Curious, which steadicam model are you flying? Would love to see a pic of your setup. I've just done re-designing the base of my sled to be even more versitle. I've added an option for an extra anton bauer setup. Just purchase another gold mount. Done some more improvement on the monitor mount which seems to improve things when the need for dynamic balance occurs. If you like to see a pic of it, let me know.

I'm doing these changes for a book I'm writing. It's about my build construction of my homebuilt rig and my experiences. Lots of pics invovlved. I've just got the rights from Glidecam and Pro GPI to go ahead and use some of their pics in a section that I will dédicate to the professional rigs. I'm waiting for the go ahead from Steadicam.

I guess you missed this question or you're trying to avoid it. I'll see if you reply this time ;)

Whoa, I totally replied the same day you posted, Charles! I wonder what happened. Thanks for the reminder!

Gotta run to work right now (I'm dayplaying on the Drew Carey show) but I'll get to this tonight, OK?

Thanks Charles. No sweat. Good luck on the set. You're a very busy man

Naah. I think he's avoiding you. :)

Charles, you might see us January thru April. My son's a teenage actor named Patrick if we get a chance to meet.

OK, my shooting setup:

PRO Donkey Box II
PRO post with bayonet mount
PRO gimbal with MK-V tool-less upgrade
PRO 1 battery cage
TB-6 monitor
Sony PC3 onboard DV recorder
PRO arm
DSD Harness
Preston FI+Z lens controls
Modulus 3000 transmitter

Those are the bigger components, of course there's cases full of gizmos and odds and ends. Hope this answers your question, Charles. I'm not sure if I have any pictures offhand--stopped collecting those a few years back, but you can see me on the behind the scenes features on a few DVD's..."Crazy/Beautiful" has a lot of rig shots, and "Big Fat Liar" also.

Good luck with the book, it sounds great--and yes, I'd like to see a picture of your rig!

wow! So you're flying a Pro. Nice. Sweet. You lucky devil you.

Here are some pics of the sled base that I've redone. The base module is completely modular with alternative options.

http://homebuiltstabilizers.com/batterymodule.html

Nice work Charles! Looking good. I like the telescoping monitor mount, smart idea.

Two thoughts on the vest: adding backstraps (first seen on the Model 1, disappeared until the Master series, also seen on the PRO vests) will help keep the top and bottom of the vest locked together, which should make it more comfortable and symmetrical. Also that center spar seems a little slender, which might start to flex with heavier loads. Were you indicating that you have fore-aft adjustment on the arm angle? Can't tell from the picture. It really seems to me that the lack of two-axis adjustment on the arm angle is a major factor in fatigue for folks--you can't dial it in so you have to compensate with an unnatural body angle. There must be something simpler than the CP standard socket block that does the same thing, I just haven't seen it yet (the DSD harness has a nice mechanism for fore and aft and still uses the two screws for left and right, might be worth looking at).

Good looking gear tho'.

Thanks for replying. There one thing that I don't follow:

1. "...adding backstraps (first seen on the Model 1, disappeared until the Master series, also seen on the PRO vests) will help keep the top and bottom of the vest locked together, which should make it more comfortable and symmetrical."

Are you talking about the straps that go over the shoulder? I don't under your point.


"Also that center spar seems a little slender, which might start to flex with heavier loads."

No problems on that issue. It is slender but it's made of stainless steel. It won't flex. It's 6mm thick.
You should know, the Pro vest center piece is just as slender.



"Were you indicating that you have fore-aft adjustment on the arm angle? Can't tell from the picture."

I know it's difficult to see but it is at the end of the arm bracket. It's not completely finished yet. The only disadvantage is that you I won't be able to adjust the positioning of the arm while the arm is mounted. I'm figuring out improving on that at a later date. Experimenting Experimenting...

Thanks for your comments. They do help.

Stainless steel, heavy but solid. That would do it!

The two backstraps are mounted on the rear of the vest, and hang down from the bottom of the section that covers the upper back to the top of the waist belt. Fastex fasteners are used similar to the ones you have on the other adjustable straps. I can send you a picture if this is still confusing.

Yes, please do.

I'd appreciate a pic of these straps as well, thanks Charles (both of you!)

Cheers,
Huey

Saved myself the bother of having to take a picture, post it etc. Check this out (http://www.steadicenter.com/details.php?image_id=2053). There is a PRO vest in that group of photos, the back straps are oddly missing. It's possible that owner ordered it without, or it was a pre-release picture (the backstraps may have been added late in the game).

aaaah! now I get it. Not a bad idea Charles. I will definately incoporate it into my vest. Though, not alot of vest have them, so they can't be that crucial. I will add them because it makes sense.
By the way, The stainless steel I added is really doesn't make the vest heavy as I would have thought. Of course it is a little heavier than if I would have used a composite material but the price was an issue considering I had to get it in bulk size.
Aluminum would have not hold that good if it was the same size either. So this was my alternative. Very strong though.

...and you're welcome Heuy

It's strange, Charles, how those backstraps have come in and out of vogue. I personally would not operate a front mounted vest without them, they do actually make a huge difference to me. Some operators don't need or like them. Many do dig them though. Let me know what you think, as with everything else it takes a while to dial them in.

Very true Charles P. Those straps do certainly make an incredible difference. Totally agree with you. Now it's taken a permentent place on my vest. Great advice. Thanks.

Good deal CK.

I haven't worn my PRO vest for close to a year now, since I got my Suave (now known as the Klaussen) harness. I've heard from others that once your body has gotten used to a back-loader, it's a whole different ball game to slip on your old front-loader. Still keep thinking I might need it since it is lower profile than the Klaussen but I might just sell the thing.

Some interesting developments out of Tiffen, huh? I had the opportunity to try the prototype of the Flyer arm a couple of years ago, it's a lovely piece of engineering, much smoother and more effective than anything in its weight class.

Pretty usual especially coming from a one spring setup, ain't it? Well, how would you compare it to the v-8 series? It too is a one spring setup.

Not having seen the production Flyer arm in person, I can only assume that the arm is essentially the same as the prototype. And if this is the case, it is very different than any single spring arm out there. It uses the patented iso-elastic principles seen in the Ultra arm in a simplified form, and delivers a true linear counter-effect as opposed to standard single spring arms which are quite "bouncy". Again, I'm going off the prototype here, but the tracking performance of this arm was like nothing I have seen outside of the PRO arm and 3rd generation bearing Ultra arms.

Erwin Landau posted a pic on the Steadicam forum of the prototype arm with a Mini carrying my SL Cine 2C onboard. I took that system out for a test run at the time and was barely winded after a few hundred feet--and that's with a 35mm camera! My guess is that with the merging of DV and HD into a form factor that will fit within the 15 lb weight limit of this system, the Flyer will be the one to beat from a performance standpoint.