DV Info Net

DV Info Net (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/)
-   Stabilizers (Steadicam etc.) (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/stabilizers-steadicam-etc/)
-   -   Balancing Magiqcam with heavy battery (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/stabilizers-steadicam-etc/34191-balancing-magiqcam-heavy-battery.html)

Michael Best December 3rd, 2004 09:39 AM

Hi there - yes, it has the new gimbal. I'm thinking I need more weight on the bottom, the monitor and the battery are lighter
than the camera and I believe it is supposed to be the opposite.
any continued input is much appreciated. Thanks!

Ed Liew December 3rd, 2004 10:36 PM

have you try increase the length of the bottom sled? you should have the sled slightly bottom heavy. to confirm this, place the sled with everything on, on the balancing side of the docking station. swing the sled to horizontal position and see which end it drop. if it drop on the camera end, try extending the bottom sled. i hope you get what i mean.

ed

ps. charles p and k, how am i doing so far?

Michael Best December 4th, 2004 10:40 AM

The balancing side? I guess I am missing something. Which
side is that and how do you use it? I'd love to get the sled
longer but how? Thanks again

Wei Mun December 4th, 2004 12:25 PM

Hi Guys,

Hope you all can give me some opinions on a good sturdy bright LCD monitor for use with my stabilizer. I'm looking not more than USD$300.

To: Ed Liew
Saw your Magiqcam setup. Wondering which LCD monitor are using?
Did you get it locally in MY?
Btw, how's your Magiqcam?

To: Wesley Wong
All the best to your setup.
One question, did you get the Marshall LCD in SG? From the pics, looks like it's the 4" V-LCD4-PRO. Right?

Ok. That's all.

Thank you in advance. Really appreciate all responses.

Regards,
Wei Mun

Ed Liew December 4th, 2004 07:02 PM

michael,
you are flying the rig without balancing it first? i would advice you find some reading material on this or get the steadicam video to help you get started. here is something to get you started http://www.steadicam-ops.com/docs/t_ultramanual_1-15.pdf not the same as our magiqcam but its a good reference and don't do the what was shown in the last picture.

wei mun,
i got the mon locally and made the connector box myself. it is one of the china made product. i got mine for rm460.00. the mon work very good even outdoor and i mean even under bright sunlight.
part of my magiqcam is with john. still waiting for him to reply my mail.

can you guys post some pics of the new gimbal?
thanks.

ed

Ed Liew December 4th, 2004 07:09 PM

second part of the reference http://www.steadicam-ops.com/docs/t_ultramanual_16-30.pdf

ed

Michael Best December 4th, 2004 07:42 PM

I posted too soon, got it figured out. Thanks for your responses
Ed!

Ed Liew December 4th, 2004 08:56 PM

pictures? new gimbal

ed

Wesley Wong December 4th, 2004 09:20 PM

Wei Mun :

I got the Marshall together with the magiqcam from John. PAL.

I'm also trying to get to him through email ... with no luck.

Ed Liew December 5th, 2004 02:23 AM

wesley,
problem with your rig?

ed

Wei Mun December 5th, 2004 03:15 AM

Thanks Ed and Wesley for the response.
I'm still deciding on which brand to buy.

Well at the mean time, might as well get more input from you guys :)

To Ed:
What's the size of the LCD? From the pics you posted, it looks like a 5" or 6". How's the framing like? Guessing it must be overscan, right?

To Wesley:
So, how do you find the Marshall LCD? Is it good in terms of brightness? Also, how do you find the viewing area? 4" seems small.

Well, that's all for now.
Thank you once again.

Wesley Wong December 5th, 2004 09:40 AM

Ed :

yeah. still trying to folow up with john regarding missing components to make my low mode (low dog) work.

Wei :

It works for me, especially when that's the only PAL model from John at magiqcam that he sourced into my rig.

might wanna check out others for comparison in person in your country.


Michael Best December 5th, 2004 10:27 AM

I love to post pictures to get some feedback, how can I post them?

Ed Liew December 5th, 2004 10:48 AM

wei mun,
its a 5" mon, overscan and work very well in color mode. not so good in b/w mode outdoor.

wesley,
should post your problem here so that other with low mode can give you a helping hand. other wise, post a message for john like what i did. from my correspondance with him, he said he check into this forum but only thing is he do not post or answer here.

michael,
post the pics on your website or else get a free website and post it there.

ed

Johan Lundberg December 5th, 2004 03:40 PM

I'm using the Nebtek Neb50 5" monitor on my magiqcam. I also got the 7.2v Li to 12v adaptor which allows me to power it with the same batteries as I use for my camera. Flying a DVX100 on it.

Nebtek Neb50:
http://www.nebtek.com/proddetail.php?prod=100NEB50

Initially I used a Marshall 4" monitor I bought through John but the backlight in it stopped working so I sent it back. My new nebtek works very well so far and is quite affordable.

By the way I'm trying to find out how the best way to setup and use the low mode, haven't really got there yet.
The only way I have found so far is to put the monitor on the camera plate, but then where are you supposed to put the battery?

Charles King December 5th, 2004 08:04 PM

Hi there Johan. I tried calling you several times but no answer. Do you still have the same number? BTW, do you have any pics of you magiqcam fully loaded with your setup?

Charles Papert December 5th, 2004 09:05 PM

For those looking at monitors for their rigs, here's an amazing new option:

DVX-Pod

For $600, you get a 6.5" super- high res screen and recording and playback capabilities--excellent for checking your shot inbetween takes. At 21 oz, still considered light but would only be appropriate for cameras over 10 lbs, say.

Wesley Wong February 15th, 2005 10:01 AM

:( should I be worried ??
 
about these cracks on my vest , where the arm goes ?

http://home.pacific.net.sg/~jeng_hsiung/PICT0210.JPG

Charles King February 15th, 2005 10:05 AM

Yep! you should be worrying. when that finally breaks off all those bearings will definately find its way to the floor and then you will have friction. That has to rectified soon.

Charles Papert February 15th, 2005 10:42 AM

Yikes! Scary!

Wesley Wong February 15th, 2005 11:28 AM

Geez. now I have to send it back to the States...

\'Doh !\'

Shoulda bought like something with a dealer in Singapore instead...

Ed Liew February 15th, 2005 09:45 PM

wesley,
look at the bright side. maybe john have come out with a new and improve component and he will send you one as a replacement. just make sure you check it out properly when you receive the new part.

good luck.

ed

Wesley Wong February 16th, 2005 04:41 AM

Thanks, I sure hope so, Ed.

I didn\'t get the new gimbal...

well the path of a freelance camera person is really tough, I guess. Live and learn.

Ed Liew February 16th, 2005 04:48 AM

only hope for better luck this time round.

ed

Douglas Akers February 16th, 2005 10:52 AM

Hey Wesley,
That photo looks very similar to the damage I incurred.
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=35288
However, mine was totaly operator error.
I\'m not assuming any error on your part but,
I have been triple checking to see that the arm is fully seated before I pick up the sled.
Since then I have had no problems.
I still love my Magiqcam rig!

Ed Liew February 16th, 2005 08:43 PM

douglas,
only wish i can say the same on magiqcam after sales service. once the money is send, no mail no nothing but just to pray that the rig will come one day. and also got to pray harder and hope that the item send is fully operational. sometime its just luck i guess.

ed

Sarah Kathryn February 17th, 2005 12:05 PM

Ed
John hasn\'t done anything for you? If I am not mistaken in previous replies on this board, he has sent you a couple of gimbals to try to fix your problem.

Wesley Wong February 17th, 2005 10:06 PM

Addy ?
 
What\'s John\'s / Magiqcam\'s address again ?

I need to send it back to him, but he hasn\'t replied my email with his address.

I wonder if I can ship it, international air\'s gonna cost a bomb.

Ed Liew February 18th, 2005 03:22 AM

wesley,
the address on the invoice should work. i return one of the gimbal with this address. it cost me rm370+ to send via fedex. try mailing him through the ebay listing. this was the only way i got him to reply me. good luck.

sarah,
he did send me two new gimbal. only problem was, both of them are faulty. mail him but same like wesley, no reply. i\'ve been stuck with one problem rig for more than a year now. i\'ve given up hope on this rig.

ed

Steve D. Taylor March 8th, 2005 07:15 PM

Ed,

I was pretty well sold on buying one of these until I read the way your gimbal problem was taken care of.

So you wouldn\'t recommend buying a Magiqcam I take it?

Steve.

Sarah Kathryn March 8th, 2005 10:43 PM

From what I have read on this board there are a lot of owners and they have had good experiences.
I would do a search and see what you come up with.

Ed Liew March 9th, 2005 09:16 AM

steve,
for the price, its a good buy as long as they send you a full working unit. and be prepare for a long wait. if i may quote cp words from a different thread, "... A lot of it comes down to how serious one wants to get about achieving beautiful shots, and how many compromises one is willing to make to get them".

enough said. don\'t need any mail from their customer service saying i\'m bad mouth their product.

good luck.

ed

Charles Papert March 9th, 2005 12:03 PM

I don\'t think that by "compromises" I was referring to customer service/support issues in that quote...was I?

Steve D. Taylor March 9th, 2005 01:08 PM

Ed, that makes sense, thanks.

Regarding "compromises," I expect to have to practice/work out a lot and only script those shots that can be done pefectly with the equipment I have. I\'ve found with other equipment that working within the limitations of what you have is essential. That is, don\'t try to do something that looks sub-par with what you have. I suspect this is why the demo on the magiqcam site looks so bad. It didn\'t appear to have been blocked for shots that this particular equipment can do well.

Steve.

Ed Liew March 9th, 2005 07:53 PM

no charles, i was actually refering to we pay what we get in term of the hardware - easier learning curve, setup time, missing small gadget such as leveling spirit, cable... sorry for quoting the statement. i think it statement is very truth, at least for me. i opt for magiqcam rather than to wait and save enough for a more reputable one because of price.

ed

Steve D. Taylor March 12th, 2005 05:02 PM

Well, after figuring the pros and cons, I ordered a magiqcam. Hopefully the new sliding gimbal will solve the previously mentioned problems.

Now to wait 5 weeks and then start practicing for shoot in August.

Thanks for all the advice.

Steve.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:56 AM.

DV Info Net -- Real Names, Real People, Real Info!
1998-2024 The Digital Video Information Network