F55: F55 & F5 Rig Pictures

Great thread idea. Would be good if people could list the components they're using and share their reasons for choosing them too.
 
Mine is pretty plane jane -

F55 + R5

MTF Effect / Electronic Controller (EF to FZ) - I chose this because you can see the exact F stop rather than clicking + and - and having mentally figure it out AND it shows actual zoom focal length. I just velcro it to the back of the battery. Sure, it adds weight but I can't imagine using the click and guess method that the optitek offers. I like it's size though - I almost bought the optitek when I got a screaming deal on this one and fell in love with it. I was going to just flip it for a few bucks but decided it was the better option after just a few days with it. I like the feel of rotating the now smoothly and being able to fine tune the F stop. (sorry T stop)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/885412-REG/MTF_Services_Ltd_mtconef_MTF_EFFECT_Canon_EF.html
&
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/885408-REG/MTF_Services_Ltd_mtconeff3_MTF_EFFECT_Canon_EF.html

DVF-L350 LCD Viewfinder - I chose this one because you can flip it up and use it sideways and you can flip up the eyepiece and not have to keep face pressed against the viewfinder to see everything but then be able to use the eyepiece to see fine detail and critical focus. It doesn't have the DR of the OLED but the oled can't do all the other functions

Vocas Mattebox MB-450 - The other matte boxes had smaller max apertures and I really like the internal eyebrow features as well as the multiple filter size options, a tillable filter tray, swing away, hight adjustable, 15mm and 19mm, the fact that the flags have that clamp that keep them extra rigid, I like the way the swing away opens forward first and then pivots to the side, my previous MB did not do this.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/754017-REG/Vocas_0455_2000_MB_450_Mattebox_Kit.html

VCT-FSA5 shoulder mount - I like how clean the images of the F55 looked in the Sony ads, and it really does work well - perfect placement for shouldering the camera, can be mounter far aft or forward for different Center of Gravity rigs and lens length too! I like how the quick release works with the VCT-14 / U14
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...5_shoulder_mount_accesory_pmw_f5_pmw_f55.html - nice price drop from 1800 to 900, damn them for charging that much in the first place!

VCT-U14 - I chose the U14 over the VCT-14 because it's the exact same thing but offers a 60 day warranty instead of the 14's one year warranty. it's the exact same item but for 200 bucks less....no brainer if you have the FSA5!!
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...U14_VCT_U14_Quick_Release_Tripod_Adapter.html

Arri viewfinder cable protector - the viewfinder cable is WAAAY to exposed and will break without this, it's bad enough that the protector costs 115 bucks I refused to pay an additional 650 dollars for the chess plate that it attaches to so I made a homemade mount for this protector that cost me 4 dollars! It's just silly to charge 650 dollars for a cheese plate - it's price gouging! Sure, it doesn't say Arri on the mount I made but I don't care about that stuff- It looks good enough for me and it does the job!
http://www.abelcine.com/store/Arri-Viewfinder-Plug-Protection-for-Sony-F5-F55/

Homemade HDMI Protector - I refused to pay several hundred dollars for the HDMI protector available on the market, so I used the same gear I used to mount the ARRI viewfinder protector to just make my own HDMI protector and it works perfectly! And it cost me 2-3 dollars to make

Tilta Universal Handgrips
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/992636-REG/ikan_uh_t03_universal_handgrip_tilta.html

Zacuto Follow Focus - I had this from my 5D mark II and 5D mark III shooting days
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...R_Z_FF_1_FR_Flippable_Reversible_Z_Focus.html

Zacuto Lens Support - again from my Canon 5D3 days- i relieves a lot of pressure on the lens mount, it's super fast to adjust and it's ROCK solid
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/665488-REG/Zacuto_Z_1_4_LS2_5_1_4_20_Lens_Support.html
&
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/587590-REG/Zacuto_ZUP_1_Zup_1_Zupport_Lens_Support.html

XQD 64GB 180S - I had 2 of the SxS Pro+ 128 cards and when I learned about the XQD the first thing I did was test them out. I tried every shooting mode, from S&Q to SR444 to UHD, Raw, component, Rgb - Slog - and it works just as well as the SxS pro+ cards - So I sold the SxS and got XQD cards and had enough money left over to buy lots of other gear after the trade. Why buy SxS pro+ cards anymore? Unless the new codecs will not work with them - it's less than half the cost!!
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1007052-REG/sony_qds64e_64_gb_xqd_card_180.html

I will be adding a Odyseey7 as a field monitor as soon as they come out- the various modes of focus assist will help with UHD/4k capture for sure, and I need all the help I can get. Plus the scopes!!!! I think it's the best deal on a monitor you can get- I would buy the7Q but with the R5 I don't see the point, can the 7Q even be used as a 16 bit external 4k/UHD RAW recorder on the F55? let me know
 
captainjman said:
MTF Effect / Electronic Controller (EF to FZ) - I chose this because you can see the exact F stop rather than clicking + and - and having mentally figure it out AND it shows actual zoom focal length.
Click to expand...
Sorry but this is grossly incorrect.
We not only power the mount from the camera so no external power is needed but we (OptiTek ProLock) also DISPLAY THE STOPS IN VIEW FINDER. No guessing what so ever. I can't think of a better way to monitor stops than in the camera VF along side all other data. And BTW the all Canon EF lenses move in 1/4 stop increments. No matter how you control them.
Just a correction please keep calm and proceed ;)
FYI my writeup comparison between the two systems :
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...F5-F55&p=1986423052&viewfull=1#post1986423052
 
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optitek said:
Sorry but this is grossly incorrect.
We not only power the mount from the camera so no external power is needed but we (OptiTek ProLock) also DISPLAY THE STOPS IN VIEW FINDER. No guessing what so ever. I can't think of a better way to monitor stops than in the camera VF along side all other data. And BTW the all Canon EF lenses move in 1/4 stop increments. No matter how you control them.
Just a correction please keep calm and proceed ;)
Click to expand...

Well, I guess my info was incorrect when I made my buying decision. Sorry about that. Grug asked for a list of the components and the reason I chose them. So I did. I am not out to give wrong information or anything - so please accept my apology. It would seem that the optitek is a superior product then. While we are talking about your product - does it show the the focal length as well? Also, what is the cost of your system?

I made a buying decision on the optitek from a review video on youtube named "at the bench" made April 2013 URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFEqwKQlZ8s
If you watch this video and know nothing about optitek it definitely leaves you with the impression that there is no display of the aperture in the viewfinder, the only option that it discusses was the wireless control which was a lot more money than I wanted to spend- at least at this point.

When I clicked on the next video (link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjqW3JPR-nk) it also didn't say anything about having the aperture shown in the viewfinder either. So having two reviews that left it out - and obviously not knowing the product through any other means - I had no way of knowing that your product did that. Then there was the following discussions here on DVXuser that didn't look promising (link 1: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?313686-Optitek-Prolock-users-feedback) and (link 2: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?313686-Optitek-Prolock-users-feedback) Link 1 to be fair did get addressed and turned around but I didn't get that far- I had at that very moment made my purchase decision... if you guys did a little more to advertise the facts it would have yielded more sales including mine... but now, now I wish I went with the optitek and optitron.... but without the optitoron I don't think I would have gotten it because I don't like having those little buttonsfr control it with. Even in the video review he had to squeeze his fingers in there to get to it and when he did it went slow and then full closed - and the wheel on the MTF works a lot smoother and easer to access. Too bad you don't do trad ins with MTF's products LOL In any event whether the info was true or not, it WAS the reason I chose the MTF Effect and why I chose it

But this thread isn't about optitek, it's about rigs - so my reason and most importantly my apology has been issued and hopefully accepted.
 
IMHO, the MTF adapter is a toy compared to OptiTek's. MTF's service is about as bad as it gets too.
I own both...not for long. ;)
 
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To me, it was worth every penny. This week I will be flying her on steadicam and stripped down to 6lbs total my back will be thanking me.
 
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Two cameras one mattebox
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And everyones fav when we decided to throw my pals 500 on mid race sans rails....Pre 2KC mode....now we get 1000mm =)
 
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