GH5 Good shoulder rig?

How's your vision, with regard to near focus? How close can you have a screen and still see it clearly? With my eyes (and I still don't wear glasses for seeing far), I can't see a screen clearly if it's right up in my grill. This makes most external monitor/arm setups a bit cumbersome. Hard to get that screen far enough to be clear for my eyes while maintaining some kind of reasonable center of gravity on the rig. If it's way out front and on the side, and has any weight to it, then you need A LOT of weight counterbalancing it, not just in the back, but also on the right. If the easy rig wasn't such monstrosity for low profile situations, then that's the route I'd go as well.

I generally agree with Joe's sentiment that shoulder rigs are not easy to make work for dslr cams. I've tried a bunch of configurations, and still not convinced by any.

Here's a great example of what I'm babbling on about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU8aVVF41yo

This rig looks great in many ways, the reviewer is foaming at the mouth he's so excited about it, but I can't imagine being able to see a damn thing on the screen of the camera the way everything is set up. I'd need an EVF or a monitor held farther away than that. Arms are a bit of a pITA for these setups I find because getting it to where it needs to be makes the whole thing so wobbly.
 
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I can only agree with joe12south and others who understand that a shoulder rig is really far from ideal for a DSLR setup with cage, rails, follow focus, matte box, monitor and so on. Someone mentioned that the easyrig might not be great for stealth shooting, which might be so - but neither is walking around with a fully kitted out shoulder rig :) Most of us aren't doing undercover work - we need a dependable rig that entails little fuss, that won't get in our way when shooting documentaries, narrative, corporate work and so on... where being discrete is not usually an issue; and in my experience, nobody has ever batted an eye when I've shot in public places with a cage, follow focus and monitor anyhow - but I also find that people here in Vietnam anyway, tend to respect you more if you've got a setup like that - not that you want to attract unnecessary attention, and none of us want to be judged by our gear, but just the same... With an easyrig, you no longer have to worry about lugging around 30 pound weights or batteries (the best solution, as I think joe12south pointed out) or whatever it is you use to balance the shoulder rig. :) And it comes in a nylon bag with a shoulder strap which, when broken down, is fairly compact and much lighter than say, many carbon fiber tripods. An easyrig is going to be more flexible as well, because unlike a shoulder rig, you won't need to adjust height, find different mounting plates and different balancing weights for each and every camera you attach - just clip the easyrig to the cage and you're ready to shoot. I recently watched a video where someone had purchased a vest to attach to their Ronin, and while before he could only carry the stabilizer around for minutes at a time before his arms eventually gave out, the vest allowed him to carry the Ronin for much, much longer. The reason is, with a vest, the camera or stabilizer or whatever is just floating in front of you, there is no pressure on your arms, shoulders and back - the weight is distributed better. Before buying my easyrig, I also paid one more obligatory visit to the local camera shop, trying out a bunch of shoulder rigs, including one manufactured by Zacuto, and they were so difficult to get just right that I finally gave up - and I've never looked back!
 
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rob norton said:
Did you use one or is that a prediction? I think two hands on the camera with the shoulder pad in your chest/shoulder is fine. I used to own one, although I sold it just and use a gorillapod focus if i have to. Filmguy's set up might be getting a bit heavy for one though.
Click to expand...

Pure speculation on my part based on using similar set-ups.
 
Another plus for the EasyRig is that it can also provide up/down stabilization for a brushless gimbal. I used a similar rig on a 12 hour a day 3 day narative shoot that was 100% handheld, and it worked so well that we did away with the gimbal and just used IBIS and the rig. The biggest downside is that it was quite awkward to get in and out of when solo, and I would expect the same of the Easyrig.

If you actually want that shoulder rig/handheld look, though, then it's not gonna provide it. It is its own beast. (I don't think I've ever met anyone who actually wanted a shoulder mount, look, though.)
 
Yes, it definitely helps to have an assistant, if only to keep that pole thingy from swinging around and bumping people in the head until you get the camera attached. :) There must be a trade secret for that, I just haven’t found out what it is yet.
 
best to just let the camera float with an easy rig, or would easy rig + shoulder mount (something like the revo sr-1500?) give a bit more stability but without needing any forearm support to keep the camera up, or counterweight? Or a chest-pod type of mount to help give the camera a second contact point?
 
I own one of the smaller EasyRigs, & almost always rent beefier versions when shooting ARRIs handheld, but still rarely use them.

EasyRigs are useful for holding heavy cameras at heights where shoulder mounting, or cradling, are impractical, but it’s not for everyone, & many DPs do not like using them.

If I was Movi operator I’d definitely combine it with an EasyRig, but for other uses definitely try before you buy.
 
Got the easyrig minimax today and I think I’m in love.

I don’t feel constricted at all. Maybe that’s due to the lighter minimax version?

It can be adjusted to barely make me taller at all. Takes all the weight off. Camera is pretty easy to keep steady especially if you add a simple gun stick chest stabilizer which can be swiveled away when not needed.

I haven’t field tested this for real yet but first impressions = life changing.

Can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t like this if you’re shooting handheld, especially if you’ve got options as it only takes a moment to pop out and switch into a shoulder rig or tripod if you’re set up on a QR system and not packing a super kitted out rig.
 
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