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Magiqcam Series IIa

Date post: 04-Oct-2014
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Magiqcam Series IIa Review by Kevin Clark Year after year new products introduced to the consumer/prosumer video market seem to become more affordable to amateur and independent filmmakers that don’t have Hollywood budgets. The Magiqcam series IIa body mounted camera stabilizer is no exception and fills a consumer nitch in the ever-expanding camera stabilizer market. The Magiqcam IIa stablizier provides camera support to a prosumer class of camera and thus meets a commensurate price point in this category. Recognizing this will help you understand why this rig is designed the way it is; it’s features, abilities and limitations. Normally priced at $2100.00 but on sale through eBay and directly from Animagique for $ 1,650.00 the Magiqcam IIa comes delivered to your door in a molded case with custom foam cutouts to accommodate all the parts. Since each rig is built to order you should expect about 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. The Magiqcam IIa comes equipped with the following: Comfort Vest (standard color is black but other colors are available) Dual Action 2 Spring Arm Sled with Bogen 3273 QR Plate on the top stage Gimbal Assembly Lower mounting arm Monitor Pod Universal Battery Mount Counter Weights and Retainer Screws Hex Wrench for Arm Adjustment Docking Station Molded Transport Case Protective Cloth Bags for Each Component 6 Page Instruction Booklet An optional Low Mode kit is also available for $200.
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Page 1: Magiqcam Series IIa

Magiqcam Series IIa Review by Kevin Clark

Year after year new products introduced to the consumer/prosumer video market seem to become more affordable to amateur and independent filmmakers that don’t have Hollywood budgets. The Magiqcam series IIa body mounted camera stabilizer is no exception and fills a consumer nitch in the ever-expanding camera stabilizer market. The Magiqcam IIa stablizier provides camera support to a prosumer class of camera and thus meets a commensurate price point in this category. Recognizing this will help you understand why this rig is designed the way it is; it’s features, abilities and limitations.

Normally priced at $2100.00 but on sale through eBay and directly from Animagique for $ 1,650.00 the Magiqcam IIa comes delivered to your door in a molded case with custom foam cutouts to accommodate all the parts. Since each rig is built to order you should expect about 4 to 6 weeks for delivery.

The Magiqcam IIa comes equipped with the following:

• Comfort Vest (standard color is black but other colors are available) • Dual Action 2 Spring Arm • Sled with Bogen 3273 QR Plate on the top stage • Gimbal Assembly • Lower mounting arm • Monitor Pod • Universal Battery Mount • Counter Weights and Retainer Screws • Hex Wrench for Arm Adjustment • Docking Station • Molded Transport Case • Protective Cloth Bags for Each Component • 6 Page Instruction Booklet • An optional Low Mode kit is also available for $200.

Page 2: Magiqcam Series IIa

The Magiqcam IIa is designed to support a total sled weight 5 to 15 lbs. With the sled, QR plate, lower mounting arm, monitor pod and battery mount weighing in at just about 5 lbs. this gives you about 10 lbs. of effective payload. Choosing a camera, battery and monitor combination in this weight range does require some planning and forethought along with any other accessories you plan to use like matte boxes and wireless receivers. Assembling the Magiqcan IIa takes only a few minuets and is it’s worth mentioning that no tools are required. Working our way from the top down we’ll take a closer look at each of the supplied components.

The top stage is equipped with a Bogen/Manfrotto #3273 Quick Release Plate that provides for fore/aft positioning of the camera. (The camera plate is also included but not pictured here) The Bogen QR base is mounted to a 1/8” aluminum plate that it tapped with two 8-32 socket head cap screw at each end. These screws pass through slits in the top stage base and are secured with knurled knobs thus providing side to side camera positioning.

The center post, which is 7/8” in diameter, is welded to the top stage base and has an overall length of 20”.

Page 3: Magiqcam Series IIa

The gimbal assembly is pretty much straight forward with a compression fitted sealed pan bearing mounted at the center. There have been a few varying reports of misaligned or faulty assembly by some users of these gimbals but I found no evidence of that whatsoever. Although basic in comparison to some, more costly, gimbals the unit I

received had no flaws in it’s construction or alignment. The yoke is machined from a single piece of aluminum block to a finish thickness of ¾”. The yoke connects via a socket head cap screw to the roll bearings mounted in the upper portion of the gimbal handle, which is very sturdy and has a nice feel to it. The gimbal assembly is equipped with foam grip padding on the post and handle. I don’t mind this too much on the handle but on the post grip I prefer a more tactile feel and would rather see a knurled aluminum grip. Foam grips make fast moves like whip pans difficult to impossible because of the extra cushioning between your hand and the post. No matter how hard you squeeze stopping on a dime just isn’t possible unless you remove the foam. Even then it takes some practice!

The lower mounting arm with the battery mount and monitor pod attached weigh in at a hefty 2 lbs 4oz. and like the other components is powder coated in a black finish. The monitor pod angle is tilt adjustable but neither of the mounting pods are moveable fore and aft which, depending on your monitor/battery combination would require use of counterweights to achieve balance.

The Monitor pod can accommodate LCD screens from 4” to 7” and is mounted on a round post with a knurled locking screw. This allows you to rotate the monitor latterly but will also affect the static balance of the rig. The IIa arm has dual expansion springs that are shielded from the elements by black fabric sleeves. Spring tension adjustment is made at the rear of each arm section by way of the supplied hex wrench. The front-end post is supported by bearings that provide a smooth connection to the gimbal handle.

Page 4: Magiqcam Series IIa

The Arms construction appears to be very sturdy and is 26” in overall length including the elbow. Each bone is 10” long and each section is about 5 ½” high. The total weight of the arm comes in at 6 lbs. 5 ozs. Also noted were two pieces of medium density black foam on the inside edge of the elbow – acting as cushioned end stops when the arm is collapsed.

The vest features 6 fully adjustable quick release buckles attached to heavy duty nylon straps that lock down to the vest with Velcro. The front plate, again powder coated in a black finish, is made of T-6 aluminum. The block attachment is uniquely angled about 22° to the right of the vest front plane and although this connection block only has side to side adjustment screws because of the rearward angle of the bracket fore and aft balance is also affected. Thinking of it more as a diagonal adjustment may make this easier to understand.

Here’s a picture from the top of the vest looking down that helps illustrate the angle at which the block is mounted. Although by no means a very sophisticated connection block by comparison to others it does do the job and at a fraction of the cost.

The last thing worth mentioning is the inclusion of a docking station. This is one of those things that ends up being an afterthought on so many commercial systems and generally something that has to be purchased separately. The Magiqcams docking station has a standard ½” socket with a locking nut that will mount on most any c-stand or light stand.

At one end of the dock is a U shaped pickle fork for parking the sled and a hitch pin is provided to secure once the sled is in place. At the other end is the post used to mount the rig for balancing. In addition on both sides of the dock are 4” “antennas” that allow you to hang the arm and vest on the dock as well. The inclusion of this docking station is a nice touch to the overall Magiqcam package.

Page 5: Magiqcam Series IIa

The Assembly Assembling and balancing the rig took no more than 30 minuets from start to finish. Due largely to the monitor and battery combination I decided to use which statically balanced the lower mounting arm right out of the box! The gear used for this review was a Canon XL2 with the Canon 3x lens, an Anton Bauer Hytron 50 and the AB gold plate made for 7.2v output to the XL2, and a Marshall 7” monitor with an AB power tap cable. In addition I used a Varizoom StealthLX LANC controller that fit very nicely on the gimbal handle. (not pictured) One drawback of note was the inability to run any cables through the center post. So your camera power and monitor output have to be run externally which not only tend to get in the way of operation but also effect your balance every time you move them around. Careful choice of cables and their length help to minimize this effect. In addition, there are some simple modifications that can be implemented to run cables through the post but I’ve reserved those for a separate article on mods to the IIa. Since I had considered the weight of each component prior to assembly it was no surprise that the entire sled including cables weighed in at 15 lbs on the nose. After mounting the rest of the goodies and balancing the sled the gimbal was moved about 1/3” above the sleds CG which resulted in a drop time of about 2-3 seconds. Suiting Up The vest fit very comfortably but the front plate had to be adjusted much lower so that the connection block was closer to hip level and not riding up around my rib cage. This is easily accomplished by unscrewing the two knobs on the front of the vest plate and repositioning to holes lower on the chest plate. The total range of the lower plate adjustment is about 7” up and down. Knowing that I was at the top end of the weight capacity I adjusted the arm springs to about a ¼”” below the top of their maximum travel. Once mounted up I discovered that a good neutral position required backing the tension off about another ¼” or so on both springs. Even with the full rig on I found adjusting the spring tension was a snap to do with the supplied hex wrench. I also noticed a tendency for the sled to drift away from my body and knew that the connection block needed adjustment. With the full rig on I soon learned that this was not an easy task.

Page 6: Magiqcam Series IIa

As you can see from the picture there are two screws that need to be adjusted. The top one is relatively easy provided you have a screwdriver handy. The bottom one however is completely out of sight when the vest is on so getting a screwdriver into the slot on the screw is bit of a hit or miss proposition. After a few minuets of fumbling around I did finally get the block positioned correctly.

As far a connection/socket block goes this is a relatively simple one and doesn’t really allow total control of arm positioning but it is effective within its operating range. Yes, there are many designs that allow you independent fore/aft and side/side adjustments with just a few twists of your fingers but many of those cost half as much as this entire rig. So you have to keep things in perspective. The Test Drive The first thing I noticed when flying the rig was that it felt comfortable and solid. Even after flying for about an hour straight I can’t say that I experienced any back strain or fatigue beyond any other front mounted rig I’ve flown. Despite the 93 degree weather we were experiencing on the day I decided to shot some test footage I was happy with the rigs overall performance considering it’s cost. The arm felt a little on the spongy side and has a strong tendency to return to its center after booming. But again, for the cost of this rig, that is entirely understandable. You just can’t expect to get the silky smooth operation you get from a G-50 arm in a rig under $2K. Having said that though I don’t think you could find another arm in this price range that would perform as well as this one does From an operational point of view, I found that letting my right arm take about 15% of the sleds weight by detuning the springs a bit and keeping a firm grip on the gimbal handle smoothed out the tendency for the arm to pogo or bounce. This may add a little to the fatigue factor but nothing I would consider unreasonable unless you were shooting for more than an hour or so straight.

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One thing I was not pleased with was the arms inability to rotate further than about 45° to the right of center. This is caused by the arms offset connection to the vest and as a result the arm backs into the hip padding/straps and cannot rotate further. The picture to the right illustrates the arm rotated to its full clockwise extent. The fact that the connection block is angled about 22° to the right of the front vest plane is also a contributing factor to this problem.

The Test Footage The test footage was shot in two segments with Part I being some relatively unentertaining shots around the front of my house in order get a feel for the rig and Part II was done at a local skate park in an effort to evaluate the practical application of the stabilizer. In Part I the attempt was made to try a number of different shooting scenarios or movements – fast to slow, slow to fast, booming shots, pans, tracking, walking, running, etc. This was the first time flying the fully configured rig and allowed me a little time to get familiar with its feel and operation. Part II of the test footage was a little practical application of the rig shot at a neighborhood skate park. Absolutely no forethought had been put into shooting at this location, it was just a snap decision, but I figured there would be an abundance of moving subjects to choose from. Well, there was plenty to shoot of course but I hadn’t anticipated the effort it takes to keep pace with somebody on wheels when your on foot carrying an extra 20 lbs+. Add to that 93° of heat and humidity you could cut with a knife and you have the makings for one heck of a workout. No attempt was made to keep my shadow out of the frame or anything else for that matter. After all this is only test footage. Frankly, after sweating about 2 gallons I was just happy to have survived the day! Here are the links to the test footage: Highband - 41 MB (Windows Media Video 9) http://www.hbsboard.com/online_media/IIa_test_footage_768k.wmv Lowband - 20 MB (Windows Media Video 9) http://www.hbsboard.com/online_media/IIa_test_footage_384k.wmv Image Gallery A gallery of detailed images of the Magiqcam IIa is located here: http://www.hbsboard.com/online_media/magiqcam_IIa_images/index.htm

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Conclusion The Magiqcam IIa, although it may lack some of the advanced features and user-friendly adjustments of the pricier rigs, is a fine stabilizer for lightweight cameras and performs extremely well for its price. In my opinion I think you would be hard pressed to find a brand new, body-mounted stabilizer, with the performance and features of the Magiqcam IIa for under $2000.00 anywhere. If you are seriously shopping for a stabilizer and your budget is under 2k then this rig is very much worth consideration. Once again I have to stress it’s all about, price, price, price. It would be futile to compare the performance of the Magiqcam IIa to that of a $6,000 – $10,000 rig. If looking at airplanes how could you fairly compare a Cessna 172 performance to a Learjet 45? Their just two different classes of aircraft. As a final word I think it’s important to mentioning a little about the Magiqcam’s maker, Animagique. Based in Paradise California, Animagique is a 5-year-old company owned and operated by John and Kelly Gardner. John’s background is in mechanical effects fabrication for the film industry and also as an aircraft mechanic. John and Kelly are both very nice people that are easy to deal with and happy to answer any questions you may have. And, from my experience, they are very accessible and willing to make you happy with their product. Great customer service by helpful knowledgeable people is a rarity these days and it’s great to have when you purchase a piece of equipment like this. In addition Animagique is constantly making design improvements to their products based on customer feedback and have recently released a new stabilizer, the Magiqcam 2p, with a 4 spring arm designed for up to 20 lb loads. At an introductory price of only $2,450 the 2p has many professional features including a fully adjustable socket block and donkey boxes top and bottom. Be sure to have a look at that one! For more information visit please www.magiqcam.com or contact Animagique at [email protected] or phone (530) 872-7647. Reviewed by Kevin Clark for www.HBSboard.com


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