gandalfrodo
New member
Okay, I know I'm not the first to do something like this, and I'm sure I won't be the last. In fact, I'm almost certain that somebody somewhere is attempting this right now. But enough of that. I recently came into possession of my first rail system and shoulder mount. I specially ordered 36" rails so as I could add on a counterweight to the back of the rig. However I still wanted options (shorter rails) for say putting the rig on a tripod. A friend of mine had somehow (don't ask me how... probably a fluke of engineering or a miracle) found a piece of 5/8" copper pipe that fit in his 15mm rig, so I thought I'd try the same. Needless to say this ended in failure. After that I became a man obsessed with finding a cheaper alternative to having to buy 15mm rails (BTW, who came up with 15mm as the standard anyway? and why do I have to spend so much money on a piece of metal/carbon fiber pipe?).
That said, a few days ago I believed I had found my answer. My mother had purchased some 5/8"/1.5cm diameter curtain rods from Target. The cool thing was the rods had a slit going across their entire length so they could be squeezed into submission to fit into the 15mm holes of my shoulder mount.
I just managed to head over to Target today and pick up a set of my own as my mother forbade me from destroying hers. I used my jigsaw to cut them in half and after some persuasion from my grip clamps the pieces all fit and attached.
I know what you're thinking, "How great." right? Not so much. After spending $14 on curtain rods and chopping them in half with a saw it occurred to me that if I have to go through that process every time of forcing these things into place that is going to be a major pain in the neck. Not to mention the fact that I am most likely going to be adjusting my follow focus any time I switch lenses, how much headache is that going to cause me?
My advice, don't do like I did. Save your money and purchase real 15mm rods. As of yet there doesn't seem to be a super cheap solution. But I'm sure you already knew that
That said, a few days ago I believed I had found my answer. My mother had purchased some 5/8"/1.5cm diameter curtain rods from Target. The cool thing was the rods had a slit going across their entire length so they could be squeezed into submission to fit into the 15mm holes of my shoulder mount.
I just managed to head over to Target today and pick up a set of my own as my mother forbade me from destroying hers. I used my jigsaw to cut them in half and after some persuasion from my grip clamps the pieces all fit and attached.
I know what you're thinking, "How great." right? Not so much. After spending $14 on curtain rods and chopping them in half with a saw it occurred to me that if I have to go through that process every time of forcing these things into place that is going to be a major pain in the neck. Not to mention the fact that I am most likely going to be adjusting my follow focus any time I switch lenses, how much headache is that going to cause me?
My advice, don't do like I did. Save your money and purchase real 15mm rods. As of yet there doesn't seem to be a super cheap solution. But I'm sure you already knew that
