Deals on rails and stuff
 

After doing alot of research and price comparison, I ended up selecting a rail shoulder rig from the auction site from seller in Korea (extremely impressed with quality and fast shipping) this rig with a monitor arm was at least half of what the other manufacturers wanted from their similar rigs. I got mine from a second chance offer that was barely above starting bid which i recommend as their buy-it now prices are alot higher. even with the high shipping they still a great value compared to other manufacturers and teh quality is top notch.

As far as follow focus I selected the D/focus which came with the universal (diameter set by changing different sized plastic bolts) ring gear, works very smoothly and not too loose.

and as far as Matte boxes i happened to find one for very cheap on the auction site, seems to work well with 4x4 filters but doesn't have a rotating filter, but works fine for me.

Also have the battery grip from auction site (also around $50 with 2 batteries) works awesome and feels solid, be sure to order the one with the slide out drawer it is important as you cannot change batteries with the other unless you un-mount the camera off of your rig, but the slide out drawer cures this.

hope this helps some.

good luck, feel free to ask any questions on these items.

Wow...that stuff looks great. They don't sell matte boxes though.. But im sure they will probably start soon.


Thanks for the link!

Letus Hawk VF review
 

I've uploaded my extensive review of the Letus Hawk VF, comparing it to its direct competitor, the Zacuto Z-Finder:
Letus Hawk VF – Review & comparison to the Z-Finder | Nino Film - Blog - Nino Leitner

It's a continuation of the extensive DSLR viewfinder reviews I've done so far.

- upgraded the fluid head on my tripod (sachtler fsb8) to keep things smooth with the lighter camera
- ND filter (8x, or .9) for outdoor shooting with wide aperatures
- Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. LOVE this lens, as it's fairly fast, inexpensive, and covers 95% of what I shoot. It also comes with a decent hood so I haven't had to scrounge for a matte box yet.
- Hoodman, which I only seem to use in direct sunlight (nice loupe, lousy silicone straps. I replaced the silicone with a shock-cord that used to be part of my rain coat...)
- Battery Grip (I have rarely had to swap batteries during a "typical" day of shooting. It came with a tray to also use AA batteries in emergencies -- which is cool but as-yet unused)
- 32gb cards. I have two of them, but rarely fill the first 32 while on set.

I'd like to have some sort of HD monitoring solution. The projects I work on usually have second system sound and a film-like workflow, so audio hasn't really been a problem. The camera records a wonderful reference track.