My 35$ steadicam

Charles Papert · August 31st, 2005, 12:00 PM

Hi Tom,

Yes indeed, heavy does equal inert, and when it comes down to it a 15lb sled is still a "lightweight" relatively speaking. The thing to keep in mind is that the further from the center of gravity of the rig (the gimbal, for all intents and purposes) the weight lives, the more effect it will have on the inertia. That's why it's good to have a light center post and focus on the weight being applied at the outer edges, i.e. monitor, battery and camera. If you were able to relocate the masses so that you could beef up the camera by mounting it on a steel weight plate (bringing it up to, say 6 lbs), lightening up the other components in between and then having your battery at the back and monitor at the front (probably adding a bit of weight to the LCD) still all add up to the same 15 lbs, you would see a significant improvement in the way the rig flies. Ideally your gimbal should be at most 20% of the way down the center post, certainly not 60%. The other great thing about having this setup is that when you do need to move to a larger camera, you can do so without your rig getting any heavier by removing the steel weight plate. But since you have a plan to rebuild with different materials, this may all be things you know...!

Regarding the arm...the Flyer arm is a much more sophisticated piece of gear than the 3a arm in that it is substantially more linear throughout its boom range (which is also greater than the 3a)! If you are going to reverse-engineer, might as well go after the latest design! The Flyer was the first of a series of new arms (the G50 being the latest) that Tiffen is rolling out to replace the Ultra/Master style arms that replaced the 3A nearly ten years ago.

Best of luck with it!

Tom Wills · August 31st, 2005, 12:39 PM

Thanks for the advice Charles. I'll definetly take that into consideration on the next incarnation of my rig.

August 31st, 2005, 12:00 PM	#16
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	Hi Tom, Yes indeed, heavy does equal inert, and when it comes down to it a 15lb sled is still a "lightweight" relatively speaking. The thing to keep in mind is that the further from the center of gravity of the rig (the gimbal, for all intents and purposes) the weight lives, the more effect it will have on the inertia. That's why it's good to have a light center post and focus on the weight being applied at the outer edges, i.e. monitor, battery and camera. If you were able to relocate the masses so that you could beef up the camera by mounting it on a steel weight plate (bringing it up to, say 6 lbs), lightening up the other components in between and then having your battery at the back and monitor at the front (probably adding a bit of weight to the LCD) still all add up to the same 15 lbs, you would see a significant improvement in the way the rig flies. Ideally your gimbal should be at most 20% of the way down the center post, certainly not 60%. The other great thing about having this setup is that when you do need to move to a larger camera, you can do so without your rig getting any heavier by removing the steel weight plate. But since you have a plan to rebuild with different materials, this may all be things you know...! Regarding the arm...the Flyer arm is a much more sophisticated piece of gear than the 3a arm in that it is substantially more linear throughout its boom range (which is also greater than the 3a)! If you are going to reverse-engineer, might as well go after the latest design! The Flyer was the first of a series of new arms (the G50 being the latest) that Tiffen is rolling out to replace the Ultra/Master style arms that replaced the 3A nearly ten years ago. Best of luck with it! __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

August 31st, 2005, 12:39 PM	#17
Tom Wills Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 326	Thanks for the advice Charles. I'll definetly take that into consideration on the next incarnation of my rig.