Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

If I use Canon IS lenses for video, is a rig necessary? Im not sure I quite understand the purpose of them, are they strictly for stabilization?

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

They are for stabilization, control, and to support other gear like a follow focus, matte box, etc.

IS will help remove small vibrations, but it won't help you control the larger movements. It also depends on the width of the lens. With a wide view, you don't need as much control (except when you are very close to an object.) With a telephoto view, a rig, monopod, or tripod, etc becomes more important.

The best approach is to shoot with the camera as-is for a while and get to know what you like to shoot and what style you like to produce. Handheld with IS might be all you need. Or you might decide you need a jib, slider, and steadicam for super smooth shots.

In any case, a loupe is helpful for handheld work. I like the Z-Finder best, but the HoodLoupe with the x3 multiplier rocks for the money.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

I have a Glidecam and I also have access to a dolly and a track for larger movements. I really just want to stick to my Glidecam if i can. I dont want to invest in something else if I dont have to.

EDIT: I forgot to note I also use the indiesystem follow focus that can be used without a stabilizer

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

You're set then!

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

For wedding work, I like to be discrete. The more minimal the better at the reception. For the ceremony I've got a baseplate for the tripod. I use this and it works well for anything under 85mm. You can also stabilize in post.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/150488-REG/Cullmann_CU_3090_3090_Travelpod.html

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

Lee, contrary to common wisdom, I think, at least with the IS 2 lenses, the rigs are actually a detriment. I rented the newest flavor of Canon's 70-200 is 2 lens and the best red rock mount on the market. After 10 minutes, I ditched the mount and got better results cradling the camera and lens in my arms. This was zoomed in all the way in crowded times square, filming closeups of pedestrians. I could track them as they crossed the street, stopped, etc and the results looked gorgeous. Hand held or on a tripod, it looked beautiful and this was for a professional short film being used in a major public event.

I can't speak for all is lenses, certainly- but if canon can get it right at 200mm, I think those rigs are, at least, only sometimes useful. Certainly for my setup, I wasted 100 bucks that day renting one. I wouldn't have believed it myself until I tried it.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

Yeah, I've been a little bewildered by all the shoulder mounts available - seems to be all the rage at the 30 different places you get gear at. But give me sticks or dolly shots all things being equal.

Now I can understand the use of shoulder rigs for a high action scene, like a war movie or a boxing match, or maybe on the fly interviews, but they don't make much sense to me otherwise.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

So I'm gathering it pretty much depends on the type of shot you want?

@David, I agree with you completely, I have a Cavision hand grip Ive used on my Cannon 100mm L series and it works great. I shot part of a music video with it and had no motion issues at all.

This is the grip i use
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/637630-REG/Cavision_RS5DM2_VSH_DSLR_Single_Handgrip_Viewfinder.html

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

David, I wonder if the rig was uncomfortable due to unfamiliarity and a lack of practice with it? If you're a photographer, holding the camera like an SLR might have been more comfortable for you.

I spent two days at NAB with a chest rig (The Event) with follow focus and found it to work really well. I was able to track moving stuff well and did a ton of shots that went from a logo to a product.

I also shot a bullfight in Madrid a couple of weeks ago with a 200/2.8L (no IS) - half the shots with an extender(!) I shot at a high shutter speed for effect and to remove blur from microshake. Rolling shutter is still there, but the tight shots only show bull, matador, and dirt, so it's not so noticeable. It wasn't an end to end production, so I can select the best shots for focus, motion, and content. I brought a cheap, photo tripod to use as a monopod, but I didn't really have room - my backpack was under my legs. The rig was definitely the way to go. No way could I shoot 400mm handheld without IS and no rig effectively.

Yeah, it was a corner case, but NAB wasn't. A chest rig allowed me to shoot for extended periods. It gave me the freedom to pull it away from my body and do "jib" shots. It gave me four points of contact (two hands, chest, and eye.) It's high on my chest, so by breathing through the diaphragm, it doesn't show breath movements. Most of all, I can break it down and put it in a backpack that has body, four lenses, a follow focus, filters, batteries, charger, etc. And the backpack fits under an airline seat.

Given space to carry more gear, you can go smoother. But when traveling light and shooting for extended periods, I find a chest rig to be the way to go - for me.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

Depends on the situation. I like using a rig if filming handheld for more than a few seconds, e.g an interview as holding an SLR even with Viewfinder can get difficult because of the angle your arms have to hold at. With a shoulder rig you dont need your arms as high.

The biggest issue with a shoulder rig is carrying it when not filming, as its an extra weight.

I wouldnt bother spending too much on a shoulder rig, I recommend the Gini Rig. The build quality is excellent and its one of the cheapest shoulder rigs around. I've used it quite a bit since buying it a few months ago.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

One of the reasons you use a shoulder stabilzer is to change the axis of the camera as it is moved around. I think that If you simply hold the camera in hand, the axis goes throught the film/imager plane during movement creating more liklihood of unrecoverable movement in the images, and also a higher potential for rolling shutter jello. Most of the time I have seen severe jello is from hand holding the camera.

Best shoulder mount I have is an ugly duckling I built from aluminum tubing at flat bar scraps and a handle from a packing tape dispenser. All of maybe $ 20 bucks involved. Ad the manfrotto quick release and the $60 LCD viewfinder and you are ready to go. Probably would want to clean it up a bit for a wedding, but this works great for shoulder shots in productions I work on. See pic attached. Not for you if you can't be seen in public without the latest pretty blue and red rigs you pay a fortune for out there.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

Yeah, make no mistake, I have DIY shoulder rig too. All jazzed up with quick release plate and all.... but I never find myself using it. Either I go strictly handheld, using the camera strap to stabilize
it, or I have sticks. The shoulder rig is good tool, but it does take up nearly as much space as a broke down tripod and is obviously more tiring to use.

I'd say it's a very shot specific tool. I suppose it's a little more glamorous, b/c the form factor of the DSLR, but one look at some of the prices for these rigs puts me off my lunch.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

I've got a home-built rig at home and a Red Rock at work. The main advantages of the RR are that you can fine tune it without needing to break out a drill, and you can break it down for airport travel. It's literally just a few carbon bars, a couple of hand grips, and some connecty bits.

One approach is to buy some raw carbon fiber tubes and some inexpensive connectors, some BMX grips, and just get the camera mount from a major player.

You can get five feet of 0.575 sanded tube for about $60. (15mm is 0.591. I'm not sure if 0.575 is close enough to work with all hardware.)
Small Carbon Fiber Tubes

These clamps are under $15 each...
Super Compact Strut Clamps- Same Diameter with a Wing Knob | Mechanical Components for Assembly Automation - Misumi eCatalog

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

Chris, out of curiosity what type of lens is on your camera?

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

Look at my 60D here:


stelios

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

My homebuilt is also a shoulder rig. But I found that there wasn't enough weight on the shoulder to make a difference. For work, I specified The Event, since it gives a solid point of contact. I find that the arms don't just pull down; they also pull back toward the chest. And with the pad near the top of the chest, the camera weight is supported as well.

The following is a stock photo. I angle the handles about 45 degrees forward. And I can "hold" a handle with my forearm while controlling a follow focus. A short handle on the FF is handy when you need to rack the focus over a long distance.

http://www.bjp-online.com/IMG/435/10...jpg?1275048566

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

That particular lens was a vingage Nikon 50mm F 1.4. I have a 24mm, a 35 mm and that 50 mm that all look the same. All bought on Ebay around $75.00 apiece and mounted with one of the Nikon to Canon EOS adapters. Obviously do not have auto focus or auto aperature, but then I wasn't looking for that.

I have similar finds in Pentax mount, including a 28mm to 85 Takumar zoom that is great walk around lens for my 5D. These same lenses mount to my T2i, though turning a bit more telephoto in the crop factor process.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

Actually, my homebuilt distributes weight decently. As you can see from the imgage, the handle extends past the center of gravity of the camera. Also, the should piece is intentionally a tight squeeze for my shoulder so it actually pins camera weight to shoulder.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

Follow focus.... is it necesssary for a shoulder shoot gig ? I have one, but I have to rely on the old hand twist when focusing shoulder mounted. This is using the vintage lenses which have a significant throw in them. Hard to do with the modern auto focus lenses.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

I couldn't agree more until you try to get a steady 3 minute shot and your arm starts to shake because its so tired. Then you will enjoy that shoulder rig

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary? Sometimes
 

Sometimes. I find with my L-Finder on my 60D I can get away with out a rig. I do have an old shoulder rig that I had for my video camera that work well. But for a wedding I just did I did not have a rig. For the NAB 2011 show reports for FrugalFilmmakers.com Filmmaking & Photography I did use a CamCaddie from Welcome to The Original CamCaddie universal Steadicam Steady Cam Camera Mount as a handle to carry my camera and hold my shotgun microphone.

The L-Finder is @ The L-Finder FrugalFilmmakers.com

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

For solo work, a follow focus isn't a necessity, but I do find that I can keep things more stable when racking further with a FF and crank. Then again, I shot the bullfight stuff with a 200/2.8L and 2x extender without a FF. The action was far enough away that I was just barely nudging the focus in and out.

That said, shooting an action narrative piece, having one person frame with a rig and another adjust focus with a whip to set marks is the way to go. Wireless focus would be better still.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

I use a Glidecam too, and find it works great for handheld shots too. I just put the counter balance pole on my leg/hip and use it to stabilize. It's worked great for me. So, with that I can go straight from flying to handheld without changing a thing.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

I plan on getting this shoulder mount Shoulder Mount DSLR Rig-290 with a z-finder. But that L-finder thing seems cool though, I just don't know if the Hoodman do the job as much as the z-finder? Did someone tried both and can tell me if the z-finder is worth the extra bucks (i know it's overpriced) or should I stick with the hoodman?

EDIT: I'm talking about magnification. The z-finder does 2.5x and 3x but I don't know about the hoodman. The price is tempting though.

EDIT2: Oh i see that you need the eyecup for the magnification on the hoodman. Still not as expensive as the z-finder.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

I have the Z-Finder at work and the Hoodman with x3 mag at home. I prefer the Z-Finder, but I would buy the HoodLoupe again if budget is important. Without the x3, the Hoodman was weak. With the x3, it does the job nicely.

Make sure to get either the HoodCrane or the RedRock mount for the HoodLoupe. Those rubber bands are a poor solution. The crane has the advantage of quickly putting it on or off. The RedRock is more solid for travel.

The EVF would be perfect for run 'n gun with a 7D. It would allow you to mount the camera over the shoulder for better balance. The 7D doesn't downres the HDMI output to SD when recording.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

Thanks Jon. I think I'm gonna get the hoodloupe after all. I'm on a tight budget so.... And i guess it would still be better than trying to focus with the 3" lcd screen on the cam.


"The 7D doesn't downres the HDMI output to SD when recording."


Yeah it's kinda stupid that the other Canon dslrs do. But I guess they have a reason for that?

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

The 1D4 also doesn't downres. That implies that the camera needs two DIGIC 4 processors to record and send HD at the same time.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

Give it a fair try and get used to it a bit. I have the CAVISION viewfinder setup with the "swing away" setup that I got originally for a T1i (before the 7D appeared). It has a 6X eyepiece without diopter adjust but it works well for me. I do like the 6X, but the whole rig takes a few minutes to mount or remove.

It also fits the 7D nicely and the T2i (minor adjustments).

I put off the ordering the Hoodman setup, looked way to "klunky". I had the basic Hoodloupe with diopter adjust but no magnification and eventually I ordered the 3X eyepiece and the crane.

Mounts and unmounts in SECONDS! 3X magnification WORKS FINE and the diopter adjust can be really handy. The whole setup goes from camera to camera and if minor adjustments are necessary that takes me less than 30 seconds.

It's really useful and the more you get used to it, the more I think you'll like it.

If I have to use a two camera setup I'll usually have the CAVISION on the 7D and the Hoodman setup on the T2i or 60D.

If I had to choose between the two I have, even though I like using either, the Hoodman kit would be the choice. Simply because it is effective and WORKS, as well as convenience in swapping to other DSLRs.

Re: Is a shoulder rig necessary?
 

An inexpensive alternative might be the SpiderBrace. Lightweight, made from PVC, partially disassembles for storage in a bag or suitcase, and only cost me just under $100 delivered to my door.

I use the SpiderBrace 2 with the extra "Combo" grip, so I have 3 grips on mine. The rig aligns the viewfinder with my eye fairly well, and I have a Manfrotto 577 quick release adapter on it for compatibility with the 501 head on my tripod.

The third grip centered allows me better balance when having to use one hand to focus (I just go to the focus ring on the lens and "deal" with autofocus lens focusing rings. Do what I gotta do).

I can go from shoulder mount to tripod in seconds.

I use Canon 7D, T2i, and 60D with viewfinder loupe on this thing, I try to stay lightweight (at 72 this is important) so no "gadgets" added.

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