Anyone have any experience or have the new Edelkrone Modula camera support system?
Looking at the Modula 3
http://www.edelkrone.com/us/5-modula-series
Looking at the Modula 3
http://www.edelkrone.com/us/5-modula-series
GH4 Edelkrone Modula system for GH cameras
- Thread starter mmaller
- Start date
Here is my experince, and it is PURELY my experince and opinion, so others may differ.
Horrible customer support + Ridiculously bad build quality + Incredibly unbearable usability + Unbelievably short life of the products (that's why the probably have lifetime warranty) = EDELKRONE
Experience is based on using some of their rigs, FF, pocket systems and majority of their sliders and motion control rigs (those are the worst!)
Specifically modula rigs. The one I got the chance to use was decent in terms of quality (although I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have lasted long), but I wanted to kill myself after a couple hours of use because scenarious changed throughout the shoot and we thought we could use its adjustability and features for our own good. It was a nightmare to reconfigure it every time.
ONLY MY OPINION.
Horrible customer support + Ridiculously bad build quality + Incredibly unbearable usability + Unbelievably short life of the products (that's why the probably have lifetime warranty) = EDELKRONE
Experience is based on using some of their rigs, FF, pocket systems and majority of their sliders and motion control rigs (those are the worst!)
Specifically modula rigs. The one I got the chance to use was decent in terms of quality (although I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have lasted long), but I wanted to kill myself after a couple hours of use because scenarious changed throughout the shoot and we thought we could use its adjustability and features for our own good. It was a nightmare to reconfigure it every time.
ONLY MY OPINION.
ReelWorksMedia
Well-known member
I actually think this is a bit funny. I can see rigging out an Epic, Blackmagic (because of the ergonomics)..and slightly more awkward cameras....but rigging out a DSLR style camera that almost weighs nothing to make it bigger and "off the shoulder" seems a little counter intuitive to its design advantages. Lets take the smallest camera thats super light weight and make it bigger and heaver!
I can see the advantages of its integration into stabilization hardware...but these are about the same as handheld. Just personal opinion.
I guess it depends on what you intend to mount....but it is a bit funny in conception.
I can see the advantages of its integration into stabilization hardware...but these are about the same as handheld. Just personal opinion.
I guess it depends on what you intend to mount....but it is a bit funny in conception.
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Well, I guess I'm bashing them a little too hard. Yes, most of their components are made of metal and other robust materials.
The fact that my friends have to send their gear back to Turkey once in a while (they sent it already 2 or 3 times, may be more by now), in less than 8 months tells me something is not right with their gear.
Let me be clear, I'm talking regarding their sliders and motion control system right now. Their shoulder rigs are a little bit better due to the less complicated components and 0 electronics involved of course.
The only thing that I didn't like about the rig we used (I think it was modula 5 with their follow focus), it was usability. We had to spend some time to fiddle with it until we got it right or the way we wanted it.
Modula 3 on the other hand looks to have a simple design, so that may turn out to be its advantage. Honestly if I were you, I would rent it first before buying or maybe finding someone who has it to try it out.
The fact that my friends have to send their gear back to Turkey once in a while (they sent it already 2 or 3 times, may be more by now), in less than 8 months tells me something is not right with their gear.
Let me be clear, I'm talking regarding their sliders and motion control system right now. Their shoulder rigs are a little bit better due to the less complicated components and 0 electronics involved of course.
The only thing that I didn't like about the rig we used (I think it was modula 5 with their follow focus), it was usability. We had to spend some time to fiddle with it until we got it right or the way we wanted it.
Modula 3 on the other hand looks to have a simple design, so that may turn out to be its advantage. Honestly if I were you, I would rent it first before buying or maybe finding someone who has it to try it out.
Edelkrone is all marketing and nothing but marketing. Starting with the name "Edelkrone" is meant to convey some kind of Germanic or Scandinavian quality connotation, but it's a Turkish 3rd world quality stuff. High prices meant to imply high quality, except it's not. But worst of all is usability - it's just not user friendly out in the field and worthless reliability. Stay away, is my opinion.
I totally agree. Especially when you take in mind GH camera series which are even smaller and lighter than some other DSLR's.
Unless you have adudio recorder, monitor, lav mics, ext battery and other accessories that you need to strap somewhere and you are one man band, who wants that eng feel, then it might work out well. Then again, there are better rigs build for that kind of shooting.
ReelWorksMedia
Well-known member
Yea...part of me whats them to make a really heavy duty rig with all kinda of crap strapped to it...and a GoPro at the helm. Thats kinda what it feels like.
I use the Edelkrone Modula 5 with my GH3 & GH4 and so far it's been a good rig for me. It's very adjustable which is nice as I'm a big guy so everything needed to be lengthened. It's very sturdy. It feels a little bit heavy but then I don't have much experience with other rigs so I might be a normal weight. I can tell you that it's very front heavy which makes my arms tired after a while. I ended up getting their new shoulder support system (modula 9 I think) which provides counterweight options. The rig is much better balanced now, but it's also much heavier, so it's a trade-off.
I bought all the components off Ebay and they were in good condition. The only weakness so far has been the monitor support bar is a little loose and tightening it doesn't help so that adjustment screw might be stripped. I haven't fixed it as it hasn't been a problem. The monitor arm stays where I need it to be; it being a little loose isn't a problem for me.
Here's a blog post I did about a gig where I used the rig. There are photos to show you the system. (this was before I got the Modula 9 shoulder support)
http://mahalovideo.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/the-chancellor-challenge/
I also have the Pocket Shot camera support thingie which has been handy in several instances. I'm thinking about getting the Pocket Rods as they look like a convenient way to attach a follow focus with a heavy rig.
I bought all the components off Ebay and they were in good condition. The only weakness so far has been the monitor support bar is a little loose and tightening it doesn't help so that adjustment screw might be stripped. I haven't fixed it as it hasn't been a problem. The monitor arm stays where I need it to be; it being a little loose isn't a problem for me.
Here's a blog post I did about a gig where I used the rig. There are photos to show you the system. (this was before I got the Modula 9 shoulder support)
http://mahalovideo.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/the-chancellor-challenge/
I also have the Pocket Shot camera support thingie which has been handy in several instances. I'm thinking about getting the Pocket Rods as they look like a convenient way to attach a follow focus with a heavy rig.
ReelWorksMedia, the reason a rig is beneficial for smaller cameras is because when handholding a small camera for video, micro jitters are often introduced by your hands especially when using anything longer than 25mm. A bigger heavier rig has the advantage of squelching those micro jitters (to some degree) making the footage much more usable.
Handholding the bear camera and getting good usable video footage is often very difficult even though it may seem the way to go with these smaller lighter cameras.
Handholding the bear camera and getting good usable video footage is often very difficult even though it may seem the way to go with these smaller lighter cameras.
ReelWorksMedia
Well-known member
Absolutely fair. The smallest camera I have ever owned is a 5D3 and this was not an issue at all with that camera. That said, I could see if a camera was smaller...and OS was not available....it could cause some significant jitters that would be helped by a rig.
Its still funny though...the race has been on to make smaller...better...cameras, but its also a trade off. Now we got da jitters!
Its still funny though...the race has been on to make smaller...better...cameras, but its also a trade off. Now we got da jitters!
Egg Born Son
Veteran
I have the Modula 3 with some extras. There's a little torsion play across the whole unit but between each individual element it is pretty locked down. I would prefer it was rock solid but it's no worse than any other 15mm rig I've used and the play is mostly about the handle which doesn't really come into it during use. The adjustability is good but always seems to stop an inch shy of where you really want to get it.
If you need to hold the newspaper at arms length then you will need an EVF rather than a small monitor if you haven't got your glasses, even at full extension I can't quite get the monitor/EVF holder far enough away for comfortable use. Even with reading glasses I wouldn't want to do it all day without a proper EVF. The shoulder pad is designed to merely to use your shoulder as a point of contact for steadying the camera. Your shoulder takes none of the weight whatsoever. Which means your extended arms are completely supporting the entire weight, and the rig alone is 5lbs+. If you've seen online videos of the camera being held by the side handle like a camcorder...take note the guy doing so is a gym junky and even he doesn't make it look easy if you watch closely. It's not practical, the rig alone is as heavy as an HVX and I could never handhold that for more than about 30 seconds before getting the shakes. Using the side handle bare with a DSLR is practical however, even very good. Except for the lack of a guide pin means keeping it straight is an issue.
The additional 15mm rods don't put a matte box at the traditional height so you will need either a height adjustment of 10-15mm or a clamp on. On the other hand the rods do slide forwards and backwards which makes changing lenses easy (you don't need a swingaway) and adjusting the overall balance of the whole rig between shoulder and tripod is a snap.
I got mine second hand and despite the flaws I am pretty happy with it at the price I paid. The EVF holder is the best solution I've come across. The flexibility has offered some good bare bones solutions for specific shooting needs. I don't always use all the parts, sometimes I just use the rods and EVF holder, other times I use the base without the top handle. If it weighed half as much there'd be nothing to complain about. I don't know if I'd pay new price for it if it was the only rig I would buy, the fact I have a full lanparte rig and other spare parts as well I tend to build frankenrigs to the specific gear set up and shot requirements as the project needs and this does provide extra flexibility to do so.
It is possible to turn the 15mm rods around or screw in extensions and use with a 3rd party proper shoulder pad in the right position. Although shifting the weight over the shoulder brings the monitor too close even with glasses so an EVF is definitely required if you do this. I think the rig would be great with the shoulder pad from the modula 7 (which has rods to extend a counter weight which can be removed and replaced with a professional battery plate) but I think it was as much as the modula 3 by itself last I looked and that is a big rip. By all accounts the modula 9 shoulder pad which seems like a good idea make the whole thing simply too heavy to be practical.
So not sure whether to recommend it or not. Hopefully my experiences will help you decide. It is more compact than the lanparte, feels a little less solid but in practice is strong enough. It has some great ideas but always seems to fall just short in adjustability and all the extra mounting holes in the handle are in the wrong places or the wrong distances apart to use most 3rd party parts such as cheeseplates and the like. The EVF holder is great as is the mounting spot on the handle. The side 'camcorder' handle used by itself is definitely an interesting modification to a DSLR.
If you need to hold the newspaper at arms length then you will need an EVF rather than a small monitor if you haven't got your glasses, even at full extension I can't quite get the monitor/EVF holder far enough away for comfortable use. Even with reading glasses I wouldn't want to do it all day without a proper EVF. The shoulder pad is designed to merely to use your shoulder as a point of contact for steadying the camera. Your shoulder takes none of the weight whatsoever. Which means your extended arms are completely supporting the entire weight, and the rig alone is 5lbs+. If you've seen online videos of the camera being held by the side handle like a camcorder...take note the guy doing so is a gym junky and even he doesn't make it look easy if you watch closely. It's not practical, the rig alone is as heavy as an HVX and I could never handhold that for more than about 30 seconds before getting the shakes. Using the side handle bare with a DSLR is practical however, even very good. Except for the lack of a guide pin means keeping it straight is an issue.
The additional 15mm rods don't put a matte box at the traditional height so you will need either a height adjustment of 10-15mm or a clamp on. On the other hand the rods do slide forwards and backwards which makes changing lenses easy (you don't need a swingaway) and adjusting the overall balance of the whole rig between shoulder and tripod is a snap.
I got mine second hand and despite the flaws I am pretty happy with it at the price I paid. The EVF holder is the best solution I've come across. The flexibility has offered some good bare bones solutions for specific shooting needs. I don't always use all the parts, sometimes I just use the rods and EVF holder, other times I use the base without the top handle. If it weighed half as much there'd be nothing to complain about. I don't know if I'd pay new price for it if it was the only rig I would buy, the fact I have a full lanparte rig and other spare parts as well I tend to build frankenrigs to the specific gear set up and shot requirements as the project needs and this does provide extra flexibility to do so.
It is possible to turn the 15mm rods around or screw in extensions and use with a 3rd party proper shoulder pad in the right position. Although shifting the weight over the shoulder brings the monitor too close even with glasses so an EVF is definitely required if you do this. I think the rig would be great with the shoulder pad from the modula 7 (which has rods to extend a counter weight which can be removed and replaced with a professional battery plate) but I think it was as much as the modula 3 by itself last I looked and that is a big rip. By all accounts the modula 9 shoulder pad which seems like a good idea make the whole thing simply too heavy to be practical.
So not sure whether to recommend it or not. Hopefully my experiences will help you decide. It is more compact than the lanparte, feels a little less solid but in practice is strong enough. It has some great ideas but always seems to fall just short in adjustability and all the extra mounting holes in the handle are in the wrong places or the wrong distances apart to use most 3rd party parts such as cheeseplates and the like. The EVF holder is great as is the mounting spot on the handle. The side 'camcorder' handle used by itself is definitely an interesting modification to a DSLR.
Hi,
Thank you for your kind comments. If you are already an edelkrone owner you could contact us via info@edelkrone.com regarding your inquiry.
Best Regards,
- İnanç
Hi,
Thank you for your kind comments. If you are already an edelkrone owner you could contact us via info@edelkrone.com regarding your inquiry.
Best Regards,
- İnanç