With a wide angle lens and this rig, I am actually getting some pretty good handheld footage.The 50mm 1.4 becomes more challenging although still usable. 85mm and longer, not so much, need a tripod or the monopod. The Bushhawk is pretty impressive for the money, not as rock solid as a Zacuto package but about 1/10th the cost.

Pictured
Canon 5D MKII
Tokina 12-24 F4.0
Singh Ray Vari ND (not pictured)
Manfrotto 482LC hot shoe mount
Zoom H4N
Gig Wig
Zacuto Z-Finder
Bushhawk 300sV
Bushhawk QR400 quick release plate

Bushhawk even includes a nice wireless mic receiver bracket that screws on the right side handle (not pictured because I am not using wireless for the next shoot with this rig).

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=173&pictureid=1142
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=173&pictureid=1141
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=173&pictureid=1140
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=173&pictureid=1139
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=173&pictureid=1144
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=173&pictureid=1143

Enjoy!

D

How do you like the Z-finder?

Hey Dan, check out my related post "Run 'n Gun Hands Free" (I guess we posted simultaneously).

The rear view finder that covers the video screen at the back of the 5D where can that be purchased ,as using the camera in the video mode the screen is difficult to see on a bright day

How do you like the Z-finder?

Love it, it is well worth the money. The upcoming V2 will be even better with better mounting system.

Dan

The rear view finder that covers the video screen at the back of the 5D where can that be purchased ,as using the camera in the video mode the screen is difficult to see on a bright day

Z-Finder - Zacuto (http://store.zacuto.com/Z-Finder.html)

Dan

The BushHawk looks great - I was just looking for something like that, came across this instead:

Agonic - Stedi-Stock Home Page (http://www.agonic.com/)

Not nearly as nice as the BushHawk or Zacuto rigs, but for < $25 on Amazon I figured I couldn't go wrong - just got here today and it does the job - although the adjustability of the BushHawk looks like a great feature so I may have to upgrade. Still, another option for those looking to put more of their money into glass rather than grips...

Dan,

Maybe a stupid question but if you place it on your right should and hold it with your righthand is it difficult to push the "set" button

Bob

It really doesn't have to cost a bunch either. This is all self made.

Dan,

Maybe a stupid question but if you place it on your right should and hold it with your righthand is it difficult to push the "set" button

Bob

Hi Bob:

It does involve hand switching. I normally would hold it with my left to begin rolling. I then switch to the right to hold and use my left hand to focus and rotate the Vari ND. I use both hands on the Bushhawk if the subject will be staying at a constant distance and I need the maximum amount of steadiness. This would be for walking and talking type shots or following the subject through a building.

For stationary shots where I am just panning and tilting, I switch off at will. It's not ideal, ideal would be some sort of remote focus but that won't happen with this camera. I could do remote focus with my HPX170.

Overall, this thing is about as perfect as I can find ergonomically, it feels right. The camera is in pretty close to my body, I can put my eye comfortably to the Z-Finder, the camera is mounted on a quick release plate, the entire stock is pretty light, around 2lbs. The shoulder strap is a lifesaver, well worth the extra $10.00.

I also like how it can break down and fit into my camera backpack. This thing is going to be used a lot.

Dan

Z-Finder - Zacuto (http://store.zacuto.com/Z-Finder.html)

Dan


Holy monkey, four hundred bucks for that? I'll spend the couple hundred more for an external HD monitor instead... yowza.

Buying the best is never cheap and Zacuto usually makes the best, it is in a whole other class than the Hoodman. External monitors are cool but more weight, more money, extra batteries to mind, hard to focus in daylight, you need to use a sunshade, making the whole rig ridiculously over sized and much heavier. The 5D MKII also drops it's HD output to SD when rolling, focus is a joke in SD. You cannot accurately focus 1080 Hi Def with an SD 480p monitor. Fine if you are on sticks, but for hand held operating, how are you going to track HD focus in SD?

There is a method to my madness with this rig, it is for run and gun documentary shooting. No follow focus or matte box, no monitor. Also, when I rent cameras that cost more to rent for two weeks than this entire 5D MKII rig, cost is relative. 5D MKIIs are close to disposable for many working pros, I will be buying at least one or two more for a multi-camera project I have coming up. They are a lot of bang for very little buck. ;-)

D

Tokina 12-24 F4.0Dan, how useful is that lens designed for APS-C sized sensors? Don't you get vignetting?

..There is a method to my madness with this rig, it is for run and gun documentary shooting. No follow focus or matte box, no monitor. .D

I have to agree that the the shoulder brace and loupe combo is one best ways to shoot on the move. I started learning about it on a hike last weekend. I just posted the attached to demonstrate. Not perfect but the more I practice, the better I get about finding focus:

Handheld With the Canon 5D Mark II on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/5012132)

(Note: Vimeo's change to 24p does cause some artifact issues)

Hey Dan, how do you rate the image quality?
I suppose once the audio is mod'd and some other doodads are added, this is about a $5k camera. Forgetting ergo's, how nice is the footage?

'Tis a strange looking beast.

Dan, how useful is that lens designed for APS-C sized sensors? Don't you get vignetting?

Hi Nigel:

When we meet up, you can check it out and see for yourself. I have made some pretty nice images with it. I am thinking that it will be good for walking around, following my documentary subject through the buildings and museums as well as in the car, trains, etc.

You do not get vignetting at 18.5mm bare (for interiors) and at 21.5mm or longer with the Vari ND attached. I was going to buy a proper full frame wide angle until I realized that I don't really care for many of the Nikons (I have the 28,, 2.8 D, terrible lens) and I cannot afford the Zeiss. The Canons have just started looking good with the new firmware, but once again, I already owned the Tokina.

Dan

Hi Brian:

I am pretty happy with the look of the footage so far. I have only shot a couple of things so far but the images are good, I like the look.

I need to mess around with the custom picture settings, I am getting sick of the stock 5D MKII look. I would like less crushed blacks, less color saturation and less sharpening so I will be experimenting with developing my own look. I am shooting all over France and I think France will look better through a more Impressionist desaturated palette personally.

Dan

(Note: Vimeo's change to 24p does cause some artifact issues)As of yesterday Vimeo now leaves 30fps HD footage alone & doesn't hack it down to a lower frame rate any more. Vimeo HD now MP4? in the General Discussion Forum on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/forums/topic:13805)

Hey Dan, wonderful rig! Maybe a little intimidating for camera shy people!!! ;-DD

That zoom recorder should be horizontal, not vertical. It has a couple of mics in XY, so you can pan them L-R (if recorded horizontal)...

As of yesterday Vimeo now leaves 30fps HD footage alone & doesn't hack it down to a lower frame rate any more. Vimeo HD now MP4? in the General Discussion Forum on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/forums/topic:13805)
Thats funny cause I uploaded mp4, and I don't think my original shows the lost frames, but I will recheck.

Edit: Rechecked original, and it doesn't show the issues displayed on the Vimeo playback.

Thats funny cause I uploaded mp4, and I don't think my original shows the lost frames, but I will recheck.

Edit: Rechecked original, and it doesn't show the issues displayed on the Vimeo playback.This must mean that Vimeo has screwed up the compression in some other way then. At least the 30fps>25fps horrible conversion jitters & stutters shouldn't be present any more.

Hi Nigel:

When we meet up, you can check it out and see for yourself.We will be able to compare it to the Tamron 20-40mm F2.7-3.5 that I just bought which is a FF lens.

Hi Brian:

I am pretty happy with the look of the footage so far. I have only shot a couple of things so far but the images are good, I like the look.

I need to mess around with the custom picture settings, I am getting sick of the stock 5D MKII look. I would like less crushed blacks, less color saturation and less sharpening so I will be experimenting with developing my own look. I am shooting all over France and I think France will look better through a more Impressionist desaturated palette personally.

Dan

Someone mentioned a style they'd done recently and allowed us to download or mod it. I have it in my cam and it's nice. Just the things you mention, less crushed blacks, slightly less saturation and not quite as sharp. Neucon I think it was called. It'll be on this forum somewhere

Avey

Thanks Avey, I'll hunt down and give it a try.

Dan

It's here Dan. From Luis de la Cerda in the Optimum Color Temp thread.

It's subtle but I like it. anyway, he says that we're free to mess with it how we want, so maybe it's a good starting place for your tweaking.

Avey

Thanks Avey. You are making it too easy for me. Now if I only didn't have a show and two articles due, I could get out my 5D MKII and mess about with with it. I have been to busy to even update the firmware yet!

D

Dude,

your priorities are all wrong man…

:-)

It's here Dan. From Luis de la Cerda in the Optimum Color Temp thread.

It's subtle but I like it. anyway, he says that we're free to mess with it how we want, so maybe it's a good starting place for your tweaking.

Avey

Thanks Avey...

my new 5D set up

total set up cost me around 500 bucks

my new 5D set up

total set up cost me around 500 bucks

That Vizio monitor might be a little cumbersome for run and gun.
Seriously, did you fabricate the pieces? Looks good.

my new 5D set up

total set up cost me around 500 bucks

Some more info is much anticipated and appreciated! Is that a geardear matte box? Where did you get the rails and handgrips? Inquiring minds want to know! Mainly because it looks really clean, and for $500?

the Rail system i bought it from indifocus.com & carvison

IndiSYSTEM - Studio 4 Productions - The indiRAILSpro (http://www.indifocus.com/products_indirailspro.htm) ( ~ 269 )
Cavision Rods Support System for Mini-DV (http://www.cavision.com/rods/minidv.htm) ( ~ 100 )

the matte box i got it from ebay for 139 $ bucks . but it need a lil mod in order to connect it with the Rod .
compair to redrock micro or zacuto DSLR kit . it alot cheaper

Nice kit, and for under $500 you really can't beat it. I just ordered the Redrock shoulder mount and that rig alone cost me about $400. I bet yours probably works just as well, but for a lot cheaper. Oh well.

my new 5D set up

total set up cost me around 500 bucks

THe problem I see with your's is that the camera body is not offset from the shoulder pad. The LCD Is basically in line with the shoulder pad. You have turn your head to look over at the LCD... That can't be a comfortable shooting position.

i'm gonna add an external LCd & the follow focus soon . The Lcd will be plae near the hand grip .

I also tried uploading a 29.97fps, HD clip in MP4 format, using the settings the Vimeo staff said should give good results. The video was good on my own computer, but truly sucked on the Vimeo stream (even after fully downloading). It looked like it was dropping frames.

Julian

I also tried uploading a 29.97fps, HD clip in MP4 format, using the settings the Vimeo staff said should give good results. The video was good on my own computer, but truly sucked on the Vimeo stream (even after fully downloading). It looked like it was dropping frames.

JulianThe Vimeo ecompression & encoding system seems very iffy at times. In the 'Help' forum I see plenty of complaints from people who get the Vimeo staff to do some magic to their video which then fixes things. Often it's fixed by changing the video slightly & re-uploading.

Holy monkey, four hundred bucks for that? I'll spend the couple hundred more for an external HD monitor instead... yowza.

My thoughts exactly. I bought the Hoodman loupe for $75 and it works flawlessly. I dare you to take a look at the pricing on their other items... !

Buying the best is never cheap and Zacuto usually makes the best, it is in a whole other class than the Hoodman. External monitors are cool but more weight, more money, extra batteries to mind, hard to focus in daylight, you need to use a sunshade, making the whole rig ridiculously over sized and much heavier. The 5D MKII also drops it's HD output to SD when rolling, focus is a joke in SD. You cannot accurately focus 1080 Hi Def with an SD 480p monitor. Fine if you are on sticks, but for hand held operating, how are you going to track HD focus in SD?

There is a method to my madness with this rig, it is for run and gun documentary shooting. No follow focus or matte box, no monitor. Also, when I rent cameras that cost more to rent for two weeks than this entire 5D MKII rig, cost is relative. 5D MKIIs are close to disposable for many working pros, I will be buying at least one or two more for a multi-camera project I have coming up. They are a lot of bang for very little buck. ;-)

D

I absolutely swear by it. Just finished shooting a hand held 5d commercial for a cell phone company using Zacuto Z-Finder and tactical shooter. Couldn't have done it without it

Phil,
You mean you couldn't have done as good a job with the Hoodman? Is it that much better?

yes due to it magnifying the image, makes focus much easier.

yes due to it magnifying the image, makes focus much easier.

If it magnifies are you still able to easily see the whole frame, for framing the shot

Bob

If it magnifies are you still able to easily see the whole frame, for framing the shot

Bob

yes, it's spot on. You don't lose anything. Sharp edge to edge on the lcd...

Thanks Phil for the instant reply. Good luck on the edit of your new commercial

Bob

Zoom H4N
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=173&pictureid=1139


Dan, perhaps it's only for show, but the way you have mounted the H4N in this picture will quite certainly give you a funny stereo image ;^)

-- peer

Yes, I know. I just threw it on there without thinking about the imaging. It's all moot point anyway because when I arrived in Europe, the Bogen mount that I had bought turned out to be defective, allowing the H4N to rotate on the hot shoe, I tried taking the Bogen mount apart but there is a sealed sort of bearing/sleeve system on the main shaft of the hot shoe mount that is not accessible so I ended up only using the H4N for some ambient while carrying it in a bag and for the sit down interviews. Kind of sucked but I had no other way to mount it and the H4N with an XLR input from my Countryman is just a little too large to stick in a pocket.

I also never even used the Bushhawk, all of the French soldiers running around Paris with machine guns kind of made me think twice, they were everywhere and there were video security cameras everywhere, almost as many as in London. It was even tough going through security on the way home with the Bushhawk in pieces. The security guy pulled it out, asked me what it was, after I explained, he had to consult with three other security people, then they wanted to have me explain how it was used, etc. The Bushhawk works really nicely but it can get you into trouble.

I ended up using a neoprene camera strap braced around my neck and body with the 5D MKII at full extension. I was able to get surprisingly smooth pans and tilts with some small jib arm type movements even. Not as smooth while walking but probably usable for a doc.

It was a learning experience, that's for sure. Not even sure I want to use the Bushhawk around LA, I don't want to get shot. I even wrapped it all over with blue electrical tape but it still looks pretty militaristic. It's too bad because its a great product but I am a bit paranoid to use it for run and gun or doc. If you were on a set, no problem but just running around in public with it? I don't know.

Dan

Yes, I know. I just threw it on there without thinking about the imaging.

I figured that was the case.

I also never even used the Bushhawk, all of the French soldiers running around Paris with machine guns kind of made me think twice, they were everywhere and there were video security cameras everywhere, almost as many as in London. [...] It's too bad because its a great product but I am a bit paranoid to use it for run and gun or doc.

Yea, but it's called "run and gun" though ;^)

-- peer