Gini rig competitors?

refocusedmedia

refocusedmedia

Veteran
Purely from the perspective of wanting the best features/quality for the "cheapest" price.. is there any decent alternative to the Gini? The majority of rigs I'm finding are well over $500 and don't come with half the stuff the Ginirig does. It also has a reputation for being of good quality.

Basically I have about $600 to spend and I'm trying to ensure I'm spending it wisely. As far as I can tell, a ginirg is my best option, but I wanted to run it past you guys first and see if I overlooked anything.
 
Matthew B said:
The funny thing is Ginirig used to be the cheaper alternative to Zacuto.
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They still are? Significantly so too, it seems. What am I missing here?

wgzn said:
depends on the kind of components you want and what you want to do with them...
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Well, basically it'd be my first rig. I'm looking to start shooting more and I have no way to shoot currently other than on a monopod\tripod or "nude" handheld. I thought about a glidecam, but I think a decent shoulder rig would be a better purchase and offer more versatility.

I don't have a set of specific needs per se, which is why the ginirigs are so appealing. They come with the arms for regular handheld, a top handle for low hanging shots, and a decent follow focus. Seems like a great rig to learn and grow on, to me anyway. I just wanted to see if I my assessment is right or if there are other things I should be looking at.
 
ive done a LOT of posting on this subject and there are SO many ways to go depending on what, how and where youre shooting.

many folks think theyre supposed to use a shoulder rig with dual grips. but this is ergonomically unsound if youre a one man band and need to operate zoom and focus while shooting. for that reason i prefer a single-grip setup.
then there are cages with top grips. those are handy for skate/ski or other action sports shoots. but more or less useless for normal POV shooting.

ive owned rigs from a $3000+ zacuto setup down to a basic $100 cb105 and all kinds of stuff in the middle. and NONE of them are perfect.

it'd be my first rig. I'm looking to start shooting more and I have no way to shoot currently other than on a monopod\tripod...
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unless youre using a lot of extra gear like a big mattebox, follow focus or audio receivers, batteries, etc, i actually really like monopods.

I thought about a glidecam, but I think a decent shoulder rig would be a better purchase and offer more versatility.
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good thinking! a lot of new adopters think they need some kind of gimbal-based stabilizer because of what they read on forums. but a shoulder rig and a stabilizer are different things for different uses. and stabilizers take a LOT of practice just to become competent with them.


if i were going to suggest something to someone new to rigs, something that was both affordable AND adaptable. something that could be used for just about anything.
id recommend this:

http://ikancorp.com/productdetail.php?id=260

that kit includes a huge pile of various components that can be put together for all kinds of uses. ive built an array of shoulder and chest braced setups as well as cages, offsets, etc...
all youd need to add to that would be some form of shoulder pad and you'd be set for just about any need you could imagine. while the ikan stuff isnt as buttery finished or lazer precise as offerings from zacuto or shoot35 or the like. but at half to a third of the price, its a very VERY good option.

to be dead honest, in the field, i find what ive rigged up with that elements master kit MORE useful than SOME of my zacuto stuff
 
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Well, I waited to see what came out of NAB and unfortunately there still doesn't seem to be much competition out there in the price\features\performance ratio. The only other one I've seen is the Jag35 D|runner: http://jag35.com/drunner.html

wgzn, thanks again for your comments and suggestions. At this point, I feel more comfortable purchasing a full rig with everything I need (focus, shoulder pad, etc) rather than piecing it together. I certainly see the value in that ikancorp bundle, but I don't think its for me yet.

So I guess I've pretty much come to a decision then, now to just figure out which ginirig to get. :)
 
The only thing I didn't like about the Gini rigs is the base plate. If you are shooting on a DSLR than it is fine. If you are shooting on a bigger camera, like and FS700 like me, then it undersized in my opinion...that was my first strike against them

The second strike is their customer communication is the worst by far. I sent multiple emails through multiple channels and not one response to this day.

I ended up going with Lanparte, and will I paid more at least I know I can get a hold of someone if something goes wrong.
 
CPM has been around for quite a while. I remember seeing their gear before Gini ever took off. From the reviews i have seen its solid stuff. It all looks very similar to from filmcity ( here http://www.thecinecity.com/eshop/FILMCITY-SHOULDER-RIG-FC-10.html )
I have some of the filmcity parts. They are just fine for the price i paid. not 100% rock solid but pretty good. i would replace the dovetail place. Its the same size as the manfrotto 501PL (the wider longer model) but the one that comes with is plastic and adds a bit of wobble into the rig.
 
Not to hijack the thread, I might as well ask my question here instead of starting a new thread on basically the same thing. I'm also in the market for a shoulder rig and seriously considering the gini rig specifically the extreme 17. One of my main considerations is the ability to grow with my rig given I don't intend to stay on dslrs forever. The extreme 17 I believe is marketed as a DSLR rig. Does anyone know whether I will still be able to use it on bigger cameras with little to no modification when I do make that switch?
 
jamani said:
Not to hijack the thread, I might as well ask my question here instead of starting a new thread on basically the same thing. I'm also in the market for a shoulder rig and seriously considering the gini rig specifically the extreme 17. One of my main considerations is the ability to grow with my rig given I don't intend to stay on dslrs forever. The extreme 17 I believe is marketed as a DSLR rig. Does anyone know whether I will still be able to use it on bigger cameras with little to no modification when I do make that switch?
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I don't have one yet obviously, but from what I can tell the only limiting factors would be the 3/4 circle cage (larger camera might be too big for that to fit over) and the counter-weight (might need to add more to offset the weight of a larger camera). Other than that, I don't see why it couldnt be used with a larger camera (maybe need longer front rails too possiby?). Hopefully, someone with more experience or knowledge can chime in though.
 
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