Contents
QuickStart Guide
The Tiffen Company, 90 Oser Avenue, Hauppauge, New York 11788 • 631-273-2500 • 800-645-2522 • www.tiffen.com
Pilot™ QuickStart Guide © manual version 5/14/2010 J. Holway / L. Hayball / The Tiffen Company
Copyright The Tiffen Company 2010, All rights reserved
Steadicam® reserves the right to change specifications without prior notice.
0510
p/n LIT-804000
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Attaching the camera
Static Balance
First, find your camera’s center of gravity. Try balancing it on something round like
a pencil both fore and aft and side to side. Then, attach the center of the camera
mounting plate 1/4” to 1/2” forward of the camera’s fore and aft c. g., and centered
over your camera’s side to side c.g.
First, adjust your bottom heaviness by
moving the gimbal on the post.
Fine-tune the fore aft and side to side
balance with the knobs on the stage.
Balance
Secure the camera to the mounting plate
with the screws provided. Use either two
screws or one screw and an anti-rotation
pin.
Place the camera onto the sled.
Adjusting the fore and aft balance.
Only loosen the gimbal with the sled
horizontal.
Tighten the four knobs securely.
The camera is now positioned so its
center of gravity is slightly behind the
centerline of the main posts. (See the blue
tape in the photo below.) This is ideal for
achieving good dynamic balance.
Slide the main post until everything is in
balance, then move the gimbal towards
the camera about one half inch and
tighten the clamp. Let go of the sled and
let it rotate through vertical. It should
take about three seconds. Raise the
gimbal to decrease the drop time; lower it
to make the drop time longer.
This is how a typical set-up should
look, with the gimbal fairly close to the
camera.
Grossly adjust the fore aft balance by
moving the lower spar as shown in the
three photos below.
Note: We typically trim
or alter this fine balance
to help us aim the camera
— for instance to hold
headroom.
Adjusting the side to side
balance.
The docking bracket and balancing stud
Dynamic Balance
The sled hangs by the docking ring
on the forked portion of the docking
bracket. To balance the sled, spin the
docking bracket towards you and slip
the gimbal handle over the stud.
Dynamic balance is a term we use for a
sled that stays level (main post vertical)
as it is panned, i.e., it pans flat.
You have several possible adjustments,
including moving the spar as shown
(left), adding weights, and sliding the
monitor or battery independently to
achieve dynamic balance.
Be sure the stand is secure and won’t
tip over; use sandbags for safety.
We need to balance the sled in all
three axes: top to bottom, side to
side, and fore and aft. In general, we
want the sled to hang upright and not
be very “bottom-heavy.”
Download and read “The Dynamic
for more information on this complex
subject. What’s great is the Pilot™
has many options to help you achieve
dynamic balance.
Note: SteadiStand™ (p/n 601-7910)
is available as an optional accessory.
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The Pilot™ Vest
The Pilot™ Arm
left shoulder strap
with buckles
arm post
Vest & Arm
Forearm section
right
shoulder
strap
weight
adjustment
knob
release pin
arm keeper
chest
pad
Upper arm section
chest straps
with buckles
spring
weight
adjustment
knob
chest
straps
double action
hinge
socket block
back pad
spring
socket
waist pad
waist belts
with buckles
socket block height
adjustment and spar
length adjustment
The arm rides in the backpack in two
pieces.
To assemble the arm, align the two sections and insert the pin.
Socket adjustments
The hip pads fit around your hip bones, not above
them. If the vest is too short, lengthen the spar by
loosening the four tee handle screws on the socket
block and slide the spar to fit.
As shown in the left photo, set the upper “side to side”
adjustment to two to three turns out, and the bottom
screw all the way in.
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Putting on the vest
Making it float
If the rig won’t float next to
you, you must adjust your
posture and/or adjust the
angle of the arm:
The vest should be tight and not slip on your body. The front spar should be vertical.
The vest should be long enough to engage your hip bones, but not so long that you
can’t lift your leg without disturbing the vest.
This is how you want to look wearing
the Steadicam Pilot — natural and
relaxed, with your hips turned slightly
towards the sled. Note that the sled
is not at your side, but more at a 45°
angle to your hips.
Vest & Arm
If the rig is falling away from you,
tighten the upper “Tee” head screw.
If the rig wants to come too close,
loosen the upper screw.
To use
the vest,
Attach the right chest belt with female
open the
buckle across the chest plate and con-
left shoulder
nect it to the left chest belt with the male
buckle, put
If the rig falls to your right, screw
the top side to side adjustment
in. If it falls left, turn the top side
to side adjustment to show more
threads.
buckle. Then tighten up the belts by
on the vest,
adjusting the belt’s length.
and re-
connect
the buckle.
Be careful to maintain a good and
consistent posture while making
these adjustments, or you will be
fine tuning all day...
With everything adjusted properly and
with a natural stance, the rig should
“float” next to you. A gentle touch with
your left hand just below the gimbal
guides the camera, while the right hand
booms and places the whole sled in place.
Connect the left and right waist belts together and adjust the belts to the desirable
length for a comfortable fit. Be sure the left belt lies within the belt guide which is
attached to the left side of the waist pad.
Use the optional
extension belt
if required.
Setting the arm’s lift
You must be carrying the sled to adjust the
arm lift. Adjust the lift with the arm angled
slightly up — the knob will turn easily.
Adjusting the arm
You’ve adjusted the balance of the sled,
and put on your vest, now you need to
adjust the arm to carry the load.
Insert the arm into the socket block fully
as shown.
Set the top screw and just barely tighten
the bottom screw.
Each arm section should settle to a slightly
upward angle as shown in the photos.
The two screws work in tandem. To make
further adjustments, you must loosen
one in order to tighten the other. Don’t
overtighten these screws!
Adjust the forearm (the section nearest
the sled) first, then the “upper arm”
section.
Stand naturally and boom all the way up and down. Both arm sections should
track together. Do not bend over or lean back as you boom up and down.
Adjust these screws again after you pick
Use the two “Tee” headed screws to set
the “in and out” angle of the arm. Start
with the upper screw almost all the way
in if you look like Michael (above). If
you have a big belly, start with the upper
screw further out.
up the Steadicam.
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8
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Adding weight and increasing length
A 5.2 pound camera on the Pilot:
Use the telescoping post and the weight
kit to increase inertia (improve stability)
and/or to move the gimbal relative to the
camera.
Weight Kit &
Telescoping Post
Here are some examples of how to use the posts and the weights.
First, with a 5.2 pound camera on the Pilot:
With the Pilot and a heavy camera, all combinations of weights and post extension will work.
Now, with a 1.1 pound camera on the Pilot:
No weights: less inertia,
All weights up: Gimbal
All weights low: Gimbal
lower (increases lens
height), even more iner-
tia than all weights up.
No weights.
Gimbal lower (lens higher). closer to camera, iner-
tia increases in pan.
All weights up,
gimbal closer
to camera.
No weights, post extend-
ed, gain lens height and
more inertia in tilt and roll,
Weights up with post
extended, more inertia. but no increase in pan.
With a very light camera you may need
to add weights just to properly load up
the arm (the arm needs at least 2 lbs of
camera), and/or get the gimbal reasonably
close to the camera in the shortest mode.
The gimbal is really too low (above left) without
the weights attached to the stage.
With weights (above right), the gimbal is in a
better position for operating.
Longer posts:
With a light camera and a short post, however,
the weights can’t be added to the lower spar
without getting the gimbal too low.
(Shown with all
weights low and no
weights).
Gimbal much further
from camera, tilt and
roll inertia increased
dramatically.
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Low mode
You can work in what’s called “low
mode” with the Pilot and get the lens
much lower than in normal or “high”
mode, and even lower with the
extended post.
Monitors
In these pictures, the optional F-bracket
(P/N 078-7393-01) is being used. With
the post extended, you don’t need the
F-bracket for low mode operating,
but the lens will be higher.
The 5.8” 4:3/16:9 monitor accepts both PAL and NTSC signals and it has two video
inputs.The monitor operates on a nominal 12V.
The menu screens cycle with the menu button, and there are controls for brightness,
contrast, color, tint, horizontal and flip image (good for low mode operating).
With the types of cameras usually used
with the Pilot, there’s no easy or strong
way to mount them from the top. We
usually leave the camera mounted as it
is in high mode, so the camera is upside
down. If you leave the monitor in the
same position, the image will be right
side up as you shoot, but the image must
be reversed in editing.
With the 5.8” monitor it’s possible to
place it above the spar and reverse the
image for shooting (not shown).
If you need to keep the recorded
menu down up power
image right side up, you’ll need to
design a lightweight cage to hold your
camera. Make the cage so you can still
add accessories, open the camera’s
viewfinder, access all controls, change
batteries, and change tapes or cards.
Don’t bend over to get
the lens lower!
With the camera right side up in
low mode, you must rotate the
Pilot’s monitor above the spar
as shown in the photo.
Maintain good form as
shown in the photos.
Typical monitor controls shown.
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P/N
Description
FFR-000045
FFR-000046
ENDURA CHARGER, PORTABLE, SINGLE CHANNEL
Accessories &
Part Numbers
ENDURA E7-S LI-ION BATTERY, 71WH V-MOUNT
BATTERY PACK
FFR-000048
MSC-200503
078-5238-01
078-7393-01
601-7910
ENDURA E-7S STARTER KIT
MONITOR UNIVERSAL AC ADAPTER, 12V X 1A
BACKPACK, PILOT
LOW MODE KIT, BRACKET
ASSEMBLY STEADI-STAND
801-7920-04
801-7920-05
FFR-000030
801-7800
START WEIGHT W/O-RING
MIDDLE WEIGHT W/O-RING
OBIE LIGHT
MERLIN/PILOT VEST
801-7200-02
804-0000
ASSY, ARM WITH PILOT POST
ASSY, SLED PILOT
804-7300
ASSY, AA BATTERY MOUNT, PILOT
ASSY, V-LOCK BATTERY MOUNT, PILOT
ASSY, ANTON BAUER BATTERY MOUNT, PILOT
ASSY, DUMMY AA BATTERY**
ASSY, DOCKING BRACKET, PILOT
MERLIN ARM POST CONVERSION KIT
PILOT ARM POST CONVERSION KIT
MONITOR, 5.8” 4:3/16:9 NTSC/PAL LCD
804-7310-01
804-7310-02
804-7305
804-7900
804-7290
804-7291
MSC-200500
**Voltage at the top stage DC power plug can be reduced in AA battery pack
type PILOTS using Alkaline AA batteries by installing two optional DUMMY
AA battery cells (p/n 804-7305) in place of Alkaline battery cells. This will
allow 12V only accessories to be operated from the DC power plug.
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