F55: A new baseplate/shoulder-mount option for the F3, F5 and F55

Grug

Grug

Veteran
Hi guys,

I've just posted this up in the 'Support' forum, but I figure since it's been designed with the F3 in mind in particular - I'd post it up here as well. This is an annoucement I’d hoped to make some time ago, but production on a feature film I was lensing got in the way.

So without further ado, I’d like to proudly announce the result of a collaboration between myself and the remarkable Brian Berkey of Berkey System: The Berkey System Dreamsmiths Baseplate:

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The baseplate is a compact, lightweight, low-cost and near universal solution for providing adjustable 15mm rod support, tripod-mounting and shoulder-mounting options for digital cameras.

Late last year I came to Brian with the design for the baseplate, after having had a great deal of success configuring and then reconfiguring a bunch of his parts to a variety of different camera setups. It struck me that the quality and versatility of the Berkey components would make them ideal for unified baseplate setup, if I could just get a top plate that would allow all of the components to be held together. Brian liked the design and the idea, and after just a couple of prototypes we had the solution.

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The prototype plate in these pictures features fixed mounting holes, but the production version will feature a sliding mounting hole to provide the ability to mount a variety of cameras to the baseplate. From the Sony F3 to the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and the Panasonic AF100.

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Pricing is tentative at the moment, but the Berkey System Dreamsmiths Baseplate should cost about $155 for the top plate (if you want to add it to existing components or configure it to your own needs), or about $495 for the complete assembly shown here with dual Quad Blocks and Shoulder-Pad.

For more photos and a full rundown on what the new baseplate can do, please take a look at my latest post over at The Forge.

For anyone interested in the baseplate, you can contact Brian directly at: bberkey@berkeysystem.com or you can reach me at: mark@dreamsmiths.com.au and I can forward your details on.

Cheers,

Mark Kenfield
 
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Out of interest, when you unclip the camera from the tripod and just want to put in on the ground while you reposition, which bit of the base does it rest on?
 
In the F3 setup pictured above, the weight distribution puts the centre of gravity almost directly over the bottom plate - so on a flat surface it rests on the Manfrotto quick-release plate I have attached to the bottom. However I generally prefer more points of contact than that, so I've found that most of the time, I prefer to tip the camera slightly rearwards so that it rests on the rear edge of both the bottom plate and the shoulder pad.

If your weight distribution wasn't as equal as my setup above (i.e. you had a big v-mount battery hanging off the rear, or a big zoom lens hanging off the front) then you'll probably find the baseplate wants to rest tilted either forward (on the front edge of your bottom plate and rails) or backward (on rear edge of the bottom plate and shoulder pad).

To date, I've never had the camera tip over on me whilst resting on a table or on the ground. So it's pretty stable.
 
There's actually two ways to get rails out the back of the baseplate. The first is to simply attach a counter-bored 'Ultra Light Rail Block' to the rear end of the top plate (there are pre-drilled holes for just that purpose, you can see them in the top two photos) and mount your rods from there.

The second option would be to build a slightly different version of the baseplate; where instead of getting the regular shoulder pad, you use the 'CineCity Shoulder Pad' instead (or any clip-on or pass-through shoulder pad, for that matter - it doesn't have to be a Berkey System one), and simply run longer rods through the Quad Blocks so that you have the desired amount of rail protruding from the rear of the baseplate.
 
Berkey reports this will work with the F3 only. They said the F5/F55 won't work on this plate because the F5/F55 has totally different screw hole locations on the bottom of the camera for mounting to the baseplate.
 
Skip Brand said:
Berkey reports this will work with the F3 only. They said the F5/F55 won't work on this plate because the F5/F55 has totally different screw hole locations on the bottom of the camera for mounting to the baseplate.
Click to expand...

Hi Skip,

As I mentioned in the OP, the prototype plate above has fixed holes spaced just for the F3, the production version of the plate should have a sliding screw that will allow multiple cameras to be mounted. I'm picking up an F55 for a weekend shoot today, so I'll confirm the mounting hole alignment then and get back to you.

Cheers,

Mark
 
Whoops, never quite got around to updating this. Mounting hole alignment wasn't a problem, but it turned out the rod adjustment on the baseplate tops out 2mm shy of being able to achieve proper 15mm rod alignment with the F5/F55. So I can only confirm it's compatibility with the F3, AF100 and Blackmagic Cinema Camera at this stage.

Brian has however, already developed a new baseplate for the F5 and F55 operating off a similar concept (which whilst not as modular, is considerably more compact): http://www.berkeysystem.com/store/sony-pmw-f5-and-pmw-f55/sony-pmw-f5-pmw-f55/ it looks pretty great to me.
 
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