C100: C100 arriving in a few days, would love some suggestions on rigging it up

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noisycrane

Member
Hey, everyone!
I had my 5d3 stolen on a recent trip and decided to replace it with a used c100 since I'm doing more video these days. Can't wait to get cracking with it but as I'm moving up from DSLR gear, most of what I have won't work for the c100 (flycam stabilizer, came-tv 7800, cheap shoulder mount, etc) So, I wanted to ask your advice on some relatively inexpensive (I know that's relative) options that you guys have used in the past for things like simple shoulder rigs, stabilizing, etc. I'll be doing some research while I wait for the camera to arrive, but it's a vast world of accessories and magic arms out there, so it'd be helpful to have some first-hand reviews.

Also thinking about picking up a ninja 2 since they're so cheap now. Any opinions on the full merit? I know there's a lot of debate about whether the ninja 2 with DNxHD 220x (or something) gets a little more than 8-bit from the censor, or not, but in general is it a worthwhile investment or is there a better option that you've had luck with?

Also I assume my camera gear backpack will no longer be sufficient, so any advice on some simple bags? (nothing really needed to airline travel at the moment as most gigs are in the city)

Thanks a lot!
-Cody
 
I would wait until you get it before you go crazy trying to rig it up. My favorite rig to use with the C100 is no rig at all. Handholding it with one hand on the grip and one hand cradling the camera underneath produces great results. The best thing about this camera coming from a DSLR is that you don't need a lot of the work arounds you are used to needing. And if you are wanting a monitor/recorder, you should look at the Ninja Blade. They just dropped the price to $500 and it's a much better monitor than the Ninja 2.
 
I've been using a Dougmon rig with my GH4, and I too just acquired a used C100 and like it on the Dougmon as well but it also feels really good on it's own as well.
 
Ninja Blade w/ a Manfrotto hotshoe ballhead, SSD for the Blade, a HDMI cable, a decent bag for all your gear, a good set of sticks/tripod head, a couple Transcend SD cards, and a decent range of lenses to cover your focal lengths. The Canon 24-105 is a pretty standard starter lens for the C100. Some folks like the Canon 18-135.
 
Andy Young said:
I would wait until you get it before you go crazy trying to rig it up. My favorite rig to use with the C100 is no rig at all. Handholding it with one hand on the grip and one hand cradling the camera underneath produces great results. The best thing about this camera coming from a DSLR is that you don't need a lot of the work arounds you are used to needing. And if you are wanting a monitor/recorder, you should look at the Ninja Blade. They just dropped the price to $500 and it's a much better monitor than the Ninja 2.
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This.
 
One of the reasons I bought a C100 was because it doesn't need a rig. The only things I bought for it was a Ninja Star and a loupe for the LCD.
 
I agree with the others, the C100 is a good handheld documentary camera out of the box. Right hand in the grip and left hand cradling it to your chest with elbows in, you can shoot a long time with fairly good steadiness But where it all goes wrong with handheld that way is shooting stand up interviews. Having the camera at your chest often means that you will be shooting up the nose of taller talent, which is a really unappealing looking. So if you are shooting scenes where you are following action or documenting a person or a group, works great. But I always have directors who want to shoot long, one on one stand ups and for those, I either need a monopod, tripod or a shoulder rig to get the camera up to the talent's height. I use a Zacuto baseplate with a mish mosh of Korean knock off accessories and it actually works pretty well. I have the Ninja Blade mounted to the rail off of the baseplate, which is better than an Israeli arm which puts the center of gravity too high. For a handheld shoulder mount rig, you want a low center of gravity and you want it as compact as possible, without a bunch of crap hanging off of the rig that can snag or bump things. It's all personal choice as far as which baseplate, handles, shoulder pad, rods you choose, you can spend a fortune on it or you can go cheaper.

The C100 owners who do a lot of handheld operating who are smart design a rig that puts the weight of the C100 right over their shoulder, often with a shoulder pad that has a counterweight at the rear to offset the front heaviness of many setups. It makes the rig longer and heavier but it also makes it easier to shoot long periods of time without fighting the front heavy characteristics that will fatigue you and make you shake. There is a thread here where people show off their rigs, you should take a look http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?302848-Show-us-your-rig Check out Nedcam's setup at the top of page ten of that thread. To me, that is a serious handheld rig, not cheap but perfectly balanced. The other thing you can do is consider buying a gimbal, which is the best way of shooting handheld, but they cost some coin and can be finicky to set up and keep working reliably.
 
Two main reasons I love my C100 (Mark II):
  1. Everything is built in, XLR's, grip, top handle, mic holder, waveforms, ND, etc., and it's formed to handhold it.
  2. Very small files yet incredible image quality. Saves me 100s on hard drives and recording media, makes uploading to the cloud easier, and I can edit all current projects straight from my laptop's built in hard drive.
So I'm not bothering with a rig or Ninja, might as well get something like a Blackmagic or GH4 then.
I'd go for a medium sized tripod, or if you have to, a monopod as said.

I recommend that you don't get a bag before you get the camera, and ideally try the bag out in the store. The C100 has a weird shape (Mark II even more with the EVF sticking out).
 
Don't trust the zebras, use the waveform.
Don't shoot below ISO 800. (Sorry,not exactly, is 850 ISO)
 
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Awesome, thanks for all the great feedback, everyone! I agree that one of the reasons this camera is cool is the form factor really works towards a smaller, yet capable rig, if any. I've never been much of a shoulder mount guy (hence having only a crappy plastic one for my 5D) because I like moving around and getting different angles that, frankly, nearly impossible with a shoulder rig, especially for narrative work. It's encouraging to know this will be light enough to maneuver. But all the suggestions, or warning of over-rigging are great. It's always nice to hear you have to spend less money to get something good from a camera :P

Right now I plan on getting an extra Wasabi battery, a nice little cheap hood for the LCD, and that's about it until I have a bit more money. I guess a nice tripod is in order as well, simply because my old head stopped being so fluid.

I have a number of Rokinon, canon, and sigma lenses, made for full-frame, but just picked up a cheap, nearly new Sigma Art 18-35mm f/1.8. It's an odd zoom but it's made for cropped, should (?) work with the auto-focus, and opens incredibly wide. Ideally zoom lenses without a constant f-stop are a no-go. I might get a canon or sigma 24-105 since I'll need something for full-frame photography, too.

Thanks again for all your help. I've worked a good deal with a variety of cameras, but this is my first personal "professional" video-oriented camera and I can't wait to start shooting again.
 
Well, it arrived only a few minutes after writing the last message. Three days early! So, now I'm off to learn how to use it. Thanks again, everyone.
 
Autofocus on the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 works on the C100. If the firmware is not updated on the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8, the autofocus will only work wide open at f/1.8. If the firmware isn't updated, you'll need the Sigma USB dock to update it.
 
noisycrane said:
Ideally zoom lenses without a constant f-stop are a no-go. I might get a canon or sigma 24-105 since I'll need something for full-frame photography, too.
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I use to believe this, too, until I realized that almost none of the Canon L Zooms actually have a constant transmission while zooming if they are not wide open. The exception is the 70-200. The Canon 24-104 f/4L loses about a stop and a half of light zooming from 24 to 105 at anything other than f/4. The 24-70 f/2.8L loses about a stop at anything other than f/2.8. I'm not sure about the Sigma 24-105 but I'm pretty sure it has the same problem. Luckily, the 18-35 doesn't show much of a hit when stopped down. At least with the 18-135 STM, the C100 actually compensates for the changing aperture. If I'm doing b-roll and don't plan on shooting wide open, I almost always choose the 18-135 STM.
 
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