Cheap counterbalance weights for rigs?

P

pederw

Member
Tried searching for some cheap good counterbalance weights for rigs, but has a hard time finding any priceworthy. I just bought the indiRAILSpro XVsm and it has some holes on the back for weights. Does anyone produce a cheap counterbalance weight? I mean it should be able to find some for 10-15 usd, just a block of metal with some holes.

Thanks in advance for links and tips.
 
Yes that can be done but I would like to buy something that looks more pro? I mean RedrockMicro cant be the only one making weights? (expensive weights) Have nobody found a chinese dealer selling cheap or from india?
 
Looks more pro?
Seriously, it's counterbalance weight on the back of an indie rig.

In my 30 plus years in the business I have never had a client tell me that sandbags on a C-stand did not look professional, or the weight I chose to use to balance my shoulder mount looked unprofessional. They care about the results I deliver, not how pretty my counterbalance weights are.
 
Dont get me wrong, I just do not want to have a sandbag dangling on the back of my shoulder, Would like a piece of metal.
 
Find a local machine shop and bring your shoulder pad, tell 'em how much weight you need and see what they can come up with. They should be able to mill a chunk of something to suit you.

To find the right amount of weight, tape a water bottle to your rig - a doctor once told me that with liquids, ounces are about the same (weight vs. volume). Play with how full it needs to be.
 
1 - a small casting pot, cast iron pot, or the like.
2 - an empty soda can
3 - sand
4 - a few pounds of wheel weights, linotype metal, or the like
5 - a couple of ~15mm/5/8" INNER DIAMETER aluminum rods
6 - inexpensive bailing wire or the like
7 - nuts, screws, etc of whatever size you prefer

Cut the top off the can. Use some bailing wire or other to space out the position of the rods, nuts (w/ screws in them), and whatever else within the soda can. Plop the can in the middle of some sand, surrounding all but the open top. This is your mold.

Melt your wheel weights in whatever fashion suits you best. Pour into your mold. Give it all plenty of time to cool. Cut off the can and cut the aluminum rods flush. There you go.
 
I have a rig from indiSYSTEM, and I use barbell weights to counterweight. I went to the sporting goods store and bought three, 2.5lb weights. From the hardware store: a 3.5" hex bolt, a wing nut for the hex bolt, and a wide washer. The bolt screws into one of the pre-drilled mount holes on the shoulder mount, from the bottom up. Slip on the weights, then the washer. Center them, and use the wing nut to tighten into place. Works like a charm.

As for "looking professional"... well, the rig does what it's supposed to do, and barbell weights are used on film sets all over the world to counterweight several things. Most any jib/crane system will have a box of weights sitting around.
 
Michael Carter said:
Find a local machine shop and bring your shoulder pad, tell 'em how much weight you need and see what they can come up with. They should be able to mill a chunk of something to suit you.

To find the right amount of weight, tape a water bottle to your rig - a doctor once told me that with liquids, ounces are about the same (weight vs. volume). Play with how full it needs to be.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I actually went to the local machine shop and asked them to make some metal slices that I can staple on each other depending on what weight I have on the rig, 30 USD
 
take this

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...02_CI_RA_AS_000002_Universal_Rails_Block.html

some 2.5 pound "standard" size weights (make sure its standard style not olympic style)

2 5/8" metal washers
1 5/8" hex nut
1 5/8" Bolt

put them together as seen in my video below and you have a great dslr counter weight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRi8BmOvWNo


my rig is very front heavy so it takes 4 weights to balance it out.

find the right amount of weight for you and get a bolt long enough to hold all of them

I am going to post my rig soon with the following:

custom wide angle - cinema zoom/eng hybrid lens
DIY battery mounts
battery for gh2
DIY lens support for gh2

email me at contact@peterosinski.com if you are interested in learning more
 
I don´t think, that it is a good idea to build rigs, that are so much out of balance that you need barbells to counterweight.
Zacuto with their Frankenstein rigs started that madness - and almost everyone else just followed, instead of coming up with a better idea.

It took Chinese companies like Tilta, to design a more self balanced rig.

12_1.jpg


... just saying.

Frank
 
Postmaster said:
I don´t think, that it is a good idea to build rigs, that are so much out of balance that you need barbells to counterweight.Zacuto with their Frankenstein rigs started that madness - and almost everyone else just followed, instead of coming up with a better idea.It took Chinese companies like Tilta, to design a more self balanced rig.View attachment 42036Frank
Click to expand...
My rig is simple. Cam plus lens and wide angle adapter in front of shoulder on rails with handles. Unfortunately it takes an external bat and 12 pounds of weights right behind my shoulder to balance the weight and leverage of the front half.
 
i should note in this that my lens is about a foot long and weighs 4.5 pounds. combine that with the fact that I'm using a gh2, which keeps me from using an external monitor and therefore forces me to have the camera in front of my shoulder, and you get a front heavy rig
 
Just find a local machine shop to sell you a few inches of their remnants. A 2" diameter 4" long would be 3.6 lbs in stainless steel. Brass is easier to drill and tap and you could even drill and tap that your self for a few bucks total.

A cold twelve pack at the back door of nearly any machine shop around beer thirty will get you exactly what you need, cut, drilled and tapped to fit your shoulder rig :)

Cheers,
Pete
 
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