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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Any Feedback on the Armorman 2

Jason beaumont

Jason beaumont

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Was looking to purchase this , but haven't seen much feedback on it. Was hoping to see more after the group buy as many of you ordered it with the gravity.
Post your experiences pro's cons, thanks.
 
It´s good. I only have something between armour man 1 and 2 with some of the finesse built into amor man 2 missing but still it´s a no brainer for the price and the performance, just buy it.

Another cool thing if you like to film like Michael bay but feel somewhat stressed doing it with a big zoom lens on Armor man 2 lets you hold the camera just like him and you can do it for hours upon end with no stress on your arms... you can even poke your nose with one hand while doing it. So it´s not only good for gimbals but also for hand held it makes the camera float in front of you in a nice way.

A clip with armour man and ronin with a setup that I would not be able to hold for more than 20 seconds or so: https://vimeo.com/163396717

Its a 3 minutes something take and I don't even think of that I´m filming Im actually on my way back to the car.
 
I own AM2, it's cool, but as someone who has never own or operate any form of vest base support before (steadicam etc), I find the weight distribution on the AM2 a little bit forward bearing. With respect to fatigue associated with gimbal operation, AM2 does have its own fatigue points too. Its more like going to the gym though, where all the weight is transferred to the upper body (and the back). Another point to note is the total payload you are lifting is the AM + Gimbal (and cam of course), so utimatly you need a minimum level of stamina to operate it easily for a long period.

As regards the build quality, the AM2 is top notch. Don't have enough experience to comment on the spring performance, however tuning the springs sometimes feels like you need a wrench spanner (don't know if its my lack of experience or its just meant to be like this).

In conclusion, I am happy to have bought and would recommend it.
 
I find the AM2 to be most helpful for rehearsals and blocking but it depends on the content you are shooting. I like the performance of my gravity better without the AM2 on most shots, but where stamina is an issue for long takes, the AM2 does its job. Just went through a shoot with anamorphics (18.5-20lbs payload) and its was no issues with the AM2. I can see using the AM2 on shoots where you need to be operating all day long with very little breaks. Either way I have found it works very well.
 
tim, why is it that you prefer to use it without the AM 2?
 
Abiodun Shote said:
I own AM2, it's cool, but as someone who has never own or operate any form of vest base support before (steadicam etc), I find the weight distribution on the AM2 a little bit forward bearing. With respect to fatigue associated with gimbal operation, AM2 does have its own fatigue points too. Its more like going to the gym though, where all the weight is transferred to the upper body (and the back). Another point to note is the total payload you are lifting is the AM + Gimbal (and cam of course), so utimatly you need a minimum level of stamina to operate it easily for a long period.

As regards the build quality, the AM2 is top notch. Don't have enough experience to comment on the spring performance, however tuning the springs sometimes feels like you need a wrench spanner (don't know if its my lack of experience or its just meant to be like this).

In conclusion, I am happy to have bought and would recommend it.
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Same thing with steady cam. If you try a good steady cam setup wirh a heavy camera it simply makes your whole boddy tired, from your toes to your ears... It simply does not remove any weight, on the conterary it ads quite a bit of weight. So it only distributes the mussle stress to larger mucsle groups. I done hourly long takes with armor man with decent sized ronin setups, ff,mattebox,filters, wireless, cinelens and counterweights. Sure its a stress but its very doable. Whithout it I would last like 3 minutes whith the same gimbal setup and also the armor man makes things far more smooth than whats possible to do when holding the gimbal in bare hands when running or walking.
 
Björn Benckert said:
Same thing with steady cam. If you try a good steady cam setup wirh a heavy camera it simply makes your whole boddy tired, from your toes to your ears... It simply does not remove any weight, on the conterary it ads quite a bit of weight. So it only distributes the mussle stress to larger mucsle groups. I done hourly long takes with armor man with decent sized ronin setups, ff,mattebox,filters, wireless, cinelens and counterweights. Sure its a stress but its very doable. Whithout it I would last like 3 minutes whith the same gimbal setup and also the armor man makes things far more smooth than whats possible to do when holding the gimbal in bare hands when running or walking.
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Thanks Bjorn. Nice to know my observations are not misplaced.
 
Björn Benckert said:
Same thing with steady cam. If you try a good steady cam setup wirh a heavy camera it simply makes your whole boddy tired, from your toes to your ears... It simply does not remove any weight, on the conterary it ads quite a bit of weight. So it only distributes the mussle stress to larger mucsle groups. I done hourly long takes with armor man with decent sized ronin setups, ff,mattebox,filters, wireless, cinelens and counterweights. Sure its a stress but its very doable. Whithout it I would last like 3 minutes whith the same gimbal setup and also the armor man makes things far more smooth than whats possible to do when holding the gimbal in bare hands when running or walking.
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just for the record the correct spelling is STEADICAM.

and no its not the same at all, in all aspects , from the ergonomic side of things of the bodymount to the different weight distribution and design.

there is no comparison what so ever.

But what do I know I have been only doing this for a couple of decades.:devil:
 
anyone else?
 
constantine Tirintzis said:
just for the record the correct spelling is STEADICAM.

and no its not the same at all, in all aspects , from the ergonomic side of things of the bodymount to the different weight distribution and design.

there is no comparison what so ever.

But what do I know I have been only doing this for a couple of decades.:devil:
Click to expand...

I´m pretty bad with spelling. Dyslectic not only in english but in all languages, sorry about that.
Sure a steadicam is very different from armorman. And I´m not at all saying armorman is a better option. Simply, I think they are very different tools. I just mentioned steadi as an other tool that is using a vest to take away the strain from the arms while also stabilizing the camera.
And for us that does not have decades of experience I can only say that a steadicam feels really awkward to operate in comparison.
 
Björn Benckert said:
I´m pretty bad with spelling. Dyslectic not only in english but in all languages, sorry about that.
Sure a steadicam is very different from armorman. And I´m not at all saying armorman is a better option. Simply, I think they are very different tools. I just mentioned steadi as an other tool that is using a vest to take away the strain from the arms while also stabilizing the camera.
And for us that does not have decades of experience I can only say that a steadicam feels really awkward to operate in comparison.
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Im not talking about whats better. That is obvious over time beeing used and the effect. Besides refering to that , you refer to a certain Brand, or a few that have made decent tools. All the rest is very far from competition and not even close.

Im talking about the effect of each one after load on your body. And that isnt only relative only to the ergonomics and design its also has to do with where the camera is positioned in order to your body, and many other stuff that really matters and not visibly seen in pictures.

And dont forget. If you are dealing with probs like that with a small load like a gimbal and an Epic, imagine what happens when you deal with loads over 20kgr which is the usual steadicam load for everydays work.

As for the name, now you know. Its a common mistake they even do in the pictures. Good to know so you can spell it right,no big deal :reddevil:
 
Jason beaumont said:
tim, why is it that you prefer to use it without the AM 2?
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well to be honest, I cannot seem to get the arms to float the way steadicam does. It maybe user error but there are not good videos out for the product or information at all really. Tilta is working on them but its taking a while
 
Tim Daust said:
well to be honest, I cannot seem to get the arms to float the way steadicam does. It maybe user error but there are not good videos out for the product or information at all really. Tilta is working on them but its taking a while
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Its quite difficult on a steadicam it´s possibly even more difficult on armor man as there is two arms that needs to be calibrated and also in balance with each other. But then thats done its really smooth. Sure a system that has single spring is easer to balance, the armor man has 4 springs so that makes things far more difficult but it also puts dampening not only on Y axis but also on roll. Which I see as a desirable.
 
there are many not accurate things said here.

Making a steadicam arm to float in balance takes aprox from 30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the set up you had before on your last gig. So its not hard at all, in fact its just dialing some knobs and you are there instantly. You just need to know what you are doing and that is called training.

to make an arm float in balance its not just a matter of sping tension. There are at least 3 more factors that are even more important and a couple secondary ones that I will not point here

At the end of the day , if one has no other experience with steadicam bodymount systems , and feel that the system is helping him to produce better more stable shots then there is nothing to discuss. It works for him and thats the main thing. That doesnt necessarily mean that the system works as it should, or designed as it should, it only means it works up to an extent for some, and maybe doesnt work for others.

regards
 
I find this thread far less informative than most others ive posted. Maybe its just lack of information. I really want to hear from ARMORMAN 2 OWNERS , or atleast people that have worked with it frequently, what their feedback and experience is with this piece of equipment. I know more than 2 people on this forum own AM 2 right?
 
Jason beaumont said:
I find this thread far less informative than most others ive posted. Maybe its just lack of information. I really want to hear from ARMORMAN 2 OWNERS , or atleast people that have worked with it frequently, what their feedback and experience is with this piece of equipment. I know more than 2 people on this forum own AM 2 right?
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sorry to see you get no information that is useful to you. And I apologise in advance if I have confused you with my posts.
There are however opinions here from people that do own the system. So you can just listen to their experience and decide. My last advice though when someone buys a bocymount is this. Unless your only go for it reason is the low price nothing to loose kinda thing, I suggest you go and test it somewhere , in a show, or distributor if there is any, or somewhere anyway. Thats the only way to find out if its the right system for you. Other than that good luck . Regards.
 
constantine Tirintzis said:
there are many not accurate things said here.

Making a steadicam arm to float in balance takes aprox from 30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the set up you had before on your last gig. So its not hard at all, in fact its just dialing some knobs and you are there instantly. You just need to know what you are doing and that is called training.

to make an arm float in balance its not just a matter of sping tension. There are at least 3 more factors that are even more important and a couple secondary ones that I will not point here

At the end of the day , if one has no other experience with steadicam bodymount systems , and feel that the system is helping him to produce better more stable shots then there is nothing to discuss. It works for him and thats the main thing. That doesnt necessarily mean that the system works as it should, or designed as it should, it only means it works up to an extent for some, and maybe doesnt work for others.

regards
Click to expand...

Why don't you just state that you are selling another Y stabilizer. Hacking on my spelling and comments does not really helping anyone does it?

On the armor man you want both arms to behave the same. That could sound easy but as the springs are worn and the weight of the setup is possibly not center on the gimbal it can be quite a fiddle to get right especially if you have not done it before and you don't really know how to do it. I think after a while sure it´s quite easy but it´s one more thing to set up. Balance the gimbal and then get your armor man to work properly. Sure if you are an operator doing it every day then maybe thats no issue. If you rent it for a day and have not used it before, then possibly better to try it out the night before.
 
Björn Benckert said:
Why don't you just state that you are selling another Y stabilizer. Hacking on my spelling and comments does not really helping anyone does it?

On the armor man you want both arms to behave the same. That could sound easy but as the springs are worn and the weight of the setup is possibly not center on the gimbal it can be quite a fiddle to get right especially if you have not done it before and you don't really know how to do it. I think after a while sure it´s quite easy but it´s one more thing to set up. Balance the gimbal and then get your armor man to work properly. Sure if you are an operator doing it every day then maybe thats no issue. If you rent it for a day and have not used it before, then possibly better to try it out the night before.
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Bjorn, everything I have stated so far , you can confirm with someone knowledge able on the matter , all you need to do is ask and find out. The reason I dont state them here is because I dont like to help copycat companies to improve

As for your top statement, good try, doesnt work.

Oh you spell steadicam correct now great .

so under your opinion its only positive feedback everything is wonderful that helps users , sorry I dissagree. But I will shut up now so you can carry on with this. No prob.
 
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