Aftershock Inexpensive GH1 Shouldermount

[Gary Sconce]

We needed a shouldermount for Matt Sconce's new GH1 camera. I looked around for 15mm steel rail tubing to save money and found 15mm strong tubing from McMaster-Carr (item 50295K33, two meters of 15mm tube for $18.35 each plus shipping) at http://www.mcmaster.com

I was able to build this shouldermount for around $40, including the value of a broken HV30 Nikon lens adapter I found.

Today I finished: The shoulder mount, the platform for the camera, the lens brace, the matte box mount, the underside tripod mount, the microphone mount and the front handles. What you see in the photo still needs: All pieces drilled, fastening nuts welded on, tightening bolts with handles put on, a single underside handle mount, a variable height tail attachment to make the rig self-standing and able to shoot shots when set down and adjusted, and a top handle to carry/aim the rig. I will post close-ups of the parts after I find my battery charger for my camera that went dead on me. :cheesy:

Here is the first shot of the rig with GH1, follow focus and Matte box. I have one of the two short tubes under the tail end to elevate it for the pic. I have interchangably two 22" tubes for long lens rigs and two 11" tubes for standard lens rig. From left to right are: universal plate, handles, matte box mount, lens support mount, follow focus, tripod mount plate, camera mount box, shoulder extension, shoulder mount.

rogar-BigGrin(DBG) Best to you! -Gary

 

[Gary Sconce]

Here is the exact web page for the 15mm tubing. It was such a blessing to find tubing that was not an arm and a leg in cost. It is strong and has a smooth finish too.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#tubing/=6mm4fa

Go down lower on the page and you will see the 15mm size.

I will post a close up and how to on all parts over the next few weeks. Matt and I are getting ready for an ADR session for our feature film STRICKEN http://www.strickenthemovie.com in post production, so I will get to the build asap. :thumbsup:

 

[jonE5]

how heavy is this tubing compared to regular rails, or say Carbon fiber? How durable is it in comparison?

Good find and great fab work

 

[Gary Sconce]

how heavy is this tubing compared to regular rails, or say Carbon fiber? How durable is it in comparison?

Good find and great fab work

Carbon fiber is lighter, but I would say the steel from McMaster-Carr is stronger. The steel's weight is not much of a problem as the GH1 actually needs the addition of inertial weight for smooth shooting. I'll weigh the whole rig when I get all of the things painted. At $18 for 2 meters of 15mm tube, I can deal with a small amount of weight. :grin:

I drilled, welded fastening nuts (1/4" 20) and ground all the welds today. I finished the single handle optional attachment. All I have left is the rear mount on the tail for elevating the rig on the ground and the handle for the top. I will paint it on Wednesday hopefully, and then post a complete how to on the rig. It is turning out great.

:thumbsup:

 

[Gary Sconce]

Finished! Pics

Finished! Pics

I finished the rig. Here are the pics. I will do a complete build photo session with detailed instructions on each part hopefully tomorrow. This is the long rail version. You can see the dual front handles and also the single handle under the middle for stabilization during focusing. The matte box moves up and down six inches for variable rigs such as an HVX with Brevis or a RED one. Not shown is the lens support which also moves up and down six inches, the tail adjustment for elevating the tail for ground shots, and the handle on the top for carrying and flying the rig.

A more side view...

The camera box slides in both X and Z axes. The shoulder extension slides back from the camera box 8 inches and locks by a large bolt to the shoulder mount. Insice the camera box is a 4.5V or 9V battery case with an on off switch and a plug in for lights. Under the lens is a heavy duty mounting plate for going on a tripod head.

Here are two pics of how the rig is held with Director Matt Sconce holding his new toy. We will use this on a Ruff Productions short in May.

Frontal quarter view:

The short rail rig loses the center handle and uses 11" rail 15mm tubes instead of the 22" versions shown. Notice in the first two shots you can see the universal plate on the nose of the rails that can hold a light or the blimp with microphone slung underneath and between the front handles.

It was fun building a DSLR mount. Best ot you! -Gary :thumbsup:

 

[Gary Sconce]

Now for the build...

Now for the build...

Now time for the build. I found out a cool fact:

15mm steel tubing fits EXACTLY inside 1/2 inch thin wall steel electrical conduit! This gives you the ability to build sliding objects and also lock things into place easily. This is huge in the build of devices like this. Cylinders are extremely strong shapes and you can use dual cylinders for your sliders. Wonderful. :thumbsup:

Buy 15mm steel tubing from McMaster-Carr. (See above post for the exact web address.) Get the 2 meter long tube. Get a 10' length of 1/2 electrical conduit. You will also need around 24" of 1" square steel stock and 12" 3/8" square steel stock. These can be purchased at any industrial metal supplier for the cost of the weight of material. You will need a 4"x4" scrap of approximately 20 gauge sheet steel. A small cut section of a dead dryer or washer will be great.

Buy 1/4" 20 nuts and buy 1/2" long Allen wrench head 1/4" 20 bolts for fasteners. You will need: a pipe cutter, a drill, cut off wheel, grinder, MIG welder bench grinder and bench wire wheel.

The Camera Mount Box

I was lucky enough to find a broken HV30 handy 35 camera mount. This gave me an easy box for mounting the camera. You actually can easily do the same with the 1" square stock and the steel plate for the base plate and the 15mm tube inside the 1/2" tube for the shoulder mount slider.

Cut four 4" sections of the 1" square tube stock. Stack two on top of each other to create a 2" tall by 4" long piece. (See diagram)

You weld two stacks of the 1" stock together, then weld firm steel plate to the top. Weld 1/2" tubing into the rear of the top squares for the sliders for the 15mm tubing that will attach the shoulder mount. Weld 1/4" 20 nuts over drilled holes wherever you want to put in a 1/4" 20 allen bolt for locking down the sliding attachment. Put on whatever shoulder stock you have. I found mine as part of a steel table leg. It was previously bent stock. It fits fine.

My version used the already made box and I attached it to my square stock and plate only one 1" square tube high. My version already had the rear extensions for the shoulder mount attachment.

You drill two holes for the mounting of the slider plate (either Bogen 501 or similar). Grind your welds better than mine here. I ground mine later.

Here is my table leg shoulder mount. It actually is very comfortable. See how I used a 1" wide 3" x 3" 90 degree steel bracket for the straight part. For my version I used the existing mounting slide with locking nut. You can duplicate that with a piece of 1/2" electrical conduit welded on the back shoulder mount attachment and bolting on to the 15mm tubing that extends back from the camera box.

I will share the construction of the front end tomorrow. :thumbsup:

 

[Gary Sconce]

I used the follow focus to make sure the front rails were exactly 60mm from center to center. I built all of the attachments to the front rails while the rails were in the FF, so the fit is exact. When you weld your 1/2" steel tubes on underneath the camera box 1" square tubing use the 15mm tubes inserted into those tubes and in the FF mounting bracket to align those too.

So, to reprise:
1) You use 1" square tubing to make your camera mount box, welding two tall on both sides. You weld those two square stacks to a steel plate on the top both inside and outside the square tubing.
2) Drill the holes in the position you want to mount a bogen 501 or similar camera mount with sliding plate on the top. I prefer to mount the DSLR forward on the box so the lens can be completely accessed for removal and changes to Fstop.
3) Weld 1/2" steel tubing under the two stacks of 1" square tubing to make a receiver for the front 15mm rails. You MUST use a round file to take off the internal edge of the 1/2" tubing after cutting or the 15mm rails won't fit. Drill 1/4"+ holes into the sides of these and weld on 1/4" 20 nuts. These will allow you to use the 1/4" 20 bolts to lock down the 15mm rails you will insert here.
4) Weld 1/2" tubing inside the top 1" square stock in the back of the box with around one inch of that tubing sticking out. This will allow you to mount the shoulder mount extensions and have that area adjustable for length.
5) Construct a shoulder mount out of whatever bent stock you want to fit to your shoulder. I used a bend from an old metal table. Put on a 90 degree bracket of some sort to create a perpendicular attachment point for the shoulder mount extension 15mm tubes. This will all be removable later when you drill 1/4"+ holes and weld 1/4" 20 nuts onto the sides of the shoulder mount extension receivers. 1/4" 20 bolts here will lock these down.

You end up with the camera mount box something like this.

You would think that all of this would be very heavy, but it is not much material and is still relatively light in weight. The GH1, and Canon cameras are very light, so the inertial mass afforded by the mount will actually help you stabilize your shots.

FRONT END
Using the FF in place to guarantee I would get the perfect 60mm center to center tube position, I then started on the matte box mount. My matte box has been clunking around out movie storage room for a couple of years now and I don't even know what type it is. I decided to make a mount for it and save money by using it. I took 20 gauge sheet metal and, measuring the inside measurement of the filter box on the back of the matte box, determined that I could build a piece in a "U" shape to slide into one of the matte box slots, then slide the box onto the U. I cut out the U and then added material to the bottom of it to strengthen it so the matte box will not wiggle in use. I then cut slots into the top of a 6" piece of 15mm tubing and centered and welded the U on the tubing. I thought that 6 inches of travel will allow me to lift the matte box to any lens on any camera I may put on the camera mount box.

To mount the sliding 15mm tube with the matte box attachment on it, I first cut two 1 5/8" 1/2" steel tubes and filed off the internal rim. I slid these onto the two 15mm rails all the way to the FF so they were perfectly aligned at 60mm centers. I cut a piece of 3/8" square stock to fit across the gap between the two 1/2" tubes. I used a hand held grinder to grind the sides of the 3/8" square stock to fit the round sides of the two 1/2" tubes and then tack welded them in place. I moved this away from the FF so welding slag would not spray on it, and then set it into a vise and finish welded it. I put the new piece back on the 15mm rails and checked for fit. Welds will shrink and pull things together if you don't take your time and weld slowly in different parts to minimize shrinkage. I then cut another 3" piece of 1/2" tubing, filed the internal rim, and welded it perpendicularly to the inside of the 3/8" square stock. This tube will be the slider tube for the vertical movement of the matte box 15mm tube. Take care to get this absolutely vertical, as your matte box position must be absolutely straight up and down. Here is the matte box mounting slider.

You will then drill 1/4"+ (slightly larger than 1/4") holes on the sides of the parallel tubes and on the front of the vertical tube, weld on 1/4" 20 nuts and grind all your welds smoother. Paint flat black and put in 1/4" 20 allen bolts or if you want to spend the money, knobs on 1/4" 20 threads and your done with this part. If you look at the base of the matte box in this photo you will see the piece in position.

You repeat the same procedure for the lens holder, and just add a semicircle of metal stock to the top of the adjustable 6" 15mm tube that will brace under any long lens you place on the DSLR camera. Pad the top of the camera lens brace and leave anough stock on the sides of the lens brace piece to attach a velcro locking strap to firmly lock the lens and keep it from bouncing up and down.

Above you will see the lens brace in position.

Now we build the tripod mounting plate. You may want to just put the whole rig on a tripod without removing the lens and camera. You can quickly do this with a tripod mounting plate on your rails.

I used a previously constructed plate that I removed from my Hypercrane when I rebuilt its head. It was just a steel plate with 3/8" square stock welded on the sides for strength. You can see it is the same width as a bogen 501 mounting plate and it is 3" long. I mounted it on two 1/2" tubes, drilled 1/4"+ holes in the sides and welded on 1/4" 20 nuts, finally adding 1/4" 20 bolts to lock it on the rails. Here it is:

You repeat the same procedure with the universal mounting plate that you will later use for things like lights and the blimp and mike. You just make it shorted to whatever spec you want. I chose that plate to be 1 3/4" long. Here is the universal plate slider.

Drill, weld nuts, and paint all above and you can slide them on your rails. It will look like this:

In my next post I will show the construction of the control handles.

 

[Gary Sconce]

I found a steel brace for an office chair back, you know, the kind that you tighten at the bottom back of the chair to adjust the tension. I cut that in half and had the two arms for the front of the rig. You will see many adjustments on the retail versions of DSLR shoulder mounts, but in reality, once it is adjusted to your use you won't usually change the shape. Fixed but removable arms work great. I took a 2"x2" 90 degree piece of metal plate and welded the two 'arms' from the chair back brace symmetrically onto the angle stock. I then cut 2" sections of 1/2" tubing and, again using the FF for the exact size on the rails, tack welded the tubes onto the angle stock. Here is the view of all that welded together:

Another view:

I drilled 1/4"+ holes and then welded on 1/4" 20 nuts, and again used 1/4" 20 bolts to lock it onto the rails. This front handle set has real advantages as you can put it on backwards or forwards changing the angle of the handles at the bottom for comfort or a different feel.

When you take up one hand to turn on the camera, change the lens settings or to adjust the follow focus you have to hold near the front center of mass. This requires holding under the center of the rails or having a second single handle. I chose to provide an optional use central handle. I used two 1 3/4" 1/2" steel tubes, cut a piece of another 1/2" steel tube for the cross piece and then welded on a 8" slightly bent piece of 1/2" steel tubing for the handle. I drilled, welded a nut and painted the handle.

Another view:

I now have:
A box for mounting the camera and the 15mm rails of any length.
An adjustable rear extension for the shoulder mount.
A body shaped shoulder mount attachment.
A heavy duty tripod mounting plate.
A matte box slider that adjusts the matte box up and down.
A camera lens brace slider that can be adjusted up to any lens taking the load off the 4/3 mount.
A universal plate for mounting various other things like a light or mike.
A two handed handle attachment
A one handed handle attachment.

Not shown: A top handle yet to be finished. An adjustable rear foot that allows the camera mount to become a low to the ground tripod for ground shots.

Top view shows the front handle configuration:

I will post more when I finish anything else. I hope this helps some of you fabricators to save a load of money on this item. It actually was very easy to build and went together really fast. Tomorrow I will be building a 7' dual tripod mounted slider for a camera. Best to you all. --Gary

 

[Imaginate]

Gary you are an amazing craftsman! Thanks for sharing that with us... man that is so cool how you can imagine something and create it out of metal.

 

[DEPTH OF PHIL]

wow!!! good for you mate! very cool!

 

[Gary Sconce]

Gary you are an amazing craftsman! Thanks for sharing that with us... man that is so cool how you can imagine something and create it out of metal.

wow!!! good for you mate! very cool!

You are both very kind. Thanks. :smile:

 

[Troy Ruff]

WOW Gary, you have done it again, Always making great gear for us to play with, I cant wait to use it on my Next up and coming short "By Hook or Crook". Great job man!

 

[Gary Sconce]

WOW Gary, you have done it again, Always making great gear for us to play with, I cant wait to use it on my Next up and coming short "By Hook or Crook". Great job man!

Yeah, you will be the first to shoot with it! It is really comfortable and functional. Yay! rogar-BigGrin(DBG)