Fully loaded Red Camera...Idea's on weight??? For steadicam use...

[portanova]

I was wondering if anyone had some ballpark weight figures on what a fully loaded Red camera would be. I want to make sure that I get the right Steadicam rig for my Red camera. Any idea's would help...



thanks,
tom

[Chris Gearhart]

That will really depend on what fully loaded means for you. I think an Archer seems to be the minimum if you are doing anything more than just the Redone body. It's what the NAB booth was flying. But even the Archer will max out if you are thinking of doing a studio-config! btw, I have an Archer on order.

[Brook Willard]

Do a search of the forum and you'll find several recent discussions - including pictures of the RED ONE on an Archer and an Ultra 2 in two different camera configurations [with and without rails] - on the subject. :-)

[Brian D. Goff]

I was wondering if anyone had some ballpark weight figures on what a fully loaded Red camera would be. I want to make sure that I get the right Steadicam rig for my Red camera. Any idea's would help...
tom

It also depends very much on what you plan to do in the future. If you plan to add focus motors, expand the possibilities (ultra high and low mode shots), your system will get heavier and you need a sled, arm and vest that can handle that, otherwise you will need to buy a new system. Then you should know how fast you need to switch from tripod to "steadicam". If you have the basic RED production package (with rail, battery and Raid mount), it will most-likely take more time to disconnect the RED body from this configuration and prepare it for the stabilizer. If you decide to keep everything on the camera body, so you-can switch faster back to tripod or shoulder operating, then the system will be heavier - an advantage then, is that a heavier system is generally smother to operate than a lightweight system. Finally you need to decide how you will monitor. Either your system will be able to use the RED lcd (thats what our stabilizer can do), or you will either need a HD-LCD or a down-converter to view the image on a standard LCD.

[Charles Papert]

Personally, I think that the best idea is to wait until you have the RED in hand with all of the bits and pieces and determine what configuration you will be using BEFORE buying a rig. You will benefit from hearing from other people who are actually using the rig in its final form, and the issues they are having and/or solutions they have discovered, plus there will likely be a few new rigs or versions of rigs introduced between now and then (such as Brian's) that specifically accomodate the RED camera.

That said, one advantage of buying the rig now is that you can get practice time in before the camera arrives by using whatever camera you own with a lead practice weight onboard to simulate the likely weight of the RED system (figure 20-25 lbs for camera payload). The risk of course is buying into hardware and then finding out months or even weeks later that there a better solution has come down the pike.

[dalemccready]

..and as most steadicam ops will tell you, once you've bought your rig, it's not all fun from there on out.

As Charles says...train. no particular rig is a match for operator experience, and it can take a fair while to start pushing the rigs around instead of them pushing you.

But then the upside is occasionally getting a shot done that you never thought you'd pull off, and you do, and you earn the respect of your peers and get to see it one day blown up really big (even though it makes you lean from side to side when you watch it!)

:)

[AftonGrant]

When buying a piece of equipment like a Steadicam, to buy a system specifically for one camera is probably not the right mindset. The systems out there now are made to be as camera un-specific as possible in order to accommodate virtually any setup. I own a Master series, which is an ancestor of the current Ultra 2 and I've had every size camera on there available.

Get the best system you can afford for the type of work you'll be doing. If you can be certain you'll never work with anything other than the RED, something as small as the Archer might do just fine. If working with other cameras is a possibility, a more versatile system would be best. Remember also, the RED is designed to be modular. It is designed to take on any number of different sizes and configurations. While we might guess as to what its average size would be today, who knows what it will be tomorrow.

I'm sure you've heard the saying, "It's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." The very best Steadicam ops (a group which Charles humbly forgot to mention he was a part of) are such partially because they're always ready and able to deal with any situation quickly and with experience. Larry McConkey, for example, brings to set an entire horse trailer full of equipment. On any given day, he might use 3% of what is in it, but the other 97% is there just in case.

Best Regards,
Afton

[Brian Broz]

Personally I am surprised a basic RED package would push the limits of a Steadicam Flyer.
Personally I have mounted and sent out a Flyer with a Sony HDW-700 and Canon 11x4.7 with the VF off for a Discovery series and heard it worked well. We have also mounted many an HVX-200/P+S Technik Mini-35 system pushing 18-19lbs and again it worked just fine.
I think waiting is a good idea...an Archer is the safest bet if you have the $$ but I think most users (on a budget) could get away with the Flyer, without compromising too much.

[Storyline]

I think that the camera body, a prime or Red Zoom lens, a clip-on sunshade, RedFlash or RedDrive, lightweight wireless audio receiver on top - LCD (Red or Steadi's HD) on bottom with batteries (either a custom snake running down the inside of the post or cable-wrapping outside the post if need be) would be within Flyer limits.