Steadicam Pilot - Getting Started Q & A

Buba Kastorski · August 20th, 2008, 03:05 PM

I know that guys have been trying to power f.store from VL battery power, but I wonder if anybody tried to power the camera from the pilot battery, I have VL (IDX) version, and one battery is good for powering just a monitor for about 6 hours, I'd be happy if I could power EX1 from the same battery, even if it'll be just a couple hours, but the thing is E-7S batteries are 14.4v and the EX1 takes 12v, does that make it too complicated?
any thoughts would be really helpful.

Charles Papert · August 20th, 2008, 03:47 PM

The standard Sony BP-U30 and U60 batteries for the EX1 are nominally 14.4 just like the E-7S. You should have no problem powering the EX1 from that battery.

Thanks to the push-on power connectors on both the Pilot and the EX1, this would be a very simple cable to connect the two. I'm not sure if anyone is making them yet (Tiffen should be) but if you had access to a half-decent electronics store that has a variety of those connectors, it would be an easy home-build cable if you have the inclination.

Buba Kastorski · August 20th, 2008, 07:45 PM

wow, that would be awesome, thank you Charles,
I'm not a very handy man, so probably I will get a professional help,
will post the results :)

Charles King · August 21st, 2008, 03:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

...home-build...

Love the use of those two words, CP ;) HA HA

Dave Gish · August 21st, 2008, 07:34 AM

Any Steadicam newbies looking to pair up with another Steadicam newbie for a practice partner, see here:
SteadicamForum.com - A Community of Motion Picture Camera Stabilization Specialists

Buba Kastorski · September 12th, 2008, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

Thanks to the push-on power connectors on both the Pilot and the EX1, this would be a very simple cable to connect the two. ...

Charles , thanks again
wasn't too complicated and it works great, got the sony 12v power adapter from ebay, cut the connector, soldered with the one that came with the pilot,
wow I am a handy man :)
Sunday have to shoot, will check for how long EX1 and the monitor will run on fully charged E-7S

Dave Gish · September 13th, 2008, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buba Kastorski

got the sony 12v power adapter from ebay

Can you give a link for the ebay page? Do you know if the same 12v power connector works on the EX3? I might have to make me one of these also...

Buba Kastorski · September 14th, 2008, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Gish

Can you give a link for the ebay page? Do you know if the same 12v power connector works on the EX3? I might have to make me one of these also...

Hey Dave,
sent you an email with the link,
I don't have EX3, but I'm 99% sure it has the same as EX1 power connector,
did some shooting today, powered EX1 and the pilot monitor from the same E-7S,
after 3 hrs non sop, battery still shows like 60%, (two lights out of three)
not too bad :)

Julian Frost · September 14th, 2008, 05:19 PM

The photos on Charles Papert's review of the Steadicam Pilot appear to show the BNC connector on the XH-A1 connected to the Pilot's monitor input. Is this how everyone else connects up the monitor, or do you go via the video-out plug on the back of the camera? Is there a benefit to using one over the other? Is the BNC wired the same as the video-out plug (basically tip to tip, ring to ring)?

Dave Gish · November 2nd, 2008, 08:20 AM

bump..........

Joe Lawry · November 26th, 2008, 07:30 PM

After adding a new accessory to my camera i of course had to readjust my balance. When i was playing with the stage adjustment i heard what sounded ALOT like sand or dirt in a lens.. we all know the sound.

I thought at first that somehow i'd managed to get along the back and forward and side to side adjustment tracks on the stage.. upon taking the top plate off the stage i discovered it was actually the screw that was holding my Manfrotto QR plate that was the problem.

The bottom of it, where the slot for your flathead screwdriver goes into was rubbing against the where the top of the post meets the stage.. No real damage has been done apart from a couple scratches so all good.

I went back and found the screw that came with the pilot and noticed that the flat part is a lot thinner than the one that came with my QR plate.. i didnt use the pilot one because it was too short to screw all the way up into the manfrotto plate.

So time to find a replacement. Just thought i'd post this up incase anyone comes across this in the future..

Steven Davis · November 26th, 2008, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Lawry

So time to find a replacement. Just thought i'd post this up incase anyone comes across this in the future..

Joe, I went threw the same screwy situations...........wait............wait.....ok, I thought it was funny. You can actually get spare screws from Steadicam. I tried to file some down from the hardware store, but that didn't work so well.

Dave Gish · November 26th, 2008, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Lawry

The bottom of it, where the slot for your flathead screwdriver goes into was rubbing against the where the top of the post meets the stage.. No real damage has been done apart from a couple scratches so all good.

I went back and found the screw that came with the pilot and noticed that the flat part is a lot thinner than the one that came with my QR plate..

I had the exact same problem.

When I first got the Pilot I was using a smaller DV camera, so I added a weight plate under the camera to make it fly better. I used a longer 1/4-20 screw to go through the weight plate into the camera. The longer 1/4-20 screw had a round head, so it ended up scraping against the inner part of the stage.

I solved the problem by filing down the head, and then carefully removing all the metal filings with a shop-vac. No permanent damage, but you can still see some cosmetic scratches when the top plate of the Pilot is removed.

Now I have an HVX, but I still end up adding extra weights to the stage to make it fly better:
Steadicam | 801-7920-05 Middle Balance Weight
(click on the attached photo below).

Dave Gish · November 26th, 2008, 08:14 PM

Speaking of camera tie-down screws, I found an excellent screwdriver for this at Home Depot for only $6:
Husky 5/16 In. x 1-3/4 In. Slotted Screwdriver
Every camera operator should have at least one of these...

Steven Davis · November 26th, 2008, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Gish

Speaking of camera tie-down screws, I found an excellent screwdriver for this at Home Depot for only $6:
Husky 5/16 In. x 1-3/4 In. Slotted Screwdriver
Every camera operator should have at least one of these...

I carry pennies around, but a screw driver works well too. Good discussion.

August 20th, 2008, 03:05 PM	#91
Buba Kastorski Trustee Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,414	Can I power EX1 from Pilot batteries? I know that guys have been trying to power f.store from VL battery power, but I wonder if anybody tried to power the camera from the pilot battery, I have VL (IDX) version, and one battery is good for powering just a monitor for about 6 hours, I'd be happy if I could power EX1 from the same battery, even if it'll be just a couple hours, but the thing is E-7S batteries are 14.4v and the EX1 takes 12v, does that make it too complicated? any thoughts would be really helpful.

August 20th, 2008, 03:47 PM	#92
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	The standard Sony BP-U30 and U60 batteries for the EX1 are nominally 14.4 just like the E-7S. You should have no problem powering the EX1 from that battery. Thanks to the push-on power connectors on both the Pilot and the EX1, this would be a very simple cable to connect the two. I'm not sure if anyone is making them yet (Tiffen should be) but if you had access to a half-decent electronics store that has a variety of those connectors, it would be an easy home-build cable if you have the inclination. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

August 21st, 2008, 07:34 AM	#95
Dave Gish Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Riverdale, NJ Posts: 468	Steadicam newbie practice partners Any Steadicam newbies looking to pair up with another Steadicam newbie for a practice partner, see here: SteadicamForum.com - A Community of Motion Picture Camera Stabilization Specialists

September 14th, 2008, 05:19 PM	#99
Julian Frost Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: California USA Posts: 576	Use BNC or Video Out Connector on XH-A1? The photos on Charles Papert's review of the Steadicam Pilot appear to show the BNC connector on the XH-A1 connected to the Pilot's monitor input. Is this how everyone else connects up the monitor, or do you go via the video-out plug on the back of the camera? Is there a benefit to using one over the other? Is the BNC wired the same as the video-out plug (basically tip to tip, ring to ring)?

November 26th, 2008, 08:14 PM	#104
Dave Gish Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Riverdale, NJ Posts: 468	Speaking of camera tie-down screws, I found an excellent screwdriver for this at Home Depot for only $6: Husky 5/16 In. x 1-3/4 In. Slotted Screwdriver Every camera operator should have at least one of these... Attached Images

August 20th, 2008, 07:45 PM	#93
Buba Kastorski Trustee Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,414	wow, that would be awesome, thank you Charles, I'm not a very handy man, so probably I will get a professional help, will post the results :)

November 2nd, 2008, 08:20 AM	#100
Dave Gish Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Riverdale, NJ Posts: 468	bump..........

November 26th, 2008, 07:30 PM	#101
Joe Lawry Major Player Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 418	After adding a new accessory to my camera i of course had to readjust my balance. When i was playing with the stage adjustment i heard what sounded ALOT like sand or dirt in a lens.. we all know the sound. I thought at first that somehow i'd managed to get along the back and forward and side to side adjustment tracks on the stage.. upon taking the top plate off the stage i discovered it was actually the screw that was holding my Manfrotto QR plate that was the problem. The bottom of it, where the slot for your flathead screwdriver goes into was rubbing against the where the top of the post meets the stage.. No real damage has been done apart from a couple scratches so all good. I went back and found the screw that came with the pilot and noticed that the flat part is a lot thinner than the one that came with my QR plate.. i didnt use the pilot one because it was too short to screw all the way up into the manfrotto plate. So time to find a replacement. Just thought i'd post this up incase anyone comes across this in the future..