Would appreciate rig photos from DOCUMENTARY shooters

Mac said:
After a lot of years shooting documentaries I have found that a camera, in order to be convenient, 1) must not have to be assembled and disassembled every time you move- 2) must be able to be set on a flat surface- 3) must allow you to lean back against a wall or high backed chair- 4) must be as small and light as possible - 5) must go on a tripod without disassembly. .......
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Your solution looks just about perfect. Exactly what I was going for in my build, but far more svelte.
 
Pouch.jpgThe "pouch" is a small ProMaster camera bag that has a shoulder strap and a belt.. not perfect, but holds 3 lenses and a battery.
 
The shoulder plate attaches by using a Libec plate and shaved Bogen slider (I don't have a Bogen tripod, but the shaved slider is available from RedRock too - or used to be) - I "narrowed" the slider with the aluminum shim (that you can see in back) to fit the Libec plate.... I can either remove the shoulder mount to put on a tripod, or I can mount another plate on the bottom of the slider - I usually just remove it and hang it from the bag.

By the way, nothing against Zacuto, their stuff is great, but this is all very cheap - a lot can be done with a hacksaw, file and hand drill...
 

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Thanks Mac. Your photo of your rig is more what I had in mind. I'm often thrown into the passenger seat of a car to shoot the driver in documentaries and cop shows.
 
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Mac, that looks very compact.

I missed how you are powering up the EVF. Also it looks as though you might have a record button on the Olaf handle. How is that cabled. A shot revealing where the cables are connected would be helpful.

That looks like a very sensible setup for doc work. My rig is turning into a Frankenrig.
 
This is working well for me for now. Zacuto Universal baseplate (previously used on my HVX), Berkey shoulder pad, Manfrotto quickmount and Olaf's handle. SmallHD DP-4 EVF for monitoring.
 

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EVF is powered by the Canon battery that came with it (I have three).. Handle is not Olaf's, it's an Aaton from my old super16 camera (handle's the only thing that's worth anything these days). Olaf modeled his (can be seen in picture above) after it - a new Aaton handle is over a grand! Power cord is the old Aaton cord with a mini plug (Radio Shack) soldered on the end. I have a grip on my HPX250 with a simple momentary switch, also from RS, so that is probably how Olaf's works as well...
 
docu rig.jpg
Here is the rig that I put together for the documentary that I am currently shooting/directing. I just put hand grips on it when I want to go hand held.
 
Finally received the Edelkrone monitor holder. Using it in the field tomorrow, but so far seems to work exactly as advertised. It holds my DP6 in place and is very easy to tilt up or down with one hand. It's heavier than my old 6" articulating arm which is the only downside. But I'll trade a bit of weight for something that doesn't need two hands to adjust and will stay put.
 
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