C300: What is the perfect C300 rig?
- Thread starter ultramaze
- Start date
Run&Gun
Veteran
There is no perfect C300 rig, because the camera is so poorly designed. But with that being said, I finally found a solution that is workable for me. I use the Zacuto universal VCT baseplate, Zacuto Helmut top plate/handle, Zacuto Axis Mini/Graticle HD VF, A/B battery plate mounted on a Zacuto battery/cheese plate on the back of the rig and the "pod" mounted on the back. Switched to the Wooden Camera grip relocater(with an Occonnor O-grip on the left side) from the Arri, because the Arri cable broke and it was going to be more expensive to fix the cable.
These pics are actually with one of my B4 HD W/A's on it, instead of a still or cine lens, but you get the idea. VF removed in one of the pics, because a friend was just wanting to see how it was with the adapter and lens on it.
These pics are actually with one of my B4 HD W/A's on it, instead of a still or cine lens, but you get the idea. VF removed in one of the pics, because a friend was just wanting to see how it was with the adapter and lens on it.
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puredrifting
Major Contributor
While I love the EOS Cinema cameras, they are laid out really poorly for handheld shooting. I keep changing out components and messing around with my setup and it is now to the point of being okay to shoot handheld with but it is a far cry from a proper shoulder mounted 2/3" type camera setup as far as ergonomics. I now have long rods on mine with a Neweer 3lb counterweight at the back, the Zacuto grip re-locater is a must, a left hand Zacuto extension handle, soft Small Rig shoulder mount, Small Rig low profile base plate, Ultralight Control System 6" monitor arm to mount my Ninja Blade. It's still a messy, too tall rig with crap hanging off of it but it works now.
I recently shot handheld in Africa for two weeks, pretty much 10 hours a day on set of a TV show and I think I am close to having it totally workable for my needs. I've used this same setup with my C100 and with rental C300s. The final piece would be the new Canon 18-80 lens with the servo. I mostly use the 18-135 STM IS and it's workable but manually zooming to reframe is kind of awkward, the servo lens would be perfect. I will be renting it periodically. In these images, the Canon 28mm 1.8 is mounted as this is 2:00 AM in the morning on an all night shoot and other than over near productions key light, which was an 18k through a 12x12 silk, there was not much light on set anywhere else so shooting wide open at 28mm 1.8 at ISO 1250 did the trick. That 28mm 1.8 is perfect for what I do when shooting at night, shooting BTS and EPK on film and television sets, even a 2.8 lens makes me boost the camer's gain up to ISO 1600 or 2500, higher than I like.
Note the MKH-50 mounted on camera. My sound mixer actually had the solder in the cable of his wireless hop to my camera melt in the 128F heat that day, the connector came loose, we didn't have a soldering iron, so he still wanted better sound on my camera tracks than the built in would provide so that our editor could better match his Sound Devices 664 tracks he was recording, so he mounted the MKH50 on my camera. Also note the Go Pro Hero 4 riding atop my camera. I use it for either shooting camera POV time lapses throughout the day or sometimes shoot tight and record the wide with the Go Pro, gives the editor some different views and flavors of footage to work with. Third image is me shooting production's drone with an Alexa Mini mounted as it takes off, sometimes you use a shoulder mount in different ways.
I recently shot handheld in Africa for two weeks, pretty much 10 hours a day on set of a TV show and I think I am close to having it totally workable for my needs. I've used this same setup with my C100 and with rental C300s. The final piece would be the new Canon 18-80 lens with the servo. I mostly use the 18-135 STM IS and it's workable but manually zooming to reframe is kind of awkward, the servo lens would be perfect. I will be renting it periodically. In these images, the Canon 28mm 1.8 is mounted as this is 2:00 AM in the morning on an all night shoot and other than over near productions key light, which was an 18k through a 12x12 silk, there was not much light on set anywhere else so shooting wide open at 28mm 1.8 at ISO 1250 did the trick. That 28mm 1.8 is perfect for what I do when shooting at night, shooting BTS and EPK on film and television sets, even a 2.8 lens makes me boost the camer's gain up to ISO 1600 or 2500, higher than I like.
Note the MKH-50 mounted on camera. My sound mixer actually had the solder in the cable of his wireless hop to my camera melt in the 128F heat that day, the connector came loose, we didn't have a soldering iron, so he still wanted better sound on my camera tracks than the built in would provide so that our editor could better match his Sound Devices 664 tracks he was recording, so he mounted the MKH50 on my camera. Also note the Go Pro Hero 4 riding atop my camera. I use it for either shooting camera POV time lapses throughout the day or sometimes shoot tight and record the wide with the Go Pro, gives the editor some different views and flavors of footage to work with. Third image is me shooting production's drone with an Alexa Mini mounted as it takes off, sometimes you use a shoulder mount in different ways.
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jm.gardiner
Well-known member
After years of searching, I'm finally pretty happy with my rig. I wear contacts so I actually prefer the small lcd over an evf. I have the movcam top handle and a wooden camera evf relocater so I can push that monitor unit out pretty far. Zacuto pro-vct plate and anton bauer plate onthe back to help the balance. I also took the canon mic holder off completely and use a rode shock mount with a locking coldshoe mount that attaches to a 15mm rod on the top right side of the camera. Not shown here.
Pretty much bare bones. I shoot mostly doc content so I need to be flexible to shoot any angle at any time, jumping in and out of cars, shooting out of windows, etc. I ditch the top handle and mount the monitor right to the body to keep things lean. I shoot on stabilized lenses whenever possible to minimize shake. Been shooting handheld for 13 years so it's pretty steady at this point. For interviews and other tripod stuff, if I have the time, i'll mount my 5.6inch monitor on the side of the camera by way of the threaded hole on top of the camera and an articulating arm (forget the model but its rock solid, used normal for underwater photography gripping). I bought 2 of the big and 2 of the small batteries and can shoot all day on those. I also ditch the battery cover as that gets in the way when you are shooting on the ground or pressing the camera to your chest for stability.