Now... how to use the FS700 7Q on a Blackbird?

ChadN

Well-known member
Hey guys, i'd love to fly the FS700 7Q on a Blackbird stabilizer. Don't want the monitor on the camera for that, so I'm thinking i've got to wear the 7Q on my body somewhere. Any ideas on the best way to do something like that?
 
You'd need a transmitter and receiver to the monitor as you can't tether anything to the camera once it's on the gimble. I have a CMR Blackbird. It's good up to 8lbs. I have one I'm going to sell. Look for it. I'm posting tomorrow
 
You could try this configuration from Solid Camera.

Keep the neck strap as short as it will go and adjust for a good viewing angle. You can be totally hands-free and walk around while always having the display in a good place.

If you do a loop of flexible cable right at the gimbal - you can do it. I have rigged MANY gimbals in every situation going back 20 years. Cables suck, but you have to have them especially when the recorder has to separate for weight. You cannot use a transmitter and expect a good recording.


CJA_0388-001.jpg
 
How much do the counterweights on the base weigh? The Odyssey7Q with a pair of SSDs loaded only weighs 1.2 pounds. If you could find a way to power it then you you might be able to use it as your monitor in the forward position.

I must admit that I'm used to much larger stabilizer rigs than this one. Don't you need a monitor to see what you're doing? The best place for that is down low and in front so that your eyes can naturally see the terrain ahead of you. You might want to push to a slightly larger rig that will work with your Odyssey as the monitor and one battery to power both.
 
Hey guys, i'd love to fly the FS700 7Q on a Blackbird stabilizer. Don't want the monitor on the camera for that, so I'm thinking i've got to wear the 7Q on my body somewhere. Any ideas on the best way to do something like that?

I run the FS7Q on my Glidecam HD4000 and it balances well. Not sure why you would not want the monitor as I can see way better on the 7Q than the onboard LCD which is just tiny. Seems like more trouble than it's worth than to strap it to your body.
 
The Blackbirds are for DSLR's - an FS700 with a smallish lens is max capacity. 8lbs is a bit optimistic in my opinion. Depends on what you expect to get in the end I guess.
 
I run the FS7Q on my Glidecam HD4000 and it balances well. Not sure why you would not want the monitor as I can see way better on the 7Q than the onboard LCD which is just tiny. Seems like more trouble than it's worth than to strap it to your body.

Mind to share picture how you setup you FS700 and 7Q on your HD4000? You put the 7Q on bottom or top on hd4000? i haven't try to put my fs700 + 7Q on my hd4000 yet
 
Sounds like i'll be looking at a larger stabilizer in the future.

I can usually just use the FS700 on board monitor for framing. I use the Sony 10-18 with AF and it's really light. Worked well in the past, i just love the Blackbird. Very easy to balance and use.

But yeah, the Blackbird isn't built to carry something like the FS7Q. I'll look at the HD4000. I take it you'd mount the monitor at the bottom as a counter weight?
 
I use my Glidecam 4000HD with camera on top and 7Q on the bottom. Here's a very terrible picture of the set up (apologies for the image quality, I was just about to go direct).
glidecam.jpg
 
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I would suggest you try mounting the Odyssey down at the bottom in place of the front weights (note where I marked it on your photo). This should both reduce your weight and improve dynamic balance on your rig. Dynamic balance means that you can spin the rig 360 repeatedly and it will maintain balance, keeping the post vertical. It also means the monitor is right near the floor in front of you, so you can see where you are going without having to move your vision far or refocus your eyes from close to far.
 

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I'll give that a go. As I recall I started with it there, but couldn't get a good angle to see it through the actual post of the glidecam.
 
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