C300: C300mkii - top monitor coming loose

S

seanarmada

Well-known member
Hi guys

I'm pretty positive this had been covered quite some time ago but I wasn't able to track down the specific post.

My top monitor unit is starting to become a bit wobbly, even with a Zacuto top handle. It seems its the screws, and tightening them seems to temporarily fix things. This is specific to one of the shoe mounts I believe.

A common issue I know, has anyone figured this one out?

Sean
 
Hey Sean. I have similar experience. That Zacuto handle is bomber, but those four tiny screws that attach the cold shoe will always be a weak point. I've had it fixed three times. After much trial and error, I ended up rigging together bits of Wooden Camera gear to use the 1/4-20 and bypass the cold shoe mounts entirely. I still need to double check throughout the day that everything stays tight if I'm running with the camera a lot, but that said, I'm pretty happy with it.
 

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Same problem. Even when the 4 shoe screws are tightened,the monitor unit still sags a good 5° and I can wobble it in both directions. Very frustrating and very poor design.
 
Graham King said:
Same problem. Even when the 4 shoe screws are tightened,the monitor unit still sags a good 5° and I can wobble it in both directions. Very frustrating and very poor design.
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Canon let themselves down with design faults like this.

I have just bought 8 replacement screws to fix my C300Mk2 monitor unit. I had exactly the same problem with the monitor unit on my C300 and eventually got so frustrated that I superglued the screws in. Bad mistake.

The problem occurs because there is so much drag from the video and audio cables. Probably fine in a studio situation but not when you are out and about.

The screws go through a plastic tightening wheel and my one has lost its positioning lugs so I fear that, even though I will fully tighten the replacement screws, the unit will come loose again. It is not possible to buy this black plastic tightening wheel here in the UK, only the screws or a complete new monitor unit. That's expensive.

Interesting Wooden Camera gear fix Kohl.
 
Similar to Kohl I did a Wooden Camera based fix but instead of a using an arm into the monitor's ¼-20 I put a WC clamp there. I put a small WC Nato rail on my handle and since the handle attaches to the top plate via a Nato rail - I can now quick release the monitor to the handle or directly to the top plate.

Photos in my Instagram feed.

This has stayed very tight even on full days of shooting. It helps to use Loctite on any screws to prevent loosening.

FWIW, I have tried mixing Nato parts' vendors in the past. e.g. Wooden Camera, Smallrig, and Zacuto. While they are all supposed to be interchangeable, they are not always. Sizing is not always the same. A clamp from one vendor may not fully lock down on a rail from another. Or one vendor's rail may be slightly too big causing another vendor's clamp to need to be opened too wide just to fit it on. Risking the clamp coming apart in the field.
 
Jon Roemer said:
Similar to Kohl I did a Wooden Camera based fix but instead of a using an arm into the monitor's ¼-20 I put a WC clamp there. I put a small WC Nato rail on my handle and since the handle attaches to the top plate via a Nato rail - I can now quick release the monitor to the handle or directly to the top plate.

Photos in my Instagram feed.

This has stayed very tight even on full days of shooting. It helps to use Loctite on any screws to prevent loosening.

FWIW, I have tried mixing Nato parts' vendors in the past. e.g. Wooden Camera, Smallrig, and Zacuto. While they are all supposed to be interchangeable, they are not always. Sizing is not always the same. A clamp from one vendor may not fully lock down on a rail from another. Or one vendor's rail may be slightly too big causing another vendor's clamp to need to be opened too wide just to fit it on. Risking the clamp coming apart in the field.
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I'm remembering it was pics from your Instagram that led me to experiment with this set up. Much gratitude to you Jon. Most importantly, it works!

I ended up adding a WC Ultra Arm - one side 1/4-20, other side nato clamp - and a 70mm rail to the front of the top plate. It enables ergonomics more suited to how I shoot handheld - thumb can access the joystick, record button, etc.

It is also my experience that mixing/matching nato components from different manufacturers does not go well.
 
Thanks for that info and photo Jon.

It's good to know that the next time my screws get loose and go missing that there are a few other alternatives out there.
 
Kohl said:
I'm remembering it was pics from your Instagram that led me to experiment with this set up. Much gratitude to you Jon. Most importantly, it works!

I ended up adding a WC Ultra Arm - one side 1/4-20, other side nato clamp - and a 70mm rail to the front of the top plate. It enables ergonomics more suited to how I shoot handheld - thumb can access the joystick, record button, etc.

It is also my experience that mixing/matching nato components from different manufacturers does not go well.
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Ah, yes! Great to know it's still working out.

I find it very odd on the NATO stuff. Supposed to be interchangeable.
 
Really these are the only two things I HATE about the C300 MKII, the stupid clamshell and the ridiculous cables. Everytime I shoot with the camera, I curse the design, so wonky. Such a great camera with such a flawed physical design.
 
I have actually grown to like the design of the monitor. I regularly put the screen on an arm attached to the tripod head. That way I can position the the LCD and control the camera without actually having to touch it while shooting. I also put the LCD on top of my Ronin hand grip. It allowed me to get rid of all of my small field monitors.
 
FWIW, I am not thrilled with the C200 touchscreen either, the stock mount is wonky as well, it feels as if it is going to snap off, it's hard to get level, etc. I like the C200 touchscreen mounted to my Ultralight Control Systems Arm but that requires me mounting to my 15mm rods, which means I have to be using my full Zacuto VCT Pro baseplate, not exactly a small, light and streamlined setup. I may buy a 1/4 20 attachement for the ULCS arm that would allow me to mount it into the 1/4 20 on the C200 handle, where the stock mount goes? That should allow me to get more distance between my eyes and the touchscreen. With the addition of a Hoodman H400 and upping the luma on the touchscreen, could feasibly be used to shoot outdoors shoulder mounted. But at least the C200 touchscreen only uses one wonky cable instead of two and the cable is out of front, out of the way, not back where you actually hit or snag it like on the C300 MKII.
 
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I replaced the stock helmet with the Zacuto helmet which is quite a bit lighter and thinner. I then put Nato rail on the sides and top along with a few cold shoe mounts, all from Smallrig. I also have some Smallrig nato rail handles. All in all, it allows the C300 II LCD to be much more modular and more low profile. I don't run around a lot with the C300 so I'm not sure how long my cold shoe mounts will last on the LCD, but I don't mind it. I just wish the extra long cables for the LCD and sound weren't so expensive.
 
I paid Canon £70 last month to have my wonky C300 Mk2 monitor fixed!!

"Replaced panel base frame, shoe sleeve and screws".

They should have realised how crap the design was on the Mk1 and changed it!!
 
Angelis said:
I paid Canon £70 last month to have my wonky C300 Mk2 monitor fixed!!

"Replaced panel base frame, shoe sleeve and screws".

They should have realised how crap the design was on the Mk1 and changed it!!
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How long wiil that hold you over for do you think? Before you'd need another repair?
 
seanarmada said:
How long wiil that hold you over for do you think? Before you'd need another repair?
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I give it a year.

Attaching a shotgun Mic to it makes it worse over time due to the weight pulling it to one side so looking at ways to place the mic on the body.

I also had to have my C300 MK1 fixed as well in the past.
 
Angelis said:
I give it a year.

Attaching a shotgun Mic to it makes it worse over time due to the weight pulling it to one side so looking at ways to place the mic on the body.

I also had to have my C300 MK1 fixed as well in the past.
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Thanks for letting me know, I'd pay that much for a reliable year before needing it fixed again.

I was thinking of moving the mic mount to my Zacuto top helmet to reduce that weight pull, I figured that's a bit cause of it.
 
I was recently shooting in a rough and remote environment. Within hours of shooting the first scene my camera took a solid hit and hotshoe went soft. The fix was fairly simple and cost me almost nothing. I had an old magic arm that i used with the old movcam handle to hold an LED panel on my Mark i. The Monitor is now rock solid. I was considering buying a new movcam handle and a small zacuto arm with a hotshoe mount but it was going to cost me about $1000AUD. IMG_2251.jpgIMG_2252.jpg
 
Tlaw said:
I was recently shooting in a rough and remote environment. Within hours of shooting the first scene my camera took a solid hit and hotshoe went soft. The fix was fairly simple and cost me almost nothing. I had an old magic arm that i used with the old movcam handle to hold an LED panel on my Mark i. The Monitor is now rock solid. I was considering buying a new movcam handle and a small zacuto arm with a hotshoe mount but it was going to cost me about $1000AUD.
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That is awesome. Two anchor points is exactly what I was trying to accomplish with the WC set up I ended up with, but the angle is perhaps 5mm off. Can you share a link to that magic arm with 1/4-20s?
 
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