C100: Top cheese plates

Darren Levine

Darren Levine

Veteran
So i finally picked one up when i saw genustech had a display stock sale:

http://shop.genustech.tv/collection...products/top-cheese-plate-for-the-c300-camera

100 bucks shipped, a stupid good deal, and they're basically new, no point to buy new just because no one's hands have touched it. There are some considerations when using this with a C100, but i'll get into that in a moment.

the other options:

WoodenCamera $160

i had been eyeing the woodencamera one for awhile, but the one thing that irked me was that to use the c100 handle, you needed to fork over 45 bucks more for a shoe adapter. not a big deal, but seems to me for such a basic piece of metal they could have added $10 to the cost of the top plate and included it and made far more people into the product. otherwise, seems great. the one other thing i didn't like is that it seems that it just connects via a bolt, whereas the genustech one also has a shoe that slides in, exactly the same way the c100 handle attaches, so it goes that little bit more assuredness that it's attached solidly.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BF1E1WG/?tag=dlevi-20

element
http://elementtechnica.mybigcommerce.com/canon-c-top-plate/

I only found out about this one at a trade show. the catch is that it was really designed for the c300/500, so the added side bars i don't believe will work, and this plate on it's own will have a little handle sticking out on the back which has no purpose. This one has a bunch of holes, in an interesting arrangement, not sure what the thought process was.

$160

So back to the genustech one. One big plus it has over the others is that it can take the canon's handle without any further adaptesr, or any other shoe mounted accessory for that matter. but there's an issue with using the c100's audio cabe, because it is NOT designed for the C100, but there's a workaround. here are the considerations:


-Fits as normal onto the body
-the power dial is slightly obstructed but completely functional
-the tape marker hook is obstructed but still functional.
-the c100 handle goes on as normal, but is not as wide as the c300 handle, so there is some empty space between the sides of the handle and those two little risers mohawks
-the 1/8" mic port is obstructed, it will not work unless you have a very low profile plug
-the c100 xlr cable is not able to be used with this due to obstruction

But that of course wasn't going to stop me from DIYing it to my satisfaction. Out comes the hack saw and poof, it's completely functional with the c100 xlr cable and 1/8 cable. Note in the 3rd photo that there's sliver where there should be black, thats the corner i hacked out to make it work.

The one other thing i noticed, but haven't tried out yet, is that those front facing 1/4" taps, the inner ones to be exact, happen to be 60cm apart. Hint: that's 15mm rail spacing. so this thing can take rails on top with some 15mm extension rods and 1/4" to 1/2" adapters. nice! i've got a way to mount my hollow rails to it, but haven't gotten to home depot to get what i need just yet.

Lastly there is one other consideration for the genustech one, it doesn't have centered holes. it's either one side or the other, as you can see by my handle placement. I don't think it's a big deal, but it may be for some, depending on your accessories.
 

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I use a wooden camera dovetail and bridge plate. Expensive stuff but quality is good. Incidentally I was looking at their top cheese plate yesterday and was thinking about the cost of that shoe adapter. :) I found their stuff intuitive.

I am wondering why you have taped your camera.
 
How solid is this setup? Does it fit as tight as the original handle? I`m still amazed the Canon Cinema line uses a cold shoe as a connection point for their XLR handles.
 
Solid and reassuring, one thing i might do is add some locktite to the screw threads, just as an extra bit of assuredness, but isn't necessary. i too wonder why they didn't build the xlr connection into the shoe, but i guess they had their reasons. perhaps not to make it seem more advanced than the c300 which already has Two cables.

and indiawilds, i tape my camera for two reasons, to try and keep it pretty, and to have little bits of gaff tape ready at a moments notice
 
After reading Darren's post (thanks Darren), I bought an 'ex-display' cheese plate. Once I cut the corner off, as Darren shows, the XLR cable can fit in underneath and all is good. It came with two countersunk screws one if which secures it firmly. I have my sony wireless receiver attached to the right-hand side which I moved from the handle as it stopped me using the handle as a handle.
 
glad you found it useful!

hey can you peer into the front threaded holes and tell me if yours are clean or if it looks like the threads inside were chewed up a bit?

odd thing i happened to notice. just looks like the front threads got some odd display use or a monkey got in there with a file. didn't notice it as things seem quite secure when i put them in, but odd nontheless
 
The front threaded holes (all of them) look to be fine and true. Screwed something into all of them to test and was butter smooth. I have just noticed the price has gone up from $85 (it actually cost me 2 or 3 times more than that with postage and import tax) to R$125 as a side point.
 
Coming back to this thread: Any longtime experience to share?
My C100 handle finally has begone to wobble a little and I`m thinking about adding a cheese plate.
The ET looks the best with the extra contact point, but any news on if it will also fit the C100...?
 
For those considering the element technica plate: Got word back from them, the plate only fits the C300 and C500:(
 
Spartacus said:
For those considering the element technica plate: Got word back from them, the plate only fits the C300 and C500:(
Click to expand...

Since the genus plate is not "technically" compatible either, I wonder what it would take to get the ET plate to work? I like how it also mounts onto the screw hole beside the power switch. One top mounted screw just doesn't seem like its enough.
 
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Spartacus said:
I would like to know if this "spread out to the sides" design of the Genus, creates unwanted leverage when screwing in a noga arm and such not centered like the hotshoe.
Click to expand...

It arrived .. And it fits nicely, the both parts (handle and cheeseplate) now have about the same play (left to right) as the handle did on its own.
The fact that a noga arm is a little offset to the left or right instead of centered on top of the handle is more than compensated by it's now much lower center point of grafity.
It makes the rig al lot less topheavy.
The best part is that you can now tighten the noga arm with a lot more confidence and not worry about breaking the threads on the top handle .
 
avian said:
It arrived .. And it fits nicely, the both parts (handle and cheeseplate) now have about the same play (left to right) as the handle did on its own.
The fact that a noga arm is a little offset to the left or right instead of centered on top of the handle is more than compensated by it's now much lower center point of grafity.
It makes the rig al lot less topheavy.
The best part is that you can now tighten the noga arm with a lot more confidence and not worry about breaking the threads on the top handle .
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update!
I just found out Zacuto will be releasing a C300/500 top cheese plate called "helmet", that will also use the filmplane marker screws for extra security.
Now this will probably again NOT fit the C100...
 
The Zacuto helmet and handle are out. I tried them on a C300. I did not end up keeping the setup and returned it. The handle is fine, beautifully made and comfortable. The helmet is very solid.

I returned it because I wanted to retain the flexibility of Canon's coldshoe. So, I needed a way to still have a coldshoe for the C300 monitor or a mini shotgun mic when I was not using the handle and there were issues with Zacuto's other Z-rail clamps (described in the linked blog post) - I would have used them to quick release a cold shoe to the rail. Zacuto's helmet, if using a Z-rail or nato rail on top, will also only allow an angled cold shoe on the side if attaching a coldshoe directly to the helmet. Fine for a mini shotgun mic but not doable for the C300 monitor.

Zacuto's helmet/handle combo work very well for their shoulder rig seen in the video linked above (I tried one out) but in my case just using the helmet & handle limited how I use the camera.

In the end, I went with a Wooden Camera top plate, which does fit the C100 as well, along with their new Nato Plus handle. I really like them and that combo is a better fit for my needs.

Wooden Camera does make a handle mount shoe to fit the Canon C100/300/500 handles. It can be mounted direct to the top plate or to their Nato clamp. I will do a blog post on this, too, once I have a moment. In short, because of the design of the WC top plate I can retain the flexibility I need (e.g. mounting the Canon monitor and/or a mini-shotgun even when I'm not using the handle.)

For a C100 user the WC handle mount allows you to have the top plate for cheese but retain the Canon handle for the built-in mic's and XLR's. WC's handle mount is made to Canon's spec's. So, it locks down the handle similarly, there is a still a bit play when using Canon's handle just like with Canon's setup.

WC's top plate only has one mounting point to attach it to the camera but it is very solid. I've had no issues with it. It has no play whatsoever.
 
Thanks for all the info!

Jon Roemer said:
WC's handle mount is made to Canon's spec's. So, it locks down the handle similarly, there is a still a bit play when using Canon's handle just like with Canon's setup.
Click to expand...
So does this mean no gain in stability when using the WC cheese plate with the Canon grip? Gaining mounting holes for accessories might be enough, but I was hoping for an end to the stupid handle wiggle...
 
Spartacus said:
Thanks for all the info!

So does this mean no gain in stability when using the WC cheese plate with the Canon grip? Gaining mounting holes for accessories might be enough, but I was hoping for an end to the stupid handle wiggle...
Click to expand...

Correct, but just so it's clear, the culprit is the Canon handle itself (C100, C300 or C500). That's what has the wiggle. The WC Handle Mount isn't able to correct for it since it has to meet Canon spec's to fit the Canon handle. Also, so it's clear, the WC Top Plate is extremely stable.

WC's Nato Plus Handle is super stable, comfortable, flexible, etc. I really like it. It's just not an option with the C100 if you want to retain XLRs.
 
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