My top handle solution

cheezweezl

cheezweezl

Veteran
I was playing around with my Redrock handheld rig. I rarely use it as intended. I'm always rigging something up with it. A buddy gave me this micro baseplate from K-tek, so I put it all together and made this top handle. It can be quickly reconfigured to pretty much any position you'd want and it's very solid. I shot with it last night and it held without slipping. The little baseplate adds 4 more 1/4-20 holes and an extra rod support. I think I could top mount a follow focus for handheld use and skip the big heavy Zacuto baseplate when I want to keep it light.

photo 1.jpgphoto 2.jpgphoto 3.jpgphoto 4.jpgphoto 5.jpgphoto 6.jpgphoto 7.jpg
 
In the 6th photo, if you could mount another handle on the right hand side of the camera, that would be interesting (for my kind of work).

Is it do-able?
 
yeah, totally. i could use the crossbar that is part of the redrock rig, and do handles on both sides. this would still give me rods on top for other stuff..
 
Yeah, that is awesome, can you link me to all the products in that video? that will be a great asset when filming skateboarding/snowboarding...
 
The redrock rig is called "The event". besides what you see on my cam, it also comes with a chest support and a dslr baseplate. you may be able to buy just what you need from them though. the baseplate i'm using is from k-tek. part of their "norbit" system. i'm sure other baseplates could work. this is just what i had on hand.
 
Hey, I'm curious about this as a solution. What do you have to lay out money wise for the parts shown? Are you just attached through one 1/4 thread? I can't see enough detail in these pics. One screw might be ok for camera only and a light lens- for very light work. We found too much flex when we experimented even with two holes- one could cause issues if anything unexpected happens.
 
Just to contribute because I love to add handles and I love this setup to get from handheld to top handle shooting quickly.

All Berkeysystems

handles.jpg
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plasticam said:
Hey, I'm curious about this as a solution. What do you have to lay out money wise for the parts shown? Are you just attached through one 1/4 thread? I can't see enough detail in these pics. One screw might be ok for camera only and a light lens- for very light work. We found too much flex when we experimented even with two holes- one could cause issues if anything unexpected happens.
Click to expand...

I must say I agree with Caleb - the single screw to the camera body is not safe enough when handling a full - blown rig with rails, mattebox etc.

That said, I also am using the RR handle and rod mounts, but have devised a way to attach it to the 2 large holes on top the camera main body. No room for upper rods, but as a handle it's rock solid. Will post pictures soon.
 
Yeah I thought about this already. This is my lightweight solution. It's a replacement for the stock top handle. The good news is I can shift the entire assembly to the bottom rails for side handles for heavier configurations. I have already thought about adding a berkey top plate and attaching the k-tek plate to that. That would allow my top handle to be securely used with heavier builds.
 
mico: that looks great, do you have any other pictures from the top/back to show how it is attached better.
 
thanks for the info. I might get some of it so i don't have to change out the donut on the mattbox. Do you know what is the dia at the outer ring? how big is it?
 
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