My thoughts on shoulder rigs, your thoughts?

olof

olof

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As you may know I make a shoulder brace for the AF100 and a few other cameras as well.

My favorite current ENG rig is the Sony EX3. The reason is it has an excellent view finder in the perfect place, next to the lens. And it is easy to make a very comfortable shoulder brace for it with your shoulder partially under the camera, and then put a couple AB or IDX batts on the shoulder brace to balance the camera for extended shouldering.

Most other small cams like the AF100, EX1, F3 etc have the VF in the back so it takes an incredible amount of weight to balance a rig for extended shouldering. And the rigs get big especially if you also add a mattebox etc.

Now my own style of shooting is 90% or more on sticks, jibs, dolly, stedicam or sliders. Most of the time I only shoulder for a very short time, so I like the shoulder brace to give me some counterweight, I usually have one or two IDX batts on the shoulder brace. But mostly it makes the shots much steadier because you have the third point of contact, and it is much more comfortable and balanced, but I would not want to shoot with this setup on the shoulder all day.

So I am now designing a rig for the AF100 and other cams as well that puts your shoulder under the camera and ignores the EVF on the camera. Instead it will have an easily adjustable EVF holder that functions like the full size cams or the EX3 EVF. That is, easy to adjust and sturdy. I have had a lot of requests for this type of rig lately. I am designing this for use with the Zakuto EVF or others like it. I just wish I could find a HD-SDI version, I hate the HDMI cables. I bet this will become available soon.

What are your thoughts on shouldering the AF100? Do you shoulder it often for long periods, or just for some quick shots now and then?

I have had a number of conversations with shooters about this and many feel that the AF100 is not really suitable for ENG, I tend to agree, I actually like smaller chip cams for this style of shooting, like I said the EX3 with the 1/2" chip is very nice for this, much easier to nail focus but still capable of some SDOF.

I do know a lot of shooters want to use the AF100 for this style of shooting. The EVF prices are coming down and I think this type of solution may be a good way to go. I still plan to have option for larger batteries, nice for on camera lights, Nanoflash etc. And I would keep the whole rig very compact with the batteries vertical. I also plan to have the option for 15mm rods up front, as well as my wooden handle setup.

What are your thoughts? Would you like to see this type of rig?

Thanks for any comments.
 
Yes. For me if I could go from tripod to handheld for a few quick shots without a lot of adjustments I would be in heaven. Like you I don't shoot long periods of time handheld but like the look.
Couple of my thoughts.

1. balance on tripod is different than in shoulder configuration. The quick release needs to be adjustable on the rods so the balance is correct on sticks. Most QR plates attach to the bottom of the baseplate on the rig.

2. Keeping the EVF horizon in place when in handheld mode. I feel if the EVF is mounted to the camera it would be better than on the rails.

3. Keeping the height of the camera as low profile as possible so the camera isn't top heavy making it harder to keep the horizon level.
 
From a creative standpoint, I think I am at my best when shooting handheld with a shoulder-mount camera. I do a lot of uncontrolled events coverage (not ENG, per se, but definitely influenced by that style) and am used to spending whole days with the camera on my shoulder. Nevertheless, I enjoy more controlled shooting from sticks and in the studio as well, and in fact, the handheld stuff probably only accounts for 25% or so of my work overall. The AF100 is a lovely camera but is, to me, almost always a tripod-mounted device. None of the shoulder rigs I've seen (not to mention lenses) are really suitable for carrying it around all day. Therefore, I own two cameras -- the AF100 for more controlled situations, and an HMC80 (with Anton Bauer mount on the back which helps balance it) that is at its best in run'n'gun settings. I find the two complement each other nicely and I can usually find an appropriate place for both of them on most of the shoots I do, even if the overall style favors one over the other.

I would love a mount centered under the AF100 body with a front viewfinder -- this would greatly increase its area of applicability for me. (Not that I dislike the HMC80, either! A fine and somewhat overlooked tool.) Even more, I think such a mount would be useful for the new AC130/160 cameras. That wide zoom and the smallish sensors make it a natural for my style of shooting, but again, the non-shoulder-friendly design with the VF at the back is a handicap. If you could come up with something that would work with both camera bodies, it would be even better -- and might help sell at least one AC160.

Thanks for everything you've done to support the community!

- Greg
 
Great news Olof, get to it! I've had a few different shoulder rigs and none work well well with the Af100 - this is definitely a tripod camera, despite it's small size. The best I tried is an IDX version which doesn't use a counterweight (apart form the v mount battery of course), but puts a pole in front of your chest so the weight is pushed into your torso, thus providing the balance and stability. That also keeps the weight down, so you can put the whole setup on a tripod without too much weight imbalance. I agree with all of Erik's point above, especially the second. No matter how tightly I screw my various arms and mounts, it always seems to be a little off after a few minutes. I'd say something like a short rail system, with the shoulder pad as close to the camera as possible and a side mounted arm for the monitor, plus some sort of bracing feature rather than a counterweight would be the best all round solution, with an adaptor for V Mount batteries if you use them. Oh, and give it a quick release base so you can snap the camera on and off it easily. Oh, and make it work with my new Small HD DP4. Oh, and... and...

Tom

Oh, and thanks.
 
Come to think of it, a side mounted angled iron, much like your Nanoflash mount, would be a good plan for a sturdy evf mount...
 
I shot handheld with the AF101 last week, with the zacuto EVF mounted from the handle with the pana BTLH80 clamp.
I hook my thumb through the strap, rest of my hand cradling under the body, and pull the 101's Evf into my shoulder.
I would love to be able to remove the Evf and have a shoulder stock I could fit in there instead.
and I yearn for an ash wooden grip from you. saving up for that...
would give me my preferred shooting hold for my right hand.

being 6'5" means this all sits at average eye level, and I've great 3 point contact, with my left hand free to twiddle stuff.
 
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Olof,

I shoot from the shoulder often, but just as often from the waist, or whatever. I'm loving your current shoulder brace, & body-mounted handle, so would love to see what else you come up with, but would hate to be forced into always using rails.

I currently sling the Zacuto EVF upside-down from the AF's top handle with a short RED/Noga arm, but would much prefer a proper swivel mount.

My EVF's screen lines up with the AF's focal plane, & as I rarely mount external batteries on the shoulder brace, I could use a much shorter version. It be great for travel, tight quarters, & when shooting upwards from ground level.

Let me know your thoughts as I've considered having you make a custom version. If there was a quick-release that would be even better.

Best,
Bern
 
I believe what we need for ideal shouldering the AF100 (with quick-release) is something like this:

http://www.abelcine.com/store/Element-Technica-EL-SF3A-RSPK-Sony-F3-Riser-and-Shoulder-Pad-Kit/

But much less expensive, of course.

As for the EVF - what's needed is a mount that attaches to the top handle (to both screw mounts, for rigidity and sure positioning) or attaches to top or bottom 15mm LWS rods (to both rods, again, for rigidity and positioning), and is slide-adustable in the X, Y and Z axes - BUT IS LOCKED HORIZONTAL (no tilt or swivel) to maintain horizon.
 
(...but I gotta admit - my Zacuto Z-ERM rod mount pretty much does the trick for putting and keepin my Z-Finder EVF pro where I want it, and is SUPER-solid, with no slippage. And as soon as I pick the best shoulder pad out there, and find a way to attach it to my QR plate adapter, I should be golden w.r.t. hand-held)
 
I think that what is REALLY needed is for someone to take the bull by the horns and engineer a mount and cabling that uses the EXISTING evf and puts it where it belongs, with the eyepiece at the film (sensor) plane. Of course, this will most certainly void your terrific Panasonic 3-year warranty, but, I think this is the way to go. Except for the fact the the Panny evf does not offer much in the way of relief from the eyepiece, I like the viewfinder. It seems so weird to have to purchase a Zacuto evf and still have the factory evf hanging off the back! And, having to power an aftermarket evf is a drag. Using the Panny evf and cable means not having to charge yet another battery.

Combined with Olofʻs Aaton grip and my left hand grip, a small shoulder mount pad and an evf would suit me. I shoot a lot of veritē style, and this is sorely needed.

I throw down the gaunlet: anyone have the engineering chops to void their warranty, remove and remount the evf, and make this happen???
 
Yes, a proper swivel mount for the Zacuto EFV would be great. The current Zacuto EFV mount requires too many tricky adjustments. 90% of my shooting is tripod based. But it would be nice to have a way of quickly repositioning the EVF for shoulder mount shooting. Just being able to swivel the EFV up and down for tripod shooting would be nice too. IMO using the AF-100 as a shoulder mount camera takes practice but it can be done. Prefer using it to switching out cameras for b-roll.
 
I'm currently working on pre-production for a micro budget feature I'll be shooting next year. I'm shooting the film on my AF101 and it will be around 70% handheld I reckon. I have been trying to build a decent shoulder rig with my bits but everything always seems so front heavy.

I have settled on turning the LCD into an EVF using a hoodman EX kit (and a magic arm to prevent sag). Even doing this the camera sits quite far forward on my shoulder. This means I have had to keep the rig to a bare minimum.

It consists of a set of 30cm rails with a height adjustable baseplate to get the LCD to eye level, an adjustable shoulder pad and a single cavision grip on the front.

I usually end up not using the Cavision grip and hold the AF101 like an old SLR. My right hand on the AF's side grip and my left hand on the focus ring of the lens with my shoulder tucked into the adjustable shoulder pad.

Very lightweight and gives you 4 points of contact with the camera (2 hands, shoulder and face).
 
Thank you everyone for your input.

This does confirm my thoughts on this issue.

I will proceed with my design. Here is a rough sketch of my current thinking.

UniShoulderIdea.jpg

I plan to make a new quick release plate that is similar to a VCT-14 or a TA-100 but lighter and it would still be compatible with any head. The trick is to have it center the camera weight over the center of the liquid head. VCT-14 is to big and heavy .

I also think it would be useful to enable the entire setup to slide forward when larger lenses are used. And the back bracket for batts etc will also slide back and forth to fine tune the balance.

The EVF shelf will be very adjustable but aligned with the horizon of the camera, to accept any EVF current or future. I have the Zakuto so I am using it as my model.

Any thoughts?

I will be building this in the next week or so, I will post photos as the work progresses. We are now very busy on the next batch of wooden handles.

Once again thanks for your ideas and comments.
 
The sketch looks right on. Two objectives I'd value to keep in mind are (1) try to keep the center of gravity as low as possible when shoulder mounting (so the baseplate should be as thin as you can make it), and (2) try to be flexible about what EVFs can be accommodated. I'm leaning toward the SmallHD DP4 with the eyepiece for this purpose, myself, although I haven't bought anything yet.

Thanks for all the great work.

- Greg
 
That looks good Olof. Agree with Greg on center of gravity as low as possible. If the shoulder pad and the EVF move or are tied together then adjustments for balance is a one step process.
 
Looks good. It will be important to easily make adjustment (tilt) to VF while camera is on your shoulder. Look forward to your prototype.
 
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