Steadicam for Sony EX1 (Sanda100)

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Fredo Jones

Member
Hey everyone - New to the site! Love it!

Have a quick question...

I'm shooting with a Sony EX1 (external mic and battery - added weight) along with my new Sanda100 Steadicam/Stabilizer. Here is the link to it incase you dont know what it is.... http://www.sanda100.com/index.php?ln=en&men=1

Anyways....I live in Denver CO and shoot a lot of snowboarding films....I use a dolly and Kessler Crane when possible but sometimes neither can make it up the mountain or can be set up in time.

SO -

I can shoot with the Sanda100 for about 10 - 15 min before my arm gets really tired. My neighbor is a professional welder and asked why I dont have a vest to carry it - I didnt really have an answer to this...

Although I know the posture needed for a steadicam/glidecam would be VERY difficult to maintain while skiing.....all I really need is something to hold while im not skiing - or while skiing down to....in other words I dont want to have to re-balance my camera every run. Is there an arm brace? A vest and arm? Something I could build? Anything??

Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks guys!

Fredo
 
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Get a Pilot! The Steadicam Pilot jsut works, and works well, all the time. My wife wears hers for hours on end, no problem, with an Ex1/Mic/NanoFlash, etc.
 
David - Yeah - I mean it would be ideal - but as told by a fellow film maker he said "if it were that easy - dont you think every snowboard film would have them"? And he does make a good point...Idealy yes. But is it possible??
 
i would imagine it would be great...until you fall, haha! could get expensive ya know!

that would be my concern. i have a steadicam pilot and a glidecam/smoothshooter. i think the glidecam would survive a fall much better than my pilot. the pilot sled seems rather delicate compared to the glidecam 2000 pro. of course i like the pilot a lot better but would be less apt to use it in a situation where i might take a fall.

i think that other gizmo you had makes better sense since you would be able to make *some* adjustments that would be less harmful to your camera if you new you were going to take a fall.

you mentioned that you wanted something more to hold it when your not skiing. i would let your welder friend build you a little bracket to attach easily to your support system. off of that get a short monopod to attach to a belt around your waist so you can let the rig *rest* while you transport yourself back to your starting point.

here is a rig i use instead of handholding...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1blA8xC4Ts

because of the monopod that attaches to the waist, i can hold this thing all day long with no effort. something like this would give your arms a rest.

good luck to you,
david
www.davidprobst.com
 
Has anyone tried out the Flycam 6000 from Cine-city? It seems rather difficult to justify $13,000 for a Steadicam just to fly a $6,000 camera. The Flycam 6000 demo videos looked pretty good and the item is 1/12th the price of the Steadicam offering.
Anyone took the plunge and bought one yet?
 
a steadicam pilot is roughly $3.700.00 w/monitor display. glidecam HD4000 w/smooth shooter vest and is $1,900 no monitor. i dont think the pilot would survive a nasty fall. but the glidecam might since its built like a tank. wouldnt want to see the camera after a tumbling fall though. maybe the OP could build a cage of some sort to surround the camera body.

the more important question i have for the OP...do ever fall or have you ever fallen?

david
www.davidprobst.com
 
4-10lbs may be adequate for the bare EX1, but let's say you're running an EX3 with a wide angle lens, external mic, rails, matte box, and Flash XDR. That ain't gonna work.
 
The feature films that I've seen where there was skiing action (James Bond), the camera op has the camera cradled with two hands, no poles, and chases the action (even skiing backwards).

So, if you are a good enough skier to do this - go for it. If not, I wouldn't throw even more expensive equipment into the potential fall.


Good Luck,
Lonnie
 
basspig said:
Has anyone tried out the Flycam 6000 from Cine-city? It seems rather difficult to justify $13,000 for a Steadicam just to fly a $6,000 camera. The Flycam 6000 demo videos looked pretty good and the item is 1/12th the price of the Steadicam offering.
Anyone took the plunge and bought one yet?
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I looked at it but couldnt find any reviews on it. It looks great but like you - I dont know!

I agree with you on spending 12,000 to fly a 6,000$ camera. Cant really justify it....the Glidecam Pro yes is cheaper - but many people have reviewed it saying a few parts are cheap and tend to break...

Im a really good skier (was on the amateur US ski team three years ago) so skiing backwards at full speed/not watching where Im skiing is pretty easy....but the REAL thing is - even on the FlyCam 6000/Glidecam/Steadicam - will the balance of the camera STAY? I mean even walking with one of these rigs it tends to move slightly - Skiing might be a little harder due to posture of the rig, speed and WIND. Anyone have any experience using a rig while running with wind? I guess that would be the closest comparison.
 
hi fredo,

before you buy the flycam 6000 i would search the reviews and comments from this site. i believe they were mostly on the "hardware" forum. i almost bought one a year ago but i strayed away after many not so good comments and reviews. very poorly made with out of the box issues on the simplest things like screws and tighteners breaking off upon first use!!...etc.

bassbig may be right about the extra added weight as far as your camera and addons fitting on a glidecam 4000 or the Pilot.

i do use the pilot with the EX1 and can put a century 0.6 wide angle with a Lectrosonics transmitter and it still handles with ease. cant say beyond that. even without these addons i still put all of the included weights on my setup. i want as much weight and inertia as i could get. i know you can order more weights if needed. i think there is a very good chance that the Pilot would work but i cant say for sure.

it seems like the stabllizer that you are using now makes the best sense but thats only a hunch since i havent ever tried one.

it does take TWO HANDS to control any of the rigs that i have used (glidecam 2000 & Pilot) in a windy scenario it only gets a lot more tricky. plus flying down a hill with both of your arms and hands purely dedicated to the rig? what do you use for balance (in a pinch) at that point? are you going to build some kind of protective cage for your ex1?

what about a handheld gyro to smooth out your shot?

good luck
david
www.davidprobst.com
 
Can't find much in the way of reviews, except a YouTube video from a British fellow reviewing a Flycam 5000. Nothing meaningful on the 6000 so far.

Although I'm finding that my EX3 is much easier to handle smoothly than my EX1s. I took it hiking Saturday and produced some very smooth, floating-like walking footage. The extra mass, plus the fact that I outfitted it with a Rode NT4 microphone, seems to smooth out shakes effectively. Though it's larger, it does seem to work out better for travel shoots.
 
Fredo, how do you like the Sanda? I was curious about it when it was first announced (wasn't ready for market yet) and never heard anything else about it. Besides the limited length of time of holding it (any handheld would have this issue with the EX1), does it fly the weight of the EX1 pretty nicely?
 
basspig said:
Can't find much in the way of reviews, except a YouTube video from a British fellow reviewing a Flycam 5000. Nothing meaningful on the 6000 so far.

Although I'm finding that my EX3 is much easier to handle smoothly than my EX1s. I took it hiking Saturday and produced some very smooth, floating-like walking footage. The extra mass, plus the fact that I outfitted it with a Rode NT4 microphone, seems to smooth out shakes effectively. Though it's larger, it does seem to work out better for travel shoots.
Click to expand...


for Basspig & Fredo,

here is the specific link that i found specifically for the Flycam 6000. easy to find since i posted in it. not a very strong endorsement for the Flycam 6000. i almost bought one too. im glad i didnt.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=145257

here is another...PROAIM-7000 Reverse Arm with flycam 6000
http://hbsboard.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=62ef2c2bfe340bd7699da8d5c0c75adb&topic=3530.0

a more favorable review...
http://hbsboard.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=62ef2c2bfe340bd7699da8d5c0c75adb&topic=3702.0

Stabilizer FORUM
http://hbsboard.com/index.php/board,35.0.html

good luck. let us know what you decide on.
david
www.davidprobst.com
 
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david_p said:
hi fredo,


it does take TWO HANDS to control any of the rigs that i have used (glidecam 2000 & Pilot) in a windy scenario it only gets a lot more tricky. plus flying down a hill with both of your arms and hands purely dedicated to the rig? what do you use for balance (in a pinch) at that point? are you going to build some kind of protective cage for your ex1?

what about a handheld gyro to smooth out your shot?

good luck
david
www.davidprobst.com
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I wouldnt build a protective case - I wouldnt really be going that fast. The one time a fell over - I literally just fell over. Im curious to what you mean by a hand held gyro to smooth it out?

Buck Forester said:
Fredo, how do you like the Sanda? I was curious about it when it was first announced (wasn't ready for market yet) and never heard anything else about it. Besides the limited length of time of holding it (any handheld would have this issue with the EX1), does it fly the weight of the EX1 pretty nicely?
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Buck - It does actually quite well. I can run up the stairs and its smooth, walk around the house etc. Getting in a wheel chair and doing a dolly shot looks AMAZING.

Finding the balance point on it the first time takes some time...but once you get the hang of it and find it the set up is pretty fast, and tweaking it is pretty simple. The only cons are a) the DVD instructional video comes in Italian, b) you need to get a few more washers (Home Depot). But other than that....it works GREAT! I looked into the merlin, glidecam etc and ended up going with this. Total cost was 700.14 US.

So not as "cheap" as I would have liked but for what I think Im gonna be using it for - it works great.
 
Fredo Jones said:
Hey David -

Do you know anything about this site? http://www.easysteady.com/easysteady/arm_mark_III_2.html

Price mainly....or experience.

Thanks man!
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hi fredo,

ive never seen or heard of this unit. it does looks sturdy. doesnt look cheap though. i guess youd have to email them for a price.

did you check out some of the reviews on the Flycam 6000? what did you think?

is the stabilizer that you have now not to your liking? could you elaborate on what is missing from the performance of it. are you trying to solve the fatigue aspects of your shooting or do you also want to improve your shooting and are thinking that the full body rig is the answer?

david
www.davidprobst.com
 
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