Epic SDI won't work on steadicam monitor

[Filip Orlandic]

OPERATIONAL NOTES SPECIFIC TO BUILD V3.2.16:

HD-SDI is True Progressive and does not support 1080i or 1080 PsF signal formats.

[Philippe Van Horebeek]

You need to be more specific about the system. What sled, what monitor, does it work if you run straight into the monitor and bypass the sled? There could be a dozen issues.

Nick

Yes, check these things and be a bit more specific about the system.

[Adnan Siddiqui]

Noted, guys. i'll get more specific details for future, but the steadicam Op was hired for a one-day shoot and at the time, I didn't know what the problem was. The Epic's SDI was test via a studio monitor before bringing it on location. The information provided here is definitely useful and for future shoots with steadicams, I'll use the info provided here to diagnose any possible issues. Thanks

[Kyle Wullschleger]

Had he ever put an HD signal through his Steadicam? Certain Steadicam's only have composite throughput - and the Zephyr for example has the HD-SDI on the front of the top stage, and composite on the rear of the top stage.

Might not have anything to do with the monitor...

[Jean Bernard]

I agree. Prep is crucial. And older steadicam aren't HDSDI ready & I learned the hard way when red one was out and showed on set believing my Tiffen Ultra Cine would handle it and it didn't so I ended up using the red monitor noga armed out. I now must to prep with any new camera I fly on my rig. It is possible the rig wasn't HD ready and and a downconverter was needed.

Were you getting a signal on the set monitor via SDI?

[Nick Gardner]

On a side note, If you hire a steadicam op, and I mean an actual steadicam op, not some guy with a steadicam, there shouldn't be anything that you can throw at him that he can't handle. That's why it costs 2 grand a day. Because you have back up systems for everything, and all of the gadgets and widgets to make anything work.

Nick

[Rob Ruffo]

I agree. Prep is crucial. And older steadicam aren't HDSDI ready & I learned the hard way when red one was out and showed on set believing my Tiffen Ultra Cine would handle it and it didn't so I ended up using the red monitor noga armed out. I now must to prep with any new camera I fly on my rig. It is possible the rig wasn't HD ready and and a downconverter was needed.

Were you getting a signal on the set monitor via SDI?

No Steadicams are HDMI ready - the cable type is not sled-post friendly (it won't fit - too thick). Alll Steadicams are threaded with SDI cable, which can be used for either SD or HD signals. Most ops use a a Decimator as the best SD monitors are actually better for framing.

[Michael Wilson]

Steadicam op here. Had the same problem. I got new hd sdi cables, 75 ohm, for the top and bottom of my sled. Worked fine after that.

[Alex Kornreich]

On a side note, If you hire a steadicam op, and I mean an actual steadicam op, not some guy with a steadicam, there shouldn't be anything that you can throw at him that he can't handle. That's why it costs 2 grand a day. Because you have back up systems for everything, and all of the gadgets and widgets to make anything work.

Nick

Mostly true, but the epic has caused a lot of headaches for steadicam ops. Unlike any other camera, including the Red One, there's something going on with the signal that is tough to replicate for the purpose of troubleshooting. There are severe strobing/ghosting issues, and sometimes no image at all. And I've spoken to many ops about this, including the $3K/day guys, and they still have problems. Best solution is prep, but as we all know, you never know what will happen with a red come shoot day. I don't think it's fair to blame steadicam ops, regardless of rate, for monitor issues when tons of people are having the problem, all with different brands of monitors.

Most ops use a a Decimator as the best SD monitors are actually better for framing.

This used to be true, but most guys are switching to HD now. Transvideo and Cinetronic monitors are the top choices. Problem with SD now is having downconverters fail, especially the decimators, so by going HD you're taking one less variable out of the equation. I have two AJA downconverters, which are great, but generally only use them for the SD transmission, as well as with Epic since the HD signal only works about 50% of the time.

[Sami Sinervä]

Did a shoot with my Epic on a steadycam rig a few weeks ago and we got this adapter, that reconverted the signal from the Epic to the steadycam (SD) monitor. I managed to get an image once, but after a reboot I never managed to get it working again, so we had to deal without that monitor.