Here is my DIY figrig solution...it rocks

HappyGobo said:
I was talking to this guy, who no doubt has a quality product despite its dubious marketability.



EDIT: Ah but I misunderstood--he does not in fact sell any variant of the Fig Rig, just a way to mount the rig to a tripod. I question the neccessity of this as well but I'm sure some would find it useful.
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The advantages people will find with this will make your Fig Rig useability more, well, usefull. Users have requested different things from Bogen for the Fig Rig yet I have been the only company to respond and pull through with flying colors. Even Bogen loves the Quick-Base.
 
The Quick-Base is a stand alone docking station for the Fig Rig. You simply just set the Fig Rig in the base like pen in a pen holder. Quiet, easy, fast, quick, solid and best of all, you can either set it on a flat surface, any light baby or c stand, and now mount it on your favorite fluid head. No need to purchase little items anymore, no headaches. Just results, the ones that real shooters are looking for.

Keep in mind that the Fig Rig is always ready to just pick up and shoot without unlocking anything, and this adds no extra weight to the rig.

Try it, you'll like it. Contact me for a free demo in person if you're in the LA area.
 
It is a great Idea, and well thought out J. I myself want my bag of goodies to be as light and small as possible. However that would make for a more comfortable day of filming.
 
Well, I am just back from a shooting in another beach town in Brazil.

Unfortunately I couldn't cure the bugs in my figrig, so I didn't take it.

The main problem I have found is the camera fixing arrangement. Even if you use a quick release system, the original DIY design supports the camera literally on a screw. The area is too small.

As I imagined, I don't think that's good enough, and it does need a more solid supporting base.

I think there should be an aluminum/acrylic plate, bolted to the figrig and secured by two inverted T junctions, with a separate short screw + guiding pin between these junctions for the camera. What do you think?
 
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Carlos, see if you can find something like this flange, either in metal (if the threads will match) or in PVC. It should screw onto the pvc pipe and has holes to secure a plate or board to it.
 
jmc said:
Carlos, see if you can find something like this flange, either in metal (if the threads will match) or in PVC. It should screw onto the pvc pipe and has holes to secure a plate or board to it.
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Unfortunately my pvc options over here are very limited, as well as the parts. E.g. No threaded junctions here, except if you do the thread yourself.

That's why I am thinking of using two inverted Ts to hold a plate.
 
HappyGobo said:
It's a bobcat actually if I'm not mistaken.

Something I've been wondering about these...do you hold the rig with two hands on either side, or with one hand at the top so that the camera acts as its own stabilizing weight? Or is it either depending on the result you're looking for? If that's the case, what's the difference in the footage with each grip?
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In my experience, holding it at the top and letting the camera weight hang down, combined with pretty much any movement, results in a swinging pendulum effect... undesireable.

Grips at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions seems to work best for me, chest level... and every now and then I will lower it to low level and hold it by the top (for a short time) ... and every now and them, a grip on the bottom base, raising it up with the ol' "Human Crane" technique. Im 6'4", so I sometimes get good effect (if not the steadiest).

I love it for events where you do not have the time to move around with a tripod.

J
 
Kdawg said:
Here is a pic of mine. It has a walnut platform with a $3 window sash routed in for the quick release mount.

Fig.jpg
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How does the window sash thing work? Can you give us a few closeups without camera, so I can see it.. hell, I can run a router, and wood is cheap!

J
 
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Here is a small sketch I made (forgive the powerpoint artwork) of an idea to put more lights on my rig. From the events that I have covered, a big problem is poor lighting as you travel around a ballroom or conference room.

I really wanted to make it an LED solution, as it is both electrically frugal, light to carry and cooler to the touch. I see alot of R/C batteries at Radio Shack, one option,.. or a really cheap rechargeable power tool, either a drill battery or a cordless screwdriver. This should power the LEDs for a good, long time, plus you could carry a spare charged battery in your hip pocket.

Give me any feedback. I don't have the electrical expertise to do this yet, but am reading up to try and figure it out. I think I can wing the rest of it.

One more note.. a lens controller is a MUST.. my video looks great, till I move my hand away to the camera to hit REC or to controll the zoom.. then, shake city! A LANC would go miles toward making it useable.


Joseph
 
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I don't see your sketch JoeDawn. I will try to post some pics this afternoon of the window sash. My tripod is not a bogden, so its a different mount.
 
Kdawg said:
I don't see your sketch JoeDawn. I will try to post some pics this afternoon of the window sash. My tripod is not a bogden, so its a different mount.
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Sorry, realized I didn't attach it about 10 miliseconds after hitting the "send" button.

:-) Mea Culpa!
 
looks like a good solution. I may have to give that a shot myself :) The battery at the bottom should balance it pretty well. Stinkin leds and all the mathmatical figuring around them! Let me know if you have any luck with it.

And yes, you need a varizoom remote. I got one just for the figrig.
 
TeamJoeDawn said:
Is this the DIY thread, or marketplace?

I do get a little tired of people promoting their products in the wrong section.

Sorry, but I had to say it.


J
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It is and I did do this myself which is now for sale on the market place. The items the other cat was refering to are the red clamps from bogen which are not DYI. Hope that clears things up for you.
 
Here's my try at it. I've seen a lot of people using PVC, I wanted something with a bit more rigidity and professional look. Originally I went to a junk yard and got a 20" steering wheel off a big truck, it was pretty heavy and seemed to pose more challenges of attaching the cross bar. Instead I used 3/4" EMT (conduit) and made a jig to bend it. I took some time to measure the camera and get the lens exactly in the center of the circle.

• Made a jig:
I Cut a 16" circle (found an interesting way to do it on a table saw here) Originally I was going to use 1" EMT, but wasn't sure how hard it would be to bend. Also, it wold be a bit heavier. The 3/4" bent fairly easy, just took some jimmying to get it to stay in the jig and adjusting for the overlap

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• Bending it all the way around was a bit of a challenge, had to lift up my circle a bit so that the EMT could overlap

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• I placed a curved piece of 1/2" EMT inside the seam and drilled a hole through both and bolted the ends together (I later realized that I could use the same holes to bolt the cross bar)

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• Added some 1 1/2" angle iron. Had a few pieces of 1/4" aluminum cut to raise up my quick release adapter (needed space to move release lever)

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• Detail of the bolted together pieces:

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• Painted it fat black and added some bike handlebar wrap

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• And the finished piece with an HVX. Now I'm getting started on making a couple remotes for zoom/start stop on one side and focus/iris on the other.

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I did some testing today and it works like a charm. It had a bit of flex in the cross bar when I first had it roughed together, but now it's rock solid. I'm sure its a bit heavier than the real deal, but it's around 4-5lbs. All together with the camera on the unit the total weight is 9.5lbs. I'll try to get a better idea of cost in the coming days, I had the EMT already, but I know they are about $7 for a 10' length. The angle iron was about $7 or 8. Bike grip $15. The hardware, maybe another $8 total since I was trying to get exact sizes and head types to minimize bulk and to countersink. Some machine screws I could only find in stainless steel which is quite a bit more than regular zinc plated. Well, I hope this was helpful. Thanks for all those before me on there for the ideas. I'll keep you posted with test footage and such.
 
Nice job, seems like a lot of work to ge through when you can get the real deal for about $225 and it's a real piece of gear. For me the issue here is weight more then looks as yours looks great.

Will it fit in the Quick-Base Universal?
 
Hello All,

I'm new here and actually learned a ton just by reading through this DIY fig rig design ideas. I ended up making one too, a bit of a make shift design but have had awesome results for very little time and money. (obviously the most expensive part was the quick release plate.

I was concerned initially about the weight of the camera, but since I used a thicker PVC (though slightly heavier) it seems rock solid. Here are some photos...

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Anyway, thanks so much for all the great ideas!

David in Minnesota
 
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Carlos- did you ever come up with a solution to your problem? Minndavid- have any footage that was shot with the rig? Lots of good ideas on here.
 
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