My IndiFocus D90 rig...

kingsly

kingsly

Member
Hey all,
So I got my D90 a few months ago and have enjoyed it immensely. I've shot a few bands and some portraits with it, but her main purpose in life was to replace my very very dead TRV900 with 35mm adaptor (consumer video camera + Sudanese desert/refugee camps = dead consumer video camera ;) ). Now, my D90 won't be seeing the sort of harsh use that the TRV900 did, since the 5 min limit is useless in documentary situations anyway, but her role is as my cinematography camera for narrative shorts, commercials, etc, etc, etc...

So far I've been shooting with a fully manual Nikkor 50mm 1.8, using 12" IndiRAILS and the geared IndiFocus. Tim has been great to work with and I have nothing but good to say about his products. Upon hearing I was using a D90 he also sent me a DSLR riser plate, which moves the camera up and forward to fit the FF better (it works without it, but is a pain to install/remove).

My other photographer friends look at me like I've finally lost my mind when I whip out my camera for stills, and at first glance they're probably right. In practice however, I've found the rails and FF actually make still photography easier and more comfortable, as I can use the FF as an extra handle to support the camera, and focusing is definitely faster and more accurate. The added weight also makes the entire rig feel more solid and helps stabilize the camera in otherwise shaky situations.

Taking a page from my experience in Sudan (I used a quick release sling designed for an assault rifle... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) I relocated the shoulder strap that came with the camera to the rear of the rail system, so the camera naturally faces down and rests against my body when not in use, rather than hanging awkwardly from the top.

My next few goodies will be a DIY tupperware mattebox (eventually followed by the Indifocus swing away system), shoulder mount and some pistol grips. :)

UPDATE: Check out my ghetto but functional shoulder mount.
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Very nice!!! I've been thinking about a similar system myself.

Have you tried your system with any wide-angle or super-wide-angle lenses? I'm thinking about the Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 or 17-55mm f/2.8.

How much did your setup cost you in dollars & man-hours?
 
FF and carbon fibre rails were around $500 out the door. Took me about an hour to get it all setup. I have gotten into the habit of carrying around some allen wrenches until it's all perfectly dialed in.

Shoulder mount and pistol grips are a MUST if shooting handheld. The weight of the rig definitely kills a lot of the rolling shutter and jello, but nothing beats being attached to a human.
Here is an example of something shot on this rig, but holding it out in front of me with no grips or mount... you can see a lot of jello, but compared to what it was before I added all the weight it looks totally solid. :p

Already had the lens (I've also got a Nikkor 50mm 1.4 and what I think is a 105mm zoom).
I need to pick up a 28mm to round out my kit. Been looking at a few possibilities on craigslist. :)
 
you can start shooting again immediately but occasionally the sensor does overheat, when that happens you get a 30 second countdown while you are shooting then live view shuts down. then you just start over but you keep getting the 30 second countdown until the sensor cools down.
 
Charles Lowthian said:
thanks squig.

anyone damage/break their d90 yet then from frying the sensor?
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I've done some stress testing, but then again, it's winter around here, so the D90 loves that..

When I put my D90 at the lowest movie quality setting, I got 20 minute recordings at 320 resolution, so I think the case is Nikon trying to think for the user, assuming that we will burn through an entire memory card within 30 minutes, so it's not exactly the case of the sensor, but the space that's being taken up by the movies.

Anyways, if you stay put by the D90, you can almost continuously keep recording, once it finishes 5 minutes, hit record again and you'll be able to keep rolling and rolling.
 
fotobywes said:
Very nice!!! I've been thinking about a similar system myself.

Have you tried your system with any wide-angle or super-wide-angle lenses? I'm thinking about the Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 or 17-55mm f/2.8.

How much did your setup cost you in dollars & man-hours?
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17-55 2.8 is over 1k.....unless your shooting stills as well...how can you justify buying the lens for video only?
 
NJ3118 said:
17-55 2.8 is over 1k.....unless your shooting stills as well...how can you justify buying the lens for video only?
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Yup, I'm shooting stills for my day job, and so I get access to some nice Nikkor glass- 80-200 f/2.8 VR, 10.5mm f/2.8 and the 35mm f/2.
 
BMFM FILMS said:
...so it's not exactly the case of the sensor, but the space that's being taken up by the movies.
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yeah, i would have thought it would be more so the buffer that needs a break.

either way, appreciate the enthusiam to try and break it squig :dankk2: lol
i probably wouldn't want to shoot many takes lasting 5 minutes, but trying to figure out the limitation of dlsr hd recorders. as much as i love my mini35/hv20, i'm looking for a 'way out'. much cleaner images. i must say, i sometimes (pending on job) like the light loss adapters cause - for artistic reasons (underexpose/push processing), but that's for the other forum. *rambles*
 
Yeah the 5 min limit doesn't really bother me considering what the camera is purposed for. After all, a 450' load of 35 is 5 minutes, and I'm used to shooting 16 all the time, which is even less. All I really need to figure out now is how to record sound, thinking I might just break down and invest in a CF recorder. It's kind of good that I can't pipe sound directly into the camera, it'll force me to always remember to slate my shots! :)
 
for the first 8 seconds... on the bottom of the frame. You don't really see the whole rig, but the white follow focus marking disk is well visible...
 
kingsly said:
...After all, a 450' load of 35 is 5 minutes, and I'm used to shooting 16 all the time, which is even less...
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that is the first thing in my mind whenever i read that 5 minutes "isn't enough" lol IT IS MASSIVE!!! especially with primes.
400 foot of 16mm is around 10/11mins in my book though :lipsrseal
 
Yeah I didn't mean a 400' load of 16 was less, just that the loads of 16 I'm used to shooting (those little kodak rolls) are like 4-5 minutes if that.

I guess with digital people get used to the comfort in knowing they can roll for an hour or more without reloading. It doesn't bug me, though... maybe it's just the way I shoot. For instance, my mum and girlfriend are both pro photographers, and we all shoot digital. When we shoot, they eat through cards and expose tons and tons of images. By then end of the day they'll have loads of shots, good and bad, and I'll have maybe 60 - 100 exposures. I like to make sure it's all perfect the first time. ;)
 
Update:

Update:

SHOULDER MOUNT!

Got tired of jello footage, went to the hardware store and got an aluminum strip and a 1/4" wingnut. Drilled a hole on one end, used a fire extinguisher as a pipe bender. Wrapped in black gaff. Voilà! Jello footage almost gone! (still waiting on pistol grips)

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