FS7: New Shooting Machine Extension Arm - first photos here

[plasticam]

The new DUTCH Arm.



It’s dutched to place your grip several inches closer to the lens and naturally bring your wrist/elbow into alignment. It’s like an instant "OMG this is better" thing. If you're shooting handheld, you can now retrofit your FS7 or FS5 with our Sony Crony and use this arm right away.

In the photo above you can see the rod pierces the rosette block (lower right) at a 30 degree angle. This makes a 4 inch offset
at the grip end (top left) BIG DIFFERENCE.




Your grip can now land inline with cam. Right now I'm fine tuning the amounts of offset into probably 4, 5 and 6" options. The 6 inch will get you under the lens. The 4" is shown above. I'm making a small "kickstand" rod so the camera will sit down on flat surfaces. The arm twists off quickly for casing at either end- remove entire arm / or remove just the grip.



Dutching creates a great side effect naturally- it lets your wrist turn into a natural position. So far, all 3 test shooters agree
it is way more comfortable than anything they have used with FS7. We've also made the amount of wrist rotation adjustable - and will have virtually unlimited special order flexibility. More about this later.



The Dutch Arm is milled from solid Acetron - strong, lightweight and does not scratch. Below you see it can be field adjusted in moments with a quick twist. Length is adjusted at grip end and amount of wrist rotation is adjusted at camera end.

Video coming this week to clarify the subtle 3D issues of axial wrist/elbow stuff. Which is really where the rubber meets the road.



3 new Dutch arms are available to ship this week at $295 which includes 2 day USPS shipping. International First class shipping available for an extra $15 ($310 USD total) and has been averaging about 2 weeks.

A Crony retrofit is needed to connect to FS7 or FS5 ($175 shipping included). Crony is shown attached in photo below.


Introductory price for both the Crony and Dutch arm is $425.
We will full service install if you send in your FS7 grip/arm combo unit. (2 day priority USPS insured for $200 is approx $18.)
If you remove your Sony arm combo (which can be tricky) we can ship the parts direct with easy written assembly instructions.

The Dutch Arm is designed and tested around the FS7 and adaptable to all cameras including FS5, FS700 and FS100. (we have a rosette adaptor for FS100 introducing in a couple days). No adaptor needed for FS700 or F5/55.

This arm makes handholding the FS7 or FS5 much better.

 

[Martin.G]

Whats that XXL battery sticking out from behind the cam there? 6065.jpg

 

[plasticam]

It's the largest batt Sony sells for FS7.

 

[Mitch Gross]

Interesting. My old Aaton dog bone had a similar tilt built in and the AbelCine extensions had additional tilt so that as the handgrip moved further from the camera it also curved under and in to provide better support. I loved it and could tune the thing to give perfect comfort and support to my wrist. I knew others that hated the tilt but I put them in the distinct minority.

This looks very comfortable.

 

[plasticam]

Interesting Mitch, I was thinking a lot about handholding with my Aaton while making this. I was remembering that the Aaton only had a couple inches of adjustment built in from factory. That's all it needed. I set my grip up on the rail and on the rosette and forgot it. it was good. That is what this arm is based on. If a grip / arm combo can reach the sweet spot "area" you can just set it and forget it.

 

[Matt Gottshalk]

A much more natural supination of the wrist.

Excellent idea.

 

[plasticam]

Thanks Matt, I'll be offering a way to really dial in a natural wrist position seamlessly with this arm. Look at this



We break the line just slightly here but these slight changes have a big effect. and can be low cost. you can buy a couple to keep in the kit. Just pop off a 25 degree and pop on a 30 degree. Maybe swap out day to day for comfort and to prevent repetitive stress.

The above is a prototype. The shipping products will be lower profile. Thinner.

 

[Mertzwiller]

Caleb. . . I notice your elbow is positioned away from the body. Are you able to position the rod in such a way that you're able to rest your elbow against your belly or chest for support?

 

[plasticam]

Hi there, Yes the elbow sucks right into the ribs nicely.


We were adjusting it and trying out several positions it offers by extending and adjusting.
But yes bringing the elbow in is a fundamental of the design.

 

[plasticam]

Thought this might be worth a smile. Yup thats an FS100!

 

[JPNola]

Caleb, all this attention to perfecting the hand grip and you are still using that wonky stock vf bracket? The VF is all askew in those pics! Please tell me that the Fs7 in the photos is a customer's rig and not yours. rogar-BigGrin(DBG)

If you could design your grip adapter so that it is tool-less you not only would have a more elegant looking product but you may also attract more sales. Something along the lines of this but shorter in length:



As to the current design, I suggest replacing the gold colored interior nut with one that is black. Or silver. To my first glance the brass makes the adapter look like some electrical component that is missing a cover or has come apart unwantedly.

Major props to you on putting action towards solution. And also for your expanding into other products. NOLA strong!

 

[plasticam]

OOh I want that! Love those Chineasy CNC lines, it's got the tactical military thing going on. And the cool sockets on the arm, I'm making a list of all the gizmos I want to NEVER have on my grip arm!!!

JP, you're killing me.

"Something along the lines of THAT but shorter in length?" That is a RAILWAY TRAIN, like six cars long! Ouch! another CAD drawing by an intern who's gifted at Softworks editing but never shot handheld. You see those thumbnuts to tighten? I've tested those same nuts (Winco). Have you ever worked south of the Mason Dixon line? Hell yes you have my brother! Those thumbnuts might as well be smeared with Popeye's chicken grease when you try using them with sweaty hands. And you know what? you dont realize your fingers sweat until you try to attach kit that was designed in Softworks and built by children. That stuff never works right and it won't last long- but looks great on a webpage. That's it's life cycle, from web page to bottom of camera bag.

Sometimes a tool is there for a reason.

Like the brass stud on the Crony.
In engineering terms, brass studs are like a bottle of single malt scotch left in the bourbon well by the pretty new bartender. You just can't beat it. But the Crony is not really a product I designed - it's an anti-product, a save for shooters here who asked for a way to get free of the Sony extension arm jail cell.

The Crony is Punk Rock mate. Product as Statement, an indictment of a bourgeoise industry trying way too hard to look cool!
I'm handmade in america and not afraid to dress down man!

The viewfinder all ahoo? Hard pass. ;-)

 

[JPNola]

Ouch! another CAD drawing by an intern who's gifted at Softworks editing but never shot handheld.

You suppose that "Chineasy" intern thinks that you hold the front of the camera body with your left hand when shooting handheld or does he know better?

 

[plasticam]

He or she is probably in Milan, working off parameters from the factory in Shenyang and as the list of needs from the salesguy in LA got longer and longer so did the part...

To be positive tho - it's well designed for the thumbs. The thumbs are well provided for and have good side clearance. ;-)

But that's commodity based products- everybody aping the lead product with cheaper knock offs until the studs are too long to fit, and have to be returned or the rosettes have aluminum teeth and strip after a few months. Junk flooding the business as it becomes more mass market. In contrast, the Dutch arm was a customer request from here on DVX, a busy Local 600 DP uses a Shape and likes it but complained that it forced his arm too far outboard and he wanted his hand to come back much closer to the lens. The Dutch arm is really purpose built to solve that specific problem- which is a big problem that I know a lot of people complain about and has driven me crazy myself. The Dutch product demo video is coming in a few more days - should be worth seeing. and I may offer a steep discount to get this out there in peoples hands. It's radically different.

 

[DerekDock]

I appreciate what you are doing but for your "punk rock" design it needs to be punk rock prices too. If it's the same cost as a Zacuto arm what is the incentive when it looks like something I could create out of spare rosettes? I know there is more fine tuning in what you are doing but you understand the logic right?

 

[plasticam]

Derek,

The incentive is superior function. It's not a parts beauty contest!

But even if it were I might win a couple rounds if the judges were cool. The commodity aftermarket is overboard on painted robo "bike shop" parts. They're alright but no way those mass produced parts look as cool as custom parts. Believe me I know. Shooters, AC's, even civilians are constantly noticing and asking about original looking kit. it's different and people notice. Custom is always in style.

it's made by hand in small batches. Also in style.

So I disagree, I don't think the parts look cobbled together at all. They look custom made - which is awesome. I don't think form matters so much anyway not compared to function and punk rock does not mean cheap - it means not giving a $@#%* !!
Especially about how things look!

That said, I get your logic and I can drop prices. Crony just dropped from 160 to 125 USD.
Dutch arm just dropped from 295 to 195 USD.
OK?

Introductory prices have been demanded and granted!
I say it's a vastly more comfortable way to handhold a camera.
Now with compliments to Derek that Dutch arm just became a deal.

But pls don't buy until I show my video next week- thought up a couple more things to try this week end. One puts the grip into betacam/Aaton mode (knuckles up, thumb by ear) and the other is top secret until I find out if I'm crazy or not.

 

[plasticam]

On the left is an asian knock off of my stub clamp on the right.

The knock off is $10, mine, introduced in 2011 and hundreds sold internationally is $55.



Better looking? I donno. Great deal until you try mounting it. Then you notice the difference in size.
Can you fit that frying pan into the places you need on your rods? Under lens, beside FF?
That $45 savings might end up at the bottom of your camera bag right quick.



Useability.

It's not all price and paint job. The original is made by Tony on a Bridegport milling machine in Maine.

Reputta the Beautta!

 

[DerekDock]

Thanks for the explination Caleb and I love those prices. So I have an fs5 that I want to extend the handle on with an arm or at least a mount for my rig. I love to shoot minimal without the rig too. Is that the Dutch for $195?

 

[plasticam]

Yes Derek, Dutch at $195 is the new price. For the FS5 you will need rosettes mounted to camera and grip. I'll make up rosette sets at a package price point when bought with the Dutch arm. I'm fitting a couple new styles of Dutch arm today on FS7 and will post pics. Then I'll finish off the production versions and post a video or two probably mid week.

First looks show the FS5 camera rosette platform is threaded M6 so a rosette to fit that with neoprene gasket should be around $25 with the arm. It's looks to be easily modified. I'll try to get a lower price on Crony but have to see my time on next run. The Dutch arm at 195 is a huge start on making this affordable. For a lot of cameras your done right there, but with Sony staying proprietary, the FS7/5 both require a Crony at 125. Thanks to Derek that dropped 35 yesterday.

Maybe we can do a group buy and get prices a bit lower. For now let's get a video posted so you can really see how sweet it is.