2013Arms forum
Arm bottom-out behavior and spring characteristics in stabilizer systems
13 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
Note (as of October 2026)Curt O. Schaller, the developer of Artemis and Trinity, has no longer been with ARRI since the end of 2025. To our knowledge, ARRI currently has no dedicated team and no official contact persons for its stabilizer systems. In our view, the future of this line is uncertain. If you are buying new, get written confirmation from ARRI beforehand on how long service and spare parts are guaranteed. Have used rigs checked by the manufacturer before you buy.
DisputedParticipants disagreed and reached no conclusion. Read the findings as positions, not as an answer.
What the thread found
- Some arms have a hard stop at the end of their boom range without progressive spring resistance, which differs from arms with feathered or progressive stops
- Different operators have varying preferences regarding whether arms should have resistance or hard stops at their limits
- Bottoming out can cause jolts in shots during slow movement when one arm section reaches its limit before another
- Adjusting both arm sections to reach their bottom limit simultaneously can reduce jarring movements
- Progressive and digressive arm designs respond differently at their range extremes
- Muscle memory and extended use help operators adapt to their arm's characteristic behavior at limits
- Manufacturers do not typically publish force or lift performance curves, making objective comparison of arm performance difficult
Depends on
- This discussion primarily concerns older steadicam arms like the PRO and various Tiffen models
- Preference for bottoming behavior appears highly subjective and dependent on individual operator experience
- No formal manufacturer data exists for comparing lift performance across different arm models
- Participants disagreed about whether technical performance data would be useful for comparing arms versus relying on hands-on testing
Gear in this thread
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