Top handle for my dslr rig

Z

zeidan

New member
hello everyone,
i was experiencing the Redrock DSLR Cinema Bundle yesterday and to be honest i HATED it. it was really too complicated to move anything on the rods. just to move the camera back a little you have to unlock too many knobs and even if you remove the top handle you still need the side bars to hold the mattebox plus the fact that you can not move the mattebox becuase it hits the down rods made it harder to balance the camera on the rig. but what i really loved about it was the fact that you have a top handle.

does anyone know any other solution to have a top handle for a simple two rods rig?
 
oh.. i just noticed that any handle wont work with an on camera mic .. any solution to mount the mic on the top rods?
 
zeidan said:
oh.. i just noticed that any handle wont work with an on camera mic .. any solution to mount the mic on the top rods?
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Simply mont the mic on the side of the CPM DSLR RIG. You don;t need to moutn it to the top.

As a matter of fact, since you will be using a top handle, you are better off with side mounting to cut down on handling noise.
 
Thanks, but i still don't know if i need any extra mounting piece (like a cold shoe) to mount my rode videomic on it ?
 
kkymn said:
Zeidan have you checked www.handyslr.com
it deserves a look. there is also a demo video showing the rig in real filmmaking conditions. If only more company had the courage to prepare such video :)
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How about showing the footage that was shot during that demo? It would be nice to see how stable the shots were.
 
vroom said:
How about showing the footage that was shot during that demo? It would be nice to see how stable the shots were.
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I find the lack of footage from all manufacturers baffling (or worrying) - and customers willingness to go blind into purchases equally weird

S
 
Lack of footage of what? Footage shot with the rig???

Some of us could shoot better looking footage with a camera bolted to a 2x4 than some with the most expensive Zacuto stick-rig. It means nothing.

What they need to do is show really good still images of the items and indicate what materials are used and possibly show someone using the rig to give an idea of the ergonomics.

What pisses me off is when a manufacturer deliberately avoids mentioning what materials are used and allows you to assume it's made from what it should be (like aluminum instead of plastic - hello! IDC Photo Video).

Really, what it comes down to is design, materials, and craftsmanship.

.
 
I cannot recomend the CPM gear highly enough. Just did a weeks long shoot at a Open Cut Mine in the middle of far north Australia. Thrwing my camera in and out of 4WD's all day, the CPM cage and handle was a godsend, more detailed post on my blog at www.tdepost.com/blog
 
Chris Santucci said:
Lack of footage of what? Footage shot with the rig???

Some of us could shoot better looking footage with a camera bolted to a 2x4 than some with the most expensive Zacuto stick-rig. It means nothing.

.
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Indeed it is my belief that most rigs are worse than nailing your camera to a bit of 2 by 4

Hence the need for footage

I also agree on the detailed photography and pictures of configured rigs and materials

Most of the manufacs dont seem have a clue that for example we are all going to mount on 701s for example because we need to get the camera off to put it somewhere else like on a stabiliser in a hurry

Ive been rigging my cam for a while now more than a year and I just feel I am getting there

They also forget that buying into a plate system is not cheap if you need plates for a 400, a 80-200, and a couple of cams and a rig bottom

anyway - top handles..

S
 
Agreed, the quick release plate thing is a problem. I have pretty much standardised on the Manfrotto 357 plate system (which I believe CMP are tooling up a plate to accept) what I have found myself doing is cutting the plate in half, they still fit on the plate and lock in fine but they dont protrude along the length of the camera as much, and are a lot easer to maneouver in and out of the rig. And as an added bonus you get two plates for the price of one. With the smaller plate I was able to attach and de-attach my CPM rig from the tripod really easily. Then when I need to go super wide with a 10.5 mil fisheye I could just pop the camera straight on the tripod without the rig and mattebox because it had the same plate on it as the base of the rig.
 
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