Some ungraded Z300 4K footage I shot a couple of weeks ago to test the viability of the shoulder-mount setup I've cobbled together. I also used auto-focus, auto ND, and auto white balance to see what I'd get if I barely touched any controls except zoom. Worked great. So easy to shoot with.

Sony PXW-Z300 UNGRADED Demo Footage #6 -- shot with custom shoulder-mount camera configuration - YouTube

Who makes the wooden hand grips on your rig? My XF605 rig is a bit simpler than yours.

The wooden grip for my right hand is a Camvate grip I used on my FX6 a few years ago that has a RECORD trigger for my thumb. The round wooden grip for my left hand came from my F55 rig, and that company no longer exists. But I'm sure there are plenty of equivalent alternatives on the market today.

How can you look through the viewfinder when it is on your shoulder? Isn't the viewfinder more in-line with your shoulder instead of your face?

How can you look through the viewfinder when it is on your shoulder? Isn't the viewfinder more in-line with your shoulder instead of your face?

Because I wear glasses I prefer using the camera's monitor. Outdoors, I put a Hoodman hood on the monitor. Also, the EVF on this camera is not the greatest. I like the way Sony designed the monitor positioning options on the Z300. Very clever.

If your setup works for you, great. But that setup wouldn't work for me at all.

Who makes the wooden hand grips on your rig? My XF605 rig is a bit simpler than yours.

You'll find a detailed description of my shoulder-mount configuration for the Z300 in this video.

Doug Jensen's Introduction to the Sony PXW-Z300 ENG Camcorder - YouTube

It warms my heart that not only did Doug have a Z300 again after shipping the original one back when he had finished, but that he's also doing a review video etc on it.

I shall utterly enjoy watching all these videos.

Andrew

Ha, ha. Don't get your hopes up too high or you might be disappointed. :-)

It was a great video, super well organized and logical. As always, Doug's videos are impeccable. That auto-framing feature would be excellent to have for single shooter, multi-cam wedding where one camera is parked, always unattended until you can get over to it, hopefully without tripping over guests or calling too much attention to yourself during a ceremony, and to have it keep the subject actively framed. Never seen anything like it.

Thanks Tom for the comments, you made my day.

Hey Doug, who was that calling out "b-roll, b-roll" at 6:10 in your video? Doesn't sound like you, that's all. Curious to know.

Andrew

Oh, that was just some guy in the crowd showing off that he knew the term "b-roll". He made me laugh and we struck up a conversation about the camera, and I even let him throw it on his shoulder and take it for a test drive. I'm not sure what line of business he is in, but I think he's bored and he'd rather have gone into some kind of television/video production career. I mean, who wouldn't?? :-)