[nearly] completely different take on the concept of "shoulder rig"

wgzn

wgzn

Veteran
ok we've all drooled over, owned, used, borrowed, or even lamented over various "shoulder rigs" from various manufacturers.

i personally have owned two:
the cheapest, and arguably the best bang for the buck - the cb105 at $68
http://www.dynamicmotionvideo.com/products/cb105.php
one of the most expensive, nearly infinitely adjustable and superbly constructed - zacuto rig at nearly $3000
http://store.zacuto.com/indie-baseplate-kit.html

as good as either of these two products (or any of the other similar products at all price points in between) may be. i have always considered the whole concept of "shoulder rigs" fundamentally flawed from an ergonomic standpoint.

so, for the last 3 years or so ive been tossing around ideas that might both better solve the issues of stability and fatigue AND not look completely ridiculous (like that turtle pack thing) in the field... and i think ive come up with something.

my question to you all is:

what would you pay for a turn-key kit that provided the stability of an old-school full size shoulder mount camera with much more comfort and little long term fatigue issues - AND still be compatible with most of your existing 15/19mm rod mounted gear?
 
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really? not a single reply...?

i figured people would be ALL OVER this kind of thing...
 
I'm going to guess people would pay up to $3000.00 for such a rig....Zacuto gets it....and what you propose is better/different somehow.
Hard to put a price on a vague idea.... unless you want to share your design with us?
 
yeah, i suppose my question is a bit nebulous.
but sadly, i cant show photos or say much about it at the moment.
what i can say is that its intent is to be the most comfortable and natural feeling rig on the market

i finished the first rough prototype earlier today - and it works as well as i expected.
going to make some tweaks and start shopping around for a fabricator.

im not planning this to be at either end of the price spectrum.
just simple and well designed and above all COMFORTABLE - something i find lacking in EVERY existing rig that ive used...

im hoping i can have it made the way i want it and keep the street price somewhere between $500 - $1000
 
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I have about $3,000 worth of Zacuto gear. The flexibility of their component approach is what sold me. I would not pay over $1,000 for a dedicated shoulder rig that could not be adapted to other configurations.

Bear in mind that once you release a unique design, you had best be able to ramp up production to meet demand immediately or someone will issue a knock-off.
 
yeah, as fellow zacuto owner i totally agree about their flexibility as well as peerless build quality. what im doing doesnt intend to compete with them. just to address some issues that i think are overlooked in all shoulder rigs.

the rig im envisioning would integrate well with the zacuto stuff. or any other rod system.
 
I wouldn't pay more than $500-600 for anything that's just a stabilizer. That's around what I paid for the DV Rig Pro HD and I love it. So you'd have to have something that is markedly better than that for me to purchase yours over theirs.
 
I'd be in for a 500-$1,000 bill, depending on promise, I suppose:) I know you posted this in the 200/170 forum...which I have one of each...and such a solution would be a God send for myself...BUT, I guess I feel in the minority around here...I love shooting motion with my 5d and 7ds as well...so a universal (DSLR 1/3" cam mount) mount would be intriguing to me. Again, I may be in the minority (shooting both)...but if it's universal, you can sell to both camps.

J
 
but if it's universal, you can sell to both camps.
Click to expand...

yeah. thats kinda the idea. the way im designing it, it can either be a standalone rig for a simple camera. or you can add whatever youd like to it.

ive been progressing the design. have about chosen a fabricator and am in the process of getting it patented.

it looks like i may be able to produce them for a street price of +/- $750 depending on how modular or tricked out we decide to go with them...
stay tuned. i may be posting more info on the concept soon.
 
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I have wondered why some of the mounts are so expensive in general. There is a whole slew of machined things that I can get in the lighting world for well under 1k. Heck I have a fab shop here that has made me rigging components that have been powder coated and rated for a quarter of that. I would love a basic shoulder rig that is comfortable and easy to go from shoulder to tripod. The way I see it, if I pay half the price of the camera on a mount then why don't I just step up to the full size shoulder cam? At least then it would be properly balanced.

I am in the $500 to $750 range depending on how complex or expandable it is, I don't really need either.
 
I have the Dvrig HD for around 500.- and the only thing I dont like is the bulky mess it makes for travel! I tried many other rigs and what I would like:
1. folds down to super small size for travel
2. costs no more than 300
3. allows for side sliding if I dont want to use the EVF but the LCD
4. has a good shoulder pad with possibility to attach batteries/Firestore/etc...
5. doesnt wobble like DV rig on a tripod
 
Handy dslr is an amazing product. They think out side of the box, and have developed a great modular system
Click to expand...
yeah. their stuff looks pretty well designed! and some pieces look pretty unique. but they're still falling into the same flawed ergonomic rut that every other manufacturer has...
 
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boy. i sure am talking a buncha smack, huh!
if my rig isnt as comfortable as i think it is - you guys are gonna laugh me outta town ; )

but so far, everyone who's held a traditional rig, then held mine. saw the difference immediately...
 
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