U-Flycam from India at DVinfo.net

Laurence Kingston · January 22nd, 2007, 04:45 PM

On eBay I keep seeing the U-Flycam which is being sold from India. Here is a non-eBay link:

http://anuuj.trustpass.alibaba.com/p...abilizer_.html

Anyway, I'm not sure if this would be a disappointment and if I would end up with a Merlin at some point in the future or if it might turnout to be a hit like my Spiderbrace or HVR-A1 bottom loading offset plate (both of which I love even thought they were dirt cheap). Does anyone have any experience with the U-Flycam?

Laurence Kingston · January 24th, 2007, 10:42 AM

Well I ordered one. It was about $153 US including shipping from India. I'll post what I think of it here once I have it and have a chance to give it a go. Hopefully it will be a pleasant surprise like my Spiderbrace (which I absolutely love in spite of it's cheap price).

Jeff Rhode · January 24th, 2007, 03:17 PM

Can't wait to hear !
Great. How did you get the price of $153 ? It says $200 on their site.

Laurence Kingston · January 24th, 2007, 04:36 PM

There are always at least five or six of them on eBay at any given moment. I was the only bidder on the one I ordered. I didn't post an eBay link because it is against the rules of this forum. Just do a search for U-Flycam,

Eric Shepherd · March 6th, 2007, 01:40 AM

So how is it? :)

Russ Holland · August 13th, 2007, 01:51 PM

I recently brought one from eBay, i've been playing with it on my vx2100e and found it fairly good. My problem with it is that is swings to one side more often and easily spins around - i've ended up filming myself with it.

Walking, it does take alot of bounce out of my steps and it is smooth, although when it is actually pointing forward it tends to sway a little, when video played back looks like you are on a boat.

Maybe its because I've not got it balanced correctly, some help would be appreciated - this is my very first stabiliser and I purposely brought a cheap one because i don't shoot video that often, I shoot short films but not regularly. Think I only paid about £45 for it.

I've heard there is a technique to using these things? bend knees, etc. how can i get better footage with this, once its balanced correctly, assuming it's not?

Thanks,
Russ

Eric Shepherd · August 13th, 2007, 01:55 PM

The original link at the beginning of this thread is no longer in existence, for what it's worth..

Russ Holland · August 13th, 2007, 02:01 PM

yeah, the link. As I said I got mine from ebay, but the company that I think makes them are www.thecinecity.com. Same ebay pictures, anyway.

Contacted them, not sure if I've got a faulty one or whether (as usual) it's just me...

Paul Mailath · August 13th, 2007, 11:57 PM

Boy they certainly like to copy don't they..

http://www.thecinecity.com/product.p...cat=243&page=1

the price is a bit rich for a Indian knock off and I suspect the after sales would be less than spectacular.

I couldn't stand being on the phone with yet another support person from Bangalore!

Mikko Wilson · August 14th, 2007, 09:03 AM

Wow. Ripoff after ripoff after ripoff on that page, with some trademark infringement thrown in for good mix. Sheesh.

- Mikko

Eric Shepherd · August 14th, 2007, 09:04 AM

You say that like it's illegal or something :P

Mikko Wilson · August 14th, 2007, 09:09 AM

The trademark infringement is.

The ripping off is just a sign of blind copying without understanding or trying to develop what you are making, meaning that the result is a product made to make money (for the maker), not necessarily to be a good product.

You get what you pay for. Hopefully.

- Mikko

Eric Shepherd · August 14th, 2007, 09:10 AM

Yeah, I thought the English was written quite well on that page. ;)

Rob Evans · August 14th, 2007, 09:53 AM

I actually took the plunge and bought one the other day - it is the flycam 5000 variant with the single piece arm and "comfort vest".

It came within two weeks, which from India I thought was quite good. At just over £300 i was to be honest not expecting the greatest of quality - but what I have got has actually turned out to be pretty good. Now I have never even seen a steadicam close up in real life before, so I don't have anything to compare it to.

After a fair bit of practice with it, I can get it perfectly balanced in about 2 minutes using the quick release plate and a little horizontal adjustment - it seems to like the camera ( Fx1) with the weight of a century .7 on the front better. The vest could do with a bit of an improvement, but will be comfortable for about 25 minutes without it starting to strain - I may get this modified slightly with some more padding to improve it. Again, after practice I have been able to get some pretty fluid shots - the whole system actually feels quite responsive and natural to get used to. With a fair amount of success I've managed walk arounds of a static object, short runs, follows and diagonal angles - watching the footage I can see flaws, but I'm thinking about it and getting better results each time.

"Why did i buy it?" is probably a good question to ask. Well, I needed a starting point, to figure out if this is going to be useful to me in the long run. At £300 this is considerably cheaper than any other system out there and it will give me a good feel for the concept. Who knows, when I feel ready for it I may be spending £5k on a new rig in a few years time?

Russ Holland · August 14th, 2007, 12:48 PM

An email I got from the seller on ebay says that "the weights they sent me were for the vx2100 and will be perfectly balanced so try to set it up like in the catalog"

Wow! talk about sarcastic, apparently, it's bottom heavy which is why it sways and swings around on itself, still playing though.

I, like Rob Evans, have nothing to compare this model to, I suppose for £35 brand new from the cinecity's ebay shop can't grumble. I did notice that their flycam 5000 is aesthetically identical to the Glidecam Pro - I did wonder about the possible copyright infringement and the possibility of an inferior replica, but I took the plunge...

It'll do me for starters. Its not like I'm doing weddings or anything, just short films for pleasure.

January 22nd, 2007, 04:45 PM	#1
Laurence Kingston Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Clermont, FL. Posts: 941	U-Flycam from India On eBay I keep seeing the U-Flycam which is being sold from India. Here is a non-eBay link: http://anuuj.trustpass.alibaba.com/p...abilizer_.html Anyway, I'm not sure if this would be a disappointment and if I would end up with a Merlin at some point in the future or if it might turnout to be a hit like my Spiderbrace or HVR-A1 bottom loading offset plate (both of which I love even thought they were dirt cheap). Does anyone have any experience with the U-Flycam?

August 13th, 2007, 01:51 PM	#6
Russ Holland Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Burton on Trent, UK Posts: 193	U-Flycam I recently brought one from eBay, i've been playing with it on my vx2100e and found it fairly good. My problem with it is that is swings to one side more often and easily spins around - i've ended up filming myself with it. Walking, it does take alot of bounce out of my steps and it is smooth, although when it is actually pointing forward it tends to sway a little, when video played back looks like you are on a boat. Maybe its because I've not got it balanced correctly, some help would be appreciated - this is my very first stabiliser and I purposely brought a cheap one because i don't shoot video that often, I shoot short films but not regularly. Think I only paid about £45 for it. I've heard there is a technique to using these things? bend knees, etc. how can i get better footage with this, once its balanced correctly, assuming it's not? Thanks, Russ

August 13th, 2007, 11:57 PM	#9
Paul Mailath Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Central Coast - NSW, Australia Posts: 1,606	Boy they certainly like to copy don't they.. http://www.thecinecity.com/product.p...cat=243&page=1 the price is a bit rich for a Indian knock off and I suspect the after sales would be less than spectacular. I couldn't stand being on the phone with yet another support person from Bangalore! __________________ Cheers - Paul M. www.perbenyik.com

August 14th, 2007, 09:03 AM	#10
Mikko Wilson Major Player Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Juneau, Alaska, USA Posts: 624	Wow. Ripoff after ripoff after ripoff on that page, with some trademark infringement thrown in for good mix. Sheesh. - Mikko __________________ Mikko Wilson - Steadicam Owner / Operator - Juneau, Alaska, USA +1 (907) 321-8387 - mikkowilson@hotmail.com - www.mikkowilson.com

August 14th, 2007, 09:09 AM	#12
Mikko Wilson Major Player Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Juneau, Alaska, USA Posts: 624	The trademark infringement is. The ripping off is just a sign of blind copying without understanding or trying to develop what you are making, meaning that the result is a product made to make money (for the maker), not necessarily to be a good product. You get what you pay for. Hopefully. - Mikko __________________ Mikko Wilson - Steadicam Owner / Operator - Juneau, Alaska, USA +1 (907) 321-8387 - mikkowilson@hotmail.com - www.mikkowilson.com

January 24th, 2007, 10:42 AM	#2
Laurence Kingston Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Clermont, FL. Posts: 941	Well I ordered one. It was about $153 US including shipping from India. I'll post what I think of it here once I have it and have a chance to give it a go. Hopefully it will be a pleasant surprise like my Spiderbrace (which I absolutely love in spite of it's cheap price).

January 24th, 2007, 03:17 PM	#3
Jeff Rhode Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: NJ, USA Posts: 169	Can't wait to hear ! Great. How did you get the price of $153 ? It says $200 on their site.

January 24th, 2007, 04:36 PM	#4
Laurence Kingston Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Clermont, FL. Posts: 941	There are always at least five or six of them on eBay at any given moment. I was the only bidder on the one I ordered. I didn't post an eBay link because it is against the rules of this forum. Just do a search for U-Flycam,

March 6th, 2007, 01:40 AM	#5
Eric Shepherd Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 404	So how is it? :)

August 13th, 2007, 01:55 PM	#7
Eric Shepherd Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 404	The original link at the beginning of this thread is no longer in existence, for what it's worth..

August 13th, 2007, 02:01 PM	#8
Russ Holland Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Burton on Trent, UK Posts: 193	yeah, the link. As I said I got mine from ebay, but the company that I think makes them are www.thecinecity.com. Same ebay pictures, anyway. Contacted them, not sure if I've got a faulty one or whether (as usual) it's just me...

August 14th, 2007, 09:04 AM	#11
Eric Shepherd Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 404	You say that like it's illegal or something :P

August 14th, 2007, 09:10 AM	#13
Eric Shepherd Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 404	Yeah, I thought the English was written quite well on that page. ;)

August 14th, 2007, 09:53 AM	#14
Rob Evans Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Berkshire, UK Posts: 390	I actually took the plunge and bought one the other day - it is the flycam 5000 variant with the single piece arm and "comfort vest". It came within two weeks, which from India I thought was quite good. At just over £300 i was to be honest not expecting the greatest of quality - but what I have got has actually turned out to be pretty good. Now I have never even seen a steadicam close up in real life before, so I don't have anything to compare it to. After a fair bit of practice with it, I can get it perfectly balanced in about 2 minutes using the quick release plate and a little horizontal adjustment - it seems to like the camera ( Fx1) with the weight of a century .7 on the front better. The vest could do with a bit of an improvement, but will be comfortable for about 25 minutes without it starting to strain - I may get this modified slightly with some more padding to improve it. Again, after practice I have been able to get some pretty fluid shots - the whole system actually feels quite responsive and natural to get used to. With a fair amount of success I've managed walk arounds of a static object, short runs, follows and diagonal angles - watching the footage I can see flaws, but I'm thinking about it and getting better results each time. "Why did i buy it?" is probably a good question to ask. Well, I needed a starting point, to figure out if this is going to be useful to me in the long run. At £300 this is considerably cheaper than any other system out there and it will give me a good feel for the concept. Who knows, when I feel ready for it I may be spending £5k on a new rig in a few years time?

August 14th, 2007, 12:48 PM	#15
Russ Holland Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Burton on Trent, UK Posts: 193	An email I got from the seller on ebay says that "the weights they sent me were for the vx2100 and will be perfectly balanced so try to set it up like in the catalog" Wow! talk about sarcastic, apparently, it's bottom heavy which is why it sways and swings around on itself, still playing though. I, like Rob Evans, have nothing to compare this model to, I suppose for £35 brand new from the cinecity's ebay shop can't grumble. I did notice that their flycam 5000 is aesthetically identical to the Glidecam Pro - I did wonder about the possible copyright infringement and the possibility of an inferior replica, but I took the plunge... It'll do me for starters. Its not like I'm doing weddings or anything, just short films for pleasure.