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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 :)

Steadicam Air monopod

<--- Please owner and shooter with it here. Saves my back and my knees. Incredibly useful.
 
Phil Holland said:
<--- Please owner and shooter with it here. Saves my back and my knees. Incredibly useful.
Click to expand...

Phil, I see a lot of the BTS images, users aren't using a fluid head with this. Are you? If so, do you have a recommendation. Thanks!

Can't wait to get one of these.
 
I purchased three of them the moment I saw them on this very forum.. Two for my coworker and I, and one for backup... They are amazing... I've literally used the steadicam air every day since opening the box.

The foot lever/hydraulic actuator on mine ceased functioning correctly this Saturday so I just hot swapped the fluid head onto the backup unit and kept going. :)
 
william howell said:
I purchased three of them the moment I saw them on this very forum.. Two for my coworker and I, and one for backup... They are amazing... I've literally used the steadicam air every day since opening the box.

The foot lever/hydraulic actuator on mine ceased functioning correctly this Saturday so I just hot swapped the fluid head onto the backup unit and kept going. :)
Click to expand...

Interesting. Theres a little cover on the base. Open it and take a look inside to see whats up.
 
Bob Gundu said:
Interesting. Theres a little cover on the base. Open it and take a look inside to see whats up.
Click to expand...

I saw that, and actually plan on doing so. Just have been too slammed to see straight at this point. We've had a hydraulic humanoid robot onsite for the past 5 years, so compared to that... I have no doubt the problem is super easy to fix... and far less messy.
 
FYI, tried to pre-order the Air 15 and was unable to complete the process due to a "no shipping method available" prompt.

Looking forward to getting one when they are available, I love the shooting style it supports (pun intended).

Cheers - #19
 
SUPER easy fix Bob. This monopod is awesome.

For reference, in case anyone else runs into this.. From what I can tell, the bottom half of the monopod shaft screws into the top half. If it comes loose like ours did, the piston head (located inside the cover of the base) is pulled away from the foot actuator lever... which keeps the monopod from functioning... In order to fix it, just twist the bottom half of the monopod shaft in a "righty tighty" direction and watch the piston head magically appear again. Problem solved.

Picture for reference... The top monopod was the one that needed tightening.. the bottom pic is of a fully functioning unit. Both now perfectly functioning.

Air_25.jpg
 
Michael Wahba said:
So then do you not use a fluid head with it? or?
Click to expand...

We use manfrotto fluid heads with dsmc 1 cameras/vmount batteries/sidehandle/touch screen/sigma cinema zoom lenses... weight is not an issue...

Balance the camera and you're good to go.. Will post photos tomorrow.
 
Phil Holland said:
<--- Please owner and shooter with it here. Saves my back and my knees. Incredibly useful.
Click to expand...

Phil I picked one of these up after my manfrotto crapped the bed after 2 wedding seasons, way lighter and I love the way it "stabilizes" the camera, almost has a cushion. However I will say the lock mechanism takes to long to mess with, as a grab and go guy throwing things into the truck I with there was some other way to lock the hydro that has nothing to do with the foot pedal. Shooting an EW, SW and Gemini on this with 7"m, vlock and dsmc2 sidehandles, deals with the weight great, I have the 25? The bigger one

steve
 
Keep in mind that we are a not-for profit making due with what we have and stretch our dollars where we need to, but we are shooting with these nearly every day. We don't use rails on the monopods, but by coworker does on his shoulder rig... there is enough weight on this setup to hold the camera super steady without any image stabilization on the lens, however we do have a canon 100-400 and 28-300 that we slap on the dragons if we need IS.

If you have any of the newer/lighter DSMC2 gear... dude... I cannot speak highly enough about these steadicam air monopods. At the risk of sounding even dumber than I am, these are a total game changer for us.

fullRig.jpg
 
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Don't see the base unit max tilt angle in the specs. Anyone have this? Looking for 45° or better
 
Bob Gundu said:
The base can tilt however amount you want.
Click to expand...

For sure? Most ball and socket connections are motion limited. Hard to tell from the couple vids I looked at. Very stylized stuff
 
Other question is: exact delivery date since we are already into "early May". I have a travel project that departs May 13th. Was going to bring my trusty Manfrotto 561 with the 701 head. Not light - but I know its flaws and can work around them
 

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