Indi Ultra Compact good for gh1 & af101?

A

ade4all

Veteran
http://indisystem.com/products/ultra_compact

Looking at getting a shoulder mount for my gh1 but with a view to also getting an af101 eventually - will this set up handle both scenarios?
with gh1 & lens i would be adding zoomh4n, & possibly video light, & when i have to a mic on shock mount
with the af101 there would possibly be the light & mic added
i may also be getting a follow focus soon, so was hoping to get a support with the right size rods - this seems to be the case, how solid is this rig, will the rods be appropriate for use with ff?
Also i presume i can take the 'c' bracket with top handle off when using the af101?
Sorry for all the questions, just finding it hard to visualize the scale of it particularly with the af101 on it
One last thing, is there anywhere in the uk or at least europe where i can get this without the lovely customs man taking his hit when it arrives in the country
OR - if someone knows of a decent shoulder mount i can get in the uk, would love some recommendations......

Hope someone can help me out

thanks

Ade
 
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Some answers to your questions.

Yes, you can mount light, mike and monitor and recorder on this thing.
Follow focus, of course, also (as rods are standard 15mm at 60mm distance).
Actual C bracket is quite large (it differs from pictured one).
So, I think that you'll be ok with AF100 without removing it.

For customs things you could use www.shipito.com .
You'll ship bought item to their address and instruct them to repack item and write cusoms declaration yourself, after that they'll thip item to you.

Right now it is best offfering it this price range.
 
great, many thanks for the reply Vitaliy, answered all my queries, cant say fairer than that......will look into the shipping thing
 
I own this rig and I would not recommend it for several reasons. The rig has no counter balance weight on the back and it is fairly heavy. It was very heavy with my gh1 on it. I stripped the whole thing down and use it more in a captain stumbling configuration with no shoulder mount.I have tried several ways of mounting the zoom h4n to this rig without getting vibration noise and its next to impossible. The clamps tighten down by biting into the metal thus gouging the rig. Everything about this rig is uncomfortable unless you take it apart and build a rig that is more fitting to you. On top of all this I was scammed out of $130 from indisystem and they never sent me my slider or refunded my money. Never even responded to my emails or phone calls. I freaking hate this company.
 
I would say the rig isn't good for anything. The indifocus rigs are pretty crummy, even for the price. Uses bolts on metal for tightening instead of clamps (except on rods) uses non standard sizes for everything but rods. Tolerances are poor, construction is poor. Rigs are heavy. Save your money.
 
Ben_B,

I have to agree. All though the ultra compact looks good on paper Indisystem products are cheaply and quickly made. I bought just the shoulder pad from the ultra compact rig (being told that it was a stand 15mm rod) to mount on my express35 rig (pretty sturdy, light weight and inexpensive rigs also) and the pad is a POS along with the rod being an odd (smaller=cheaper) also the shoulder pad is beginning to move. Granted I could screw it in tighter, but I would have to rip off the pad and glue it back on (messy).

Indisystem got really popular over the past year because they were the only ones producing decent gear at a lost cost. There are a lot more options now-a-days around relatively the same price range. I also here good things about jag35 rigs, but not sure about the cross-compatibility between GH1 and AF101. Good luck finding rig, it can be a stressful decision.
 
I bought the handles and a pair of carbon fiber rods from indisystem, teh quality is ok, but the handles are heavy, maybe to much for a rig that takes advantage og the size of any micro 4/3s camera
 
The rig has no counter balance weight on the back and it is fairly heavy.
Click to expand...

All current rigs have special metal plate for counterbalance (on shoulder pad).

It was very heavy with my gh1 on it.
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What exactly do you mean under "very heavy"?
I find it quite good for light DSLRs.
Not perfect, but ok.

I have tried several ways of mounting the zoom h4n to this rig without getting vibration noise and its next to impossible.
Click to expand...

Extremely strange.
Why you expect no vibration noise if you mount mikes without proper spider mount.
I don't see any problems with proper mount of shotgun.

The clamps tighten down by biting into the metal thus gouging the rig.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you forget to say that this rods are solid steel, same for clamps bolts.
So, I don't see any real big problem here.

On top of all this I was scammed out of $130 from indisystem and they never sent me my slider or refunded my money. Never even responded to my emails or phone calls. I freaking hate this company.
Click to expand...

This you must put to the top.
You hate this company.
 
JerryB said:
There are a lot more options now-a-days around relatively the same price range. I also here good things about jag35 rigs, but not sure about the cross-compatibility between GH1 and AF101. Good luck finding rig, it can be a stressful decision.
Click to expand...

I am very interested to look at other options in $300 range that allow you to mount many things right from the start and top handle.
Gini rigs looks very nice made, but they need better shoulder pad, same thing with counterbalance. Plus clamps and other things to mount all stuff.
Really useful Gini Rigs start at about $600 ($530 best offer, if you are lucky, plus about $90 shipping).

Any express35 rig with added necessary options will be also about $500 :-)
 
oh dear a few dont seem to like it - will do a bit more research but am looking to get something in the same price range & indi seemed to be quite favourable - if theres something out there better at the same price I'd be interested to know
 
1 thing that bothers me about all these rigs is the 2 handle design - i had a spiderbrace2 for my dvx100 back in the day & it was impossible to focus with 1 hand & balance the rig with the other - granted it had no weight to it which these slightly more sophisticated ones do - but how easy is it still to use 2 handle design & adjust focus, aperture etc? would it not be easier to have one handle in the middle below the weight of the camera etc?
i have been using the el cheapo £30 support with my hmc151 which although it has a few problems (especially if you want to breath - which i like to do), at least it freed your hand up for adjusting the camera
it seems to me these rigs are purely for holding the camera steady but will be tricky to keep steady when wanting to focus - any thoughts?
 
vitaliy - yes was thinking of going with one handle, just strange they all seem to be set up with 2
martti - i have looked at all the uk deals but have found no feed back on any of the ones in that price range - am keen to see what wayne comes up with though & yes i have my eye on his follow focus
 
Vitaliy Kiselev said:
I am very interested to look at other options in $300 range that allow you to mount many things right from the start and top handle.
Gini rigs looks very nice made, but they need better shoulder pad, same thing with counterbalance. Plus clamps and other things to mount all stuff.
Really useful Gini Rigs start at about $600 ($530 best offer, if you are lucky, plus about $90 shipping).

Any express35 rig with added necessary options will be also about $500 :-)
Click to expand...

You are correct, for exactly $300 the Indisytem compact is probably the most bang for the buck. That is why I stated for "relatively" the same price you can find better quality rigs. You may spend $100-200 more than the Indisytem, but it's not like a year or two ago where the options were either a cheap Indisystem/Cavison rig or a very expensive Zacuto, Redrock, Cinevate, etc. There are a lot of nice middle ground rigs now that have both nice quality and decent price tag.

This JAG35 rig is around $300 (with less functional top handle) and the Express35 Shoulder Rig | Lite that I purchase for $200 and added $50 tripod mount and $60 indisystem shoulder pad is unfortunately not on their website any more (now that I just checked). I friend of mine just bought this (unfortunately $300 more) Handy Film Tools Rig that is really great quality. Yes it is twice as much as indisystem ultracompact, but half or more the price of equivalent of higher end name brand dslr rigs.

I'm sure Indisystem compact is fine (Vitaley owns this so he would have more insight), just letting you know there are other decently priced options.

Also, Vitaley, any new progress on Gh1 hack?
 
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Yeah, alternatives are present. And Indie Compact is not best rig ever, it is for certain. :-)
But I don't see JAG35 or Express35 items as alternatives in any way. They have badly adjustable handles, not very good shoulder pads, etc.
Indian or Gini rigs on ebay are much much better.
As for Handy Film tools. I don't know who designed this thing. But all I see is that they had bunch of money, average idea and bad designer.
 
We are currently running a special through Decemeber that upgrades all our rigs to include our new Flip Cage. In addition all rigs get a free upgrade to the heavy duty rods. Best bang for your buck is the Flyer shoulder rig. With the upgrade to the flip cage its pretty much a Sidewinder at half the price. And always a 100% lifetime replacement warrantee, made in the usa.

I attached a picture of the rig with the Flip cage Upgrade. Also as a DVX sponsor we have a 10% off coupon for DVX members. Just type in dvxuser.com at check out and it takes 10% off your order.

http://www.cpmfilmtools.com/DSLR_Flyer_Shoulder_Rig_p/flyr_dslr_shldr - 82.htm


Flyer_upgrade.JPG
 
Vitaliy Kiselev said:
But I don't see JAG35 or Express35 items as alternatives in any way. They have badly adjustable handles, not very good shoulder pads, etc.
Indian or Gini rigs on ebay are much much better.
As for Handy Film tools. I don't know who designed this thing. But all I see is that they had bunch of money, average idea and bad designer.
Click to expand...

As an owner of an Express 35 rig I know first hand that the rig is very well built and solid for it's price range. I can not speak for Jag35 or Indisystem rig (accept for should pad which is crap). I have had first-hand experience with the Hand Film Tools rig and I agree the design is a little uninspired but the quality is top notch and the rig is versatile and pretty solid (a little over priced but not too horrible for extra functionality). Indian Rigs I have read very mixed reviews on craftsmenship but might be a good alternative also.

SimonC said:
I dont know, the Field Runner looks nice and simple to me, wouldn't need the top handle but overall looks like good qaulity/uselfulness.
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Just found a pretty unbiased review today over at Cheesy Cam of the field runner. Probably the best low cost option I can find other than Indisystem Compact (but i am not a big fan of their quality or customer service) http://cheesycam.com/theres-a-jag-in-the-house-the-jag35-dslr-fieldrunner-rig/

Good luck on your rig decision!
 
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