C300: lens support

New_Zealand

New_Zealand

Veteran
Using Cine glass on the C300 MkI is there really any differences from one lens support to another? The lens mount on the C300 seems to be pretty good compare to other cameras that I have used in the past and looks like it might hold a 4lb glass but still I think a support is good to have. Anyone using big glass and a support? B&H has them from different prices as low as $29 on up to $500. I have the SHAPE baseplate and was thinking of getting the Shape Lens support.
 
You don't have to spend a ton on lens support, if a less expensive version meets your needs. I bought a Tilta to originaly support my ENG lenses when I would use them on my C300 and F55 and liked them, but had to switch to an expensive Vocas model when I bought my 17-120, because the front is so big(where the lens support tie-in is) that I had to get a much lower profile support and when I would flip the Tilta over to be more "low-profile" it only held onto one rail completely.

I've never supported my 70-200/2.8 or 100-400 v/2, but if you're putting any kind of real Cine zoom on there, especially if it's physically long, I would support it.
 
1. Are you walking, running or carrying your camera around a lot, both while shooting or just transporting?
2. Is your camera going to be built up, then transported around in vehicles?

A 70-200 2.8 IS II or the 100-400 IS II could easily snap an EF mount, IF it is subjected to high stress by being dropped, tipped over or transported in a vehicle, especially a boat or off-road.

To me, it's insane to shoot with any lens over 4-5" long on any EF mount camera without a lens support, 100% of the time. Think about it, a C300 MKI, wearing a relatively light and not that long 70-200 2.8 IS, I actually used this exact combo yesterday on a corporate event shoot. Producer tells you to bring your camera all of the way over to the other side of a large hotel ballroom. The ground is littered with tables, chairs, tablecloths, cables, etc. Are you ALWAYS going to detach the camera from tripod and carry it separately? I know I'm not, takes too long. You are typically going to pick up the tripod with with camera mounted, throw it over your shoulder and carry it to where you need it, it's not too heavy or huge, probably, what, 18lbs of camera and lens plus whatever tripod weighs? What if you trip over a cable, you don't fall, but you also drop the tripod, with the camera mounted. You just potentially increased the G-forces on the lens mount by a factor of X10 to X100, just for a fraction of a second. If the lens is supported, no biggie. If not and you snap, bend or torque the lens off of the mount, you might have just destroyed the camera and or the lens as they will be totaled just like a car in a wreck where it is repairable but would cost more than the item is worth.

Why would anyone NOT use a lens support is my question? Yes, you have to have rods in front to mount it to but suck it up and use one.

EOS-C300_EF-70-200mm-Lens.jpg
 
I'm thinking a simple lens support under the 70-200(with no 'tie-in' point) in the tripping example that Dan laid out above is probably not going to make a difference, unless it falls in a way the rods fully absorb/deflect the impact. I do however agree if you're in a situation with a lot of bouncing around that the support will keep the lens from possibly flexing/torquing too much. I rarely "run around" with it on my camera. 99.9% of the time, if the 70-200 is on one of my cameras, it's in a sit-down/interview situation(I honestly do not remember the last time that I used it for anything except a sit-down interview where it was just on for the set-up and shoot and then removed).
 
New_Zealand said:
the question is - is one support much better than another?
Click to expand...

Before I bought the Vocas for the 17-120(and when I was still using the Tilta), my sales rep recommended trying a 16x9. It was low profile and had a short 1/4 20 stud for support, all of which I needed, BUT it only tied into the lens with TWO threads of the stud and did not provide enough support(actually it didn't protect enough from upward deflection and the lens would flex upwards in the mount when you held it by the grip).

So my recommendation for lens support:
If you do not have any clearance issues with the lens and rods https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1148596-REG/ikan_ls_t05_lens_support_for_19mm.html

If you need low-profile:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1089958-REG/vocas_0360_0525_15mm_universal_lens_support.html
 
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I am using what is probably one of the cheapest lens supports available, from Amazon, cheap Chinese, costs about $15.00. But what it does that a lot of the much more expensive lens supports doesn't do is to actually contact a good portion of the lens barrel with a "1/4 semi-circle" metal support. It's quick and easy to adjust and works a charm. But it looks like a toy, it's cosmetically pretty ugly. But I don't care, I'm shooting documentaries, nobody cares what my camera looks like ;-) I kind of laugh at those who pay hundreds of dollars for a fancy lens support, it's like buying a broom with a gold plated handle. Looks nice but doesn't sweep any better. So many things in our business are massively overpriced, it's just a matter of spending the money when it functionally matters and saving it when the difference doesn't matter. If I was supporting a huge cinema lens, I'd buy expensive but for a $2k still lens that's not really that large or heavy, cheapo does the trick.
 
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