GalinMcMahon wrote:
Tiffen is selling a Glidecam arm. Just the arm. No vest. No Glidecam. The arm. Two springs and some fulcrum points. They are advertising it for $14,225.00 (aka an ursa 12k fully rigged with a lens.) I bought one with a vest for about $150. Two springs and some fulcrum points. Paid 95 times less.
Hate to be THAT guy, especially when your thread is making a point, but it helps to understand too what you're paying for. I think you've confused some of the brands and models and that may also lead to some understanding about what you're paying for....
Tiffen DO NOT sell Glidecams. Tiffen are the exclusive agent however, for Steadicam, which is the original body stabilising rig. They make Steadicam including all the very high end models that can carry an Imax camera down....
So you're saying, hey I bought an arm, a competing brand to Steadicam from the very company that make the original without really understanding what you're kind of comparing to...there are many models of Steadicam (and glide cam) and it's all about the weight and engineering.
Glidecam are one of the more expensive Steadicam copies and have actually bee around a long time...
They really aren't the same as you're inferring with your $150 drive vs $14225. By the way you can pay a lot more for an arm than that too. You weren't looking hard enough. GPI make a "pro" arm that's more like $25K for the arm and that's more, you have to use interchangeable canisters to change the payload...not very convenient....and yet that's the model arm I see more operators using than any other....
https://www.gpiprosystems.com/titan-armWe see the same things with Easyrigs. The original has many imitators that are 1/10th of the price.....
Film gear is very expensive. No doubt. Usually it's because the volume is quite small, but the precision needs to be quite high especially when dealing with precision optics or cameras.
Lighting for sure is one area where you can quickly spend a lot but if you're canny, you can often get great results without having to spend a lot.
I for one would never buy an Arri orbiter light, though they seem pretty fantastic with what they can do....
I think there's often nothing more flattering than a couple of paper lanterns from a $2 shop as a key light....
JB