High End Video Eyewear for Jib & Steadicam Operators
 

www.microoptical.net/Products/HomePage.html

www.icuiti.com

James,

I looked at this a while ago but the price was way out of my league. I couldn't find pricing on the website so I don't know if it's still in outer space.

I tried out an Eyetop system but it's cable was too stiff for my lightweight rig and threw everything out of balance.

I want a system that has a small transmitter in it so it's wireless.

It's great to dream.

Tery
www.indicam.com

These, along with many other options, have been tried with Steadicam's before. They don't really work very well.

The problem is that as free as the Steadicam is, you want as many things as possible to aid your orientation and navigation. Hving the monitor attached physically to the camera allows you to use it as a solid referance point to figur out which whay everything is pointing.

Some other failed ideas have been:
Putting a monitor on the back of the sled for when shootin backwards over the shoulder in Don Juan mode so that operator could still look forward. The problem is that this reveres teh tilt axis, which is very disorienting.
The monitor has also been mounted to the arm (which would be similar to the video glasses) but then the operator lost track of the sled and had to keep looking to see which wat it was pointed anyway.

Basically you need to be looking at the front of the sled to keep track of the camera anyway, so putting the monitor there actually serves many purposes.

..and then there's the whole wire issue of having an "off-board" monitor.

- Mikko

Mikko,

I can see why those configurations would be hard on the operator. I do believe though that if someone had an eyeglass monitor he (or she) would get used to using it and could get quite effective. A matter of practice etc.

Anyway, until I see a wireless system it's down the regular road I go.

Tery

James,

You still have to have a transmitter.

I've looked around and couldn't find one that I liked at a price I liked. It doesn't have to transmit far...just a few feet. It should be small though.

I do have a steadicam transmitter on channel 30 which works great but I would need a receiver that had TV channels in it.

I'm sure the answer is out there in internetland somewhere.

Tery

IDX makes or distributes one. Tiffen had it on the rigs at Cinegear last year with the hands free Segway. Edit, but the receiver was bigger than a Beachtek DXA-8.

Supercircuits.com has some very low cost transmitter/receiver packages. They have transmitters that are beyond tiny, although the receivers have some size to them.

Here is a great little lightweight tuner, can be powered off a camcorder battery if needed.

I'm trying to keep it affordable because the Modulus, Transvideo, and Premier Wireless systems are sure small enough but are $1500+. Here are some that are small and affordable.

These systems are designed for R/C planes and helos so they have to be small and light. Most are also designed with special plugs to connect to flight packs for power. It's possible that you would have to either just change the power plug or get the power packs that go with them.

Transmitters / Receivers
www.blackwidowav.com/products24ghz.html

DigiLive
http://www.blackwidowav.com/bwav2402...eUFPbasic.html

www.tinywireless.com

Leave it to you Charles to find what I've been looking for. Thanks!

I'll contact the company and see where I can get one of these. I wonder if they will be at NAB.

The recever size isn't as crucial as the transmitter size and my transmitter is only 5.0 x 1.5 x .75 which is great.

Tery

James,

It's a puzzlement (in the works of the King of Siam).

It doesn't have a name on the outside, only a tag that sais "CH-30A". There is no identification on the circuit board inside either but it works great.

It was advertized as Steadicam Transmitter CH 30. The cas does say it is made in Canada but that might just be the case. I can't even see a crystal on the board. It could be on the other side that I can't get to without taking things apart.

Like I say...It's a puzzlement!

Tery

In the twenty or so years that jibs have been around, I have never seen any professional jib operator use these glasses. I know one operator who tried them, but gave up on them quickly. I can't say what his objection was, but I imagine it was too scary not being able to see what was outside the field of view on the glasses. There have been a number of cases where experienced jib operators have struck talent, audience members, the floor, or sets with jibs, and certainly these types of glasses would increase that possibility. Remember, you are legally responsible for any damage or injuries you cause with your gear, and anything you use that might interfere with your ability to operate properly could have serious repercussions.

Likewise, I have never seen a steadicam operator use the glasses, but possibly Charles has more information. I know I had the misfortune to step off an eight foot high stage with a steadicam, and I would never use anything that would interfere with my ability to see what's going on around me. (My accident was caused by an "assistant" who was supposed to be watching out for me, but was more interested in watching the stage show. You get what you pay for.)

Wayne Orr, SOC

Wayne,

I can agree with all of that.

The unit I was thinking of has the viewer on the side so you can see ahead of you as well as frame the shot on the side viewer. Maybe it hasn't been made yet and even if it has, it still might not be a good idea.

I would like to test it out just the same...probably in a nerf room for safety.

Tery

James,

When Wayne talked about obstructed vision I didn't know which ones he was talking about. I've never tried the small ones so I don't know how well they work or what kind of vision problem you might have with them.

I did have some iglasses which had see through lenses but the cable kept messing up my balance so I sold them.

Tery

I can understand these not being used in all applications but for instance, in a controlled environment, riding on a large dolly with a jib arm, controlled shot, couldn't these work for at least some framing work where a monitor might be cumbersome?

All I can tell you, Michael, is that in all the shoots I have worked on, I have NEVER seen a jib operator use any of these glasses. If they worked, I'm sure someone would be using them. One of the problems is that with a jib, as you boom down and tilt up, you can easily tilt up too far, which causes you to boom too low searching for your final frame, and possibly crashing into the ground, or, gasp, a person seated in the audience. You need to be able to see the world around the camera, as well as the picture, to operate safely. There is no situation where I can imagine using these glasses safely.

Wayne Orr, SOC

Makes sense.....Thanks!

I did a shot today that, had I owned a pair of video glasses, I would have used them. It started looking straight down at a patient (this was on "ER"), rotated around her head and then pulled away and boomed down until we were below the level of the gurney looking across the patient towards the doctor standing a few feet away. I did it off the fluid head on the dolly, using the complete boom range of the arm; capped off the eyepiece and mounted an onboard LCD monitor via magic arm to the side of the head. This way the monitor would pan with the camera but not tilt. I had a pretty good view of the monitor at all times, but I did have to maneuver my body around to achieve this. With the glasses, I might have possibly been more comfy.

I tried unsuccessfully to find a picture of Jimmy Muro, one of our legendary Steadicam brethren now enjoying a promising DP career, operating the tiny SL Cine 2C conversion on "Strange Days". He held this 5 lb modified Arri in front of him to simulate the point of view shots represented as virtual reality in the movie, and was able to run flat-out up stairs, through rooms, jump across chasms etc. thanks to an earlier version of the video glasses.

I rarely see them in action, but they do pop up occasionally and as the technology improves, will likely have more uses in our field. Wayne's point about jib safety is absolutely well taken--you need all of your peripheral vision for one-man jibs, Steadicam etc., but I could easily see a use for them with a manually operated (i.e. no remote head) jib shot that goes from ground level to overhead, with a grip operating the actual swing of the arm to make it safe.

That is what I wish I had conveyed in the first post, I completely understand the peripheral issue but if I'm stationary on a large dolly, 40 ft run, with no lateral jib movement, (lib arm is perpendicular to the dolly track so the camera is away from the track as it moves along up and over a poker table to finish the shot) and a crew, it would seem to me it could help with framing. As a whole I can see the issues with it but I would think there would have to be some advantages in a certain few situations.

I tried using Sony glasses with a jimmy jib arm once, and never used it again. The reason? You can see peripherally, and in about 3 minutes, you'll get motion sickness. Trust me, it doesn't work.

Another nice standard tx/rx kit for camcorders, powered by batteries:

http://www.flex-cam.com/SPECIALS_Kit1.html

I used to get motion sick from first person shooters back in 1994 or so. They don't bother me now. Don't you think you would just get used to the Sony glasses.