FS7: Easirig changed my life... :-)

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bengiles

Well-known member
I'm 3 days into shooting a couple of commercial spots with my colleague, Nik, directing.

I bought an Easirig, as we have to shoot 15 locations in the next 2 weeks, and we needed to be super agile.

I can't recommend this thing enough - it has transformed the rigged FS7 from an unwieldy back-breaking beast into a lovely floating ergonomic thing.

I still get an organic handheld feel - but it takes away all of the hard work in keeping the camera suspended in front.

I was sceptical about it's value when I first saw one, but after 3 days, I absolutely love this thing. Can't see myself shooting without it now.

Looks stupid, but no change there...

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I tried one out at NAB and had the Swedish owner of the company explaining it to me enthusiastically as I wore it. I thought it was amazing and would love to rent one some day. I'm sure you'll be thrilled with it long term. Ironically my only complaint was that I'd look ridiculous! Ha!
 
How does it figure in your shoot planning, Liam? It looks like a reasonably hefty piece of kit to pack for international shoots.

Is it dependant on how much assistance you're getting? Or the amount of kit you need to add to the camera? etc

Also interested to know what situations would sway you towards handheld vs Easirig - I'm still in the honeymoon period...

Looks like you've got a slightly heftier version - I went for the MiniMax, which handles up to 7kg.

Cheers,

Ben.
 
ozmorphasis said:
My main question is how you avoid having all of your shots being well below eye level?
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Good question. The crane is height adjustable - at the higher point, I'm able to shoot stuff comfortably at eye level - perhaps just slightly higher. Certainly haven't felt restricted so far.
 
I know people love it but here's my experience:
Quite a few years ago when the easyrig first came out I was doing a 26 episode TV series that was all handheld with good old fashioned 2/3" broadcast cameras. We got a loaner for a week and I was smitten. I thought everything I shot was smoother and steadier especially some interviews where I needed to have it under my armpit.
I had a back brace with a shoulder pad in those days that helped with ordinary handheld work though and so the weight issue was not that important to me. It changed where I felt the weight but not necessarily better or worse. Had I not been using the shoulder pad that leveled the camera on my shoulder it would have been a bigger difference.

At any rate I thought it was fantastic and was going to buy one when we tried a little experiment comparing me handheld with every variety of shot we could think of - shoulder , long lens, walking, running , low stairs etc with & without the easyrig. I handed the tape ( yup tape) to the director saying the easy rig stuff would kill my regular handheld.
Well a few minutes later the director calls out to me from the edit suite: "Lenny you're not going to believe this!" In every case except under my armpit I was noticeably steadier without it - much steadier - and I consider myself an average handheld guy. I know guys who are rocks but I'm not one of them.

So just consider that a cautionary tale - your mileage may vary - but compare the actual footage not your subjective sense of it.

I do imagine that if you're holding the camera mid body where Ben is in the photo, the easy rig is probably a very welcome aid, so it depends on your shooting style for each job. You do have to be careful you don't kill someone when the camera is off and its swinging around.

Lenny
 
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To me it just moved the pressure to another part of the body so not really helping and as far as stabilizing footage it didn't help. I started training instead so that my body could take the work, which has proven to be the better alternative. No restriction and my body is still happy.
 
Easyrig almost changed my life forever when during a break in shooting a dumb operator forgot that he was wearing it. As he went to pick something up from the floor, an Easyrig arm hit me right in the forehead - HARD!!!! I consider this thing super dangerous and avoid it since (and operators using it).
 
broughtonfilm said:
Easyrig almost changed my life forever when during a break in shooting a dumb operator forgot that he was wearing it. As he went to pick something up from the floor, an Easyrig arm hit me right in the forehead - HARD!!!! I consider this thing super dangerous and avoid it since (and operators using it).
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Actually, it's the dumb operators like the one who did it who are dangerous (if by any chance you are reading it, you are an imbecile!!!!!).
 
Problem is unless you are really used to it its simply hard to remember that you're wearing a lethal weapon. I used one recently with a RED and a Ronin and it made the job possible, but damn i was dangerous out there - in a supermarket no less.

They are essential for using a gimble - that much I'll vouch for. Has anyone tried the Flowcine Serene or similar rigs with that combination to eliminate vertical bumpiness when walking or running?
 
I use an easy rig but 99% on my shoulder.. from my experience its walking shots that I take it off.. you get alot of sway from side to side from the weight being on your hips.. you can sort of learn to minimize it.. also tilting up or down you get resistance and it sort of tries to get away from you..

But for most stuff its great.. you have to change how you shoot a bit.. but you can hold long lens shots much steadier than without.. plus well anyway with a cine zoom lens on board you really will do your back in on long HH shoots.. then your in big trouble..

For travel I just put the bag into a suitcase with clothes or what ever else.. they can get really sweaty too in hot locations.. I bet your getting that Liam !

ah just saw the above post.. long hair band is the way to stop the arm swinging around and clubbing the director !..
 
It's certainly no good for shots where you actually need to travel through space. The pendulum effect is just too problematic. But it is a godsend you general standing around stuff (if that stuff has to be handheld).

I still ruined my back on this last feature with one, but I'd probably be in a wheelchair if I hadn't had the Easyrig to get me through it.

And who says they can't look sexy?

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With B4 cameras I used to have this oddball rig made by a company called Jib Jobs- It was just a home depot type back brace connected to a shoulder pad with an angle on it so you didn't need to push your shoulder up to be level. Very comfortable and I could shoot for hours . No worse on my back than the easy rig and as mentioned above I was actually way more stable on the shoulder with that. . These days with front heavy cameras, I have a monopod in a fanny pack with a tilt head that connects to my rails. Triangulates and is very steady and easy on the back. Lots of ways to skin a cat so to speak.

Whatever works for you. I would still love to hear from someone using one of those attachments for the easyrig that is supposed to eliminate the vertical bounce from walking with a gamble. Anyone???
 
Everything Ive read the Serena is very good.. it adds some height and looks quite big/heavy.. I never bothered getting one as its the side the side movement that is the problem for walking shots.. much more than any up and down.. but Im sure they work for that very well....
Flowcine do make a gimbal for side to side.. the you could use on an easy rig.. but its also quite big.. more more hassle is you have to take off your handle and alot of assessors .. and bolt things on... not a quick operation.. then if you are going to do all that.. might as well use a steadicam
 
Loved my Easyrig on a doc last summer. 10 days in the mountains with little to no rigging to balance FS7 on my shoulder, shooting girls 20cm shorter than me. The lower angle on the camera was a godsend esthetically. And i was switching quickly from stable Easyrig to tripod. But when i walked the Easyrig became like a fishing rod tugging at the camera, making it wobble a ton. So the last few days i did not use it for moving shots.

I should probably practice a lot more walking with Easyrig and gimbal, since i walk like an elephant and get tons of camerashake. Other camerafolks are way overusing drones and gimbals, so i set my pride in only using them as spices in good stories. So it gets downprioritized sadly.
 
LennyLevy said:
With B4 cameras I used to have this oddball rig made by a company called Jib Jobs- It was just a home depot type back brace connected to a shoulder pad with an angle on it so you didn't need to push your shoulder up to be level. Very comfortable and I could shoot for hours . No worse on my back than the easy rig and as mentioned above I was actually way more stable on the shoulder with that. . These days with front heavy cameras, I have a monopod in a fanny pack with a tilt head that connects to my rails. Triangulates and is very steady and easy on the back. Lots of ways to skin a cat so to speak.

Whatever works for you. I would still love to hear from someone using one of those attachments for the easyrig that is supposed to eliminate the vertical bounce from walking with a gamble. Anyone???
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I tested it with the Alexa Studio for this feature, but we were right at the weight limit of 17kg, possibly a little over, and it couldn't handle that much weight. I've heard very good things from people using more sensibly sized cameras with it.
 
bengiles said:
How does it figure in your shoot planning, Liam? It looks like a reasonably hefty piece of kit to pack for international shoots.

Is it dependant on how much assistance you're getting? Or the amount of kit you need to add to the camera? etc
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It's an equation between all those things. In my recent shoot in India I decided to take the easy rig because I knew the conditions would be harsh, yet I needed to be agile and be able to get perfectly framed shots. In the pic I posted I'm standing barefoot in a paddy field, it was 44C and extremely humid, I was shooting with Canon Cine Primes on my FS7 with matte box, filters, XDCA, V-lock batts and other gunk, so it was a no brainer to use the Easy Rig to spread the load, which was over 15KG. When we moved north and the humidity dropped I favoured hand-held.


bengiles said:
Also interested to know what situations would sway you towards handheld vs Easirig - I'm still in the honeymoon period...
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I find shooting from hip to shoulder level it really works well, but when I need a low angle the rig can be more of a challenge. Also, walking shots are hopeless with the rig. The key to it is knowing what it's good at and what it isn't good at. Some people think it will give them steadicam type shots, obviously this isn't the case, but if you need mobility between shots and a stable shooting platform where you can put a bit of 'drift' in the shot if you want or keep it rock steady, then it's great.

bengiles said:
Looks like you've got a slightly heftier version - I went for the MiniMax, which handles up to 7kg.
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It's the Easy Rig Vario 5 which allowed me to quickly balance the rig with the twist of a screw.
 
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