Tips for buyers testing out a commercial rig?

[Charles King]

Tim Otter had asked me this question and thought it would be nice to post it in here as a HBS 101 Header. Knowing what to look for in a rig can be confusing for first timers.

My personal take is, a rig is more about personality and how it reacts to the operator. The operator must be able to command the system to work for him or her the way he/she wants it to work. The stabilizer in it's turn will do it's job by returning the favor. Wink But all this will happen with months of experiences and/or years. So here are my takes of testing out a rig for the first time and what to look for:

1. If it is single arm, forget it. Dual arm is a must.

2. the vest must be able to sit on the operator as comfortably as possible without any problems or distorted aches. If the vest does not feel comfortable from the beginning of putting it on, it won't feel comfortable with the rig connected to it.

3. Every operator as his or her preference of components based connectors. Look for what you would need or what you would be liable to support your kind of operating.

4. If you will future prove yourself then make sure the rig as components that will support the cameras and/or adapters needed.

5. For easiness of dynamic balance make sure the base or lower support brackets for the battery and/or camera can be moved fore & aft.

6. Most important, make sure you choose a system that can carry the load you want; and if you intend on flying more than your required weight, make sure it can handle it. Stabilizer systems works best at their, almost , at their top range.

7. Another important feature is a fore & aft adjustment on the vest or arm bracket. to adjust the fore & aft of the arm once the operator as the system on. This feature is gold to all operators. Now most budgets systems do not have this feature and when you operator larger cameras you will see why it is so important. It is called a socket block. please see HBS 101 for details pics and description if you are not sure. If fact read everything in the HBS 101 forums.

8. When testing an arm do the famous "one finger" test. This entails you pushing down on the elbow of the arm when the rig is loaded. This test shows you how the rig actually takes up the shocks when it is actually being operated. If the arm sinks with ease under the pressure of your finger then you have a good idea of how it will handle the shocks it absorbs when you are walking or running. The smoothness of the arm counts but it is suppose to do it's job by taking up the shocks as it passes through the collection of spring/s.

9. Gimbal is another most important component. Make sure it is rock solid and there are no small 'clicking' sound as you spin,rotate and tilt the rig. That is usually not a good sign. How important is the gimbal you say?? Well, let me put it this way... Without it the whole system would be useless. so now you know Make sure it has smooth handling at all axis and it responses without a hitch. Very important. If it not a high-end brand then make sure you do a 3 second drop time and a spin test to see if the gimbal is align properly. If it tilts to one side while spinning then your operation will suffer.

10. Remember, we the members or the operators can only advise you or tell you which we think is the most or best rig for us. You have to go to a workshop or a exhibition and try these systems out yourself. Only you can decide which is the best system for you.

Yes. lots to consider and think about. It is never that easy, is it

[Job Scholtze]

I would like to add a minor thing.

If you are not an operator, you simply can not decide what a good system for you is. I just see to many fresh beginning ops out there who are buying systems becose of there "pricetag"
Never buy a system becose its so cheap. Go out there and testdrive all the rigs, becose there starts your learning curve. Read all you can on all the forums out there. Visit compagnys, experience operators and for god sake, get a workshop. if you are willing to invest in yourself, you will be a great operator. Dont go out there, buy something and call yourself an op, becose you will have a very short career.

Second, be a good camera op FIRST. Otherwise its like starting a cab companies without having a drivers licence. You need to be able to make shots the director asks for and you need to know about lights, composition, technics etc etc. Dont do it the other way around, because again, your career will be short as directors wont ask you again.

Dont go to fast with spending your money, think about it.

This is my opinion about the whole thing, and it worked for me

[Charles King]

Well said Job. Very good advice. Thanks Job. Just to let every newbie know that Job was my instructor when I did a workshop. He is excellent at what he does. so I would take is advice seriously.

[Charles King]

I welcome more professional tips from other operators. The doors are open.

[Charles King]

Every professional opinion is welcome. 

[Charles Papert]

I think you guys have covered it really well.

What I think complicates the issue of choosing a rig is that some people will only ever be casual users and are just looking for a way to take the footsteps out of their shots. Others may become much more motivated to become really good at Steadicam, are willing to put in the hours of practice and ultimately will benefit more from good gear as they improve their skills. It's not always possible to know what kind of user one will develop into; there are countless folks out there who appear to be perfectly satisfied with their budget rigs because they fulfill the need for them and they likely will not get to the stage where they will be limited by the hardware.

As Job indicated, choosing a stabilizer is difficult because no novice will be able to properly judge how it works until they have some operating ability. On message boards I often see that a mention of a new rig is followed by people clamoring to see footage shot by the rig. This doesn't really mean anything--any commercial rig should be able to perform a straight-ahead walking shot. It's all about the skill of the operator behind it. As I often say, a great operator can make a better shot with a cheap rig than a newbie with the top-of-the-line.

Another thing to consider is that a stabilizer is like a tripod: it will likely last several generations of cameras for you, so it is worth a significant investment. As a result, rigs maintain their value fairly well if you think you may be upgrading within a few years (if you were to migrate to larger cameras for instance). There have been a few guys who have started with handheld rigs and eventually sank their 6 figures into full-size rigs.

Finally--when trying out rigs, make sure to include the Steadicam Flyer and/or Pilot. These represent the most expensive of their class but they also are a benchmark in performance. It is easy to understand why the price tag is what it is when you make adjustments to the camera stage or feel the action of the arm with these systems compared to the competition.

[Charles King]

Really good point CP. Thank you. another great opinion by one of the industry top steadica operators guys. another reason why to listen...