Black Friday Specials

Grug said:
I'm not sure I quite understand these (can't shoulder mount it) arguments. Just put the camera (like you would with any other) on one of these:

270600-Shoulder-Rig-v3-Pro-Rubber-1_1800x1800.jpg


And you should be able to balance it perfectly on the shoulder. I used my shoulder rig with everything from 25kg of Arri Alexa Studio, down to a tiny little Fuji X-T3, and it's worked just fine with all of them. I wouldn't expect the FX6 to be any different.
Click to expand...

Ah, but you are thinking there’s time for that, and that an OMB can carry that around somewhere when on sticks.
 
James0b57 said:
Ah, but you are thinking there’s time for that, and that an OMB can carry that around somewhere when on sticks.
Click to expand...

Well depending on your rig, you could mount the shoulder rig to the tripod. Or come off a quick release and switch over. It's true though, it poses a challenge. I guess this is why so many people shoot handheld just grabbing a side or top handle
 
ahalpert said:
Well, it's not REALLY a workaround. Sure, there are ENG-oriented cameras with built-in shoulder mount. But like Grug said - everything in cinema-world gets rigged to a shoulder mount. When I was an AC, there were always tinker toys to do so on every set.

It's true that I can throw my naked FS7 on my shoulder and the shoulder pad, handle and viewfinder are already all there ready to go. That's nice, especially for fast deployment. But I dont know if I'd call rigging a shoulder mount to another camera a workaround.

Ok - I admit - it's nice to have the FS7 the way it is. But if I had to choose between that form factor and something more versatile and smaller like the FX6, I think i would go with FX6 (especially with the viewfinder situation of the fs7).

But truth be told, I spend most of my time on tripod/gimbal, so I may just have different priorities than you do
Click to expand...

I think shoulder cams like the FS7 are really the most comfortable way to shoot. Especially, if you shoot handheld a lot like I do. Shooting handheld with a cam like the FX6 is like enduring an extended stress position and rigging them with a shoulder support sort of defeats the purpose of a grab n' go cam...
 
ahalpert said:
Well depending on your rig, you could mount the shoulder rig to the tripod. Or come off a quick release and switch over. It's true though, it poses a challenge. I guess this is why so many people shoot handheld just grabbing a side or top handle
Click to expand...

IronFilm said:
Use a shoulder rig with a VCT-14 plate integrated into it, then you snap on and off the tripod in a blink.

This is what I use with my Sony PMW-F3:
https://www.smallrig.com/smallrig-vct-14-shoulder-plate-1954.html
Click to expand...

I feel you guys. Yes, when there was a big image quality gap between cameras, the franken rigging and such was fantastic. But a unibody shoulder camera is a world of a difference. Fx9, say what you want, has a place in the pro world. May matter less to youtubers and indie filmers, and people shooting commercials or music videos, but to those day in day out shooters and OMB’ers, there is still a place for longer shoulder mount unibody designs.
 
scorsesefan said:
I think shoulder cams like the FS7 are really the most comfortable way to shoot. Especially, if you shoot handheld a lot like I do. Shooting handheld with a cam like the FX6 is like enduring an extended stress position and rigging them with a shoulder support sort of defeats the purpose of a grab n' go cam...
Click to expand...

Well, you could leave the rig built. Then you can still grab and go. It wont take up any more room than the FS7 did

Similarly, I often build and balance my Ronin-S rig the night before a shoot (with my first lens choice anyway). Then I pull it off the battery grip and pack it in a Sachtler camporter bag. When I show up, I can pretty much grab and go.
 
James0b57 said:
I feel you guys. Yes, when there was a big image quality gap between cameras, the franken rigging and such was fantastic. But a unibody shoulder camera is a world of a difference. Fx9, say what you want, has a place in the pro world. May matter less to youtubers and indie filmers, and people shooting commercials or music videos, but to those day in day out shooters and OMB’ers, there is still a place for longer shoulder mount unibody designs.
Click to expand...

By no means whatsoever in the slightest is a FX6 with that SmallRig Sony VCT-14 Shoulder Plate + arm + EVF then a "franken rig"!! Neither does it bear any relationship at all to DSLR rigs.

That is an extremely common setup for a Sony PMW-F5/F55, or FS7, or C300, or with countless other pro bodies.
 
If you are leaving the rig built, then why not go with a longer camera?

I dislike the feeling of a franken rig under my arm. And on the shoulder, a franken rig has so many more things to snag or break if you accidentally clip something while shooting.


I’m curious why people want to end all shoulder mount camera designs?

Sure, smaller cameras are great, and ibis is amazing, but a lot of pros need and want a shoulder mount unibody. Not saying they want 40lbs on their shoulder, but a nicely balanced 6lbs would be nice (10+ with all the gack and lens etc)
 
IronFilm said:
By no means whatsoever in the slightest is a FX6 with that SmallRig Sony VCT-14 Shoulder Plate + arm + EVF then a "franken rig"!! Neither does it bear any relationship at all to DSLR rigs.

That is an extremely common setup for a Sony PMW-F5/F55, or FS7, or C300, or with countless other pro bodies.
Click to expand...
Franken rig is a big of an exaggeration, i admit, but the trappings of a built rig are still the same.
 
RnG may be able to chime in, but the way a good shoulder mount unibody can be handled is a lot different than a C300 or Fx6 on a rig. The is a confidence to the build. There are less things you have to worry about breaking. It is more comfortable on the shoulder, controls are in a well design spot (which the fx9 isn’t perfect there), and wether holding the top handle, overhead, under the arm, on a knee, not going to have to deal with sharp points or gaps in the build or snagging the cable that connects the brick battery plate to the camera (another thing the fx9 isn’t perfect in)

I’m not saying Everyone has to go big, i’m saying if a pro wants a shoulder mount camera, it isn’t because that’s what an old dog is used to, it is just how physics work on the human body.

Unfortunately the Fx9 is not the best example of a good shoulder mount camera, but hopefully sony makes a large format sensor camer that is someday.
 
IronFilm said:
That is an extremely common setup for a Sony PMW-F5/F55, or FS7, or C300, or with countless other pro bodies.
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t put the C300Mk1 and 2 in the same category as the F55 And Fs7 for shoulder work. However, i am assuming you are referring to the C300Mk3 that has the rear attachment that works a bit more like a unibody shoulder rig. I admit that is quite nice.

But would still be great if Sony or someone really committed to a proper shoulder mount design for large format sensors. Something like a slimmed down ENG body. It could still unscrew into a shorter front, they’ve been doing that for years with old video cameras anyway.
 
But personally I prefer the versatility of a small box. I dont want ENG type shoulder cameras to go extinct, I just don't benefit from one much
 
ahalpert said:
But personally I prefer the versatility of a small box. I dont want ENG type shoulder cameras to go extinct, I just don't benefit from one much
Click to expand...

Yeah, eng doesn’t make sense for you.

And to be honest, old school ENG bodies are out dated as far as size goes. They could be less tall now. But the controls on an ENG body are fantastic and can be operated with gloves, and they take up very little space. That isn’t the case for even the Fx6 and Fx9. They have fiddly little controls all soldered to the same control board on a flat plane. I’m sure it is cheaper to manufacture that way, and has clean lines for the photographs where it will sell via an online retailer without ever being touched or tested before purchase.

49680423952_56ff86cd2d_w.jpg


The amount of real estate the controls on an eng camera could fit on a camera as small as an FX6, and the would improve its shoulder operability (aka feeling for controls based on muscle memory and not sight, and possibly while wearing gloves). However the sculpted shape and controls being on different planes is probably too expensive to manufacture in a sub $10K body, and most users probably would like them anyway.
 
Very interesting.

Minor tangent - it really annoys me that there aren't more customizable interface options. In this case- some attachment that could give you a different button layout. In the case of my recent shopping - high-quality remote controls for the A7S3 with more buttons on them besides zoom control (which only has 2 speeds) and rec start-stop. Theres a bluetooth controller (which apparently only works intermittently) that also has AF-ON and C1, but that's it. (My LANC adaptor for A7S3 seems to be a dud, or maybe it doesn't work with this particular camera. Such a travesty.)

Or my smartphone app controller for the A7S3. It's pretty awesome, if a bit fiddly, but there are no options to add other control functions or display info. How hard would that be?
 
Yep James, a rigged 300 or 55(I own both) or Fs7, FX-6, etc. is still nowhere close to a true ENG body, like the P2 VariCam you also pictured(that I also own two copies of and is still my favorite camera to actually USE).

One of the reasons you see so many tiny cameras on gimbals, is because you have to, to just get a stable shot “handheld”. There’s no mass or size there to help smooth out any movement, whereas handheld with a real ENG camera may not be “Steadicam”, but it’s much more stable. It’s just physics.
 
James0b57 said:
Franken rig is a big of an exaggeration, i admit, but the trappings of a built rig are still the same.
Click to expand...

Disagree.

A Sony FX6 with SmallRig Sony VCT-14 Shoulder Plate + arm + EVF is not really any different than a stock FS7 (except the FX6 kit is so much better!) which is out of the box designed to shoulder shoot too.
 
IronFilm said:
Disagree.

A Sony FX6 with SmallRig Sony VCT-14 Shoulder Plate + arm + EVF is not really any different than a stock FS7 (except the FX6 kit is so much better!) which is out of the box designed to shoulder shoot too.
Click to expand...

No worries. Yeah, a lot can be done with a shoulder rig and a Fx6 or C300. The Fx6 is likely better than a C300 for shoulder work, given the location of many key controls.

Overall, the Fx6 is an awesome camera, and can fill many different rolls.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top