Hi guys ..

Sorry we still don't have anywhere to post stuff for the new FZ cameras so I'm taking a chance and posting this here

For any of you that are using a tripod or monopod already know that once you put the tripod quick release plate on the camera you cannot open the battery door so you have no access to the card or battery!! I made these simple plates out of some scrap aluminium flat bar (4mm thick) in a "T" shape which solves the problem once and for all!! The skinny bit mounts onto the camera body where you would normally attach the tripod plate with a tripod screw and your QR plate then mounts further forward under the lens where it is out of the way of the battery door ... I can leave my camera on a tripod now and I'm able to change batteries or cards without having to remove anything

Chris

Brilliant Chris thanks

The thread hole? how did you drill for the thread Chris? steve

If you decide to produce them at a good price, I'd be interested.

Hi Steve

I drilled a 5mm hole and then wound thru a 1/4" whitworth tap from the hardware store ..cheap as.. and aluminium is really easy to tap ... All tripod screws and threads are Imperial not metric so you have to have a whitworth tap not a metric one otherwise the screw in the QR plate won't fit at all!!

A simple hacksaw is all you need to cut the plate .. I cheated and found a piece of flat bar in my junk box that was 40mm wide so it needed less cuts!! The only critical bit is the skinny part MUST be no more than 20mm wide otherwise it jams the door!! The other end can be as wide as you like!!

Chris

OK cool cheers main man...

Oops .. I posted one small error on the diagram!!! I forgot I used 6mm flat bar not 4mm ...the slightly thicker plate allows a better thread to be cut into the hole for the QR plate. 4mm or even 3mm plate is plenty stiff and strong enough but the thicker plate allows for a safer number of threads inside the hole .. that was a diagram for the first prototype and to make sure the QR plate didn't pull out the thread I fastened a flat 1/4" nut on the topside for the QR plate screw to go into and used epoxy to hold it in place.. the 6mm plate just looks a little neater and I had some lying around anyway.

I might add that if you use aluminum, you might want to drill a pilot hole that is 1/64th-inch smaller than you would use for steel. This may not fit any industrial protocol, but I've found that it works better for me.

And as you mentioned, is there some plan to start a separate forum for 4K-shooting bridge cameras? This is going to be a bigger category in a year's time than it is now. Sony has recently added two medium-priced 4K models, the RX10 M2 and the RX100 M4. Panasonic will have the low-priced FZ300 shooting 4K in two months.

Thanks Steve

I'm a bit lazy and normally just zap a 3mm bit thru the aluminium plate first followed by the correct size (we are metric here) It does however seem to work fine for DIYer and ensures the final hole will be accurate!

Chris

Has anyone else noticed that there is a little + sign and a strange icon where the tripod hole SHOULD be? In other words, in line with the center of the lens?

Update - the icon is showing the location for the NFC antenna. Still, having the tripod hole in the proper place would strike me as more useful than having the NFC antenna in that location.

Had a friend make me a plate so I could but a loupe/QR plate on. He only had a thicker piece of brass to work with. It's heavy but it might actually make the camera more stable and allow the OIS to work better in 4K. Overall it shifts the centre of gravity down and the weight helps dampen small movements. Just have to shorten the screw he sent so I get a tight fit and I can give it a try.

I thought Chris's idea was very practical and decided to do a version for myself, I had been having trouble balancing my Glidecam 2000 as the offset mounting hole on the FZ1000 did not leave much travel left to right to balance the Glidecam. Also I have setup all my gear with Miller Tripod plates to make life easier when moving equipment. I purchased a piece of 60mm x 10mm plate( had to use 10mm so I could countersink to allow tripod plate flat area) and went to work, I don't have a work-shed so only had a small suction vice, Hacksaw, cordless drill, centre punch, 1/4 inch tap and a couple of metal files and a few hours to do the job. the wife was out so she did not see me attach the suction vice to the kitchen bench top and off I went flat out before she got home. Its not pretty but it achieved what i needed i can access the battery and memory card now with out removing tripod plate and my camera is centre on my Glidecam.

Hi Mark

That's very neat and practical! The tripod hole offset is a real pain in the butt too!! My A-Camera sits on top of my Saramonic XLR adapter box and other cameras have the tripod hole equidistant so when mounting the body on top of the adapter the body sits off to the left so I also had to make a tiny plate that shifted the body to the right so the camera sits square on the top of the adapter.

Used the Saramonic SRAX107 at a wedding yesterday with two wireless audio feeds and gosh it makes life a lot easier !! My second camera just has the original plate and yes, I can change the battery instantly..In fact had to do that last night at the wedding ..in the middle of speeches so the plate was an essential!!!

I like the way you have cut the hole for the battery box too ..that way you have a much larger surface area in contact with the camera base so better support!!

Hmm, thinking along the same lines as me, Mark...
Probably a "Newcastle thing"!

More pics of other adapters for the FZ1000!
Might help others!
Might inspire others to come up with better designs!
This ones for the FlyCam, helps to balance this light camera, as well as card and battery access.

Rigs for use of multiple accessories, work well hand held, as well as on tripods.

OR... you can just buy one

ALZO Liberator Battery Door Clearance Plate for Panasonic (http://www.alzovideo.com/alzo-liberator-battery-door-clearance-plate.htm)

It's much more satisfying making one that really suits your exact needs!

Mine is made from 1" square tube aluminium and each of the two upright sections have bicycle foam grips on them so it's also a "fig rig" type of frame too. On each of the uprights I have two cold shoe mounts so I can mount a mic on the left and a light on the right when needed ...You get really stable footage when you hold both grips and they are close enough to the camera body so my finger can reach the shutter button too!

OR... you can just buy one

ALZO Liberator Battery Door Clearance Plate for Panasonic (http://www.alzovideo.com/alzo-liberator-battery-door-clearance-plate.htm)

You had me all excited there Mario. A good find, but you risk damaging the 1/4" thread in the camera. It needs to be supported around the battery door area, otherwise any pressure from the left side of the camera will create too much leverage over that fitting.

Chris, I really like the look of your rig. Would you mind posting more pictures?

Thanks

Hi JT

No problem ..I'll do some shortly It's actually made with 3 pieces of aluminium 1" square aluminium tube and some clever little things called "connect-it's" I'm sure the UK would have something similar

Connect-it 2 Way Corner Joiner | Bunnings Warehouse (http://www.bunnings.com.au/connect-it-2-way-corner-joiner_p1138466) .... I've used these to also make various rigs and even my stackable trolley ..just using aluminium tube and these connectors!! I post a few detailed photos of the offset plate under the camera (so you can get the battery door open) and the cold shoe mountings ... I dug up a few cold shoes from various old fittings and just mounted them on each upright post ... the grips are normal bicycle foam handlebar grips and I squeezed dishwasher liquid into them with lots of water so they could be pushed onto the square tube without splitting!!

You can take amazingly stable footage with this as you hold the camera with both hands!

Sorry about the delay Here are some detailed images of the rig (as simple as it is) with the camera removed. The aluminium plate at the bottom is cut away to allow the battery door to open. The bottom rail is 230mm across and each post is 170mm high ..the spacing allow you to keep a grip on the handles and still reach the shutter button.