puredrifting
Major Contributor
Just ordered one, looks as if it will be essential to try to turn the C100 into an effective hand held rig. Anyone have one? Any feedback?
C100: Who has the Zacuto C100 Grip Relocater?
- Thread starter puredrifting
- Start date
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it. I played with my Gini rig last night as I too am shooting a project tomorrow that will require a lot of handheld interviews and I am leaving for South Africa for a two week shoot that will largely be handheld. I have to say that the C100, at least with my Gini rig, does not lend itself to should mounted shooting that well, I can see with the grip locater, it will help with hand held tremendously as it will put my right hand into a much more natural position. The best method I have found is rather than riding the rig up on my shoulder, which seemed uncomfortable and awkward much of the time, the rig seems to work very well if I tuck the camera into my torso, with the shoulder pad itself tucked under my right arm. I use my right hand to support the weight of the rig and brace it against my body and my left hand to manipulate focus and zoom. The only thing missing is then the ability to use the joystick, which is so handy for magnifying and for setting ISO/changing WB as you shoot. I have the Ninja Blade mounted on a monitor arm on the left, off of the Gini rig base.
The main downsides to my method are that it is diffuclt to see the C100 screen to check zebras and status and if I need to shoot interviews, the camera is too low, so I then have to hoist the rig back up on my shoulder to get the necessary height so I am not looking up my interviewee's nostrils. But as far as walk and talks or shooting b-roll and moving around subjects, holding the rig close to my torso with the shoulder pad under my arm is giving me four distinct points of contact. That, combined with the 18-135 STM IS lens is allowing me to do wonderfully stable moving shots and I can even hold a decent still composition at 135mm. I also find that with the rig on my shoulder, I fatigue much quicker whereas holding it in close to my body, my arms don't fatigue at all and I can shoot for quite long stretches uninterrupted. If I need to shoot in the "camera as a box" style, I can extend it in my arms and move it around subjects nicely but it is then much easier to just tuck the rig back in to my body when transitioning while rolling. It is almost impossible to transition from the camera held out in my arms to shoulder mount while rolling. I'll be roaming around a lot of movie and TV sets so I often need to carry the rig for hours at a time and have to grab all kinds of shots quickly. Having to always shoot from a tripod is tough, but the C100 is not a natural handheld camera when you add a Blade to it. If I didn't need the Blade, handheld would be a lot easier. I am hoping the Zacuto grip relocater will be a good investment for me, thanks for confirming that.
The main downsides to my method are that it is diffuclt to see the C100 screen to check zebras and status and if I need to shoot interviews, the camera is too low, so I then have to hoist the rig back up on my shoulder to get the necessary height so I am not looking up my interviewee's nostrils. But as far as walk and talks or shooting b-roll and moving around subjects, holding the rig close to my torso with the shoulder pad under my arm is giving me four distinct points of contact. That, combined with the 18-135 STM IS lens is allowing me to do wonderfully stable moving shots and I can even hold a decent still composition at 135mm. I also find that with the rig on my shoulder, I fatigue much quicker whereas holding it in close to my body, my arms don't fatigue at all and I can shoot for quite long stretches uninterrupted. If I need to shoot in the "camera as a box" style, I can extend it in my arms and move it around subjects nicely but it is then much easier to just tuck the rig back in to my body when transitioning while rolling. It is almost impossible to transition from the camera held out in my arms to shoulder mount while rolling. I'll be roaming around a lot of movie and TV sets so I often need to carry the rig for hours at a time and have to grab all kinds of shots quickly. Having to always shoot from a tripod is tough, but the C100 is not a natural handheld camera when you add a Blade to it. If I didn't need the Blade, handheld would be a lot easier. I am hoping the Zacuto grip relocater will be a good investment for me, thanks for confirming that.
nedcam
Well-known member
Well, I'm the opposite. I find it on my shoulder, held down by gravity, to be less fatiguing then tucking it into my chest. I forgot to mention that when the Grip Relocator is on your rod the cable connecting it into the camera can wobble loose if touched, so suddenly your joy stick won't work. So I have gotten used to pushing it firmly in place before rolling.
Are you doing a BTS press kit for a show?
But the reason I'm replying is what you said about zebras. I believe you have got to get to the point where you trust your EVF and "eyeball" your exposure, especially if you're working in strong daylight you CSS (Can't See Sh*t). With my DP4 I adjusted the settings so WYSIWYG. Does your Ninja have an eyepiece?
And as to having to push your rig forward to see the Magnifier, I used to do that but in documentary mode I had to learn how to guesstimate focus in the DP4. in the DP4 I feel I have a good idea now as to when I'm spot on and if I have doubts on a tight or tele shot I will also go wider so the editor has a version where the focus is not in doubt. I have the peaking up all the way. If the subject is heading towards me, when I know I can't rack with it, I just go wide to be safe. I may also adjust my ISO/F Stop ratio to increase my DOF so I stress less about focus.
In sum, especially in bright daylight, I think you have to learn to trust your EVF as to focus and exposure because when moving fast handheld you can't hold the whole rig out in front of you just to see the LCD screen. I have no zebras, WF or Mag so I depend on my DP4's image.
P.S. When I'm going handheld exterior on a sunny day I ALWAYS wear a baseball hat so the brim keeps my eyes shaded so I see my EVF screen better.
Are you doing a BTS press kit for a show?
But the reason I'm replying is what you said about zebras. I believe you have got to get to the point where you trust your EVF and "eyeball" your exposure, especially if you're working in strong daylight you CSS (Can't See Sh*t). With my DP4 I adjusted the settings so WYSIWYG. Does your Ninja have an eyepiece?
And as to having to push your rig forward to see the Magnifier, I used to do that but in documentary mode I had to learn how to guesstimate focus in the DP4. in the DP4 I feel I have a good idea now as to when I'm spot on and if I have doubts on a tight or tele shot I will also go wider so the editor has a version where the focus is not in doubt. I have the peaking up all the way. If the subject is heading towards me, when I know I can't rack with it, I just go wide to be safe. I may also adjust my ISO/F Stop ratio to increase my DOF so I stress less about focus.
In sum, especially in bright daylight, I think you have to learn to trust your EVF as to focus and exposure because when moving fast handheld you can't hold the whole rig out in front of you just to see the LCD screen. I have no zebras, WF or Mag so I depend on my DP4's image.
P.S. When I'm going handheld exterior on a sunny day I ALWAYS wear a baseball hat so the brim keeps my eyes shaded so I see my EVF screen better.
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Oh, to have an eyepiece on the Blade...
+1 on the relocator. Only thing I don't like about it is that it only tensions on to one rod. Also, occasionally you may need to tighten the cross head screws holding the main threaded plate to the unit. Mine have worked loose a couple of times.
Ben.
+1 on the relocator. Only thing I don't like about it is that it only tensions on to one rod. Also, occasionally you may need to tighten the cross head screws holding the main threaded plate to the unit. Mine have worked loose a couple of times.
Ben.
same here, tension on the rod is, sometime, a problem and the screws definitely need some '' LocTite ''
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Thanks for the input guys. Yes Ned, shooting BTS on several shows right now, it is always unpredictable and the shooting situations are unexpected. I have to shoot a ton of footage and we like to have a wide variety of shooting styles to cut to. I shoot a lot of on tripod stuff with the 70-200 2.8 IS II, but when the director calls cut, I have to be ready to follow them on set over to the actors handheld. A lot of quick lens changes and exposure challenges. I wish I could use my Small HD DP6, the sun hood on it is superb, the hood on the Blade is a joke in comparison, but that's life.
Staying out of the actors eyeline, staying out of the way of the crew as they do their jobs, while still capturing what s happening on set, it is very unique and challenging. At the end of the day, the studios still expect beautiful footage, not typical ENG stuff. I will have my own grip truck in Africa with a grip and sound mixer, my interviews are expected to look good, I am pretty thrilled that I have help this year with lighting. Last year, I had to haul and setup/breakdown all grip and lighting myself. This year, I have a small crew! I typically end up shooting 5-8 hours of footage per day, it is a lot of shooting and most of it is unusable but you have to keep rolling all of the time to capture those little moments that help to tell the story.
Staying out of the actors eyeline, staying out of the way of the crew as they do their jobs, while still capturing what s happening on set, it is very unique and challenging. At the end of the day, the studios still expect beautiful footage, not typical ENG stuff. I will have my own grip truck in Africa with a grip and sound mixer, my interviews are expected to look good, I am pretty thrilled that I have help this year with lighting. Last year, I had to haul and setup/breakdown all grip and lighting myself. This year, I have a small crew! I typically end up shooting 5-8 hours of footage per day, it is a lot of shooting and most of it is unusable but you have to keep rolling all of the time to capture those little moments that help to tell the story.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Other than the somewhat wonky cable connection, so far I am really liking the handle relocater. Using the grip relocater in the lower/vertical orientation and adding a left hand grip to the front of the Gini rig results in a pretty nice shoulder mount now. Have not been on set with it yet, that begins on Sunday, but just running around with it makes the C100 work pretty well handheld.
I bought one of those black plastic tubular cable guards that are used for computer cables running down through a desk top, available at any store like Staples. using a rat-tail file, I filed a deep notch on one side, to accomodate the grip locator cable. The tubular flange itself was slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the recepticle on the C100, so I wrapped 1/4" black gaffers tape around the bottom edge of the flange so it fits snugly into the receptacle - I've never had a loose cable problem in over a year. Also, you can file a notch on the top cover that comes with the cable guard so it snaps in place and looks "finished" if you're picky.
I love the grip relocator. I use it handheld with a Z-Finder all the time. BTW - a little more "engineering" involved - I made a little aluminum plate that moves the grip up slightly, and angles it a little to the right for more comfort like an Aaton grip. I shoot all day regularly with no cramps.
I love the grip relocator. I use it handheld with a Z-Finder all the time. BTW - a little more "engineering" involved - I made a little aluminum plate that moves the grip up slightly, and angles it a little to the right for more comfort like an Aaton grip. I shoot all day regularly with no cramps.
Mark Smith
Veteran
I have 2 Zacuto grip locators for my C series cameras . Maybe its just bad luck but the start stop button on the grip rarely works when the grip is on the re locator, Grip works fine when plugged into the camera directly. I don't know the cause of the electronic funkiness with the grip relocator but it sure is bugging me. I do know that there are some electronics inside the body that the grip screws on to.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Not from Zacuto, at least as a new, retail item. It is hard wired into the grip relocater?
Loss of functionality on the Canon grips is almost always due to the cable connection not being pushed in all the way.
Jim Martin
DVXuser Sponsor
Ditto.......
Jim Martin
Jim Martin