Rigging the O7Q

Personally I still don't think you can beat an articulating arm. Folds away neatly, attached to camera, you can position it anywhere. Works extremely well for me. Sure, it's a bit awkward to attach but used to it now and I've had some dense nylon washers made up for it, which means mounting is solid.
 
Personally I still don't think you can beat an articulating arm. Folds away neatly, attached to camera, you can position it anywhere. Works extremely well for me. Sure, it's a bit awkward to attach but used to it now and I've had some dense nylon washers made up for it, which means mounting is solid.

Its still what I use (with nylon washers) until I find a more secure fixing - but the number of times the O7Q has flopped around when moving the camera or carrying it around, even with the arm tight.
 
My search continues but i think the biggest problem with most rigs is that we're monitoring off a big screen rather than a good EVF, i keep looking for EVFs but not really seen anything perfect. Now i'm used to all the info that the O7Q offers and can't do without that. I'm under the impression that running SDI into the O7Q and then HDMI out to an EVF adds quite a bit of latency to make monitoring more awkward. I'd seen some conversations about that but not tested it myself, so i can't say for sure

cheers
Paul

I'm using the Cineroid retina evf which I think is as good as the Sony LCD in terms of sharpness but more accurate with color. I run a BNC cable from O7Q to it and this doesn't add any extra latency. Normal latency from all outputs on the FS700 (even the camera LCD) is 2-3 frames.
 
I've been exploring the Movcam O7Q Power Bracket - looks very good - and pretty cheap - can't quite believe it's that cheap actually!

Looks like it should be in at CVP in the UK fairly soon too.

Even if I don't use the power functions, looks like a good cage to attach to the FS700 15mm rail system.
 
I am doing a lot of sorting here. This is a complicated set of interlocked problems. One factor that hasn't been mentioned much is knockdown and storage. Say I am doing street photography. A key factor is "How fast can I pull equipment out of a bag and assemble it? And how fast can it go back in the bag?" And a related problem is "How much room does it take in the bag?" A lot of the solutions I've seen (and tested) don't look like they store very small. There are all kinds of rods and connectors that don't fold well. I'm curious if anyone has come up with good solutions along these lines.
The issue here is how do you wish to use your Odyssey? Do you want it as a viewfinder monitor so that it is viewable when operating on the shoulder or do you want to operate off it from a tripod? From the shoulder it means that you'll need to get it up front and not in the profile of the camera but instead next to it. I would suggest using whatever mounting system appears nice but then putting a quick release connection at the end on the Odyssey so that you can quickly pop it off for packing in the case. If you have an EVF or are otherwise not planning to rely on the Odyssey for shoulder mount viewing, then I feel the best place for it is likely on rails at the back of the camera. Placed here it can work great for tripod use while still being conveniently located for stuffing in the bag without resetting. That's part of what I like about the Vocas solution, but you could replicate that with rigs from other companies as well.
 
Now this is interesting - the Movcam O7Q mounting plate with no battery. Looks like the battery plate might be removable then, meaning more options (adding it when needed). Personally, a V Lock battery might be too big and heavy for camera mounting use - but a cheap mounting plate with rosettes and rosette extension arm and rail mount would be great. Pros and cons compared to a friction/clutch system for dynamic repositioning though. Rosette obviously locks in place.

http://cvp.com/index.php?t=product/movcam_306-0218

Anyone know if there's such a thing as an Arri rosette friction plate arrangement?

the other beef with the power plate is that the power cables seem very expensive (4 pin lemo to FS700 is around £100!). I couldn't see if Movcam supply a Lemo to O7Q cable either - waiting on confirmation.
 
Now this is interesting - the Movcam O7Q mounting plate with no battery. Looks like the battery plate might be removable then, meaning more options (adding it when needed). Personally, a V Lock battery might be too big and heavy for camera mounting use - but a cheap mounting plate with rosettes and rosette extension arm and rail mount would be great. Pros and cons compared to a friction/clutch system for dynamic repositioning though. Rosette obviously locks in place.

http://cvp.com/index.php?t=product/movcam_306-0218

Anyone know if there's such a thing as an Arri rosette friction plate arrangement?

the other beef with the power plate is that the power cables seem very expensive (4 pin lemo to FS700 is around £100!). I couldn't see if Movcam supply a Lemo to O7Q cable either - waiting on confirmation.

Does look interesting, it also looks quite heavy. I have the full movcam rig for the 700, with the base plate, and top handle. Solid but weighty. I'd be concerned about wrapping the O7Q in it, the weight is borderline for an articulated arm at the moment. All those adapters and rosette convertors, rods for the top and so on. I'm sure there's a simpler way to hook it up (but i haven't found it yet)

cheers
Paul
 
No nor have I - I still don't like magic arms either - thats probably the simplest but not at all secure.

For my needs, my rig is predominantly tripod mounted, so weight isn't as much an issue as shoulder or handheld shooting - but still heavy when moving it around.

Matte box will be next - I have an old Red Rock Micro Matte Box - that adds a lot of weight too. Good quality lens mounted box will be the next thing - always so much to spend money on!!
 
From what I can make out, looks like it might be possible to mount the CD battery plates to the back of it too - securing the battery plate, Movcam plate and O7Q together.
 
The MovCam plate is hollowed out on the inside, so it doesn't add much weight. Similar to the cared out Ocean Video plate or the frame from Solid Camera. The MovCam attaches using the four small threaded points on the back of the Odyssey. These are the same holes we use for our battery mounts. The Ocean Video plate repeats these holes so that our plates can be mounted, but it does not appear that the MovCam plate shares this feature. It appears to have a series of mounting holes on the back for battery plates, but not the ones we make.
 
It seems that the CD battery plate screw through the movcam plate and into the O7Q yes?

the other battery fixings are for the V Lock and AB battery options I would have thought.
 
Here is my rig. I have the Ocean Video plate on the back of the Odyssey and then the CD battery bracket is attached to the Ocean Video plate. Does not add much weight. This mount is rock solid and allows me to use the camera on a tripod and then quickly remove and use as shoulder mount. I use this exclusively at weddings.

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Thank you,
Robert Pfeifer
Pifemaster Productions
www.pifemaster.com
 
It seems that the CD battery plate screw through the movcam plate and into the O7Q yes?

the other battery fixings are for the V Lock and AB battery options I would have thought.

No, the four holes to attach the MovCam plate to the Odyssey have cutouts for countersunk screws. I would not want to use long screws to pass through both the battery plate and the MovCam plate. That would be a loose fit and open the bolts up to too much torque, so that a good jolt could shear the shafts. The Ocean Video plate has a second set of threaded holes to accept the battery plate. This is the proper way to do this.
 
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