HMC-150 with Redrock m2 Encore..... & stabliation system??

S

shadowknight123

Active member
Hey foks.. So I own a HMC-150. Director is wanting to purchase the M2 encore right now. But he was also wanting some stabilization system to go along with it.

The encore is 2 grand with the flipx ect which is pretty much needed right?
Anyways, does anyone have any recomendations for some stabilization systems that will work with the redrock. Originally i was going to purchase the redrock, and he would purchase the system. But these times i just dont have that kind of money.


He wanted to get the Vest/swing arm ect setup which would run WAY to much.

I found a low cost one for 2k on ebay, but not sure if its any good:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130325661462&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Anyways im trying to talk him out of going with the whole vest/swing arm and stay more cost efficient. Is there any systems you folks have used that could also be used with the redrock system? I was thinking why not just use the shoulder mounting kit. We have quite a few "walking/talking" scenes is why he wanted the arm system ect but imo to costly.


any help is appreciated.
Justin
 
Not sure on the stabilization but I can tell you that you don't need the flip part of the adapter. It's up to you but with the HMC150 you can flip the LCD, and any monitor you can just mount upside down. It's a simple 180 flip in post and your done, so if you're trying to save some cash I'd go non flip.
 
As Elmy mentioned, the flip is not an absolute requirement since you can flip the image on the camera LCD and you can flip the recording in post.

As for the stabilizer, I'm in a similar boat. I'm likely going with a Letus adapter instead of a Redrock, but we both have the same problem... Weight. The usual options for a straight HMC150 would be the Merlin and the Glidecam 4000 Pro; however, with the adapter and an extended life battery, the weight is pushing the limit on both of those. We'd also be pushing the limit on the Steadicam Pilot, which is already likely over the price you're looking for and it only goes up from there. And the Glidecam X-10 system you found on Ebay only supports up to 9 pounds efficiently, which unfortunately isn't going to be enough.

I've got a thread open on this already (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=199313) and the Indicam was suggested. The Indicam stabilizer is supposed to support up to 15 pounds effectively. I'm still researching that one and any other options I can find, and really the only thing that is holding me back from the Indicam at this point the lack of reviews and example footage. It's made by an independent developer and the majority of the reviews and example shots I've seen from it are from the same 5 or 6 people. The stabilizer system is only about $2k and has a lot of versatile functionality, and the example footage I have seen shows pretty good quality. You might want to look into it; a week of searching and I haven't really found another option besides it.

Some ways to reduce the weight of the rig would be to go with a lighter adapter than the Redrock (if I remember correctly, the Redrock M2 comes out to be 6 lbs with the rod support system) and to stick to the short life battery. I believe the stock short life battery brings the camera weight to about 4.3 lbs. I haven't looked at too many 35mm adapters besides the Redrock and Letus ones, to be honest, but if there's one that comes out to around 4 pounds total, that opens up a lot more options for affordable stabilizers.
 
Credinus said:
As Elmy mentioned, the flip is not an absolute requirement since you can flip the image on the camera LCD and you can flip the recording in post.

As for the stabilizer, I'm in a similar boat. I'm likely going with a Letus adapter instead of a Redrock, but we both have the same problem... Weight. The usual options for a straight HMC150 would be the Merlin and the Glidecam 4000 Pro; however, with the adapter and an extended life battery, the weight is pushing the limit on both of those. We'd also be pushing the limit on the Steadicam Pilot, which is already likely over the price you're looking for and it only goes up from there. And the Glidecam X-10 system you found on Ebay only supports up to 9 pounds efficiently, which unfortunately isn't going to be enough.

I've got a thread open on this already (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=199313) and the Indicam was suggested. The Indicam stabilizer is supposed to support up to 15 pounds effectively. I'm still researching that one and any other options I can find, and really the only thing that is holding me back from the Indicam at this point the lack of reviews and example footage. It's made by an independent developer and the majority of the reviews and example shots I've seen from it are from the same 5 or 6 people. The stabilizer system is only about $2k and has a lot of versatile functionality, and the example footage I have seen shows pretty good quality. You might want to look into it; a week of searching and I haven't really found another option besides it.

Some ways to reduce the weight of the rig would be to go with a lighter adapter than the Redrock (if I remember correctly, the Redrock M2 comes out to be 6 lbs with the rod support system) and to stick to the short life battery. I believe the stock short life battery brings the camera weight to about 4.3 lbs. I haven't looked at too many 35mm adapters besides the Redrock and Letus ones, to be honest, but if there's one that comes out to around 4 pounds total, that opens up a lot more options for affordable stabilizers.
Click to expand...
Great post going on there.. now my buddy sent me a link on ebay to these 3... im getting skeptical though on this whole vest system as i heardit could take weeks/months and when i wont even be te one opperating the camera i dobt the men who are can learn i quickly.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Magic-Support-Vest-for-Stabilizer-Flycam-2000-4000-Pro_W0QQitemZ200437280873QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Video_Cameras?hash=item2eaafe3069#ht_5948wt_1167

http://cgi.ebay.com/Flycam-3000-Stabilizer-Body-Pod-for-JVC-GR-DVL300-mini_W0QQitemZ400103279698QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d28038c52#ht_6780wt_941

http://cgi.ebay.com/Flycam-Steadycam-Body-Support-Wrist-Support-Arm-Brace_W0QQitemZ370299181592QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item56378d1a18#ht_5354wt_941


Those are the links to what hes been looking at i guess...
I'm still thinking something like this:
http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.472981/it.A/id.433/.f?sc=2&category=865


would do us good??

Also anyone have any Tri-pods recomended for the hmc-150 w/ 35mm adapter? Looking at 200-550 range.. With of course a fluid head/ being able to lvl the ball.
 
I'm also in the market for a good stabilizer. I've been researching what would be the best bang for the buck, but still stabilize the Redrock and my HVX200. When you think about it, the Redrock requires that you zoom in on the Cinescreen, so you'll always have that fixed length on your lens (I use Nikon). I know that some lenses allow you to zoom, but that would be pretty awkward when you have to have one hand holding the arm and the other focusing and zooming the lens. Just saying, but does anyone have any other ideas? Will follow focus work best in that scenario?

Here are 2 sites that might be helpful:
Home Built Stabilizers
VariZoom has cheaper rigs as well

You might also be ok with a shoulder rig. There are many films that used them and shots came out just fine and gave the audience that "in" film experience.
 
Without writing an essay on this -- the only functional solution to the moving HMC w/lens adapter is a track and dolly.

There's the weight issue, the focus issue -- and if you get beyond those two -- there's the issue that stabilizer shots usually only work well with wide angle views -- meaning that if you zoom in on something you're going to see camera shake in a big way.

The only person who ever claimed his stabilizer would work perfectly at an extreme zoom is Garrett Brown (Steadicam). And although I completely believe Garrett Brown and revere him and his accomplishments -- I've never personally seen any stabilizer do that.

Meaning -- stick your 50mm lens on your camera/adapter rig on your stabilizer and it will probably result in bad footage. I could go on an on -- but the major point is above. There are other issues too, like the ever so slight movement between your camera and the adapter when the unit is moving (painfully discovered when using a cheap track and dolly).

Bottom line -- spend a small fortune (3k) on the MicroDolly. I've gotten that to work with the HMC150/HPX170 with a Letus with 35mm lenses of focal lengths up to 150mm.
 
AGMedia said:
Without writing an essay on this -- the only functional solution to the moving HMC w/lens adapter is a track and dolly.

There's the weight issue, the focus issue -- and if you get beyond those two -- there's the issue that stabilizer shots usually only work well with wide angle views -- meaning that if you zoom in on something you're going to see camera shake in a big way.

The only person who ever claimed his stabilizer would work perfectly at an extreme zoom is Garrett Brown (Steadicam). And although I completely believe Garrett Brown and revere him and his accomplishments -- I've never personally seen any stabilizer do that.

Meaning -- stick your 50mm lens on your camera/adapter rig on your stabilizer and it will probably result in bad footage. I could go on an on -- but the major point is above. There are other issues too, like the ever so slight movement between your camera and the adapter when the unit is moving (painfully discovered when using a cheap track and dolly).

Bottom line -- spend a small fortune (3k) on the MicroDolly. I've gotten that to work with the HMC150/HPX170 with a Letus with 35mm lenses of focal lengths up to 150mm.
Click to expand...

This is more or less the conclusion I came to. Obviously, there weren't any plans to do anything but fixed lenses on a stabilizer since the movement of the focuser ring would upset the balance, but unfortunately the only option was still the Indycam which I still don't have full faith in having not seen reviews/videos from more than a handful of people. The MicroDolly's a great piece of equipment, but unfortunately doesn't offer the versatility that a standard stabilizer would.

I have seen a few videos where people claim that they were using a Pilot with an HMC150/Letus combo mounted successfully (I can't seem to find them again though), which I suppose is theoretically possibly but I don't want to trust it when you're definitely over the recommended max weight. Some Halo rigs should be able to do the job, but I can't see using one for an extrended period of shooting at all.

So with all that in mind, if the MicroDolly isn't going to suit your needs, I'd recommend scrapping the idea of looking for an affordable arm/vest stabilizer to use with your adapter. As for me, I'm most likely going to just get a shoulder rig and a handheld w/arm and vest rig to use separately, depending on whether I'm using the adapter or not for the shot. My Letus and lenses will be in this weekend, so I'll have to wait until then so that I know the exact weights I'm looking at, but I'll post what I end up going with when I know.



And if anyone has some example videos or more reviews of the Indycam... I'm still really interested in it if I could just find some more resources to base a decision off of.
 
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