What shoulder mount / hand held solutions are people using?

I am seriously considering the Indifocus DSLRsm...I have an email out to them to see if 12" rods will work with it because I think 18" is overkill with a camera as small as the GH1.
 
Ben_B said:
I am seriously considering the Indifocus DSLRsm...I have an email out to them to see if 12" rods will work with it because I think 18" is overkill with a camera as small as the GH1.
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I was thinking the same thing - let us know what they say.
BTW I hope you noticed I fixed my avatar since it was giving you nightmares and I didn't want the vote you set up would end up with you getting banned! :2vrolijk_08:
 
I'm sporting the indiRAILSpro XVsm with a Cavision matte box but it gets a bit cumbersome when trying to do non shoulder mount low angle hand held shots. This setup isn't ideal for quick angle changes. Sorry, shoulder mount in pics is backwards. My style of shooting requires the diversity to go from tripod to hand held to shoulder in a flash. This rig is a pain to work with but I'm getting used to it.

Since I view via LCD (I assume most GH1 users do as well) the camera needs to be far forward on the rails when shoulder mounted otherwise I'm going cross eyed.

The indirail is great quality for it's price point. Though in some aspects it loses the ability to adjust the hand grips without tools. Simple fix is to buy a pair of redrock handles for $50 each. The indie system is a good starter. You can always add redrock components as long as the pieces are for the 15mm rods.

The only issue with carbon fiber rails is the wear and tear on the epoxy coat if you adjust the riser/handles/matte box/etc. too often without loosening the clamps enough or you tap the rod ends against cement and chip the ends. Aluminum vs. carbon fiber clear coat...aluminum wins. Just be careful and gentle. That's the reason the other manufacturers stuck with metal rods.

I love my indieRails so far.


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Thanks for those pictures. Actually I prefer using the EVF - looks bit hard to reach it with the deep Indirails base mount. Can you open the battery compartment without removing the camera?
 
Martti Ekstrand said:
Thanks for those pictures. Actually I prefer using the EVF - looks bit hard to reach it with the deep Indirails base mount. Can you open the battery compartment without removing the camera?
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There are two base mounts stacked on top of each other. Since the Cavision matte box I'm using is pretty big, I needed the extra elevation. I could've dropped the matte box an inch lower but the height didn't bother me.

For EVF viewing you can utilize one base mount and fine tune it's elevation by loosening the clamps because the mounts are slotted vertically. One thing I found a pain using the EVF with this rig is that since I have the camera so far forward on the base mount (so the short 50mm canon lens could reach the matte box) the top left base mount corner was in my cheek. I'm sure with some tweaking/fine tuning and using only one base mount would've cured that issue. Also moving the camera back onto the base mounting holes closer to your face will definitely help.

The battery can be removed w/out removing the camera. As you can see in the photo the camera mounts offset. The battery compartment is camera right so yes, there is plenty of room to pull the battery.

A note about the base mount...put a couple strips of gaffers tape or something to add a bit of friction between the camera and base mount to keep the camera from accidentally spinning on the mount if you don't go with a quick release (next on the list).


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Mike@AF said:
That's terrible camera work. The camera is rocking back and forth and bouncing so much it's unbearable to watch.
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Yeah, the footage can be motion sickening but even with a perfectly balanced Merlin I've had the same issues...mainly because of wind. The slightest breeze can throw these stabilizers off especially when you have the LCD open and a lens hood mounted. The wind catches in all the nooks/crannies and large surface area of the LCD. The hood acts like a freakn parachute.

I do agree the cam operator could've finessed the axis pivots more gently.
 
Just ordered the indifocus baseplate and rods. Bought handlebars and grips from redrock. Buying a bogen monopod gunstock for a brace. Gettin' out for under 400 bones.... Just trying to figure out a an overhand-handle that lands under $150. The Redrock handle is $250 without support linkage. Got to be another way....
 
No but I did decide I wanted the 18" rods...I won a monitor which I'll be mounting and some extra money for a follow focus...so I really would like the space.
 
SpecialEdFX said:
Just ordered the indifocus baseplate and rods. Bought handlebars and grips from redrock. Buying a bogen monopod gunstock for a brace. Gettin' out for under 400 bones.... Just trying to figure out a an overhand-handle that lands under $150. The Redrock handle is $250 without support linkage. Got to be another way....
Click to expand...

Will the indifocus square thing work around the whole rail system? That has a top handle I think.

Yeah I thought about getting some redrock stuff and mixing but I decided that I wanted the shoulder pad, I liked the counter weight thing, and that I like the way DSLR setups from indi and zacuto are doing this very low grips thing (like waist level) instead of super high up...plus being cheaper than red rock. :)
 
Rig for GH1 - Recomendation

Rig for GH1 - Recomendation

What's your thoughts on the following rig components for GH1. Please advise.

1. ProDOF MatteBOX + French flag 145 EUR
2. ProDOF Rod Support 125 EUR
3. ProDOF Top Handle 65 EUR
4. Follow Focus + gear set 265 EUR
5. Pro Shoulder Mount 265 EUR

Total $1236 USD.

Check here for more details
http://www.myspace.com/prodof
 
Please help

Please help

SpecialEdFX said:
Just ordered the indifocus baseplate and rods. Bought handlebars and grips from redrock. Buying a bogen monopod gunstock for a brace. Gettin' out for under 400 bones.... Just trying to figure out a an overhand-handle that lands under $150. The Redrock handle is $250 without support linkage. Got to be another way....
Click to expand...

Could you please post some pictures of these components? I am trying to follw your approach and new in using this type of rigs for GH1. I was not able figure out which exact items to buy? Please help.
 
This one is my favorite:



Beats pretty much everything else I've ever tried. My buddy was using his 7D on mine with a 300mm lens from across a hall and it barely looked handheld. A little soft sway, but no jerkiness at all. And it feels soooo natural :)
 
majikfraug said:
This one is my favorite:



Beats pretty much everything else I've ever tried. My buddy was using his 7D on mine with a 300mm lens from across a hall and it barely looked handheld. A little soft sway, but no jerkiness at all. And it feels soooo natural :)
Click to expand...

Also imagewest.tv has a DVXuser discount of 10% if you call in your order.
 
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