35mm adapter + dvx100a handheld???

B

BrianLehrer

Member
Hey guys, I have the dvx100a(my baby) and I'm going to get a 35mm adapter for it (either the Sgpro, Go-35, or the Brevis35) for work on my next project. Although I do use my tripod a good deal, I am a pretty run-n-gun shooter, and am used to getting good shots using my camera handheld. Now I know the 35mm adapter setup adds a good deal of weight and cumbersomeness(a word?) to the setup, I want to make a setup that is as handheld friendly as possible. so...
A. Which 35mm adapter setup is the most portable(and reachable for focusing-in case I dont get a follow focus), without sacrificing quality? pros and cons?
B. Rods suggestions?
C. Whats a good way to support this on my shoulder and what not ( I assume I can't hold all this crap). I've seen pics using the spiderbrace 2 which seem promising for a very good price. what do you think? Once again, how do I reach teh focus and stuff in such a case? can i support the setup and use one hand to focus at the end of the adapter?
D. To flip the image rightside up again (unless I can get the magnet trick to work, plus that sounds scary for my cam), Im getting the varizoom 7in monitor and i wanted a suggestion for an articulated arm to mount it on (in case I use the spiderbrace 2 so that the dvx sits to my side and the monitor is directly in front of me?

overall, just how can I manage to maintain some degree of handheld ease, with a decent level of quality and feasability?
your thoughts would be much appreciated. thanks
 
honestly, if you are going to be using a 35mm adapter I would say that you are not going to be able to do much "runing and gunning" as you say. Its going to add a good amount of weight to the front of your camera and trying to manage all your focus' and things are going to be very difficult w/o say, a focus puller or someone running with you.
As for a brace check B & H this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=3925&A=details&Q=&sku=283268&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation seems to be a pretty good deal and offers many features you may find useful, such as the fact that it has a built in battery slot for using Anton Bauer batteries, yes you will have to buy new batteriers but if you are getting serious about this then you should really consider it, not to mention the added back weight of the batter would help to compensate a bit for the added weight in front of your camera.

But like I said before you will probably need an external focus ring and that can also be found on B and H, this is going to make things a bit easier on you. You can also find monitors you can mount on the anton bauer brace as well.

Hope this helps any!
 
Not only is the Brevis more "run n' gun", but I also happen to like its image more than the SGpro and M2. Not that I have the money to buy one right now, but if I did I would buy the Brevis without hesitation. You also don't need rail support with the Brevis (unless you're using a larger lens) unlike the other two.

As for shooting handheld with a 35mm adapter, it takes practice, but it can be done effectively. I built an adapter a couple years ago and for the first few weeks my footage was upside down and mirrored, but I still managed. You shouldn't have a problem.

Hope this helped.
 
very much great, brevis does look prety awesome, curious, wat would u consider a larger lens in need of rails? caz if i could, i would love to be able to shoot without rails(less weight). id love to be able to hold the camera with one hand and focus with the other. possible? i dunno
 
Zoom lenses are where you run into weight issues. My reccomendation would be to go for a prime lense. Popular choices: 24mm, 50mm, 85mm. I have just the 50mm 1.4 and that's all I need. You can start with one and slowly add to your collection. You can find old canon and nikon lenses on ebay.
 
Adapters.

I use a Letus 35 flip when running and gunning. Never had a problem while using it . Although you must leave enough time for the proper setup. Every adapter must be setup and lens' cleaned. There's just more surfaces that can get dust on them... More so on the flip with it's 4 mirrors

Here's why and it applies to the other adapters as well. The unit is solidly attached to the camera... unlike early M2 versions.

As for light. If it's a situation where the light's low and you know it and you can't bring more light or you'll be rapidly loosing light ... leave your adapter off. Alla dapters loose light.

Magnets... not a problem, easy to do but even gaffed down they can slip...for running and gunning get a cam mounted monitor just to be safe.

Indirails or Cavision with longer rods

Don't know a thing about shoulder braces sory.


I made this video using an M2 run and gun... wide open f stop with all natural light

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r3uskSRVHs

Even with a 300 mm I could still operate alone.
 
The brevis is super easy to hold with your hand and shoot, i shot this with a GL2 within the first hour of getting the unit. Just pressed it into my hip and held the base with one hand, while the other hand gripped the front unit and lens to focus. (very easy!)

Ive gotten a lot better at keeping it still while shooting. The shots also look a lot better now that i have aligned the unit properly, but this shows what is possible with right out of the box and adapter no experience.

http://www.stickypod.com/videos/data/595/GL2_with_AE_compressed.mov
 
BrianLehrer said:
Whats a good way to support this on my shoulder and what not ( I assume I can't hold all this crap). I've seen pics using the spiderbrace 2 which seem promising for a very good price. what do you think? Once again, how do I reach teh focus and stuff in such a case? can i support the setup and use one hand to focus at the end of the adapter?
Click to expand...


DvRigPro HD​


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