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

Danneskjold said:
The Zacuto Gratical Eye is a really solid piece of equipment. I love that the screen is roughly square allowing for a histogram and audio levels to be displayed below the image from the FS7 so as to not block anything. The build quality and screen is really nice and well built.
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The Gratical doesn't limit your shooting? How do you operate the camera with your face away from the VF? Since the Gratical does not flip open to allow remote viewing it seems it would be difficult to operate the camera with the camera held by the top handle ( as is often done for walking shots where you use your right arm as a sort of steadicam ) or held high over your head- a position I needed only yesterday when shooting NFL players involved in a pre-game huddle. When operating an F5 or F55 with the OLED vf- one that requires the monocular VF to be against your eye in order to view- I find that my shooting is more limited and as a result less creative.

Were I to purchase an F5 I would prefer the "lower" quality VF because it flips open for remote viewing while the higher-end OLED VF does not.

If I used the Gratical I would have to add a small on-board monitor. More weight, more cabling, more gack.
 
plasticam said:
That's elegant brother.
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"elegant"? Functional, yes. But "elegant"?

Rig2.jpg

For the shooting I do the problem with lens support is all the lens swapping I need to perform and the speed at which I need to perform the many lens swaps. That is why the beefier mount on the Fs7 II is much welcomed. With the new mount support for a lens such as the Canon 70-200mm is less needed and can more safely be done without for those who need to swap lenses frequently and quickly.
 
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JPNola said:
The Gratical doesn't limit your shooting?
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I would say 94% of my shooting I am just fine with the Gratical - 5% is when I am on a tripod and use a SmallHD monitor - the other 1% I have the Sony stock monitor as backup and I stick on the recoil handle (see photos). The Sony monitor is not the best, but it's small enough I can keep in a pouch on my belt and pull it out when needed. Only having to connect one cable is really nice, for sure.
 
Danneskjold said:
I would say 94% of my shooting I am just fine with the Gratical - 5% is when I am on a tripod and use a SmallHD monitor - the other 1% I have the Sony stock monitor as backup and I stick on the recoil handle (see photos). The Sony monitor is not the best, but it's small enough I can keep in a pouch on my belt and pull it out when needed. Only having to connect one cable is really nice, for sure.
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Not a bad idea! And it requires no battery power (the stock sony viewfiender/LCD)

I do find myself really wanting a gratical, but I also definitely shoot with the viewfinder flipped up a lot. perhaps because the loupe is so long though.... Maybe I should rent one? Why am I thinking while typing? so many questions...
 
The Gratical's exposure tools, & LUT support, are worth the added expense, but I'm still not happy with the mounting option I've come up with for running the FS7's LCD in tandem with the Eye while shooting handheld.
 
JPNola said:
For the shooting I do the problem with lens support is all the lens swapping I need to perform and the speed at which I need to perform the many lens swaps. That is why the beefier mount on the Fs7 II is much welcomed. With the new mount support for a lens such as the Canon 70-200mm is less needed and can more safely be done without for those who need to swap lenses frequently and quickly.
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I'm afraid the fact that FS7 II has an additional rotating lock does not mean the mount is necessarily stronger. More torque resistant - probably, yes, less play - yes. But it's the strength of the front wall of the camera to which the mount is attached to that matters, not the mechanics of the mount itself.
 
broughtonfilm said:
I'm afraid the fact that FS7 II has an additional rotating lock does not mean the mount is necessarily stronger. More torque resistant - probably, yes, less play - yes. But it's the strength of the front wall of the camera to which the mount is attached to that matters, not the mechanics of the mount itself.
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This quote from Newsshooter suggests that the redesign is more than simply an updated mount:

"The new locking ring lens mount is part of a whole new strengthened internal front that will support heavy cine lenses or ENG lenses. At the preview, Sony had a long B4 ENG lens hanging off the front of a FS7 II via a 16x9inc adapter, with no apparent flex in the mount. "

It would be interesting to hear the specifics from Sony. Maybe an owner of the Mark II can perform a dissection with a hacksaw in order to investigate the Fs7 Mk II's innards. 😜

Regardless, lens support is wise. But the down & dirty of real world shooting often makes lens support impractical.
 
JPNola said:
This quote from Newsshooter suggests that the redesign is more than simply an updated mount:

"The new locking ring lens mount is part of a whole new strengthened internal front that will support heavy cine lenses or ENG lenses. At the preview, Sony had a long B4 ENG lens hanging off the front of a FS7 II via a 16x9inc adapter, with no apparent flex in the mount. "

It would be interesting to hear the specifics from Sony. Maybe an owner of the Mark II can perform a dissection with a hacksaw in order to investigate the Fs7 Mk II's innards. ��

Regardless, lens support is wise. But the down & dirty of real world shooting often makes lens support impractical.
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Well, if that really is the case then that's great news!!!
 
JPNola said:
"elegant"? Functional, yes. But "elegant"?

View attachment 118509

For the shooting I do the problem with lens support is all the lens swapping I need to perform and the speed at which I need to perform the many lens swaps. That is why the beefier mount on the Fs7 II is much welcomed. With the new mount support for a lens such as the Canon 70-200mm is less needed and can more safely be done without for those who need to swap lenses frequently and quickly.
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That's a great rig to bring to one of those high profile corporate jobs ;) If it starts falling apart on you, you can always send a PA to get replacement parts from a corner hardware store. This IG feed has lots of ideas: https://www.instagram.com/s*%ttyrigs/?hl=en BTW, I really am a big lover of it, so no disrespect.
 
Bern Caughey said:
Vocas introduce new Sony FS7 II rigs
by Dan Chung

http://www.newsshooter.com/2017/01/25/vocas-introduce-new-sony-fs7-ii-rigs/
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I really like the sliding fs7 baseplate they have there. I've got sony's baseplate for the fs7 and while it's the most comfortable on the shoulder that I could find, I'm less than pleased with it's overall mounting to the camera. It requires removal of the original mini shoulder pad, and mounts to the camera in two pieces, which allows the front (rosettes and rods and v lock portion of the baseplate) to "wiggle" a little and then matte box will be off by a little bit and require adjustment. Typically i use DSLR lenses and a universal matte box donut so it's not an issue, but when I've been on film sets with my gear using large barrel primes it's required paper tape or a quick adjustment with a screwdriver *and those little dang screws are easy to strip or almost strip yeeesh).
 
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