samyang 35mm non-iS makes it difficult to remain still for shooting video.

The magicrig is the best rig I know in its price bracket. I bought the cowboy rig before, and there's no comparison. Still, the magicrig is cheap and it shows, so I wouldn't call it great. It's good enough (and looks good enough, if you care about that too).
For walking, something heavier and with a counterweight would be better, but don't make it front-heavy, you want the bulk of the rig to fall right on your shoulder, not your hands.
The MagicRig v2 seems to be a clone of an earlier design that was on ebay, on blue. I'm not a huge fan. If it's a shoulder rig, the center of gravity should be on top of the shoulder. If I'm going to have to hold it with my arms, I'd rather have a light righ and press it to my chest, like I do with the MagicRig.
I don't use the FF if I'm not on a tripod and/or have someone else to pull focus. I configure the MagicRig so the handle is on my left hand, the camera in the center, and the chest bar on the right side, then use my right hand to operate the camera and pull focus directly on the lens (handle left, camera center, chest bar right; then push the chest bar on my right chest, and LCD loupe against my right eye).

I recently shot this this and this with a 90mm on full frame, which is quite a bit longer than 35mm on APS-C. Last year I shot this with the same 90mm but on APS-C. If you don't walk while shooting, and you hide the bumps in the edit, it just works.
 
I m still using the cowboy rig (that thing is a beast...Im using it since 2007 and it had carried DVX100B, HMC150, XF100) and now my DSLRs. I ve used many times the samyang 35mm with that rig and never had a problem.
 
I have the MagicRig, though I bought through B&H under a different brand name (Dot Line). I use it for my EOS-M, and occasionally with my T2i. If you're running with just the camera and lens, and perhaps a VideoMic Pro, it's fine for run-and-gun. It really is worth the price of admission, though the only part I worry about is the foam shoulder pad. It is a cheap foam that will dry-rot and start to flake at some point. I'm working on a custom modification for it that can be adhered to the same metal plate, which shouldn't cost much or require much skill to assemble.

I did have to clean it off thoroughly out of the box. It smelled of gun oil and had a thin, greasy film all over it. A good wipe-down took care of that. Also, the mounting screw for the quick-release plate is too long to tighten into the camera, so the camera swings around on the plate. Adding a washer prevented the screw from seating flush underneath, so the plate was tilted and didn't engage with the quick-release locking pin. Using a surplus screw from a Manfrotto 501PL plate fixed the problem.

Also, the entire mounting/quick release assembly loosened up within a couple weeks, but a quick tighten with a hex key fixed that.

All in all, I'm still not disappointed with the purchase.

Once you start adding things (MB, FF) on the front, or use a heavier camera, a larger rail system with shoulder pad and counterweight is a must.
 
Thanks so much for the comments.

I will buy a magic rig.
I will use the magic rig with a canon 60d + samyang 24mm (i prefer the 24mm compare to the 35mm since its a wider angle).

4 questions:

1) Do you use magic rig instead of using a monopod ?
I never used a rig.
But when i use a tripod, everything is very stable.
When i use a monopod its quite good too.
The best for me is using a monopod handheld (up in the air) while walking. I like it. Is a rig similar to using a monopod in the air ?

2) i though of buying a zacuto release plate to replace the magic rig plate. Is it necessary ? As in this video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzcGxhPU9ts#t=275

3) I though of buying a viewfinder too. I though of this one. Any advices ?http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...gview3x_vgear_universal_3x_magnification.html

Thanks in advance,
Deleuze3
 
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deleuze3 said:
Thanks so much for the comments.

I will buy a magic rig.
I will use the magic rig with a canon 60d + samyang 24mm (i prefer the 24mm compare to the 35mm since its a wider angle).

4 questions:

1) Do you use magic rig instead of using a monopod ?
I never used a rig.
But when i use a tripod, everything is very stable.
When i use a monopod its quite good too.
The best for me is using a monopod handheld (up in the air) while walking. I like it. Is a rig similar to using a monopod in the air ?

2) i though of buying a zacuto release plate to replace the magic rig plate. Is it necessary ? As in this video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzcGxhPU9ts#t=275

3) I though of buying a viewfinder too. I though of this one. Any advices ?http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...gview3x_vgear_universal_3x_magnification.html

Thanks in advance,
Deleuze3
Click to expand...

My answers: :-)
1) As I said in my earlier post Im using a cowboy rig which I think it works in a similar way with the magic rig, but its totally different than a monopod. I ve tried to like monopods (they look more pro...haha) but I really CAN NOT work with them!
Maybe its just me, but I need much more time to find my shot and fix my framing with a monopod. And the worst thing...No low angle shots!!! Of course this is my point of view as a wedding videographer, where even a few wasted seconds can be a disaster!
So I use what I think gives me more flexibility. And Im using very often the cowboy rig off my shoulder for tracking shots...works ok for me.

2) If you want to be able to switch between rig, tripod, steadycam etc on the fly, you can buy 2-3 identical quick release systems, put them in your support gear and just move your camera with the same plate mounted.

3) Viewfinders are a MUST not only because of the magnification, but because without them its really hard to work under the bright sun. The problem with the type of viewfinders like the one you linked, is that they re taking away the benefits of the articulating screen. I dont know if thats ok with you...for me it was not, so I found that solution: http://www.amazon.com/Carry-Speed-Swi-View-3-Inch-Finder/dp/B005OU4Q9W

Where is the 4th question...? :-)
 
Thanks for your comments
AI think I would buy a zacuto enforcer. Its coming with a plate.
The zacuto viewfinder also comes with the same plate. Can someone explain me why 2?
 
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