looking for john from magiqcam

Charles King · November 17th, 2004, 10:17 PM

Thanks Dave. Much appreciated. You have now proven my suspisions. I thought he had totally done a complete make-over on all parts. Now seeing the pics, I can see they were not what I had suspected.
See; pics say a thousand words, that's why I wanted to see the pics. Thanks alot man. Great effort.

One question though. Do you use a monitor with the sled? Where do you put it? I see weights on both end of the sled and just was wondering where you put the monitor. It doesn't seem to be any place left.

Dave Stewart · November 18th, 2004, 01:24 PM

No. I do a lot of things outside on sunny days and a monitor is too washed out even with a sunshade. I bought some decent video glasses and where them with a hat. Works great. Works with my crane too.
What don't you like about the sled? Remember I bought mine used for $1100, so don't get too critical.

Charles King · November 18th, 2004, 01:40 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Dave Stewart : No. I do a lot of things outside on sunny days and a monitor is too washed out even with a sunshade. I bought some decent video glasses and where them with a hat. Works great. Works with my crane too.
What don't you like about the sled? Remember I bought mine used for $1100, so don't get too critical. -->>>

Video glasses? Care to explain?

I did not mean anything about the sled. I jwas just curious to know why there was no monitor or battery on the sled which are the two most important things to have on the sled. I just saw the weights in place of where both items were suppose to be.

Dave Stewart · November 18th, 2004, 04:04 PM

I use a pair of video glasses by "eyetop". They plug into the video out on the camera and display a small image in your right or left eye. The display appears about the same size as a viewfinder, in color and about the same resolution. I basically use it to frame the shot as focus isn't possible manually on a steadycam. It takes some getting used to, but it works for me. I can keep my head up and can see other action going on around me and I'm less likely to trip or run into people.

Charles King · November 18th, 2004, 04:37 PM

Well Dave if it works for you then fine. As long as you are satisfied.

Ed Liew · November 18th, 2004, 09:02 PM

dave,
great pics. but almost the same as my earlier unit. can you indicate where is the sliding gimbal as mention.

ed

Dave Stewart · November 18th, 2004, 09:30 PM

The sliding part is the tripod mount which can be slid front to back and locked down. The left-right adjustments are done with the thumbscrews underneath. You can slide the tripod mount left and right by loosening the thumbscrews on the bottom. There's a piece a felt between the base and the tripod mount which allows for smooth, incremental adjustments. Worm gear type adjustments would be the best, but more $$$. I don't know what "earlier" unit you had, but my old sled had a flat box on it with a bunch of holes in it to attach the camera in various locations. It wasn't very accurate and my camera would come loose. Also there were four thumbscrews to pull apart the box to get to the camera attachement screw - time consuming and a pain to balance. It would be nice, however, to have an easier locking machanism on the extending parts of the sled. Rather than an allen wrench, a bicycle seat clamp of some sort would be easier.

Ed Liew · November 18th, 2004, 09:50 PM

thanks dave. sorry i did not read your post correctly. i was thinking of the new sliding gimbal john offer to replace for me.

ed

Charles Papert · November 19th, 2004, 07:53 PM

The "video glasses" concept isn't a new one, Charles--I'll be you've seen pix of Garrett with his prototype rig from the early 70's with the fiber optic viewfinder attached to his head! Over the years a number of operators have toyed with using the evolving vintages of the heads-up technology instead of a monitor on the sled. It hasn't truly caught on for one reason or another, but I wouldn't discount it for the future.

This technology is commonly used for handheld jibs and other setups like running with a handheld camera cradled in the arms or held by the handle etc. The point-of-view virtual reality scenes in "Strange Days" were shot like this.

Charles King · November 19th, 2004, 10:35 PM

Thanks for the explaination C.P. I new what he meant but I wanted to know why he decided to go that route. I do have a pic of pic of The big man with this set up some where in my huge collection of steadicam and non steadicam pics and articles some where...

BTW, C.P. hope all is well with you.

Charles Papert · November 19th, 2004, 11:11 PM

All good man. I'm a bit quieter here than usual as I started shooting a feature this week which is, uh, time-intensive to say the least...

November 17th, 2004, 10:17 PM	#31
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	Thanks Dave. Much appreciated. You have now proven my suspisions. I thought he had totally done a complete make-over on all parts. Now seeing the pics, I can see they were not what I had suspected. See; pics say a thousand words, that's why I wanted to see the pics. Thanks alot man. Great effort. One question though. Do you use a monitor with the sled? Where do you put it? I see weights on both end of the sled and just was wondering where you put the monitor. It doesn't seem to be any place left. __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

November 18th, 2004, 01:40 PM	#33
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	<<<-- Originally posted by Dave Stewart : No. I do a lot of things outside on sunny days and a monitor is too washed out even with a sunshade. I bought some decent video glasses and where them with a hat. Works great. Works with my crane too. What don't you like about the sled? Remember I bought mine used for $1100, so don't get too critical. -->>> Video glasses? Care to explain? I did not mean anything about the sled. I jwas just curious to know why there was no monitor or battery on the sled which are the two most important things to have on the sled. I just saw the weights in place of where both items were suppose to be. __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

November 18th, 2004, 04:37 PM	#35
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	Well Dave if it works for you then fine. As long as you are satisfied. __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

November 19th, 2004, 07:53 PM	#39
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	The "video glasses" concept isn't a new one, Charles--I'll be you've seen pix of Garrett with his prototype rig from the early 70's with the fiber optic viewfinder attached to his head! Over the years a number of operators have toyed with using the evolving vintages of the heads-up technology instead of a monitor on the sled. It hasn't truly caught on for one reason or another, but I wouldn't discount it for the future. This technology is commonly used for handheld jibs and other setups like running with a handheld camera cradled in the arms or held by the handle etc. The point-of-view virtual reality scenes in "Strange Days" were shot like this. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

November 19th, 2004, 10:35 PM	#40
Charles King Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: sweden Posts: 795	Thanks for the explaination C.P. I new what he meant but I wanted to know why he decided to go that route. I do have a pic of pic of The big man with this set up some where in my huge collection of steadicam and non steadicam pics and articles some where... BTW, C.P. hope all is well with you. __________________ Charles 'What we perceive to be may not be what we believe to be.'

November 18th, 2004, 01:24 PM	#32
Dave Stewart Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 109	No. I do a lot of things outside on sunny days and a monitor is too washed out even with a sunshade. I bought some decent video glasses and where them with a hat. Works great. Works with my crane too. What don't you like about the sled? Remember I bought mine used for $1100, so don't get too critical.

November 18th, 2004, 04:04 PM	#34
Dave Stewart Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 109	I use a pair of video glasses by "eyetop". They plug into the video out on the camera and display a small image in your right or left eye. The display appears about the same size as a viewfinder, in color and about the same resolution. I basically use it to frame the shot as focus isn't possible manually on a steadycam. It takes some getting used to, but it works for me. I can keep my head up and can see other action going on around me and I'm less likely to trip or run into people.

November 18th, 2004, 09:02 PM	#36
Ed Liew Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Malaysia Posts: 226	dave, great pics. but almost the same as my earlier unit. can you indicate where is the sliding gimbal as mention. ed

November 18th, 2004, 09:30 PM	#37
Dave Stewart Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 109	The sliding part is the tripod mount which can be slid front to back and locked down. The left-right adjustments are done with the thumbscrews underneath. You can slide the tripod mount left and right by loosening the thumbscrews on the bottom. There's a piece a felt between the base and the tripod mount which allows for smooth, incremental adjustments. Worm gear type adjustments would be the best, but more $$$. I don't know what "earlier" unit you had, but my old sled had a flat box on it with a bunch of holes in it to attach the camera in various locations. It wasn't very accurate and my camera would come loose. Also there were four thumbscrews to pull apart the box to get to the camera attachement screw - time consuming and a pain to balance. It would be nice, however, to have an easier locking machanism on the extending parts of the sled. Rather than an allen wrench, a bicycle seat clamp of some sort would be easier.

November 18th, 2004, 09:50 PM	#38
Ed Liew Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Malaysia Posts: 226	thanks dave. sorry i did not read your post correctly. i was thinking of the new sliding gimbal john offer to replace for me. ed

November 19th, 2004, 11:11 PM	#41
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	All good man. I'm a bit quieter here than usual as I started shooting a feature this week which is, uh, time-intensive to say the least... __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com