What the thread found

• Two RED cameras on a beam splitter rig was considered extremely challenging and impractical by most participants due to combined weight and complexity.
• A stripped-down single RED camera can weigh approximately 18 pounds, making two cameras with 3D rigging components exceed typical Steadicam payload capacity.
• The Element Technica RED 3D rig weighs about 100 pounds and is not practical for Steadicam mounting.
• A PACE 950 3D rig with two Sony F23 cameras weighed approximately 50 pounds and represented near maximum practical load for Steadicam operation.
• Custom counterbalance mechanisms at the bottom of Steadicam rigs can maintain perfect balance throughout 3D shots and prevent drift caused by operator adjustments.
• For the production of Avatar, a fiber optic cable system was used to connect 3D cameras to the base station instead of copper cables to reduce weight.
• The interocular distance and convergence control can be linked to focus control, allowing the focus puller to manage these parameters based on visual feedback rather than requiring a separate engineer.
• SI 2K Parallel Rig configurations have been successfully flown on Steadicam.
• Copper cabling on 3D rigs creates significant physical burden comparable to managing garden hoses.
• Flying dual RED cameras required balancing against available arm capacity, with operators reporting maxed-out equipment when attempting such configurations.

Depends on

• Experiences shared are from specific productions and particular camera models; results may vary with different equipment combinations.
• The Avatar production information represents a high-budget production environment and may not reflect constraints of smaller productions.
• Discussion participants had varying arm systems (G70 mentioned) which have different weight ratings.
• Some specific rig weights were estimated rather than precisely measured.
• The practical feasibility depends heavily on the specific Steadicam arm model and operator skill level.

Gear in this thread

G-70catalog, FI+Z, BFD

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