STEADICAM GUILD.ORG BLOG

The new Tango by
Tiffen Steadicam

In 1973 I wanted the freedom to move the lens from the floor to the ceiling, but my first crane-like prototype was too complex and heavy to succeed.

The ultimate Steadicam® invention was a satisfying and ultimately successful compromise, but by 2009 a camera revolution was well underway – lenses and HD imaging chips were finally being separated from their heavy CCU’s – and I started over with a new idea: a conventional Steadicam sled at one end of an accessory spar, stabilizing a “mini- sled” at the other end to at last yield that long-sought floor-to-ceiling boom range with direct and intuitive control.

Two competing prototypes were secretly developed at the Tiffen skunk-works in 2009: a stubbornly non-functional mechanical version, and an electronic, servo-powered version that worked brilliantly but was slower, noisier and heavier…

In early 2010, after much head-scratching, the simple, all-mechanical version moved up along the rail and thrillingly took the lead…

Compared to the servo version the mechanical item is just as stable and almost as easy to use, but is simple, agile, familiar, lightweight, versatile, silent, and fast.

TANGOtm (patent pending) is a actually a Steadicam accessory, for use with today’s miniature HD cameras, to finally give us long-sought floor-to-ceiling boom range with pan control, lateral reach, full stability, intuitive operating and simple, economical construction.

Iti’s designed to be a straightforward, bolt-on addition to compatible Steadicam sleds – including future new models, and existing late-model sleds that can be factory-modified.

Videomaker.com

-Rugged, all-mechanical construction
-Uses your adapted Steadicam sled plus our 6 lb Tango extension
-No electronics, gyros, wiring, connectors or power-hungry components
-Large-aperture, interior cable-path for camera/CCU interconnection o Nine-foot continuous elevation and traverse with back-pan and back-tilt
-360˚ pan, ±90˚ tilt available throughout boom range
-Normal and adjustable pan/tilt inertia
-Camera pokes into small openings with full angular control -Intuitive operation for Steadicam operators (no joystick)
-Balances and feels like a single, virtual sled carrying all components
-Comfortable, centered operating position – even at full up/down boom
-Operator-leveled – exactly like Steadicam
-6 lb camera payload @ 3:1 extension = 29 lb total
-Rapid conversion from “Tango” mode to conventional Steadicam
-Stable: walking, running, climbing stairs-No servo motor noise
-Ultra-rapid traverse, elevation, pan/tilt

-StudentFilmmaker.com

It’s turned into a kind of mechanical Tour-de-Force
The 3D transmits “master” pan/tilt/roll moves to a “slave” sled at the other end of the telescoping central spar, so the camera payload mimics every nuance – fast or slow – of your operating input. With your eyes closed, it feels like a normal Steadicam.

-Garrett Brown, SOC
www.GarrettBrown.com

Definitions:
Master sled: your regular Steadicam sled, but with weights or other payload items in place of the camera
Slave sled: the “mini sled” at the remote end of the Tango spar
Active gimbal handle: the central gimbal and handle at the c.g. of the tango spar, which is supported by the arm post.

Related Links: STEADICAM TANGO