FS7: Another Baseplate/Shoulder pad/Rig thread for FS7 thread

Yeah going to say.. I really doubt I could ever do that..! kudos.. I wondered if you were like left handed.. or what that word is for being able to use both ..
 
I'm pretty twisted! Left with a pen - right with tennis - left eye to the finder - goofy steadicam - right hand on the Les Paul
 
Finally got my rig figured out and pieced together. Haven't put it through any real shoots yet, but it's just about ready. The one part that hasn't arrived yet is this handle for the left-hand side to make gripping and setting the rig down easier. It's not light, but it feels balanced and provides easy access to all controls on the side of the camera body.


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I'm of the same mind as some here about giving some support to a 70-200mm f/2.8 to protect the E-mount/camera body from getting bent (a $40 lens support being cheap insurance against damage). So, I'm looking for a lightweight rail solution for tripod use that will also transfer quickly to a good shoulder pad (I'm not a fan so far of the stock shoulder "pad" on the camera).

I noted Ben Scott's setup:


06-30-2015 08:28 AM
Not a fan of the VCT-14 plate for such a small camera but aside from that I use the extension unit loads, use left hand focus/follow focus, use a 7Q and use the Wooden Camera baseplate with rosettes plus Zacuto QR should er paid with rail attachment.

And finally ditched the grip for a set of in expensive Smallrig rosette handles and dogbones.


​
Click to expand...

... but I don't find a Wooden Camera baseplate that has rosettes. Also, I'd rather not spend more than I have to; however, that Zacuto QR pad, with its ergonomic angle, looks light and comfortable.

So ... does anyone here know if the Shape lightweight baseplate would attach to the Zacuto QR shoulder pad, and if I would need any special hardware between them?

Thx,
S
 
Just about to start cleaning the camera post long sweaty shoot and took some pics.

There's another setup using the Extension unit and v-lock batteries plus mattebox, follow focus and Odyssey 7Q, but this is the smallest and most lightweight setup I often use.

Sony FS7 - Lightweight 'run and gun' setup by Ben Scott, on Flickr

Sony FS7 - Lightweight 'run and gun' setup by Ben Scott, on Flickr

Sony FS7 - Lightweight 'run and gun' setup by Ben Scott, on Flickr

Sony FS7 - Lightweight 'run and gun' setup by Ben Scott, on Flickr
 
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^Nice simple rig. The way way they should all be. I just use a shoulder pad rather than on the rig, but otherwise will be building a similar thing with the shape lightweight plate instead of the wooden camera one (they look nearly identical). What's the handle setup you have there?
 
Thanks. It was important to be light but not compromise. This is very comfy. Re the handle, I took off the sony rod with comedy oversized mic mount that doesn't fit anything, and replaced it with a Smallrig rod that has mounting threads on it, and so now on the right hand side I have a cold shoe adapter that I can put a proper mic suspension mount in when I need it. A side benefit is it cuts the overall camera height by a far bit too which helps with storage and transportation.
 
Ben - am I seeing some vintage DSLR lens on your pics? Which exactly lens is it? I'm asking as I have a nice collection of Canon FDs and was wondering how would FS7 do in 4K with those...
 
I have the Shape lightweight plate and really like the idea of that Zacuto shoulder pad I'm not sure its worth an extra $500 plus terrible Canadian exchange rate. Although you can't put a price on comfort if it really does the job.

Right now I have been switching between a shape shoulder baseplate and the lw baseplate depending on shooting style. The idea of being able to just pop off the pad and using the lighter base is tempting.
 
So, after four months with the FS-7, I am now spending two weeks in Osaka, Japan shooting for a feature documentary. After trying numerous different setups, and gradually evolving the accessory arsenal, I'm now pretty happy that things are working nicely for my needs.

Here's the basic setup:

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IMG_8993.jpg

Items included:

Tamron 24-70mm F2.8 VC (go to obs doc lens, complemented by Canon 16-35 F2.8, 24-105 F4, 28-300 F3.5-5.6, Nikon 50mm F1.4, 55mm F3.5 Macro, 105mm F2.5, Samyang 14mm F2.8)
Metabones Speedbooster Ultra
Zacuto VCT plate + VCT tripod plate
Zacuto GHD (have function buttons mapped to native, +1, and +2 Slog3-LC709A LUTs)
Zacuto Axis Mini EVF mount (attached directly into the FS-7 rod-mount, thanks to the thumb-knob / allen-bolt replacement suggested by someone very smart - though I can't find the post again to credit fully!)
Zacuto Z-Drive follow focus (with Tornado, but only used rarely, as it's too large to be convenient, or put down flat)
Zacuto Zonitor ENG Small Kit (to support the sony LCD, very useful for walk and talk and director's monitor)
Zacuto Rosette Minimount (for grip-to-rails relocation, plus handy 28-300mm lens support).
Shape Top Plate (mounting coldshoe for ambient mic cradle, and the Zacuto magic arm)
Shape handle extension
Ambient Tiny Mic (LOVE this mic, very small, very sensitive, very directional, only phantom power needed, AND same price as an NTG-4)
Sennheiser G3 radio mics x2 (soon to upgrade one to the new Senny AVX-MKE2 diversity mics - sound brilliant).

Some notes:

We are often following two main characters, and our crew unfortunately doesn't include a sound person, so I needed the ability to take 2x radio mics plus the shotgun into the cam. Hence I bought the Sony XLR K1M. I went for the K1M instead of the K2M because I wanted to be able to rig the unit somewhere other than directly onto the MI shoe, where it seemed pretty unwieldy. I'm still working to put it into a more compact position (probably right behind the top handle, where the extension until dock is), but haven't yet got the right rigging apparatus. Main annoyance with this setup is how far the shotgun XLR jack sticks out, need to swap that for a right-angle jack ASAP).

Here's the setup with the K1M in place, arm extended, and 2x radio mics attached:

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As you can see, to keep the footprint as small as possible, I'm attaching the Senny receivers directly to the body and shape arm. I'm using heavy duty self-adhesive velcro, which I was worried about at first. However, having been bustling around town for a week through busy streets, taxis and public transport (carrying with a shoulder strap, no camera bag), they've yet to budge at all, and so I'm pretty pleased with the arrangement. It also has the advantage of keeping the ariels more or less vertical for improved reception vs. conventional cold-shoe horizontal placement. I'm putting the 2x radios into channel 1&2, and the shotgun into the K1M. This is because the K1M sadly introduces a tangibly raised noise floor vs. the internal inputs, and I figure the ambient shotgun will tend to be less critical (with more ambient noise anyway).

Here's a detail of the velcro placement on the camera body and radio receiver:

IMG_8994.jpg

Anyways, quite a lot of expense over the original camera, but benefitted from the Zacuto GHD + VCT bundle deal. Would love to be able to have LUTs on the LCD as well as in the GHD, but as I'm shooting in Custom (with Matrix turned OFF - thanks VERY much @starcentral for pointing that out), I can't have that. Just keep the s*%tty Sony WFM on the LCD and judge with that.

Slightly off topic, but wanted to mention it here anyway, I'm finding that the 14 stops allow me to almost consistently overexpose by 1 or even 2 stops in all but the most contrasty scenes. I'm getting super-clean footage as a result and only feel confident doing it so much thanks to the aforementioned Native, +1, +2 LUT setup in the GHD.

Also, just want to make a MASSIVE shout out to @cameramanben Ben Turley for his AMAZINGLY useful LUTcalc, without which I don't think I'd be getting on as well with the FS-7 as I am!

Anyway, that's my LONG assed kit rant over and done with. Any questions or suggestions welcome. :-D

- jason
 
Oh, I'm envious! Osaka Japan? I have friends living there in Ibaraki. Hoping to visit and scout around for real estate in northern/upper east regions (Iwate) area. Japan is the future of video tech.. they had HDTV years before American's even heard the acronym. Sony's HiVision 32 megapixel video system, in cooperation with NHK Television, have set the bar to incredible heights. They have a 400 seat demo theater with 36 channel surround audio that is said to be spectacular.
I'm sure one day my FS7 will feel right at home there.
 
jasonbrooks said:
So, after four months with the FS-7, I am now spending two weeks in Osaka, Japan shooting for a feature documentary. After trying numerous different setups, and gradually evolving the accessory arsenal, I'm now pretty happy that things are working nicely for my needs.

Here's the basic setup:

View attachment 104619
View attachment 104620
View attachment 104621
View attachment 104622
View attachment 104623

Items included:

Tamron 24-70mm F2.8 VC (go to obs doc lens, complemented by Canon 16-35 F2.8, 24-105 F4, 28-300 F3.5-5.6, Nikon 50mm F1.4, 55mm F3.5 Macro, 105mm F2.5, Samyang 14mm F2.8)
Metabones Speedbooster Ultra
Zacuto VCT plate + VCT tripod plate
Zacuto GHD (have function buttons mapped to native, +1, and +2 Slog3-LC709A LUTs)
Zacuto Axis Mini EVF mount (attached directly into the FS-7 rod-mount, thanks to the thumb-knob / allen-bolt replacement suggested by someone very smart - though I can't find the post again to credit fully!)
Zacuto Z-Drive follow focus (with Tornado, but only used rarely, as it's too large to be convenient, or put down flat)
Zacuto Zonitor ENG Small Kit (to support the sony LCD, very useful for walk and talk and director's monitor)
Zacuto Rosette Minimount (for grip-to-rails relocation, plus handy 28-300mm lens support).
Shape Top Plate (mounting coldshoe for ambient mic cradle, and the Zacuto magic arm)
Shape handle extension
Ambient Tiny Mic (LOVE this mic, very small, very sensitive, very directional, only phantom power needed, AND same price as an NTG-4)
Sennheiser G3 radio mics x2 (soon to upgrade one to the new Senny AVX-MKE2 diversity mics - sound brilliant).

Some notes:

We are often following two main characters, and our crew unfortunately doesn't include a sound person, so I needed the ability to take 2x radio mics plus the shotgun into the cam. Hence I bought the Sony XLR K1M. I went for the K1M instead of the K2M because I wanted to be able to rig the unit somewhere other than directly onto the MI shoe, where it seemed pretty unwieldy. I'm still working to put it into a more compact position (probably right behind the top handle, where the extension until dock is), but haven't yet got the right rigging apparatus. Main annoyance with this setup is how far the shotgun XLR jack sticks out, need to swap that for a right-angle jack ASAP).

Here's the setup with the K1M in place, arm extended, and 2x radio mics attached:

View attachment 104624
View attachment 104625
View attachment 104626
View attachment 104627

As you can see, to keep the footprint as small as possible, I'm attaching the Senny receivers directly to the body and shape arm. I'm using heavy duty self-adhesive velcro, which I was worried about at first. However, having been bustling around town for a week through busy streets, taxis and public transport (carrying with a shoulder strap, no camera bag), they've yet to budge at all, and so I'm pretty pleased with the arrangement. It also has the advantage of keeping the ariels more or less vertical for improved reception vs. conventional cold-shoe horizontal placement. I'm putting the 2x radios into channel 1&2, and the shotgun into the K1M. This is because the K1M sadly introduces a tangibly raised noise floor vs. the internal inputs, and I figure the ambient shotgun will tend to be less critical (with more ambient noise anyway).

Here's a detail of the velcro placement on the camera body and radio receiver:

View attachment 104628

Anyways, quite a lot of expense over the original camera, but benefitted from the Zacuto GHD + VCT bundle deal. Would love to be able to have LUTs on the LCD as well as in the GHD, but as I'm shooting in Custom (with Matrix turned OFF - thanks VERY much @starcentral for pointing that out), I can't have that. Just keep the s*%tty Sony WFM on the LCD and judge with that.

Slightly off topic, but wanted to mention it here anyway, I'm finding that the 14 stops allow me to almost consistently overexpose by 1 or even 2 stops in all but the most contrasty scenes. I'm getting super-clean footage as a result and only feel confident doing it so much thanks to the aforementioned Native, +1, +2 LUT setup in the GHD.

Also, just want to make a MASSIVE shout out to @cameramanben Ben Turley for his AMAZINGLY useful LUTcalc, without which I don't think I'd be getting on as well with the FS-7 as I am!

Anyway, that's my LONG assed kit rant over and done with. Any questions or suggestions welcome. :-D

- jason
Click to expand...


Wow you got everything strapped on there .. any comments on the Grat VF.. some people seem very disappointed yet others rave about it.. how do you manage to monitor sound.. presume the radio mics are hidden.. and do your day job.. i.e. be the DP :).. must be tough.. if there is clothes/wind rustle is that considered something you should flagged up at the time..?
 
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