Trying to sell Steadicam Pilot...need advice

W

Wadinginwater

New member
Hey everyone/anyone,

I posted about a week ago looking to sell my Steadicam and as of today I have about 150 views but no replies.

I've been out of the filmmaking bubble for a few years now and need advice as to how to price and market my Steadicam Pilot. Is it out of date? Are they no longer in demand anymore thanks to better built-in stabilization in newer cameras? Have I violated some sort of unwritten or even written rule on the forum that is preventing anyone from reaching out to me to even see if they could negotiate the price down? I'm surprised (or maybe a little out of touch) that no one has even inquired about it. Again, I've been away for at least three years and first joined this site back in 2010 when I had a DVX100B and I'm aware I haven't contributed much over the years (really only one post) but I thought that at least someone would be interested in my gear. I haven't done anything in filmmaking and haven't used the Pilot since 2014 so I admit that maybe I'm a bit behind since technology moves so quickly (I still have a GH2 with a Minolta lens adapter) but...I don't know.

I'm married now, have two kids and no time to pursue filmmaking anymore.

Can anyone at all reach out to me and slap some sense into me? Am I priced too high? Am I just not being patient enough? Am I a whiny baby?

Thanks.

Sincerely,

J.J.
 
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Hi--can't speak to the questions about this site but as far as the rig goes, and I'm going a little bit from memory--the closest current Steadicam to the Pilot is the Aero 15, which retails for $2995. Major advantages with the Aero is that the base is removable so it compacts better for transport, the monitor is brighter and the vest is beefier. I'd guess that the Pilot is probably worth between $1500 and 2000 at this point.

As to the scope of the market--obviously a lot of interest in that weight class of camera has been grabbed by the gimbals, since they offer a much faster learning curve. I'm sure there are still some out there who recognize the value of a Steadicam over a gimbal but it's a far smaller group than it once was. There are also a myriad of 3rd party rigs available on eBay that are cheaper and offer greater weight capacity, and some of them have developed into more respectable units than the travesties they were at first, but none of their arms will match the performance of the Pilot arm.
 
Charles,

First off, thank you so much for giving me the time of day to answer my questions. I've never even heard of the Aero 15, so that absolutely confirms my being out of the loop and out of date, lol. I remember the gimbal units were starting to come onto the market back when and I decided on the Steadicam based on the pedigree. It's disappointing but at the same time refreshing to hear that quality has improved in the third party market giving the Steadicam some respectable competition.

I'll keep it posted and also feel out ebay to see if anyone is still interested in the Pilot.

Again, thanks for the response. I sincerely appreciate it.

J.J.
 
I saw your ad and really was not interested and invested in a Letus Helix Jr. Magnesium instead, a $2,600.00 gimbal. I have used real Steadicams over the years and they are great but I travel a lot, am not in as good physical shape and I believe you need to be in good shape to master the Steadicam. The Letus is tiny in comparison to the Steadicam and it is less visible and "in your face" than a Steadicam rig. All important things for travel/doc/bts shooting that I do. I can't speak for anyone but myself but if I need a Steadicam occasionally, I would much rather hire a pro who is amazing at it than be mediocre at it myself because I don't really want to become a Steadicam operator. The gimbals (I now have the Zhiyun Crane and the Letus Helix Jr.) fulfill a much different need for me, the ability to grab subtle movement fluid shots quickly and easily with minimal skill level, fuss and muss, all the while staying lower key than a Steadicam could. Personally I think Steadicams are much better than gimbals for walk and talks or following an actor down a street smoothly but gimbals are better and easier to use in tight quarters where just some subtle little slider like movement is needed.
 
No problem. That all said: I think the Pilot is still a perfectly viable rig and very capable. And I forgot one aspect of the Aero that some are finding a negative--the steel weights now can only be attached to the base of the sled, not the top stage, which is less effective.

Honestly, I've always liked the Pilot...at least the sled and arm (the lightweight vest is not my favorite, although logical for the intended purpose i.e. wedding videographer being able to slip over dress clothes). But I think priced attractively this is a great piece of gear, and it's worth noting that while gimbals do certain things very well, Steadicams remain the best choice for other types of shooting. As long as you can devote the practice time.
 
puredrifting said:
I can't speak for anyone but myself but if I need a Steadicam occasionally, I would much rather hire a pro who is amazing at it than be mediocre at it myself because I don't really want to become a Steadicam operator.
Click to expand...

Fair. I do maintain that this is the number one reason that the gimbals have become popular. People wear so many hats now, they can't or won't devote hours to walking up and down the hall pointed at a cross on the wall to learn the Steadicam skill. It probably takes about 1/20th the time to get decent at operating a gimbal than a Steadicam. I'm fully convinced that the future lies in a hybrid between the products.

I gave the prototype Aero 15 a spin last fall (it was still called the Pilot 2 then) and had a good time--my first time donning a rig in probably 3 or 4 years.

littlerig2016.jpg

Recently dug up this photo--trying it out a trade show 33 years ago! Wow!

smpte84.jpg
 
When I sell stuff, I look up completed ebay listings to figure out the average selling price and use that as my base for market value. Put it on Craigslist and see if you get any bites.
 
puredrifting,

Thanks for the honest feedback and taking the time to explain why you passed on the rig. It does take a tremendous amount of dedication and patience to fly the Steadicam effortlessly and that was something I unfortunately never achieved. I got pretty good at it, but never stuck with it long enough to have reached the point that I had good posture and my back didn't hurt. It's definitely a full time job for someone and can deliver amazing shots, but not every shot needs to be a Steadicam shot. So I can absolutely understand where you're coming from.

Cheers! Thanks again.
 
Imamacuser,

Great advice on the ebay sold listings. I haven't sold too much online, so until now, I had no idea you could search for such a thing! It seems like a Steadicam Pilot has sold every couple of weeks just in the past few months alone. So there is hope!
 
I've been flying a pilot for about 6 years. I'm a big fan of full size steadicam rigs over gimbals. That being said the pilot is best towards its upper weight and extended in terms of inertia and controll. The problem is that the sled is not very rigid so it is probe to microvibrations. I wish my jobs justified spending on a zephyr or higher end rig but unfortunatly tiffen really overprices their higher end rigs.
 
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