Shoulder Support and Stock EVF

[NorBro]

Sorry for a million questions. I'm super pumped about the FS100.

I did some research and realized that some shoulder support systems will not work too well with the stock eyepiece. It's usually because of two reasons:

(1) The shoulder mount is made to mount the camera to the right of your body and have you use it with a traditional LCD that flips out to the left

(2) The rails are too short and there is not enough room to use the long eyepiece and the shoulder pad. Meaning...to comfortably have the shoulder pad on your shoulder, you'd need to pull the whole shoulder mount back, but the eyepiece is too long and hits your face and you can't move the whole unit forward because the rails are too short.

Besides getting longer rails and customizing everything, does anyone know of pretty simple shoulder mounts that you can use with the stock vf?

Thanks.

 

[eheath]

i think if you want a shoulder mount, you're gonna need a separate EVF

 

[rx8pilot]

It would be a bio-mechanical oddity to have 100% in front of you. For VERY short takes - maybe. Best case scenario, hold a 5lb weight about 10" in front of your chest and hold it very very still. My arms would fall off pretty quick.

 

[NorBro]

haha, I bet you can hold a 5lb weight in front of you longer than you think...but what I mean is not having everything in front of you where you have no support...I meant having it somehow where you have the camera rigged up so you can use the stock evf, but still have the shoulder support and the counterbalance in the back.

I just need to get some longer rails and play around with different configurations.

 

[moldcad]

Be real! To be able to focus (pun intended) on creative shooting, you must forget about the weight and fatigue. Unfortunately, in order to use the Fs100 on a shouldermount, you MUST invest in a separate EVF/monitor.

 

[AtticusLake]

I think it can be done without an EVF, though it's not perfect. I haven't quite got it set up yet, but it should work. And one can always add an EVF later.

First, I have a CowboyStudio shoulder rig:

http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-Shoulder-Support-Camcorder-Camera/dp/B0036NMQ7S

This is fantastic, it completely supports the weight of the FS100! It just needs a finger-touch for stabilization. It comes with an extender which would allow you to mount the camera in front of your face, but unfortunately this throws the balance off, requiring more sideways support, though it still carries the weight. Add a Manfrotto adapter or other quick-release plate, and you can switch the camera between the rig and a tripod.

Second, I've shortened the (absurdly long) loupe:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-avchd-nex-fs100/497677-stock-loupe-modification.html

This can be prototyped without any harm to the parts, using tape to hold it together. I went farther and removed some plastic tabs and now have it glued -- I'm completely loving it. With this mod, you can comfortably have the camera pretty close to your face. Also, the loupe stands up in my camera bag instead of lying flat, and takes a quarter of the space it used to! The built-in diopter adjustment is easily enough to compensate for the shortening for my eyes.

I think step 3 is to use StarBoard or similar to make a small extender platform to move the camera 4" or so forward on the shoulder mount. At that range, it should be possible to comfortably use the loupe. You would be looking slightly sideways, which would be odd, but could work.

Alternatively you could use the supplied extender to move the camera central, and sacrifice a little stability.

And if all else fails, you could add an EVF.

Mainly I love the fact that the CowboyStudio rig totally carries the weight of the camera, without counterweights and such. And for less than $30, it's hard to argue with that.

 

[NorBro]

Awesome reply - thank you.

The main thing that solves everything, which you did, is shorten the loupe. So ridiculous it's so long.

I don't think I'm ambitious enough to cut it up myself, but at least I know it can be done!

 

[AtticusLake]

I don't think I'm ambitious enough to cut it up myself, ...

I actually did several hours of testing (spread over a couple of weeks) without any cutting, just using cheap parcel tape from Staples to hold the top section on to the bottom. It worked surprisingly well.

With better tape, you could make a very reasonable short loupe without breaking anything.

(The top section "slots" into the bottom about 1/2mm, so it has no tendency to slip sideways, but it needs the tape to hold it in place. The permanent fix involves cutting away some plastic so it can go in farther, and be glued. Getting it to end up straight is tricky.)

 

[NorBro]

What exactly do I need to do to shorten it without cutting stuff off? I took a look at those pictures, but it's tough to see what's going on..

 

[Dermot]

I bought a short viewfinder for my FS, i find it light enough to hand hold for a short while, but def time limited, super light set up like this tho; ;

 

[moldcad]

@Dermot,

On another note: I bought the ProAim MB-600 mattebox you have, and it's indeed very light and nice!

What I'd like to ask you is the support plate you have in the picture - ideal for sliding a shoulder pad underneath the camera where it belongs; what make/model is it?

 

[AtticusLake]

What exactly do I need to do to shorten it without cutting stuff off? I took a look at those pictures, but it's tough to see what's going on..

Inside the "box" end, there's a frame held on by a couple of screws, I think, but it's also caught under a ledge at each side. Remove the screws and figure out which side to lever it at to get it out without breaking, and you'll expose more screws. Undo them and the barrel comes off the box. Then inside the barrel you'll find 4 more screws that let you separate the 2 halves of the barrel.

All the glass is in the top part of the barrel, so given the wide diopter adjustment, it can go straight on the box.

At your own risk, of course....

 

[tscav]

A word of advice: I took off the hand piece and used the strap from it and attached it directly to the camera,: Via the slit that is normally used for a shoulder strap and then a specialized screw where the normal was fastened. Result a slimmer camera that is way easier to hold. For ENG shoots where I use the cam in its stripped down version its brilliant! try it and feel how it takes alot of the strain away from your wrist.

 

[moldcad]

A word of advice: I took off the hand piece and used the strap from it and attached it directly to the camera,: Via the slit that is normally used for a shoulder strap and then a specialized screw where the normal was fastened. Result a slimmer camera that is way easier to hold. For ENG shoots where I use the cam in its stripped down version its brilliant! try it and feel how it takes alot of the strain away from your wrist.

May we ask for a picture?