Build a two shoulder PVC support rig for cheap!

J

jshbckr

Veteran
Built a DSLR shoulder mount last night, and finished it up today. It is supported on both shoulders, has two handles (you can still use one hand on camera lens for focus if you'd like) and a counterweight system.

I took a few ideas from other topics, but ultimately just kind of flew by the seat of my pants when I was buying materials and assembling it.

About $20 in PVC materials and foam.
Need a flat mount (took mine off a ball head), I used a quick release plate mount. (My ball head was $30)
Weights were $5
Primer and paint was about $12

So under $70 built a rock solid support system. Walking around with this is incredibly smooth.

Materials:
5 feet of 3/4” PVC
3/4” pipe foam
6x 45° 3/4“ connector
4x 3/4” cap
3x 3/4” T connector
2x 3/4” 90° with 1/2” female threaded connector
2x 1/2” male threaded to 3/4” connector
2x 90-degree curved electrical conduit
2x 2.5 lb free weight

I shot a sample video and put it on Vimeo.
http://www.vimeo.com/9612144

Let me know what you think!
 

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nice! pretty smooth footage. I have the same question as above.

aslo U got a pic with it on ur shoulder?
 
It's not too bad to reach up and do focus, I never found it to be uncomfortable for short term use. Maybe if you were shooting all day, it might start to bother your arm. But really, for most normal use, I think it's very easy.

If you are looking for more clearance for focus, you could replace either handle with just a standard 90 degree joint. This would give you a little more clearance, maybe. But like I said, works great right now and if you're not trying to run focus at the same time (kind of how I had just a fixed focus in that first shot) using two handles is awesome.

I'm attaching a few pictures of it on me. They were just taken with my iPhone so the quality isn't too awesome. The profile shot gives you an idea how the counterbalance works. But it makes the camera/lens looks a LOT farther away than they actually are. In the picture with no camera mounted, you can see the bend in my arm and get an idea for how close the camera mount actually is.

You can't really tell in the profile picture, but I have an Optech strap that is removable (those pinch-style clips) and when the main strap is removed, the short parts still connected to the camera can snap together. So I use this as sort of a safety feature, should the mount fail for some reason (I don't see why it would, I'm using a nylon lock nut.)

Thanks for the comments! I am incredibly happy with the shots I've taken with it. Especially when I'm using a lens with image stabilization! The rig is comfortable, doesn't weigh much at all, and easily remedies pretty much all handheld complaints I've seen about the 7D. Obviously if you whip pan left/right, it won't fix the rolling shutter panning problem, but at least you get rid of that handheld jitter jello!
 

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jshbckr said:
Built a DSLR shoulder mount last night, and finished it up today. It is supported on both shoulders, has two handles (you can still use one hand on camera lens for focus if you'd like) and a counterweight system.

I took a few ideas from other topics, but ultimately just kind of flew by the seat of my pants when I was buying materials and assembling it.

About $20 in PVC materials and foam.
Need a flat mount (took mine off a ball head), I used a quick release plate mount. (My ball head was $30)
Weights were $5
Primer and paint was about $12

So under $70 built a rock solid support system. Walking around with this is incredibly smooth.

Materials:
5 feet of 3/4” PVC
3/4” pipe foam
6x 45° 3/4“ connector
4x 3/4” cap
3x 3/4” T connector
2x 3/4” 90° with 1/2” female threaded connector
2x 1/2” male threaded to 3/4” connector
2x 90-degree curved electrical conduit
2x 2.5 lb free weight

I shot a sample video and put it on Vimeo.
http://www.vimeo.com/9612144

Let me know what you think!
Click to expand...

PVC is the greatest sht on Earth. Nice job. Now you can make a PVC jib to go with it, but that may set you back $30 bucks or more. I just made a PVC frame to stretch a white screen reflector for a truck shoot that is 3x6.5 meters. or about 10x22 feet, and another blue fabric stretcher 1.5x7meters. Cheap, light, strong, flexible and lasts 10,000 years or more.
 
Yeah, this is the first thing I've built with PVC and I think I'm in love with it. It's like playing with Legos.
 
Built my hand held out of pvc as well, works great and saved a ton of money, those companies selling hand helds for 4 to 500 bucks are a rip off, they charge 100 bucks just for handles....please!
 
Hi there,

for what are these pipes are? I was looking today at shop for some but they look pretty not stiff:embarasse
 
robin2robin said:
Hi there,

for what are these pipes are? I was looking today at shop for some but they look pretty not stiff:embarasse
Click to expand...


hey Robin...they are mainly used for plumbing. So go to a hardwarde store and make sure u ask for schedule 40 pvc because the normal ones arent so durable.
 
I used 3/4" PVC and it's incredibly sturdy. Especially when you break it into segments and have the joints and supports in there.

As far as the head goes, really the sky is the limit. Just drill a hole in the bottom of the T connector for the size of bolt you need, and get the right size bolt for your head.

If you wanted to use a big head like a Manfrotto 501, you'd probably need a bigger foundation for mounting (as well as more counterweight).

A friend of mine has a 501 head for his tripod, so he bought a 577 quick release mount (and it comes with a 501 plate) for his shoulder mount. This allows you to use a sturdy, flat quick-release mount for the shoulder rig but use the same plate for quickly changing from shoulder mount to tripod.
 
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