Laing P-03 stabilizers (MC and XC versions, MC is longer one)

MC versions specs (XS is same, but smaller):

Comes in bag:

Separate sled offered in sets also

All available at

http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/1029/catchit-deals-limited-time-deals-weekend-specials

Gosh I want one of these. Gotta figure out a way to justify spending $1600. Maybe I'll have a garage sale.

Is that Hong Kong?

@bannedindv The YouTube demo videos above were shot by Eric Teotico, based in the Phillipines.

@eteotico Welcome Eric! do you have a link or picture for the upgraded monitor bracket and battery plate? I thought the M02 was their top model. I am looking forward to more info/video? :) regarding optimum spring loads ...

It is but I think I got an early model. The bottom sled that holds the battery plate and monitor is the same as the M-02c version. Everything else is the same as their advanced model. So they gave me an upgrade on the monitor and battery bracket (same as the M-02 ad posting).

The main advantage is that the monitor bracket can now be moved higher and lower down the post, which makes for easier fore and aft adjustment of both the battery and monitor. It allows you to have more balancing options and increases pan inertia. The downside is, it's a little heavier. (I'll post weights and pictures.)

Update on my tests: I had a eureeka moment on the arms. After you told me about the 30 inch boom range and isoelasticity of the the Flyer, I wondered why I wasn't achieving it since both arms had basically the same design. I re read the Steadicam Operators Manual and this part struck me on page 263 "The Flyer arms new trick is the use of a single steel spring across the diagonal, which greatly reduces the complexity of the arm. The spring is bigger than normal - it pulls about three times harder - but the angle of it's pull is reduced to 1/3 the height of the parallelogram."

I decided to to use a harder spring on the lower arm (Tracy gifted me with an extra set of spring since I purchased it on my bday - NICE!) Spring O.D is 28mm at wire size of 4mm, Stainless Steel.

I then turned the lift knob to it's lowest setting. The Steadicam manual was right. I achieved isoelasticity and greater boom range. NOTE: Isoelasticity did not cover the full range of the arm but somewhere between 12-18 inches. It still gently settles in the middle but requires little force to boom the 12-18" range.

The stronger spring was too hard on the upper arm so I kept the medium spring ( O.D. 24mm at wire size 3mm) on the upper arm.

I will post flight tests and pics of my mods in the next few days.

For those who have lighter rigs like DSLRs, the M-02c is a very good option. I tested the medium springs (O.D. 24, Wire 3mm, SS) and achieved limited isoelasticity near the lower lift knob setting. The sled has to be very light though. With my FS 100, I could only achieve it using my super light pancake lens, unloading the monitor and battery and replacing it with the supplied weights. A very light rig has it's advantages and disadvantages. (This could be another thread.) I hope they supply M-02c with an adjustable socket block . Personally, the adjustable socket block is important.

One of the features I like most with the Laing arms are the springs they use. They are standard extension springs. I can experiment and tune my arm springs as I much as I want. Light or heavy loads? - bring it on.

In the future, I can give an instructional video on how to change the springs.

Those are my latest mods. I hope I didn't give you guys a headache.

I'll try to answer some

1.is the gimbal movable to adjust the drop time? are there any counter weights included?

Yes, movable. Some :-) counter weight are included as far as I know.

Awesome, thanks guys!

Last one before pulling the trigger: Is it coming with a manual or do I have to figure it out all by myself? (I'm looking at you Glidecam!) Otherwise I'm pretty much convinced :P

Thanks for all the help Vitaliy & eteotico! I think I still got my Steadi-Op Handbook somewhere, I got it during training. I'm actually a certified operator since a few years back but I could never afford a rig until recently when I got a used Glidecam 4000 Pro (awful to balance) with the Smooth Shooter arm (single) and vest (not very adjustable) for about half the retail price. It was in pretty good shape, but the manual was rubbish. I found some videos on vimeo and it was different to balance compared to a "normal" steadicam. But it was a good start and I really want to get back to it (I became a editor and colourist because that was the jobs in demand and I'm good at it.) But I love flying a Steadicam, so when I can finally afford it it's time to go back to the gym and build up those back muscles again :)

Got my M-02 a couple of days ago, will do a video review as fast as possible but I need a couple of weeks of flying it first and before that I need to modify the vest a bit. Otherwise it looks really good. Unboxing photos:

Package at the door, 10 days from order to delivery. Customs around 10% of price:

Everything was in a soft bag (would've loved a hard case with cutout foam but for the price I paid I'm happy):

The manual, chinese only, not useful for me:

The vest is really good, but I need to modify it (I always "destroy" a new vest when I get one):

The stabilizer, got markings on the post for easy and precise adjustment, great if you need to move to another location and reassemble your setup quickly. Same kinds of marking on the dovetail/camera sled:

The arm has it's own small bag, that's great! This is the part that needs the most protection:

Tools and different parts (screws, pins, spare parts):

Additional springs:

Counterweights (x16) and the docking bracket at the upper right corner (you need to get a stand and a good one can be bought fairly cheap. I already have one):

So far, so good. I'll be back as soon as possible with more :) Thanks @Vitaliy_Kiselev for making these deals possible! :)

@hempo22 What is your opinion on the camera trim adjustments on the top stage (e.g. smooth travel? easy adjustment? good position for quick changes? firm locking? long travel?)

Also, we have not seen any hard measurments of the arm's performance yet. If someone can get a set of digital luggage "hook" scales and measure the human lift/push required at different points of the boom travel, this will help us understand the performance of the arm under different sled weights.

Ideally an arm should require only around 1kg max of even force to boom it through the entire range. Keep in mind that "just because it has springs and it bounces, doesn't mean it will perform like a true Steadicam".

@eteotico Have you settled on your favourite set of springs? Did you use some from the Century catalog? What total sled weight are you operating? Can you include breakdown of weights for camera, monitor, batteries/weights.

The more data and precise measurements we have for this rig, the better informed our buying choices will be. Without such data, a purchase is a gamble. Putting together this data is pioneering work. Pro Steadicam companies do not issue this sort of precise data, but with those companies you can go on their track record or pop down to the showroom to try one or speak to any one of the hundreds of operators using them. In this era of Chinese rigs, the data will be critical to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Hi cp, The combined arm 's length is 26 inches. It's nice and short. Without springs, it probably has a boom range of about 24 inches. I want to answer your querry about isoelasticity. It has a sweet spot of about 12 inches at 1 kilo torque. I am using a strong spring-4mm (lower arm) and a medium spring-3mm (upper arm)

This is my crude way of arriving at my estimates. I placed a weighing scale on the table. I mounted the stabilizer (vest, arm and post) and placed the 6.8 kilo sled on top of the scale. I bent up and down, and watched when the scale would register past 1 kilo. I noted my height and calculated the difference. Hahaha. I hope hempo has a spring scale. I don't think it's isoelastic compared to the flyer or ultra. However it has a beautifully smooth ride with a limited boom range. It's precise, well built and has many features found only on more high end rigs and a price to beat. It's like comparing a BMC with a Red Camera. The BMC has awesome image quality but has many shortcomings. Well that's the reality of a 3k vs 8k price. (I'm waiting for the BMC deliveries to stabilize before I upgrade my FS 100.) I think the Laing will be a great tool for the BMC.