Who shoots with an Easyrig?

Run&Gun

Run&Gun

Veteran
I'll be the first to admit that I used to be merciless in making fun of the guys that shot with an Easyrig and I swore I would never use one, no matter what. But with the way that camera designs and the "shooting styles"(never ending off-the-shoulder) have been going, I'm now starting to contemplate one. And the Group Buy going on until tonight is a nice bonus motivator...

So, I rented one to try out(unfortunately it was the 9" arm which is ridiculous, not the 5") for a week. Not exactly the best of times with Christmas, because I didn't have time to really dedicate to it like I had hoped. I was hoping to really like it, but it seemed really in my way and sorta of limiting me in my movement. It was nice to be able to hold the camera below shoulder level and not have your arms giving out in a minute, but trying to shoot with the camera actually on your shoulder was a nightmare. I was constantly hitting the support pole with the back of the camera and even with the tension dialed down, it didn't really want to let the camera sit on my shoulder(enough). The only way I could get it close to my shoulder was shifting my posture back very unnaturally. And then trying to tilt down was impossible. You havd to bend your whole upper body over at the waist. And tilting up wasn't much better. I was basically fighting myself and years of muscle memory and feeling/feedback of shooting handheld. There were moments where I was reminded of Steadicam(posture/hips, counteracting camera placement), but it still felt like I was fighting myself and not getting what I wanted/expected.

I can see it being useful for almost 'everything but off the shoulder' shooting, but it just didn't seem to be great for putting the camera on your shoulder, unless it's literally just on your shoulder and you're not doing much, if any, movement, like shooting a really long off the shoulder interview. Maybe I just didn't have enough time with it and maybe there are guys out there who have little secrets and tips to shooting successfully off the shoulder with it and wouldn't mind sharing. Unfortunately I had to send it back yesterday and IF I decide to get one, I have to make the decision by tonight. I can see it's usefulness for low waist level shots and the like and operating at heights and angles below the shoulder, but if I can't get it to work right with the camera on my shoulder, too, then I don't think it would be much use to me, at least for that kind of money.
 
I've used them plenty, but only with extremely heavy cameras (~40lbs+, most recently an all-handheld Alexa/anamorphic shoot with all kinds of gak on the camera). Yes, they are very limiting. My work is narrative, where we have rehearsals - so I know ahead of time what the shot entails so I can ditch the thing if it will get in the way of the shot.

I wouldn't want one for any kind of unpredictable work like reality or such, but I don't do such work. I also would never use one with a camera weighing less than 25lbs or so, it's just too much pain in the ass for too little benefit there - just hit the gym more instead.
 
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Good feedback guys. I too have contemplated one for years but for my realtively light C200, even when rigged out, it's perhaps 15lbs? Probably not worth it for me.
 
Good info, nothing. Most of the time, my cameras are pushing 30lbs+(VariCam, F55 w/17-120, etc.). I've been shooting handheld my entire career and I'm used to throwing around "heavy" cameras and having them on my shoulder for extended periods, but the big thing that's changed in the last few years is the migration to the "cine" cameras that don't balance as well and have crappy ergonomics coupled with the never ending roll(fortunately not the majority of my shoots). I was on a shoot earlier this year where i was shooting BTS and the main op shooting the "show" had an Easyrig and I snickered at him at the beginning of the day, but about half way through, I was jealous, since I was not only shooting while they were shooting scenes, but also before and after. Did I mention I hate shooting BTS...? Lol I know thats your jam Dan, but it's not that fun for me.
 
I have the EasyRig Minimax, which only runs around $1,300. It took me a lot of time to really get used to it, but now it feels extremely natural. There's a totally different way that I find myself holding the camera. For me, I tend to exert a constant pressure against the pull of the easyrig so that it's not just floating in the air. If I'm shooting 'from the shoulder' Ill have my right hand positioned near the top of the camera, pulling down ever so slightly. Usually though, I keep the camera tucked slightly under my right arm.

With an FS7+ V mount and slightly heavy lenses, it gets a little overloaded but not in any way that is detrimental to my shooting- it just means that I need to readjust the tension every so often.
 
I was on a street shooting job struggling (by hour six) with FS7/vlock/terradeck and 17-120 and we were offered easy rigs.

I just felt that if I 'went down' - tripped on a step or suchlike - I was in for a big injury.

Id only go the robo cop route on a drama with a spotter and a controlled location, not on a BTS or street shooting.
 
I am using Easyrig for 6 months now and I remember that my first shot was terrible. But after some time it is so natural for me. I dont even have super heavy setup - like 12 lbs - and it is so much better for my backs at the end. Since I am super tall I never shoot from the shoulder, so having camera in front of me is the best. But I can image being small is not great for talking people.

I went for Easyrig just for saving my body not for style.
 
A friend has been using an Easyrig for years... At least a dozen, I'd say. He works on a lot of food shows with long days. Used to do some reality (because: Mortgage). He's used it with shoulder-mount and FS7 cameras a whole lot. And also, IIRC, with Canon C cameras. He's a fulltime cameraop (and increasingly frequently DP) and spends a lot of time on his feet. He swears by the thing, but does say it took a while to get used to. He uses it with "light" and heavier rigs. I think I'm remembering all this correctly.

We're working together in the new year (I'm hiring him; great eye and attituded...though after hanging with lots of famous chefs, a bit of a food snob). If you'd like, Morgan, I'll drop him a line and ask him how/why it's working for him these days...
 
Like most gear these things have a place.

Ive worked with the Hairy Bikers - UK chefs - (not as an op)- they did takes as long as the meal cook basically a 'oner' but rewinding for cock ups ..(20+mins).. one cam on the food height the other on food to face and CUs of face.. clearly that is a situation where a rig would come to the fore..

-20min takes of waist height
-enough runners about to watch your back and keep Joe Public out from under your heals.
-time to recce your footing
-heavy zoom lens
 
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I had an Easyrig but to me it just moved the pressure from my arms to my back and it put so much restriction on how I can move a camera. These days if I know I have to do handheld I just use my FS5 bare bones and have very little fatigue. But I think something is really needed for heavier cameras so then an Easyrig might be a good option. It just wasn't for me as I like making things simple.
 
I rent EasyRigs for Alexa shoots, mostly commercials, but primarily use them for handheld shots below shoulder level. Often they sit unused the entire shoot, but for those times they’re needed I find them pretty great.
 
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Bern Caughey said:
I rent EasyRigs for Alexa shoots, mostly commercials, but primarily use them for handheld shots below shoulder level. Often they sit unused the entire shoot, but for those times they’re needed I find them pretty great.
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This seems to be the consensus. When I see them being used in the wild, 98 times out of 100, the op is shooting with the camera below shoulder level, usually holding the camera out in front of them or next to their side/waist. I actually brought my HipShot out of retirement earlier this year on several shoots and always have it in the backseat of the truck, now. You can't really do walking shots with it, but waist level shots that need some stability and/or may go on for a little bit, it's good. Also comes in handy if you wanna get the camera off your shoulder, but don't wanna hold it completely in your hand or set it down on the ground.
 
It's useful for off the shoulder shots and long duration shots. One shoot I did this year with an Easy Rig was filming a concert for around five hours of non-stop filming, so having an Easy Rig with the Amira at 23 pounds was very useful.

One thing to consider with shoulder mounted shots...with a tripod, Easy rig, jib, etc., often the height of the camera is exactly where we want it. Say we're filming a tall person and we want the camera at eye height, then we adjust the tripod exactly to eye height. But with shoulder mount it's more difficult. If you're a six foot cameraman filming a five foot tall person, you can only spread your legs so far to lower your height, so often height of the camera is dictated by how tall the camera operator just happens to be, not based on the ideal height you actually want the camera at. I feel like Easy Rig can be one type of solution to this problem.

I also think that Easy Rig can provide a floaty motion look that is somewhere between handheld and Steadicam, and hard to fully achieve with either.

Easy Rig is on my list of things to buy, but it's currently also lower on my priorities. The Amira is an ergonomic dream on the shoulder, which I can't say of my experience with the Varicam LT. I haven't used the F55, but I've heard the lighter body with heavier lenses (like the 17-120) makes it not ideal.


What rig is this that they're using on Avengers?


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Eric Coughlin said:
Easy Rig is on my list of things to buy, but it's currently also lower on my priorities. The Amira is an ergonomic dream on the shoulder, which I can't say of my experience with the Varicam LT. I haven't used the F55, but I've heard the lighter body with heavier lenses (like the 17-120) makes it not ideal.
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I'm spoiled. My background is shooting ENG, so none of these cameras are an ergonomic dream in comparison to a true ENG camera and lens(not talking about image quality/capabilities). I had a VariCam LT for a month for a demo and Panasonic dropped the ball on the design, which is surprising with their background. I have a client with several Amira's and while good in the category of "cine" cameras, it's still wanting. And I have an F55 and 17-120. It's not there, either(mostly because too many things are menu/soft button controlled instead of physical buttons/dials/switches), BUT with my grip with zoom control, I can slide the camera back on the Zacuto shoulder mount to the point of balance so I'm not fighting an unbalanced set-up(pushing up on the lens). The secret to the 17-120 is getting your hand slightly in front of it, because of the the weight distribution of the lens itself(the front element/in front of the built-in servo/hand grip is where the bulk of the weight is, which not only makes the lens from heavy, BUT with me it always made the camera want to roll out to the right, too).

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