Which steadicam ?

Phenixone

Phenixone

Well-known member
Hi,

I'm looking for a steadicam or similar equipment for the HPX170+Letus.

What would be the best solution ?
Tiffen's steadicam, Glidecam, G-Force ?
Thank you

PS : I know this subject might have been brought out a billion times, but I could'n find any easy answer in the search option (didn't know what to search)
 
like teh 35mm adapter discussions, there isnt really a "best" it depends on your budget and personal preference. ive yet to see any stabilizer discussed here on the forum that absolutely doesnt work.

i have a magiqcam im considering letting go of.
 
With a 35mm adapter, you will first need a remote (not whip) focus system to pull focus on Steadicam. Plan on between 2 and 4 grand for a basic system.

Then look at Steadicams. - The real Steadicam (Tiffen's stuff) gear is the best and worth the money if you can swing it.

I'd recommend a workshop first. www.steadicamworkshops.com

- Mikko
 
I live in france and the company I was planning to see for a workshop (TSF - steadiloc) stopped the classes last year. I am not actually planning on buying a steadicam, more something like getting to know the thing better.
I checked out the stead workshops and there is one Pilot Workshop in London that seems the good idea.

PS : there is another Merlin workshop, but I guess the Merlin wouldn't be enough for the cam+letus+35mm lens+wireless
 
Don't even attempt to use a handheld stabilizer...they aren't worth the trouble, wrist damage, and neck pain.

As for what brand...I'd go Steadicam.

Be sure to accurately weigh your entire rig, plus add some more weight equaling whatever accessories you may buy in the future, and then try to get a Steadicam with a max weight very close to this....Stabilizer arms work best when they are weighted near their max, and tend to act very oddly when you don't put much weight on them.

Definitely attend a workshop
 
Suggestion: Flyer, used

Suggestion: Flyer, used

Take a workshop! I recommend the Steadicam Flyer for your present use, it is well made and lightweight. I bought a used one and built a new adjustable battery and monitor mount from Cinevate parts, plus an Antlers mount (rods that carry little weights, which'll stabilize even more). And pulled new component cables for a Nebtek monitor instead of the onboard one. Any rig can be adjusted or rebuilt!
Oh,I work alone on docs, so I control focus, zoom and iris on my hpx170 with a varizoom remote. I also run headphone cords from the rig. Let the cords
hang from the camera and wrap them loosely around your wrist. Using antlers will help you counteract the slight drag from the cords. Its doable. I don't recommend using a 35 mm adapter unless you really have the time for working intensely with it, and preferably with a good focus puller via wireless. Varizoom now makes a remote, designed by Jim Bartell.

Check http://www.steadicamforum.com/ and http://steadishots.org/ and http://www.steadicam.com/ and http://www.jerryholway.com/ for resources.
Look out for the max. weight and check the quality of the build. Steadicam is generally the best idea, also because they hold their value quite well. But basically it's mostly about you practising a lot. And then some.
Enjoy it, it's the best fun in cinematography. Apart from the groupies.:beer:
 
I've got the Merlin Steadicam and it took me about 20 hours to get it perfectly balanced (probably one of the trickiest things I've ever had to learn). To move, pan and run up the stairs with it would probably be another 20 hours, plus probably a couple of hours of one-on-one instruction if I'm lucky) Not an easy skill to acquire, and if you do it wrong you risk damage to both your camera and body. I've only now discovered that they also have an arm/vest for the merlin, which is almost another $2000, so it gets expensive too.
 
I have a Steadicam Pilot and recommend it, but it has a capacity limit of 10 lbs, which is not enough for my HVX200, Letus Extreme, Letus rail system, and Nikon ED zooms. The total of all that approaches 15 lbs, which I believe would be in the Steadicam Flyer territory, and IIRC those cost about $7-8k vs $3900 for the Pilot.

The HPX170 is a bit lighter than the HVX (evidently by about a pound, but I'm not sure), but the Letus is still quite heavy. Add rails and a lens and you're almost certainly still over the Pilot's limit. Then there's a wireless ff and video feed...

My approach is to simply use the HVX without the adapter for steadicam shots (although I do add a video transmitter and sometimes one or two lav receivers, which still adds up to less than 10 lbs). It actually works out pretty well, because the innately long DOF of the camera makes focusing much less critical. Any 35mm adapter immediately puts you at the opposite end of the DOF spectrum unless you have *lot* of light. A *real* lot. Typically, the DOF is shallow enough that focusing on a steadicam would be a massive PITA. But again, the bare camera has DOF to burn. So that actually turns out to be an advantage (IMO).

After all, you're typically in near-constant motion with a steadicam, so the FOV is always shifting, which quite nicely distracts the viewer from details like shallow DOF or rack-focusing. Those techniques are more the province of less kinetic shots anyway. So, at least for me, locked off or dolly = adapter ok, but steadicam, MultiRigPro (handheld/shoulder mount) or crane (my Advanta-Jib also has a 10 lb limit), not.
 
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Everts said:
How did you manage to achieve neck pain ?
Click to expand...

I've never had neck pain, as I've never even touched a handheld stabilizer. I own and operate a modified Steadicam SK2.

I've heard reports of long usage with handheld stabilizer causing neck pain though....and it all makes sense. To use one of those things you have to keep your muscles heavily tensed for long periods while still using precision control over those muscles.....we aren't meant to do this.
 
Nick Walters said:
Stabilizer arms work best when they are weighted near their max, and tend to act very oddly when you don't put much weight on them.
Click to expand...

While this is very true of the older generations of Steadicam arms (and current generations of other systems). Steadicam's new generation of arms (Flyer/G-series/Pilot) maintain their performance over their entire supported weight range. The Ride adjustments on the bigger arms even allow you to tweak the response.


- Mikko
 
Hello

I have a Steadicam JR, and seemed really doing fine. Steadicam JR was the first edition and Merlin is the upgraded version.

First you make up with yourself - how often do you use it. I use my actually not very often - once or twice a year maximum. It's actually a lot of money to spend on such a piece of hardware, that is why I started to build one I can use both with built-in stand and in flight mode when the need is there.

Look out on youtube which you'll find a lot of home built steadicam's and they work quite well.

Common to them all is that they do not cost many dollars.

best regards
fp
 
mikkowilson said:
While this is very true of the older generations of Steadicam arms (and current generations of other systems)
Click to expand...

They don't make em' like they used to ;)

I love my SK2....it may not have the most advanced arm on the planet, but with my modified bottom stage I can dynamically balance and handle about 20 pounds of camera. I have yet to add on a high-def sunlight viewable screen, but once I do it'll still be ALOT cheaper then the new guys out there.

I actually have weight plates to keep me nice and weighted down, and I have to say that the stabilization with more weight doesn't just come from the arm....with more weight the gimbal itself feels like it works better, and although it does put more strain on me physically, the end results just look better when I weight down to my maximum.

This can also be accomplished with less weight put out at a further distance(antlers), but these can be quite wieldy....I myself have my own antlers that I custom built, but I gotta say that I don't even remember where I put them last.....Most of the time I just can't use them, cause I'm in stairwells, smallish hallways, doorways, etc......they're great for windy outdoors stuff with enough room, but most of the time I just weight myself down and compensate through body stance, rate of movement, small compensations through wrist action, etc. etc.
 
Ok so I guess I'll go without the letus.

Do you know by any chance any wireless remotes for focus zoom start stop and iris (like the two jack plugs in the back ?
 
I am able to operate my Pilot rig with my HVX on it using a varizoom remote attached to the gimbal handle and the cables loosely running up to the camera with very few issues.
 
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