A little Edelkrone pocket rig demonstration

K

Kennethp

Member
Hi all
I just bought the edelkrone pocket rig, and by requst I've made a little demonstration video
It's not quite a review, but at least it's some real footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEVvXySO_mc

The good things are quite obvious, and the bad, after a couple of days with it, are mentioned in the
video. the hinge for instance is quite cumbersome.

I did'nt do a fully thought through demonstration :) but at least its some footage for you guys.

I'm using it with the Gh2 and various lenses, it gives good support, but are heavy on the forearms. I will buy some rod handles, I think it could help quite a bit. But you can't run around doing real long footage as your arms will get tired. It can not replace a 'real' shoulder rig. But it's real handy allways to have stabilisation (and rods) with you. The arm can (not with a quick release plate) be turned vertical so it can be used as a small table tripod, or a belt clip (with the hinge), but I'm worried that the hinges friction will become loose, so you should allways bring a allen screw (3 different sizes to be sure).

The screw/knob locking mechanism on the arm works good as long as you dont unscrew them to much, if you do it will fall off whens it's being pulled out. But if you don't unscrew them enough it will have trouble sliding out when being pulled. Just have to find the balance. When the arm is pulled out, you have to tighten the knobs quite a bit if you don't want them to come loose when force is being applied from the shoulder. This, for me, has resulted, as you can see in the video, in marks and scratches on the arm. I don't know if it's a problem, but I was quite surprised when i found out. Think they should have figured out a more elegant locking solution.

I've tried to use it with a 323 quick release underneth on a 701HDV head placed upon a glidetrack sd, seemed to work pretty well using a rubber band :)

I'm waiting on a cheap fotga follow focus, then i'll try to buld a small rig with a little monitor aswell, that'll be fun :)

If you got any questions about the unit, fire away!


Kind regards from Denmark
Kenneth
 
Thanks for this, tho commentary over the jazz would have been good, don't worry about your accent, your English would be miles better than my Danish :)

That would individualise your vid and it goes a long way to making it different from everyone elses on the web.

Cheers.
 
As I use a follow focus (a Gigi iFocus which only attaches to 1 rod, not 2 rods) I was thinking that maybe something like this would be good (1 grip attached to 2 rods to give center stability with right hand while left hand is on the focus wheel):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Single-Fro...#ht_3484wt_982

The unit would also clamp the 2 rods together to give more strength.
 
Thank you all. I'm happy to help out!
Allan, you are quite right. I was the accent I was worried about, you're probably right about your danish skills :)

Simon, I think it would work real good! But i can't figure out if i want single or dual handles.
Single because of the simplicity, and because you would have you're other hand at the follow focus.
Dual handles because of all the weight being in front, and i think it would work ok with balance, when you're shifting from handle to FF.

I'm waiting on two of those:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290727385780?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648
The cheapest handles I could find, then i can try them in different positions.


Do you guys know of a small "matte box" to place on the rods only to block out light? Or are you using sunhoods directly on the lens?
 
I find that a matte box is too heavy for DSLR use.

After a lot of trial and error and research I found this to be the most practical and efficient solution for DSLR use:

I mainly use vintage Nikkor prime lenses on my Canon (using a Fotodiox EOS / F adapter). All the lenses terminate with different threads, so I have step up rings on all the lenses terminating in 58mm thread.

Then I have a 58mm Variable ND Filter (LightCraft Workshops) which terminates at 62mm thread.

So then I have 2 expandable Rubber Lens Hoods (1 at 58mm thread for indoor use, and 1 at 62mm thread for outdoor ND filter use).

I find that the above solution provides adequate ND control, and lens flare control for nearly all situations. Furthermore it is very lightweight for carrying on a simple rig, small for traveling with, and unobtrusive for filming in public. It should work well with the Pocket Rig as a small, practical solution, rather than a large heavy matte box.
 
Today my right rod came loose and fell off, to the ground, luckely there was nothing mounted. I don't know why it happened.
I used it last time yesterday everything was fine, then i ran out of battery and the P.R was dismounted from the camera and placed on a table overnight.
Today when i picked it up I noticed that it was loose but couldn't find my alan key, so i figured what the h.. I'll just tighten the screw later, but 1min. later when I was about to do a quickie(...) it fell off and went to the ground. Now I have to figure out how to get it back on. Shouldn't be a problem, but I dont think theese alan screws are the way to go! Bad Edelkrone!!
I should write them...

IMG_20120622_215555.jpg
 
I've received a mail from Edelkrone earlier today, they're writing that they've seen this thead and are willing to help me solve my problem. I'm hoping this will solve all my loose alen screw problems. I wonder what they are planning to do... :)
 
Mystery solved... I've got an 'old' unit. There has been an upgrade to the arm joint. Edelkrones support ROCK!
Thery are sending me a new joint, new alen screws, new rubber on the top. Upgraded parts, free of charge. Thank you!
But i must say that my local joint is a... why are they selling old models without informing their customers about it! Grrr!
Thank you Edelkrone!!
 
Last edited:
@Kennethp
Hi Kenneth, Just read your thread here after being in contact with Mert from Edelkrone.. As I can see we have done nothing wrong in selling you this Pocket Rig as we have never been informed by Edelkrone that there was an update, so calling us a piece of c. even before you have contacted us is not fair.. when I read your mail this morning, first thing I did was contacting Mert to hear what this story was about, and I was then told about the upgrade, and that he had already solved your case...

Well, to the rest of you.. Don't always believe what you first read...
 
Calm down. I didn't say your buisness name, so for your sake everything is fine.
And i have never said you have done anything wrong. I was just sad because the rig was coming apart. I didn't contact anybody. Edelkrone contacted me and said that there has been an update to the product and what they would send me the new parts. I, as a customer then feels that you as a buisness should have informed me that there has been an update to the product when i bought it. That you did not know about the update isn't really my problem, that should be up to your communications with edelkrone. I wrote a mail to you guys telling you about the upgrade as a gesture to you, so you could inform your future customers about it.
I'm sorry that I have upset you guys so much, that you needed to register here, send me private messages, and leave all those questionmarks behind. I hope this is answer enough!
 
Looks like the business might have gotten a little unhinged. Honestly, their response was a little screwy. They should try to unwind a little bit.

Anyway, I hope you all have a riveting day!
 
I See your point Kenneth, and I agree I was a little upset the day I wrote the post.... But the truth is that we became Edelkrone dealers like a lot of other dealers around the world, and after having spend money on marketing, Edelkrone suddently decide that will do all by them self, and no longer needed dealers..And therefore also not give any information about changes/updates...So we didn't really had any chance to know that there were made changes to the product..After reading this post I contacted Edelkrone and got updates for the rest of our rigs..

But Anyway.. If you are happy with the product as it is now, thats perfect, thats really in everyones interest
 
Alls well that ends well; at least everyone knows both sides of the story now.Kenneth; please let us know how the updated Pocket Rig performs for you, and whether the updates fix the specific issues that you had with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top