Urgent: Flycam 5000 + Arm + Vest Jumpy Footage

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etrust

Well-known member
Hello Everybody,

i bought a Flycam 5000 + Arm + Vest from cinecity on ebay.

I get usable footage using only the flycam 5000 without the arm + vest.

But if i use the flycam with the arm and vest and walk, i can see that the footage jump everytime when i make a step (walk).

Horizontal is ok but i have here a vertical problem when i walk :=(

I'm walking very slow.

Must the arm move up and down to compensate the vibration of walking? I tried to play with the feather tight but it does not help. The arm is not moving.

Could somebody give me some tips to solve this problem? I need urgent help because i need it on friday.


Please help me.

This is my Flycam 5000 + Arm + Vest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBFzI777j50
 
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Some ideas that might help-

- Try walking by rolling your heels, so there's less spring in your step.
- Maybe the springs in the arm are too tight? Try loosening if you can.
- Add weight to your sled and that will always smooth it out. I usually do this anyway. Sounds like if your arm is not moving, then you don't have enough weight. Can you push it down by hand?
-if nothing works, I guess you'll have to use it by hand.
 
Hi everybody,

thanks for all tips..

What i can say now: I think that the footage ist better then before.

What i changed:

- I'm walking smoother
- I changed the feather because it was to thight

But now i have to use more power on my own arm :=(

I get faster tired.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong i don't know.

I'll update tomorrow the test
 
question etrust?

is your video more jumpy than the video of the guy demonstrating the flycam in the youtube video?

looking for a point of reference. i didnt think that guys video was very smooth. is your worse than that?

i used to use a glidecam with the smoothshooter vest and arm with a dvx100 & EX1. i thought for a single arm it was very nice while walking.

now i have the Pilot with the EX1. i really have it weighted down. it does float nice with more inertia. this is a two section arm though. weight is nice for smoother operation.

david
www.davidprobst.xom
 
David

Since you have experience of cheaper Flycam and a way more expencive Pilot, what is your opinon of these cheaper stabilizers?

Where actually these Flycam stabilizers came from?
 
I find that faster movements are usually easier to keep smooth. Slow movements are always more difficult.

If you stand up in your nromal walking position, and let go of the sled, what happens? If it is adjusted correctly, it should just sit there. If the sled is constantly trying to get away from you, you will be fighting it with your arms which will ruin the efforts of the whole system.

Remember those toy stnakes that you held at one end and they stuck out straight, then as you moved your hand, you could make the whole snake move around. Its just like that, if the socket block isn't adjusted correctly, your snake (arm) will wave about all over the place.



Pete.
 
hoarp001 said:
Remember those toy stnakes that you held at one end and they stuck out straight, then as you moved your hand, you could make the whole snake move around. Its just like that, if the socket block isn't adjusted correctly, your snake (arm) will wave about all over the place.
Click to expand...

I concur. One odd thing I practice doing is letting go completely of my Steadicam ad trying to control it with my body alone, as this effects things heavily...when correctly balanced and adjusted you should be able to do exactly this.

I also agree about adding weight. It seems that any arm usually works best when weighted to it's maximum specs. I went to a local metal shop and had a few steel plates made with holes in them so that I could add them to the top and bottom, depending on what camera I'm using(heavy film camera only gets bottom weights...a chunky tape cam might get one up top nd a few on bottom, etc, etc).
 
journalist said:
David

Since you have experience of cheaper Flycam and a way more expencive Pilot, what is your opinon of these cheaper stabilizers?

Where actually these Flycam stabilizers came from?
Click to expand...

hi journalist,

i didnt have the specific Flycam but i did use (and still have) the Glidecam 2000 Pro with the Smooth Shooter vest and arm (single).

first i will say that the smooth shooter vest is really nice. it has structure almost like a big vest that a skier would use. the Pilot vest is pretty flimsy and about 50% of it is velcro. to me its a velcro disaster. very annoying at times when it gets all stuck to itself. it also picks up lint. if you set it down in a funky area it tends to grab it like a magnet. with that said the Pilot vest still works fine once you get it properly adjusted.

the obvious gripe about the Glidecam 2000 Pro was that it couldnt be easily adjusted "fore/aft & front to back" without taking off the rig and setting it down on the ground. then you had to slightly unscrew up to 8 screws with your fingers to get perfect adjustment. when you are moving fast in a video shoot it becomes very stressful to get it set up perfectly when people are waiting on you. the new Glidecam 2000 or 4000 HD model gives you the "quick & easy" adjustments on top of the sled for that final little tweak...just like the Pilot does. if you get the Glidecam make sure you get the HD version and not the Pro. i think its only about 100 more.

now about the differences in operation...
i really thought the glidecam was pretty nice. getting smooth was very doable (depending on how good you got it balanced). the Pilot does it a little better though and with less grief.

the Pilot can really go hi and low and further away from you where the glidecam is a bit more limited on its up and down range because of the single arm

i cant say that the Pilot blows away the Glidecam. the smooth shooter arm is very fluid and smooth to me. i hardly ever got the glidecam to a point though where i could stop cold and just hold the shot. i do have much better luck on the Pilot with that...probably because i get a more tweaked balance. also i think the xtra weight i have with the EX1 on the pilot vs the lesser weight on the glidecam makes the overall experience better. the inertia is much better and the whole rig feels more "right" and professional when you are operating it.

there is no doubt that the Pilot is way more variable in how you choose to set it up. if you want to run your camera up at face level or even higher you can easily move up the gimbal and you almost have a baby crane (not really) but a nifty variation on one.

having the monitor is really nice on the Pilot. i never thought about it much when i didnt have it on the glidecam but after the Pilot...wow...how did i ever survive without it. i guess ignorance is bliss! it really does make sense to be looking "down" towards the ground rather than looking up at the flipout LCD. doing steps and walking or running over uneven ground is obviously way better when looking down at the monitor on the bottom. the monitor on the Pilot is more than bright enough even in bright outdoor light. its not good enough to pull focus though IMO.

the Pilot also comes with a very nice case. all you have to do is collapse the extension arm pull off a couple of the weights and it packs away pretty quickly. i mark my extension arm with a marker for DSLR and various weight configurations so i can pop it right back into place.

i have a 17 year old son that uses my glidecam and vest. i keep him off of my Pilot. it would spoil him...haha!

i thought the Pilot was possibly overpriced when i ordered it. i went from a DVX100a to a EX1 and i had outgrown the 2000 Pro. i didnt want to deal the the horrible "pro" version like the 4000 pro (the HD hadnt come out yet)...so i figured the pilot was the safest way to go. its a very very good system. if you plan to get seious about flying your cameras then it is really worth getting the Pilot over the glidecam HD/and vest. but if money is a consideration i will say that the Glidecam stuff IMO will also do a very good job for you.

just so you know...i did attempt to purchase initially the Flycam 6000 from over in India. there were hard to communicate with and i was very concerned with warranty issues if something broke...which i had read lots of reviews where the simplest things were breaking. although the people said the the company was pretty good about getting them the part fairly quickly...i just decided to go with a US company that was easily available if a problem arose. i did have one little problem with the Pilot but the company stood quick behind their product and took care of me 100%. no complaints.

good luck!
david
www.davidprobst.com
 
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About Flycam vs. others

About Flycam vs. others

Thanks for comparison Smooth S vs Pilot.

Really, what makes me feel doubtfull about Flycam-type "copyproducks" is that they give no open info in their webpages about who they are, what's the history or any usereferensies. On the other hand, the brandproducks in this industry are well overpriced. So this makes you think and search other alternatives.

Actually I also have made "a glideam 4000"-type handheld stabilizer. It works about ok. But it's nearly unuseable, because it's bit too heavy. Don't simply have the endurance to carry it too long. In industrial process you can make it with better craftmanship and lighter.

So the evalution still continues.
 
journalist,

i had two conversations with "the cine city" (India) in attempts to order a flycam 6000. i wanted to pay with a credit card and they wanted me to use their online ordering using paypal. im on a mac and it never worked (for some odd reason) and i tried to tell them but they just kept telling me to try it again. they could barely carry on a conversation using english. after a few attempts i saw the writing on the wall that this would be a very difficult and risky company to deal with in a pinch so i decided to go with an accessable company and bought the Pilot.

if you search deep into the hardware archives here you will find a few very informative threads as to the problems with the Flycam. the simplest of things like screws and bolts breaking off on first usage. they just sounded cheaply built with the cheapest of materials.

most of the people that had stated the problems "did" though get replacement parts sent to them from the company in fairly quick order. so i didnt get the impression that people were left high and dry.

i think its a perfect example of you get what you pay for.

if your serious about using a stabalizer then you really have to consider the vest as a mandatory part of the system. even though the Pilot is not cheap, once you get it you will start to feel that it is earning its keep. when i order the Pilot initially for $3,700 i felt like i was sort of getting ripped off but after having it for a bit i felt like i was just paying what it was worth. it was a good investment that i wont have to replace unless i get a much heavier camera...and that isnt going to happen.

david
www.davidprobst.com
latest music video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4sQfHD_b_E
 
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Thank you for both replys!

Thank you for both replys!

Really, your experience of Flycam was kind a what I was expecting already. It's amazing how much even a webpage can tell to you, or maybe vice versa also.

So Merlin with the vest vs Pilot are now the options. I do have HVX 200 and 170 plus smaller cams, soon also 5II most likely, and on many asignments I hardly can have (journalist) all gear with me. So Merlin seems more and more interestnig.

On the other hand, since I already have done one stabilizer myself, so I rather concenrate to some other projects and let commercial guys do their job...
 
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