Interesting DVRigPro experience

V

Vinnie03

Active member
I thought I'd share my experience with the DVRigPro I recently had. I spent 5 days walking around New York, and New Jersey recently shooting a documentary and it performed wonderfuly! My shots could've never been so steady as I had to follow college students on a walk through the the city, and when conversations started up, they still kept walking of course. In fact at one point I was walking in front of two people as they were talking, I was walking backwards with the Rig and it was almost smoother than when I was walking forwards! Amazing! I of course had someone right behind me guiding me in case I was close to running into something.

I do have to say though. We walked from 7:30am till about 10pm, with only 3 10 minute breaks... After 3 or 4 hrs, the Rig is very comfortable, 5 - 8 hrs - still comfortable, 9 or more hrs the soreness sets in... of course I know that's nuts! But my point is.. Without the Rig I would've been REALLY sore shooting literally all day, and my shots would've suffered, not so with the Rig, the same quality shots throughout the whole day.

On the looks I got.. ;D People definatly looked.. but the look was that of "hey, what are you shooting?" Not the "What a weirdo!" look. I will say this, on one of the days it was raining off and on, so I had a makeshift cover I used to cover the whole setup as it still rested on my shoulder. All you could see was me holding the handles with this big thing under a cover, with a shotgun mike pointing out...I had several comments on the subway asking what kind of gun I had!? One guy in Harlem even told me he almost pulled out his gun to protect himself from whatever I had under that cover! Interesting though...not one subway police officer stopped me to see what was under the cover?

Anyways, that was my experience... I will try to get some clips posted in the next few days...It's hard though, as the subject is both political and religious, and I don't know if that's ok to post or not...

Vince
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

Geez, that's a long time to wear any rig. I've worn my DVRig for 6 hours in the DC heat and humidity and that was long enough for me. I agree that the DVRig Pro is the only solution that provides a stable camera rig for extended periods. I'm thinking of replacing the shoulder pad with a gel pad, but otherwise I think it's a great design and a good value. Go ahead and post your clips--there's no problem as long as folks stick to discussing the film itself and avoid any rants or personal attacks.
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

For the gel material, you might want to look at those wrist rest things they sell for mouse pads. That might work.
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

Right, that's exactly what I was going to buy. A strip of gel cushioning designed for a keyboard wrist rest. They sell them at CompUSA.
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

great idea guys! I'm off to buy mine as soon as I get out of work. Im currious to see how much more comfortable it will be.

Thanks again,
Vince
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

What are your experiences with the dvrig as far as portability and speed? I'm in the market for a shoulder mount, but frankly the whole belt and support pod seem too cumbersome, bulky and setup intensive for my run & gun & dodge shooting needs.
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

Kai,

Well, yeah it is a bit cumbersome, but there were several times, I ran with the rig just to get ahead of the group and get them coming towards me. I lifted the rig slightly off my shoulder and ran ahead. I only had to do this a couple times, more than that, it would've gotten old real quick.

As far as general portablity, I guess it depends on the job. For the walk, I just kept the rig on all day. When on the subway, I took the rig off and set it in front of me, along with the pod, but kept the belt on.

Although I was tired at the end of the day, I know i'd have been much more tired without it, and the shots would've greatly suffered by midway through the day.


Vince
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

Kai--there's a definite tradeoff between stability and portability. I'm used to shoulder mounted cams and the DVRig Pro is a more complicated solution. It *is* a rig, and while it sets up quickly, it's not like throwing a camera on your shoulder. The belt and support rod are simple to put on, so once you've got the initial balance set--it literally only takes a few minutes to put it on. It also adds considerable bulk and weight to the DVX. Once you've got it on--it's a joy because of the balance.
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

Good insights. I think i'll have to pass on it for now, because i need something I can literally just throw up and be shooting in a matter of seconds, while running and jumping, climbing in & out of foreign taxis, etc.
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

Kai,

You might consider Anton/Bauer's "Stasis" system. It's a collapsible, lightweight shoulder brace that I find gives the feeling of using a shoulder mounted cam in terms of weight and balance. And you can attach your tripod plate to it so that the whole rig can be instantly set up on your sticks. When you're done, just fold it up and throw it in your run bag. No fuss, no muss.
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

[quote author=dkphotos link=board=Links;num=1091115134;start=0#10 date=07/30/04 at 15:14:51]Kai,

You might consider Anton/Bauer's "Stasis" system. It's a collapsible, lightweight shoulder brace that I find gives the feeling of using a shoulder mounted cam in terms of weight and balance. And you can attach your tripod plate to it so that the whole rig can be instantly set up on your sticks. When you're done, just fold it up and throw it in your run bag. No fuss, no muss.[/quote]

I know a lot of people that wanted that until they realized they had to use Anton-Bauer batteries. I went to light-weight Li-Ion a long time ago...
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

Since the "Stasis" was mentioned under a DVRigPro topic, I feel free to give my opinion on it.

The Stasis was designed as a platform for powering the camera and an on board light. As such it is a nice idea.

As a camera shoulder support, it has a very limited effect, You still have to support it with your arms, The back battery
does not realy balance the camera weight.

you have to hold your arms high, there is no grip other then the camera as it is.

I have tested it during last NAB and didn't find anything exciting about it that improves the use of hand held cameras or making the shots more stable or less fatigue.
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

Danny,
I have to competely agree with you. Looking at the stasis, it lacks the two most important features, in my opinion, of the DvRigPro!

1. The handles. They provide me with much more control over my shot, in a more natural way. Also when walking around waiting for any action, I was always ready to frame my shot instantly, and effortlessly. Which leads me to the second most important feature...

2. The support rod. The rod kept the camera in position at all times, so i didnt have a moment where the camera wasn't already set for framing and shooting. and trust me, if I had to hold the DVX for 10 + hrs like I did, I wouldn't have made it! The support rod took all the weight off of me, and let me "rest" for a while between shots.

I think you can tell I'm a big fan of the DVRigPro!... Honestly at first, I was thinking that the $600 was a bit much to ask, but after a week of using it, $600 is a steal!

Vince
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

Just wondering if the moovie is worth 10 hours on the shoulder - ones you got payd 100$ for unthinking buton push ;-)
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

Oleg,
Good point! 10 hrs was a lot each day, and the money isnt much .. but this project is more for the cause for me than the $$. And I'm really just starting off on doing my own projects so the exposure is worth it for me. But yeah.. the $$$ would be nice!
Vince
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

i am  not talking $ or good cause , i am talking that the no worth of the equip and the tape push people think that if you shoot 50 hours you get a moovie .
i wrote it becouse a week ago i did 5  days and ran about 40 hours of dat .(double system with dvx)  in moovie that was directed by idiot which was motivated by how cheap it  to shoot on dv .
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

ah... Ok now I get what you mean. Yeah, you're right, people think quantity and not quality. I actually shot about 15 hrs, in 5 days. So I did use discresion as to not end up having to log through all that!
 
Re: Interesting DVRigPro experience

i searched for the dvrig on yahoo and couldn't find it... where's a site to check this sucker out? thanks...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top