a 3" diagonal bright green image from a iffy video-tap. But Rocky, The Shining, Starwars, etc.. don't look any worse for it.

The current higher end Steadicams (Archer & up) are wired for component video and HD-SDI. The Flyer24 & Flyer 24SE also have HD-SDI (but not component) cabling.

The lighter rigs: Pilot & Flyer, only have composite cabling internally. (of course all Steadicams offer composite cabling & monitors.) Normally Composite is all that's used for monitoring anyway. In fact, the top of the line Ultra 2 has a built in video router that is composite only. HD-SDI & Component are still slightly limited in that regard even there, simply as that sort of flexibility isn't normally necessary. You can't really transmit either anyway, so composite is normally used.

BUT, just because a rig is not internally wired for a signal, doesn't mean that you can pull the cables externally. It's not uncommon to run cables down the front of the rig (from the front of the stage, to the top of the monitor) where they are out of the way, when necessary.

There's no reason you can't run a component cable down the front of the sled to a component monitor if you want.

- Mikko
 
When I bought my Flyer I perspously didn't get the HD one as I thought it was a waste of money, as you say, its used for framing so theres its no extra advantage being able to see the fantastic quality the camera is filming at. The monitor on the normal flyer is more than adequate for framing...
 
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