My thoughts on shoulder rigs, your thoughts?

Olof, this looks simple, straightforward, lightweight, comfortable and practical -- I'll be standing in line to buy one.

The only downside is that I sold off the last of my old Sony-style tripod plates a couple of months ago. Sigh.

- Greg
 
Olof, this looks simple, straightforward, lightweight, comfortable and practical -- I'll be standing in line to buy one.

The only downside is that I sold off the last of my old Sony-style tripod plates a couple of months ago. Sigh.

- Greg
You could buy a Sony plate on Ebay for $100.
 
I hope that's just intended as a marketing demonstration shot to show of all their stuff, and not as a practical shooting setup. Aside from the matte box alignment, my knees would probably collapse if I tried to hand-hold that rig with all the bits and pieces sticking out at odd angles. The CG must be way up there, too.

- Greg
 
OK is it just because I'm Mr. Frugal, or is this way over priced for what it is?
Haha. You frugal? David, I've seen your lens collection in another post.
This is crazy expensive. I like the base plate but it has to be adjustable for rails to setup right..
This makes Zacuto look like a bargain!
 
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The handles alone make up 3/4 the price, so another $500 for the base plate, & rods, seems reasonable.

That is if you think $1500 for heavy-duty, quick-adjust handles are reasonable. I payed $1700 for the more versatile, but slower to adjust, O-Grips so my thinking may be skewed.

-Bern

PS Can't wait to see Olof's final design!
 
I am working on the setup.

So far I have 2 alpha testers. I should have about 10 beta versions ready to ship out for evaluations next week. Email or message me if you are interested in trying the beta version. I will have special low pricing on that batch, and you would also get the final version once the final design is done. This setup will require an EVF and a VCT-14 style plate, contact me for details.

I will post photos here soon. The new wooden handles are now ready for shipping as well. I will do some product shots later today or tomorrow and put them on my webstore and here as well.

Rain and slush is good for product development.
 
I think it's great that you're doing this, olof - but I just gotta ask: what's up with the gold-colored rods in all your pics?

Makes the product look super-cheap and tacky, IMHO.
 
Here are some Photos of the current Beta version of the "Uni Bracket", It still need some tweaking and I am working on using lighter materials.

This is only a test version, not the final that will be all black anodized and will have an option for a "tail hook" for the VCT-14 plate. It works well with just the front wedge though on the TA-100.

The balance is very good, according to Sharyn, I find it needs a bit more tweaking of the shoulder pad, final version may be optional wood, but I will have a lighter formed aluminum version as well.

I am using IDX batts to run the camera NanoFlash and on cam eyelight etc. The bracket in the back can hold all those and is adjustable L-R to balance the rig.

The wooden handle in these shots is mounted on my body mount version. I have a very adjustable version that mounts to the rails as well and this allows for low mounting as well.

Any comments. I will be making a batch of 10 for beta testers next week with some improvements.

Steve R, the GoldBars also come in Black, if you are not into camera bling. The problem with black is they show scratches very easily in the anodized finish. I may offer them in Silver as well later.


UniShoulder1.jpg UniShoulder2.jpg
UniShoulder3.jpg UniShoulder4.jpg
UniShoulder5.jpg UniShoulder6.jpg
UniShoulder7.jpg
 
Olof, that rig is right on the money...

I have been shooting ENG/handheld on the AF100 since it was released and quickly realized that the ideal way to mount it was directly over the shoulder and that mounting over the shoulder requires counter weight and an external EVF. I have been on a quest for the "ultimate AF shoulder mount" for months... investigating every company, website, and forum that had anything to offer. I spoke to Sharyn about my quest a few weeks ago when I ordered one of your wooden handles (with both rail and body mount). Great product, by the way. The smallhd evf and your handle were the finishing touches on my frankenstein shoulder mount. I feel that it is very similar to your new mount, and I wish that I had held out for a another month and I would just buy yours. My rig is here:
photo (5).jpgphoto (6).jpg

A few thoughts...The EVF in my current setup interferes with the follow focus play. Steve and Brian are onto something with the idea of mounting the EVF onto the top, where the top handle is removed from, using both screw holes. But your arm definitely seems to be more out of the way of the FF than my rig. I like your quickrelease plate...I use a ronford baker quickrelease to connect rig to the head and a cinevate quickrelease to connect the camera to rails. It works ok, but your system is better. I would love to buy a beta model and test it against mine, if they are still avail.
 

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Here is the latest Beta version of my new brace:

UniShoulderV21.jpg
UniShoulderV22.jpg

I will have a more finished version ready for my beta testers this week.

The shoulder pad is adjustable back and forth as is the entire brace. The optional battery/wireless mic holder is also adjustable back/forth as well as right/left.

With the battery back there the rig is perfectly balanced for my 17-40 Canon lens with MB and FF. For larger lenses the whole rig can slide forward more, for smaller lenses it can slide back.

The arm that holds the EVF will actually be curved (an Arch) to allow more access to FF and camera controls, you will be able to flip it either way, it will always be aligned with the camera horizon, and has drag adjustments to make it easy to position w/o having to loosen/tighten anything.

The actual shipping kit will be all black and "rounded off" to be more pleasant and it will be lighter by milling away all unnecessary aluminum.

This kit will fit any camera in the small and medium class, and turn it into a balanced shoulder cam. And it will fit on any VCT-14 or TA-100 plate. Other quick release plates may be possible as well, but the old VCT-14 is a nice standard.

PS. Please excuse my messy wires. This is only a quick testing version, proper length cables will make the rig much neater. My Wood handle works very nicely with this kit.
 
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