"Fig Rig" camera support

marcomaui

marcomaui

Member
WOW, anybody saw the new camera support from manfrotto called the Fig Rig?
Check it out and check out the video at
http://www.bogenimaging.us/
So simple and so genius, I love it.
Where can I buy one.
Anybody know the price?
I am very happy with my "DV Rig Pro" but this one look even better.
M
 
I played with it at NAB, it was neat. It was great for a "dogs-eye-view-cam" but for most stuff I don't know how much better it would be than other alternatives. I wouldn't think it would have anything on a glidecam setup. Cool that you can mount lights or shades, or all manner of stuff to it.
 
All it is is a couple of extra accessory shoe adapters that screw onto the underneath of the camera. The handles are put together with screws and bolts, all I had to do was swap a handle around and thus get a left handed version. I put both adapters together and voila! A ghetto FigRig that can hold two additional accessories (3 light setup, 3 mic setup, 2 mics and one light, ect.) for $40 versus the $300+ FigRig from Bogen!

It was funny, I went by the Bogen booth at NAB and I got so many looks and some people asked me about it. The Varizoom guys cracked up and called me brave for actually going over there while Bogen was showing the FigRig off! Hah! =D

Unfortuantely I don't know how to upload pictures, so maybe someone can explain that to me so I can show you guys a bigger picture than the one in my avatar?
 
Jack - to post images in the forum you must already have them online elsewhere to link to them. You can't upload photos directly to DVXUser.com
If they are online, click on the "Go Advanced" button to reply and then click on the small icon above the text box that is yellow and looks like mountains and a red sun. That button will open a box to post the direct link to your photos.
 
 
That's pretty inventive. And you are right, with the exception of a handle surface on the top so you could carry it like an Easter basket, that pretty much accomplishes the fig rig purpose. Way to go, I'm always impressed to see truly inventive shooters developing easier, cheaper ways to do what needs to be done.
 
That *must* be an april fools joke from bogen...

...if not, it makes me sad...

-j
 
They seemed pretty serious about it at NAB. Then again there were many other vendors out there with even sillier, and more blatantly "replacable with something else" items at what could only be described as obscene prices. I can only be referring to the vfgadgets.com dolly thing - it's an aluminum dolly with pneumatic wheels for north of 2 Grand. "I think I'm going to throw up"
 
Jack_Felis said:
the 16x9 Inc. Chrosziel Twister DV device. It looks a lot like what I've got but yet again mine kicks the shite out of it in terms of price and flexibility for adding accessories. Oh yeah, MSRP is $1695! =D LOL!
Click to expand...

I happen to agree with you on the price. It is a bit crazy. But I happen to have it on good authority that the Twister kicks butt. I've been told by a fellow DVXUser that there is much more to the Twister than what you see in the photo. But even he agreed the price is outrageous. Maybe if he reads this he'll chime in.
 
Well, I bought the adapters from my local camera store, Gluskin's, in Stockton, CA (Yes, I'm in Las Vegas now for school, so I go back and visit in case you're wondering). Anyway, they do make these extra accessory shoe adapters, I bought the generic ones they had but there are brand name ones that I can't remember the name to, and I bought one for my Sony Hi-8 camera with no accessory shoe and got the idea afterwards so I went back and got another one. It worked great on the Hi-8 camera and I decided to try it out with my GL1 and sure enough it works!

I don't know a particular manufacturer, but I'll be willing to check as soon as I can. I checked on the internet a bit just now and I found some stuff. Note that Sony has an adapter but it doesn't have the handles =P

B&H Photo has something
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&kw=HABF&is=REG&Q=&O=productlist&sku=116630

Here's a cheaper one that I think is my bracket brand!
http://www.bugeyedigital.com/product_main/bow-va313.html

If you look closely, the second one has the screws and bolts build so you can swap one around for left hand/right hand use, also it's half the price of the B&H one! ^_^
 
jack, very cool device! simple design... hundreds less than the steering wheel..

i smoked over your other pics also.. cute cat! ;-)
 
marctronixx said:
jack, very cool device! simple design... hundreds less than the steering wheel..

i smoked over your other pics also.. cute cat! ;-)
Click to expand...

Heh, yeah she's the cutest kitten I've ever had.

But getting back to the subject, I'd like to hear about people trying this out with the XL1/1s/2 camera(s).
 
damn. the twister is really that much??

it is almost suspicous that they show you such a limited view of it?

almost like when something is still in prototype mode and they can't show the parts that aren't finished.

i seriously thought the fig rig was an april fools day joke when a friend showed me an ad for it just yesterday.

i am in nearly desparate need of a better handheld solution...

i currently have the mini-rover and in general its pretty good but the connection to the camera is a bit shoddy and it loosens up sometimes but mainly its a really big pain to switch to a tripod as there is no way to attach the tripod plate to the bottom of the mini-rover.

i have a friend with a large manufacturing company that has not only a machine shop but sheet metal, paint and finishing etc.

i think what i'm going to do is work on a design for something that is simple two bicycle type grips on the left and right sides (like two mini-rovers connected left<->right) and on the center/bottom a flat plate with a way to attach a bogen standard 501/503 plate.

the fig rig is cute but if you cut off the bottom section and top section and ended up with something like an aircraft yoke it might be a lot better.

i really can't believe the twister thing is that out of whack but 16x9 is where i got both my chrosziel matte boxes so i'm a gluton for punishment!

but i got my follow focus on ebay for next to nothing!

matthew
 
Matthew, in an earlier thread I asked (rhetorically) how the Fig is different from something like the aircraft yoke you mentioned. The point was, how can you hope to reduce unwanted movement when your arms are outstretched? Our anatomy just doesn't work that way.

Imagine you were performing surgery and had a scalpel in your hand. You'd hold your arm as close to your body as possible, not out to the side.
 
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