anyone know the Varizoom Black Hawk?

[Derrick_SA]

Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone has experience with the Varizoom Black Hawk?

http://www.varizoom.com/products/stabilizers/vzblackhawk.html

I'm Looking for a stabilizer system and $7000 I'm still willing to spend, but from around $9000 I get a funny feeling in my stomach hie hie hie.

Could someone maybe tell me what they think or recommend?

I'm gonna use my HVX200 (and later HPX170) with my Letus Extreme, the Hawk is ok till 25 pounds.

thanks,
Derrick

 

[jimpatro]

I shot a feature with the Black Hawk. Hated it. But realize that much of my Steadicam experience is on a Master Series rig. It might be okay for you depending on if you have other stabilizers to compare it to.

The Black Hawk dual spring arm is really big and bulky and tricky to maneuver around. I fly my 200 on a Glidecam X-10 and it works great. Just took a little getting used to as far as the light weight goes.

I think the Black Hawk is overkill for a 200 anyway.

 

[Derrick_SA]

Thanks Jimpatro,

I want to get something that can handle more so that if I get hired for a job I'm covered for the weight of what they want to put on there.

So you're saying something like the X-10 with glidecam 4000? Also I see there is no monitor included with the x-10?

what about the V-25 (http://www.glidecam.com/product-v-25-system.php) ?

thanks,
Derrick

 

[jimpatro]

I see what you're saying, Derrick. Good idea to be prepared for heftier cameras. I rent if I need a bigger rig but if you can swing the cost go for it.

The X-10 doesn't include the monitor. I opted for the L7 Pro. 7" diagonal. 4:3 or 1.78:1. Nice to have such a large image to comp by.

Can't vouch for the V-25. Looks like a pretty streamlined system.
I like the dual arm design. Hopefully someone can chime in with some info.

 

[Tom McKay]

BlackHawk

BlackHawk

Derrick,

We have had a lot of success with the BlackHawk but with the lighter cameras you will need to add weight for it to perform best. We sell a 10 pound weight plate just for this reason.

If you call the office we can possibly find someone near you that has one.

Best regards,

Tom

Thanks Jimpatro,

I want to get something that can handle more so that if I get hired for a job I'm covered for the weight of what they want to put on there.

So you're saying something like the X-10 with glidecam 4000? Also I see there is no monitor included with the x-10?

what about the V-25 (http://www.glidecam.com/product-v-25-system.php) ?

thanks,
Derrick