Shoulder rigs and tripod mounting

This is funny, kind of like following the last election...

Anyway, back to the point of this thread - this camera with a good lens is going to be very front heavy, add matte box, rods, support, FF and it's going start weighing enough that most people on this forum are going to freak out when they see what they'll have to pay for a tripod. The mounting plate will need to be very solid and slide the camera back considerably so the nodal point is centered over the head. That will take a very good head... A Bogen isn't going to cut it...

As for shoulder mounting? I often make these things myself. Every hardware store stocks aluminum pieces that can be formed - with simple tools like files, a decent drill and taps, you can do a lot if you don't want to pay for these high-dollar pieces..

However, remember that things like matte boxes, follow focus units, shoulder rigs and tripods will follow you from camera to camera, so while they may be expensive, good accessories like those from Chrosziel, Cinevate and Zacuto will certainly have a much longer life expectancy than the AF100. I have a Chrosziel matte box that I bought in 1992, I don't remember how many cameras I've used it on.
 
I totally agree with postmaster (above)... I have found that aluminum from a hardware store and simple hand tools (drill, saw, files etc) is all that is needed for almost anything that supports a camera... For the precision stuff, look around and you can find decent prices on 15mm rods (aluminum or stainless) and pre-drilled blocks to support them - or even better, make friends with a high school shop teacher (I admit they are getting harder to find these days).

As an example of this philosophy, when it got more difficult to get big stuff on airplanes, my sound man quit trying to take his boom pole. Now, when we get to a city, he goes to an Orchard Supply (or equivalent) and buys a $29 window washing pole and leaves it in the hotel when we leave. It might not be black carbon fiber, but it works just as well... it's an adjustable POLE, not a guidance system fort the space shuttle...
 
Postmaster said:
OMG here we go again. Zacuto/Cinevate/Redrock>insane prices>China/India/Korea>cheap knock-off/stolen design>you get what you pay for, blah....

First of all, there is hardly any stolen design/knockoff in this sector. Even Zacuto doesn't do much "design" at all - those things are just to simple.
Most of this stuff is just a implementation of industry standard parts that comes off the shelf - not much innovation at all.

Bottom line:
In the film gear industry you don´t get what you pay for - whatever you get is overpriced, but the build quality varies.

Frank
Click to expand...

Beautiful post Frank ! What most people forget is the missing viewfinder, when they rig the shoulder....the consumer style WF of the AF100 is of no help.
Secondly the wobblyness when some of these rigs ( like DVtech) are on a tripod.....
But I totally agree: the design is there and reinventing the wheel is not what we should pay for.....
 
mac said:
as an example of this philosophy, when it got more difficult to get big stuff on airplanes, my sound man quit trying to take his boom pole. Now, when we get to a city, he goes to an orchard supply (or equivalent) and buys a $29 window washing pole and leaves it in the hotel when we leave. It might not be black carbon fiber, but it works just as well... It's an adjustable pole, not a guidance system fort the space shuttle...
Click to expand...

lol :-)
 
Tvdie23 said:
Great review, any same price range suggestion beside 504hd.
Click to expand...
Libec LS38. Zero kickback, I mean zero and buttery smooth, imo the best bang for the buck. Way better then 503 I used to use. It will handle something like JVC GY-HD100 with AB without any problems.
 
yes libec is excellent for the price. I got me a sachtler though and its another class again...but at 4x the price.
 
I do want to qualify my comments above.. There are some things that I don't mind paying good money for, especially if the item will last me through several cameras. I mentioned elsewhere that I have acquired 5 various size matte boxes over the years (3 of which are Chrosziels) that came with other cameras. A good matte box or a well designed follow focus or a good tripod will be useable much longer than any camera.

It is the mounting plates, the shoulder rigs, etc that can be built, or modified from ones used on previous cameras - for example I'm still using the Chrosziel base plate from my DVX100, which I've modified to fit 4 other cameras since... I have an expensive Birns & Sawyer grip set that I bought for my Aaton in 1992. I paid $1000 for it, overpriced, but I needed to get on an airplane with it that day. I still have it, and it has been used on 6 or 7 cameras since. I have an O'Conner tripod head that I've owned since 1974. That's not wasted money.
 
My last TV set (before it finally gave up 6 years ago) lasted 25 years.
I own a 1941 Chevy and a 1959 Opel - both are daily drivers and they are pretty reliable - with the first engines and transmissions.
Most of our furniture is from the 30s and 40s - still in good shape, same goes for kitchen appliances, like coffee machine, blender, stove andwhatnot.

All of that stuff from the Chevy (was $600 and one of the low price cars back than) to the TV set where nether made for that time span, nor extremely expensive heavy duty equipment - but all of it works still fine (well the TV "only" worked for 25 years).

We are so used to, that things give up after a a few years and that we have throw them away, that we are happy that a 1974 O´Conner still works.
Of course it should work! It´s a rather simple mechanical thing (compared to an engine) and it is only 36 years old.

What I want to say is, that simple stuff like FF, rail systems, tripod heads, matte boxes and all - no rocket science involved - should last without being totally overpriced. They can be sold good and solid and precise and lasting for much less(especially because there is almost no R&D involved) . Even if it is not a mass market (still it is a billions market world wide), I can`t see, why film gear should be an exception.

A few years ago i was told by P&S that their 35mm is so expensive cause it´s such a small market.
Then there came Letus, Redrock, Shoot35mm and Brevis and showed them how to do it - suddenly the market became bigger, just because people where able to afford the gear.

Obvious overpriced Equipment - in my book - is Small market > high prices > less work > same profit.
It´s much more comfortable to drill and tap only five $300 cheese plates a week, write five invoices, send five parcels and deal with only five customers than than 150 $10 cheese plates.


Frank
 
Postmaster said:
My last TV set (before it finally gave up 6 years ago) lasted 25 years.
I own a 1941 Chevy and a 1959 Opel - both are daily drivers and they are pretty reliable - with the first engines and transmissions.
Most of our furniture is from the 30s and 40s - still in good shape, same goes for kitchen appliances, like coffee machine, blender, stove andwhatnot.

All of that stuff from the Chevy (was $600 and one of the low price cars back than) to the TV set where nether made for that time span, nor extremely expensive heavy duty equipment - but all of it works still fine (well the TV "only" worked for 25 years).

We are so used to, that things give up after a a few years and that we have throw them away, that we are happy that a 1974 O´Conner still works.
Of course it should work! It´s a rather simple mechanical thing (compared to an engine) and it is only 36 years old.

What I want to say is, that simple stuff like FF, rail systems, tripod heads, matte boxes and all - no rocket science involved - should last without being totally overpriced. They can be sold good and solid and precise and lasting for much less(especially because there is almost no R&D involved) . Even if it is not a mass market (still it is a billions market world wide), I can`t see, why film gear should be an exception.

A few years ago i was told by P&S that their 35mm is so expensive cause it´s such a small market.
Then there came Letus, Redrock, Shoot35mm and Brevis and showed them how to do it - suddenly the market became bigger, just because people where able to afford the gear.

Obvious overpriced Equipment - in my book - is Small market > high prices > less work > same profit.
It´s much more comfortable to drill and tap only five $300 cheese plates a week, write five invoices, send five parcels and deal with only five customers than than 150 $10 cheese plates.


Frank
Click to expand...

Consumer goods are specifically designed to be replaced after a few years. It's how our world has been engineered to function. Sad but true...

Watch this...

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Not so much the niche products like film stuff, but most consumer products.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top