Zacuto Gorrilla kits

N

NevilleBartos

New member
Hi guys

Please take a look at these new Zacuto Gorilla stabilizers

http://vimeo.com/4999283

I know they're expensive but I wanted to just ask about functionality

Can you see this range bringing enough stabilization?

I'm slightly concerned that it was only a couple of months ago that Zacuto we're saying we really need to buy the full Gunstock shooters (http://vimeo.com/4044623)

Are these new gorilla kits a big compromise on their intial design just to cut costs?

What do you think?

Thanks

Nev
 
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Hey Nev, we tried out the Zacuto kits at CINE GEAR EXPO 2 days ago. We are thinking of getting a MK II or a GH1 for B roll & light weight handheld shots.
The Gorilla kits were very stable & well built and with the Z finder you can definately get enough stability to shoot with a steady hand.

I prefer their more traditional camera support style rigs, even though they are more money. I think you just have to ask yourself how much handheld work you will do, compared to tripod shots with pans , etc... Zacuto is making lower cost options available for the marketplace and the economy, but in no way when i tried it out did i feel it was inferior, it still felt solid and looked sexy.

I did however try out the RedRock DSLR rig at Cine Gear but even though it was considerably lower in cost, it felt and looked so plastic, that was kind of a turn off, blues not my color anyway. lol

You could always get one from Zacuto, try it out and send it back or trade up if you don't like it. Mandy makes ordering a pleasure , with a 7 day return policy and someone truly understands you need to get it into your hands to experience it.

Hope this helps Cheers,
 
I think they are a response to the success of Redrock's 2.0 accessories. Redrock quite rightly realized that people didn't want full scale cinema-like packages but rather wanted to take advantage of the lightness and versatility of the new DSLR's. Remember this is mostly a photography crowd moving into a hybrid world. I think while Redrock started out by catering to Indie filmakers and music video guys with their M2 adapter, Zacuto has always oriented itself more to the ENG or event oriented videographers. Each manufacturer was still thinking in terms of their previous clientele. But this is a new clentele and the "Gorilla" stuff for me jsut doesn't seem very ergonomic and as always the price point is too high. it's still trying to apply old design ideas to a new problem. In fact the point of this Gorilla stuff was to bring the price down as well to the less than $1000 crowd. I just can't stomach the whole "gun" metaphor. For me it is in poor taste and smacks of a yahoo mentality and the NRA. (I'm not saying that is really who they are, I just think it has some very silly kind of sad connotations).
Right now I would say that Redrock has taken the lead.
Personally I would stay away from the Gorilla stuff. The camera doesn't need more than a handle with a 1/4 20 mounting screw, a viewfinder and some ND's/lightshade. I have been saying for a long time (and no one is listening) if you are going to go with the gunstock metaphor, then at least make me a handle with a cable release and then you can call it the Z-trigger. I bet they would sell a bunch of those, because the placement of the record button on the 5D is really unfortunate.
 
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Yeah, i'm not that fond of the GUN term either, but i think that came from BUSH HAWK genre but at least we'll be shooting cameras not guns!

Cheers
 
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The real difference between the Gorilla kits and the rest of our Gunstock shooting line is that the Gorilla kits are for non rod based shooting. You can not mount a follow focus using the Gorilla kits. Some guys like event shooters, journalist & run’n’gun indie shooters wanted something smaller and lighter and never planned on using a follow focus, so at that point you can get rid of the baseplate which removes a lot of the weight and cost. What makes these kits work are the points of contact. If you don’t have points of contact, you don’t have stabilization, it’s just floating out in the air, and you get a lot of rocking side to side motion. Plus, I don’t know how you can focus when you have two hands out in the air on handles. With shallow DOF you need to be contantly riding the focus, it's critical, remember everything looks in focus when viewing the LCD. Stick a Z-finder on there and you'll see what is actually in focus, it's a world of difference. The Z-finder also gives you one of the best points of contact as you are pushing it into your eye.

By the way, the rapid fire kit uses your right hand holding the camera right where it needs to be to hit the record button, plus gives you the stability of the gunstock on your chest. Several ASC guys including Bob Primes loved it and got one at CineGear. You can see pics of them and other CineGear pics here: http://www.zacutoimages.com/p85472094
Steve
 
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Hi Steve/Zacuto,
I do have your Z-finder and I think so far it's far better than anything else I have tested. My main concern is that the support connections proposed for it aren't working for me. I know you have 3 new propositions, but no way I am putting anything adhesive on my camera (I lost a lot of value on my Leica for this reason, but that's another story), nor do I think rubber bands are a seriously ergonomic or viable solution and a sort of Israeli arm for the finder is kind of like overkill, cumbersome and probably expensive. I think the new Redrock solution of a baseplate style support is REALLY SOLID, however I fear that it's fixed diameter isn't going to go over the lip of the Z-finder. (You can see it over at Cinema5D). Can't we too have a solution like this? I know I would have more confidence in a metal plate mounted on the underside of my camera than any of these other alternatives...

PS> I definitely applaud the Rapid Fire's simplicity (I hadn't seen that one), it makes a great deal of sense especially from the point of view of right handed controls...
 
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yoclay, that's the one with the cage around it right? I like the handle idea to lift it up and do low shots and steadicam style povs,
but i find the cage restricting. How else can we get a handle to lift it, etc...
 
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The cage is more connected to their Cinema bundles, the support I am talking about is here :

http://www.cinema5d.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=2461&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=60

(I don't want to take Brians pictures without his permission)

ps> I don't do the whole cage thing, I just use two RR lightweight support arms off the rails + the handle and I fix my monitor for low shots off of and just above the handle itself with a tiny ball head and a 1/4 20 hex screw.
 
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Okay, that is cool, that is basically a rod mount for their follow focus with 1/4 lens mount attached, how much is that going for. Is it a hard plastic material ? Have you seen Cinevate's rig yet?
Cheers
 
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yoclay said:
... if you are going to go with the gunstock metaphor, then at least make me a handle with a cable release and then you can call it the Z-trigger. I bet they would sell a bunch of those, because the placement of the record button on the 5D is really unfortunate.
Click to expand...

I just found this DIY solution for a cable release that starts video recording on the mark 2: http://vimeo.com/5088576

Maybe Zacuto can make a professional version of this and sell it for no less than $500.
 
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Hey Mr. DOP
Follow Focus?
Yes, I do often use a follow focus if I am in a full scale rails setup, but the two support arms then come off the right side of the bottom rails near the end of the lens, and I use two short joiners to hold them together as opposed to long cage like rods. The RR top handle comes off of the top of the support arms as if it were on rails as well above the camera and I again use joiners (I cut two rods down to make 3 sets of 1.25" metal joiners) to attach it. This handle can slide up and down on it's mount, so I lower it slightly and use the tiny ball head above it to angle my screen any way I want...


Thanks Martin for the tip. it may even be helpful with my steadicam Merlin! Looks like it also does autofocus, is that the case?

Also with regards to a pistol grip, $395 and they only have one other competitor:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/500038-REG/Aqua_Tech_1210_Pistol_Grip_with_Shutter.html

Could we please have a FAR less bank account busting solution?
 
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yoclay, GREAT, sounds like an inventive, definitive handle option. COOL!! Could u post a pict when convenient, i'd love to see how u have utilized it mate. Is the REDROCK handle that u are using btw?

Cheers
 
Yes it is the Redrock top handle and mount. You can also use it alone, take off the hex screw, invert it and use it directly mounted under the camera. This with a Zacuto finder attached by a baseplate like I just spoke about would be REALLY light and solid. Kind of like an old Bolex with a handgrip.
If there was a way to make a trigger grip for this that would be the bee's knees too.
 
zacuto said:
The real difference between the Gorilla kits and the rest of our Gunstock shooting line is that the Gorilla kits are for non rod based shooting. You can not mount a follow focus using the Gorilla kits. Some guys like event shooters, journalist & run’n’gun indie shooters wanted something smaller and lighter and never planned on using a follow focus, so at that point you can get rid of the baseplate which removes a lot of the weight and cost. What makes these kits work are the points of contact. If you don’t have points of contact, you don’t have stabilization, it’s just floating out in the air, and you get a lot of rocking side to side motion. Plus, I don’t know how you can focus when you have two hands out in the air on handles. With shallow DOF you need to be contantly riding the focus, it's critical, remember everything looks in focus when viewing the LCD. Stick a Z-finder on there and you'll see what is actually in focus, it's a world of difference. The Z-finder also gives you one of the best points of contact as you are pushing it into your eye.

By the way, the rapid fire kit uses your right hand holding the camera right where it needs to be to hit the record button, plus gives you the stability of the gunstock on your chest. Several ASC guys including Bob Primes loved it and got one at CineGear. You can see pics of them and other CineGear pics here: http://www.zacutoimages.com/p85472094
Steve
Click to expand...


Hard to choose between the Tactical Shooter and the Rapid Fire Kit. What do I gain using the Tactical if the Rapid fire does such a good job?

Thanks for the feedback
 
yoclay said:
Hey Martin wouldn't an infrared slave unit mounted on the top of the hotshoe do the same thing?
Click to expand...

If such an infrared slave unit can receive the infrared signal from the behind of the camera and then transmit it to the infrared sensor at the front of the 5Dmark2 it can replace the TOS link cable. Do you have a link where such infrared slave units are described?
 
Zacuto really needs to start demonstrating these rigs without two people fighting over the levers and rods... It really makes it look more cumbersome and difficult to manage than I hope in real life when you are shooting solo?

Also, please show how a solo shooter can manage this rig and change lenses by himself while running n' gunning.
 
yoclay, the adhesive tape can come off of the camera you just have to work at it a bit (and it doesn't leave any film or marks). It also is not on the screen it's around the image area, so you can see part of the image. One last minute change in the V2 unit was fixing something in the focusing tube that even let's you see the corners. Every unit I've ever see when you really try to look at the entire screen it slightly clips the corners. But our engineer widened the unit to fix that problem. Everyone at CineGear was in love with the prototype. The option you love from RedRock we though about a long time ago and rejected it. Here are the problems with it. One, it will only work with the Hoodman loupe and I like to make universal products (you are going to be pissed if a MK3 comes out and you can't take you Z-finder to that camera). Two, how do you quickly get the viewfinder on and off (sometimes I just want to look at the screen). Third, if you decide you want to take a picture, which I was doing a ton of at CineGear (going from photos to video) and checking my photos with the Z-Finder, with that pole haning out from under your baseplate you can't get you face flat against the camera to get your eye in the cameras optical viewfinder to take pictures. Plus what about the new cameras where the screens move. Our Z-Finder will move with the screen. Now you can put the camera down on the ground and the Z-finder can be perpendicular to the camera. The way it snaps on and snaps off now, you can beat it. Plus I thought it was you that had mentioned something like this way back when, when we were all discussing ways to do this, no?
Steve
 
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