ultimate hypothetical 5d rig

[Andrew McMillan]

ok check this

5d with a pretty normal zoom lens
redrock follow focus and mattebox on rail
bartech zoom motor connected to varizoom rocker.
cineform flash recorder( does the hdmi output live video?)
hd monitor take your pic, me I go with the pana for the wave and vector( still depends on the hdmi)
beachtek audio adaptor with LED levels and headphone out.

Then the shoulder pad setup depends whether your looking through the finder or a monitor.

obviously who cares if canon doesn't do 24p!
unfortunately this turns out to be quite pricey.

Anybody else have something they wana add or recomendations

[Min Lee]

How about just a naked 5D with a wireless mic attached?

Part of the reason I'm interested in this camera is because I don't have to lug around a ridiculous 35mm rig. I have rods, follow focus, and a mattebox but will probably only whip it out on rare occasions.

[Andrew McMillan]

that would work to, but for me at least the beachtek so I can hear the audio and plug in boom mic.

I bet a good setup
would be a follow focus, rails, mattebox, audio box, and the canon battery hand grip.
The rails would be short so it could still be hand held and lifted up to the face, but the extra weight would help stabilize the image.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Don't forget support. You would want a nice tripod that can support all that kit, as well as some sort of a stabilization system, such as a Merlin for stripped down "hand-held" shots.

For lighting, I'd look at an LED setup that lets you vary the color. Clearly you can use the 5D at night with available lighting. A color-flexible fill or two would ensure that you can see your subjects.

It would be cool if your could sell the 5D in April or so and plug in a Scarlet 0.2, still using all the gear listed. In a month or so, we should know if that will be possible...

[Andrew McMillan]

yeah, Hey that idea about the variable lights is really cool. I could really see my self flying through 20 setups a day!

[Evan Donn]

I've been thinking rather than a Beachtek I may go with a Zoom H4 with the line-out run into the 5D. This gives you dual XLR with phantom power, compression/limiter & auto-gain if needed, a much better built-in mic than the camera has, plus the option of dual system 24/96 recording. The main drawback I see is ergonomics... the Beachtek should be a lot better in that regard.

Variable color lights would be nice... a couple of Zylight D90s should be great considering the camera's sensitivity.

[Andrew McMillan]

well my mic would be an mhk 416 so sound would be basically set.

[Dylan Couper]

And here comes Scrooge....

Bad news to you guys who think you are going to sexy up your SLR with a rail mounted matte box while using a zoom lens... You won't have any range in your zoom (as it physically extends, unlike a video zoom), before it either pokes out of the matte box, or smacks into a filter.

I know. I learned this the hard way already.
Clip on mattebox, or simple filter holder. From what I've been shooting, I've actually just held 4x4 filters over the front lens using rubber bands (only with primes/short zooms. Now THAT gets some looks... just not sexy ones. :)

Also, forget the matte box if you want to shoot ultrawide lenses. I tried my Cavision bellows folded flat mounted on a 16mm lens... and could see all of the matte box.

Oh, also, for audio... simple mini-shotgun mounted on the camera, then the ACTUAL sound run into a portable mixer/audio recorder. Synch in post. That's just me though... for some reason, can't trust the audio tech in a still camera.

[Evan Donn]

Originally Posted by Dylan Couper

Bad news to you guys who think you are going to sexy up your SLR with a rail mounted matte box while using a zoom lens... You won't have any range in your zoom (as it physically extends, unlike a video zoom), before it either pokes out of the matte box, or smacks into a filter.

Well, if your goal is to make it look more like a "movie camera" that's one thing, but I'm thinking something like the Cokin Creative System would work well: COKIN Creative System - Filters A/P/Z/X - Accessories

Oh, also, for audio... simple mini-shotgun mounted on the camera, then the ACTUAL sound run into a portable mixer/audio recorder. Synch in post. That's just me though... for some reason, can't trust the audio tech in a still camera.

Definitely an option, something like VocAlign (Synchro Arts - VocALign) should be able to sync it automatically.

[Andrew McMillan]

well Im obviously aware that zooms lens expand and contract. The best option is actualy those cheap Indian ebay clipon matteboxs.

the main purpose of the matte box is for filters, but making your camera look more "panavsionish" helps keep people from thinking your a psychotis photographer.

What about figrig? but now you can't zoom or focus.

Man I wish they made a birger mount for the 5d.

[Don Miller]

Not all SLR zooms change size. Generally the more expensive models do not.

As far as a shoulder system, I don't think it works without a viewfinder. The LCD is going to have to be at the operators minimum focus distance. For some people that's pretty far away.

If the HDMI port outputs what's on the LCD while shooting there may be a reasonable solution.

I wouldn't spend money on an expensive 5DII shoulder solution, as Canon will come out with a real camcorder version with this technology.

[Joseph Stunzi]

The HDMI on these cameras does indeed output what's on the LCD. Therefore recording from HDMI isn't really an option, but using it to monitor is one! You'd have to get some sort of converter box from AJA though. I don't think there's too many reasonable LCD displays out there that have HDMI inputs.

[Peter Moretti]

Originally Posted by Joseph Stunzi

The HDMI on these cameras does indeed output what's on the LCD. Therefore recording from HDMI isn't really an option, but using it to monitor is one! You'd have to get some sort of converter box from AJA though. I don't think there's too many reasonable LCD displays out there that have HDMI inputs.

Well DVI is HDMI 1.2 (I believe). Only the connector is different. An adapter runs under $10. Perhaps that can help?

[Dylan Couper]

Originally Posted by Don Miller

Not all SLR zooms change size. Generally the more expensive models do not.

Sure, some zooms don't change, but the majority do, and so do many expensive ones as well. Is anyone really going to sell off their zooms just so they can use a rail mounted matte box?

[Dylan Couper]

Originally Posted by Andrew McMillan

well Im obviously aware that zooms lens expand and contract. The best option is actualy those cheap Indian ebay clipon matteboxs.

Really? because you made the mistake twice:

ok check this

5d with a pretty normal zoom lens
redrock follow focus and mattebox on rail

and then 2 posts later:

I bet a good setup
would be a follow focus, rails, mattebox, audio box, and the canon battery hand grip.
The rails would be short so it could still be hand held and lifted up to the face, but the extra weight would help stabilize the image.

I don't mean to bring you down, just don't want you to get your hopes up too much.... which is why I pointed out that most standard zooms won't work with a rail mounted matte box, and that a clip on one is the easiest solution. As Evan Donn suggests, the Cokin series are probably the best suited. I'm using my Matteblox soft mattebox and 4x4 filters, only because I have a lot of money invested in them and don't want to have to buy a set of Cokin P filters too.

the main purpose of the matte box is for filters, but making your camera look more "panavsionish" helps keep people from thinking your a psychotis photographer.

I don't know what a psychotis photographer is, but if you are shooting in public, the last thing you want to do is make your 5D look "panavisionish" to attract attention. The beauty of this camera (amongst many) are that it is completely stealth. Unless of course you want to try to impress people with it... in which case, go with a rail mounted matte box and just never Zoom. :)