FX6: The Sony ILME-FX6V Owners Club

Ben Scott said:
The Bolt/rosette solution is particularly elegant.
Click to expand...

"ish".

I had to buy six different super-short HDMI cables sight-unseen, before I got one that fitted neatly enough. And custom SDIs made (for times when I don't need the camera's SDI for raw output). I'm also not super enamoured with needing to mount that rosette bracket off the studio baseplate, just to protect the cables on the Bolt (which are a bit too exposed in that position). That said, I'm at a complete loss as to how I could do it cleaner - I feel like I've tried every possible position and cable orientation.

There's just so little space to work with, that it's really easy to end up blocking easy access to the various clamps and attachments (that need to be adjusted throughout the day) if you build things too neatly.
 
Grug said:
My Z-finder and Wooden Camera top-plate/PL bracket have finally arrived, and after an inordinate amount of stuffing around, I think I've pretty much finalised my A-camera build.

I have never in my LIFE had a harder time putting a camera rig together though! The damned thing is so tiny, it really does require a lot of precision to get everything to fit. I've already had some custom SDI cables made for it, and I've had a machinist drill out and re-tap some 1/4"-20 holes on my Hawk-Woods battery plate, so that (with a different 15mm LWS clamp that's currently en route from China) I'll be able to mount the plate flush with the back of the camera, and the DTAP ports will be able to sit recessed within the battery cavity of the camera:

UJD7OGq.jpg


1GpscJO.jpg


4dpJb7d.jpg


oyqL1XW.jpg


What's craziest of all, is that this full studio build-out (with 19mm studio baseplate, wireless FIZ (well... F in this case), wireless video, external raw recording, loupe, full Arri viewfinder bracketry, and a Panavision-style top handle - all comes in at just 8.5kg!

That's wild.

Like 4kg lighter than the lightest (comparably-featured) build I've ever built in the past, wild.

And if I strip off the extensions for the top handle, and take the camera off the studio baseplate (and just use the 15mm LWS one), which only takes about 20 seconds with this build, I'm suddenly down to just 7.5kg for the full rig. Just incredible. I can feel my spine smiling at me, every time I simply pick the camera up.
Click to expand...


Just in love with your setup. I'm still waiting for my WC plate / PL mount combo and Z-Finder. Just out of curiosity, if you go hand-held are you keeping the FX6 handgrip with an extension cable?
 
Vik Kamenicky said:
Just in love with your setup. I'm still waiting for my WC plate / PL mount combo and Z-Finder. Just out of curiosity, if you go hand-held are you keeping the FX6 handgrip with an extension cable?
Click to expand...

You'll be stoked when they arrive, the camera's pretty violently compromised without them - but with them, everything does get a lot easier.

I'm not using the stock Sony handgrip for anything at this stage. I've pondered adapting it to an Arri rosette and getting the extension cables needed, but ultimately, if I'm going to get run/stop on the camera, I'd much rather it be integrated with the Cforce Mini RF, so that my AC can trigger recording from their WCU4 hand unit.

The main shame of it all, is losing so many custom function buttons when you remove the Sony top handle and side grip.
 
Grug said:
My Z-finder and Wooden Camera top-plate/PL bracket have finally arrived, and after an inordinate amount of stuffing around, I think I've pretty much finalised my A-camera build.

I have never in my LIFE had a harder time putting a camera rig together though! The damned thing is so tiny, it really does require a lot of precision to get everything to fit. I've already had some custom SDI cables made for it, and I've had a machinist drill out and re-tap some 1/4"-20 holes on my Hawk-Woods battery plate, so that (with a different 15mm LWS clamp that's currently en route from China) I'll be able to mount the plate flush with the back of the camera, and the DTAP ports will be able to sit recessed within the battery cavity of the camera:

UJD7OGq.jpg


1GpscJO.jpg


4dpJb7d.jpg


oyqL1XW.jpg


What's craziest of all, is that this full studio build-out (with 19mm studio baseplate, wireless FIZ (well... F in this case), wireless video, external raw recording, loupe, full Arri viewfinder bracketry, and a Panavision-style top handle - all comes in at just 8.5kg!

That's wild.

Like 4kg lighter than the lightest (comparably-featured) build I've ever built in the past, wild.

And if I strip off the extensions for the top handle, and take the camera off the studio baseplate (and just use the 15mm LWS one), which only takes about 20 seconds with this build, I'm suddenly down to just 7.5kg for the full rig. Just incredible. I can feel my spine smiling at me, every time I simply pick the camera up.
Click to expand...

It was once a small camera.
 
broughtonfilm said:
Yea, like I said, it worked for my vision (the image was a bit blurry when the device was at its normal distance, moving it away actually corrected that), there's also probably some variation in how deep we were able to stuff the loupe into the Sony hood. I had no idea this Kamerar was aluminum, I thought it was plastic. Again, it's just a hack, I was not taking it seriously. I'm sorry if I got your hopes up high.
Click to expand...

I had no hopes, I just gave it a shot as it was so cheap.
 
drboffa said:
I was being somewhat facetious.

That said, I would love something more amenable to keeping things small and light. Your setup looks great for building the FX6 up, and isn't too dissimilar from how I built up my Fs5 for shoulder work. But it wasn't ideal for a lot of my handheld shooting (as great as it is for shoulder work).

The FS7 loupe isn't really any better, of course, given its size. And I can't imagine the FX6 supporting it, as you note.

From what I recall, one of the biggest issues I had with the Z-Finder on the Fs5 was the extra support didn't allow for easy folding down. I.e., if I wanted to go back to a small, easily transportable setup (something I could throw in a bag and pull out ready to go) I had to remove the Zacuto mounting bracket and refit the original Sony/SmallRig mount for the LCD. But maybe I wasn't being creative enough in how I had it set up, or simply needed a slightly bigger bag.
Click to expand...

The Zacuto solution probably work okay but I just hate things getting bulky. I've always used my FS7 as slimmed down as I could only using the loupe when needed and I'd hate to defeat the small size of the FX6 with extra parts. It is possible judging by how close the Kamerar actually got. If it had a dipoter adjustment things would have been peachy.
 
Grug said:
You'll be stoked when they arrive, the camera's pretty violently compromised without them - but with them, everything does get a lot easier.

I'm not using the stock Sony handgrip for anything at this stage. I've pondered adapting it to an Arri rosette and getting the extension cables needed, but ultimately, if I'm going to get run/stop on the camera, I'd much rather it be integrated with the Cforce Mini RF, so that my AC can trigger recording from their WCU4 hand unit.

The main shame of it all, is losing so many custom function buttons when you remove the Sony top handle and side grip.
Click to expand...

Also what's the brand of the cable holder? I've had it somewhere bookmarked but lost the link.
 
Got hold of an IDX SU-98 and it powers the camera up and seems to run down in the batt life indicator. Sticks out about 5cm past the back of the camera so pleased I still have some BP-U 30s for now when I need tiny cam.

Now waiting on a charger for it because Sony love to screw with us.
 
jmone said:
Here you go. After a few design attempts and a bunch of test prints.... I've created a thumb screw adapter for the FX6 that will hold Rycote Lyre Mic Mounts.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4784464

View attachment 142614

View attachment 142615

View attachment 142616
Click to expand...

Nice! How can I get these AKA quanto ? I tried something similar, also for the Lyre, using Smallrig's low profile Nato rail, but because the two screws are so thin I did not trust it. This looks very lightweight, I'd trust it.
 
Last edited:
The designs are posted on Thingiverse and any one with a 3d Printer will be able to download and print them for you (including those companies that offer it as a paid service). The material cost is well under US$1, but I don't know what they would charge. I could mail you a set but as I'm in Australia it would be quicker to get someone locally to print it.

I did test prints with some different types of materials, but for me ePA/CF (Carbon Fibre reinforced Nylon) is the material of choice as it is very very tough, prints with good tolerances, is light and (most importantly) the grey industrial finish matches the FX6 nicely. ePA/CF can be hard to get (and is relatively expensive). You could use pretty well any other filament type, but if you can't get ePA/CF I'd suggest PETG over PLA. Then again, it is so cheap to print a new part you could have a heap of spares if needed (and in all sorts of colours!).
 
jmone said:
The designs are posted on Thingiverse and any one with a 3d Printer will be able to download and print them for you (including those companies that offer it as a paid service). The material cost is well under US$1, but I don't know what they would charge. I could mail you a set but as I'm in Australia it would be quicker to get someone locally to print it.

I did test prints with some different types of materials, but for me ePA/CF (Carbon Fibre reinforced Nylon) is the material of choice as it is very very tough, prints with good tolerances, is light and (most importantly) the grey industrial finish matches the FX6 nicely. ePA/CF can be hard to get (and is relatively expensive). You could use pretty well any other filament type, but if you can't get ePA/CF I'd suggest PETG over PLA. Then again, it is so cheap to print a new part you could have a heap of spares if needed (and in all sorts of colours!).
Click to expand...

Thanks. I did not notice the link. I checked couple of 3D printing places but they all have a minimum order requirement of around $100 (the part itself comes up to around $10).
 
Last edited:
I'm happy to run off a batch and ship them if you want..... but from what I can see postage alone will cost
- US: A$24 (10-18 business days), A$36 (7-12 days) to the US
- UK: A$26.40 (13-25 days), A$41.40 (9-18 days) to the UK....
- About A$100 for 2-3 Day courier.

Outrageous for a sub $0.50 part! At least you would get ePA/CF and a bunch of spares! Or I could send a bunch to the the UK / US and let you guys then distribute locally as the shipping would be the same for 1 or as many as I can stuff into a "Small satchel - 22 x 35.3cm - Up to 500g". Let me know if you are interested.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top