RED One MX and Steadicam Zephyr??

[dean tsolakis]

G'day,
Attention all steadicam operators

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience flying there Red Ones on a steadicam Zephyr?

Just about every forum recommends against this? 10lb body is not light, but for a system with a load capacity rated at 23 lbs, i can't seem to understand why?

This is the biggest single motivation towards choosing a Red one or Scarlet X

personal experience and suggestions would be most appreciated!!

Cheers

 

[jimhare]

Hi Dean,

I use the Zephyr with my Epic. I think the concern with a 10lb body is some lenses weigh 8 pounds, and matte boxes, accessories, rods, etc. can add up quickly.

If you use a light prime, carbon rods, no matte box and light accessories you will probably be fine. Also, power it from the sled and use CF cards instead of a drive.

 

[dean tsolakis]

Hey Jim, how you been

Yeah, when i asked Phil about those Scarlet configurations i brought it up to 23 Lbs and he was scratching his head, but i definitely overloaded it with unnecessary gear

just for convenience, I think i'm going against the trend Jim, looking at the RED One whilst theres this selling epidemic of red ones since the Scarlets release

Regarding the R1 @ 10lbs just with the bridge plate, carbon rods, down converter, Prime lens running of the sled without a cradle, drive, follow focus and matte box

i should be right with Latitude to manoeuvre?? What do you think?? do you have a R1?
Regards

 

[William Donaruma]

I have flown our R1 stripped down on a Zephyr without a problem. Anything below the Zephyr doesnt work well. We just ordered one. Peter Abraham at Steadicam recommends the Zephyr at minimum for the R1.

 

[dean tsolakis]

Hey William
Yeah i think the Zephyr is the beginning for proper Pro Applications, What accessories exactly did you have on the R1?

 

[Martin Whittier]

I fly an Archer2 which is a 26lb capacity. I have been on shoots with the R1 where even this capacity can easily be reached using primes and minimal accessories. I have seen people fly an R1 on a Steadicam Flyer which is 19lbs capacity, but at this point you don't have anything on the camera and switching back to tripod takes a bit longer to reassemble the camera. Never used the zephyr but I'm sure as long as you do some checks ahead of time you can find a setup that will work, but you may have make some sacrifices to meet the weight.

 

[dean tsolakis]

Martin, i guess at the 26lb capacity you have a fairly complete set up ( matte box, follow focus, RED Drive, ect ) realistically i'll have to strip it down to bare minimum to fly, without even without the evf
Time lost in setting up for convenience, or money lost 10k vs 25k?

 

[Alex Kornreich]

As mentioned, the red one can definitely be flown in a stripped down configuration on the zephyr, even with proper accessories (wireless ff, clip-on mattebox, etc.).

The most important consideration is what you plan on using the zephyr for. Is it for your own personal and friends projects, or do you want to do it professionally?

If for friend's or your own projects, then it'll be great.

If professionally, I strongly recommend against it. It's a tough sell to dp's, directors and ad's on professional sets that every time the camera goes to steadicam, it must be stripped down to the bare essentials. That extra few minutes to take the top cheeseplate off or drive cradle and go to cf cards is a true dealbreaker.

I think once scarlets and epics become more prevalent, that'll help weight wise, but it'll still be tough, and if you ever need to mount an iris motor too and stack 3 filters, you're done.

 

[dean tsolakis]

Good point Alex, generally aimed at self -funded projects and as a platform to becoming competent in regards to inertia and the dynamics of movement
if in the future i became a operator for hire i realise the bare minimum would be an Archer for professional applications, though i'm curious
as to doing a straight transfer onto sled with an Epic/ Scarlet

 

[Martin Whittier]

Alex makes a great point. In my case, for past shoots that were "personal" projects I really only flew my 5D rig, so 26lbs was overkill and if that was all I did, then I would have wasted money on an Archer2. But in actuality I freelance out to other companies and I have to be able to accommodate a variety of camera platforms and weights. I remember my first Red One shoot with steadicam, I was expecting that I could strip down the camera, use CF cards, and whatever else I needed to do. However when I was up, there was very little I could take off the camera because of the DPs concern for time and keeping everything shot on the HDD. So lesson learned, be prepared for the unexpected.

 

[patrickortman]

I own a Steadicam Zephyr and a RED MX... absolutely no problems whatsoever on personal films ("Unlaced" coming to a fest near you in 2012) or client work (tv commercials). I have the SSD module on my RED, which cuts down weight and helps with balance a fair bit. And yes, RED brick on the sled. I use a clip-on mattebox from Birns&Sawyer, usually, but have flown it with carbon rods and a bigger mattebox. We use lightweight lenses when possible, so we're not hanging 10lbs off the front of the cam.

On "Unlaced", I shot high and low mode, running, off the back of a picture truck, you name it- the combo of RED MX and the Z went smoothly. And I'm able to move from stripped down RED to fully built RED in a matter of minutes.

 

[dean tsolakis]

Cheers Patrick, my sentiments exactly
I was thinking this config. whilst flying -the SSD module, Carbon X rods, compact zoom like the RED 17-50/ or wide to medium prime with light clip on matte box, running power off the sled and she
should be fine, regarding any focusing issues will just have to compromise and co-ordinate rehearsed scenes at beyond infinity, ( mind you a FF and wireless remote would be very nice on occasion )

 

[Alex Kornreich]

Yes, if you control the camera package, you can make it work.

regarding any focusing issues will just have to compromise and co-ordinate rehearsed scenes at beyond infinity, ( mind you a FF and wireless remote would be very nice on occasion )

Unless every steadicam shot is on a fisheye, this will never work. Get wireless focus, it is all but mandatory. At minimum a Bartech, anything cheaper is garbage.

 

[dean tsolakis]

Firstly exceptional show reel Alex, kudos
What did you mean : controlling the camera package?
if i intend using very wide primes predominately ( 10mm - 16mm ) middle aperture range, and maintain a constant relative distance from the subject with careful rehearsal shouldn't i stay in
focus?

 

[Alex Kornreich]

Thanks for the compliment, appreciate it.

I just mean if you're the one supplying the camera, basically being their rental house. Or you're the DP as well as operator, you control the camera package. If you jump on as just the steadicam operator, you can often request certain gear beforehand, like a clip on mattebox or using cf instead of drives, but they don't always listen to you. I often show up to set and they're shooting on the drive with the cradle, or a big heavy swingaway mattebox with 3 filters stacked.

If you shoot 10-16mm, and close down the aperture, you'll often be fine. But it's a pretty big creative restriction on the shots you can get. Also you may not always be able to stop down if you aren't exterior daylight or have a large lighting package.

 

[dean tsolakis]

All very valid considerations Alex, in the initial stages of steadicam competency i just have to control my space and Plan ahead as much as possible to counteract these
creative compromises to a minimum, i know someone who has flown a flyer LE as well as the likes of Artemis and Nexus rigs, and said that the inertia and fundamental dynamics
of stabilisation systems are very similar, even easier on the heavy end , know knows learn on Zephyr master on Nexus?
Cheers

 

[Rob Ruffo]

We use the Zephyr with R1MX + Hard drive all the time without issue. We even often add a Diva cameo with its own battery - really, no problem. Zephyr is a great model of Steadicam.