Hi There,
Just new here.. but have read many many postings for 10 months now.. I have received on 25th of july mine Magiqcam Rig.
Because of the backorder of the C-stand i first looked here in Holland for a replacement which turned up to be a heavy lightstand but it works.

At the moment i put the DV500 camera on top of the sled and got it balanced.. the complete arm immed. fall down. Looking at the arm and saw that both springs were somewhere in the middle.
After this bizar experience i have pulled the springs at maxium height and tried once more. This time it seems ok, it was much more heavier then i thought it would be.. but ok. At the bottom of the sled i have used all hardware which came with the rig and also 2 np1 battery packs to get the rig steady enough.
When I calculate all the weight together, i seems that the complete package weight over 16lbs. I have asked John if this oke.., no answer received yet.., so

I wonder, are there any other Magiqcam users with a DV500 on top of it and how did you solve the weight problems ?

Erik:

Have you removed everything from the camera that you don't need (batteries, viewfinder if applicable, etc.)? That's the first thing to try. Also, do you have the base of the rig telescoped out (extended)? That way you don't need as much battery counterweight.

"maxed out" is not the ideal place to be working a stabilizer, but it's not the end of the world.

I have used my DV500 on the magicam. As Charles said, remove the viewfinder (I also don't keep a mike on there), battery pack and batteries (run those off the np1's on the rig that the monitor also runs from. It took me a few hours to setup the rig and balance it but it works fine. Don't remember what my springs were at set at for it but I don't believe they were maxed.

Thanks Charles and Mark,
Yes, i did extended the base at his maxium and also above the gimbal. I didn't remove the viewfinder, will do that next time.

I will retry also the springs at the middle and adjust them once again if necessary.

btw Charles, is it possible that i have seen you at the IBC in ther Rai last friday the 10th of september at the Tiffen stand ?

Erik