Canon 5D MKII and redrock....
 

Redrock and Canon getting it right... :-)

Redrock for video DSLRs

Yowza... At least they didn't paint it RED.

Any pricing on this yet?

They say pricing will be up on the October 28th but it's redrock so it really means late November and they'll begin shipping sometime in early April.

Looks interesting, but also seems like giving a 100 meter sprinter a set of crutches to accomplish a simple task. Heath Robinson springs to mind.

I love Red Rock gear and I think it is really well made. That said I think this rig is a little over the top and they don't seem to have realised where the record button is located on the 5DmkII, you doesn't look like you can get to it without being double jointed!

Having just watch the wedding video on the Canon website. I question the need for Red Rock on a camera that is a master of shallow DOF out of the box.

Konrad what we're referring to is the accessories that red rock makes for the camera not the actual redrock adapter. If you click the link you'll see a huge cage setup with a mattebox and follow focus which makes the camera appear more like a traditional movie camera. I agree though a DOF adapter on this camera would be useless.

Nick thanks for the clarification. I finally clicked the link and it seems a whole lot over engineered.

why would anyone want all this stuff tacked onto this camera? -- the best thing about this camera is that you can use a couple of screw-on filters and a wimberley head for relatively light, mobile set-ups. i don't see any added value in trucking all this extra gear around.

Same reason ANY HD camera benefits from a shoulder mount/tripod/monopod/stabilizer of some sort... otherwise you get shakycam video <wink>, or at least I do...

The first thing that came to my mind was how this cam would mount on my shoulder mount or a monopod shoulder mount combo for handheld... and the next question is how to control zoom/focus/any other manual controls...

Since the form factor is a bit "un-video-camera-like" it's obvious that some modification to allow the high grade lens/sensor to be usable for video would be in order... or maybe Canon will just release a video camera version...

You're more right than you know. Shooting video on an SLR is much worse than a video form camera... (it's like trying to point a drunken rattlesnake)... However this Redrock setup doesn't offer any stabilization. Besides the filter holder, it's a bunch of "look at me, I'm a filmstudent!" type toys.

Well, I'm not one trying to defend Redrock Micro or anything, but I do think the follow focus is useful, wanted, and needed. Also, in combination with their shoulder mount you get a pretty nice rig geared for quick setups and shoots. Especially since you can just plop it down on a tripod.

That's my 2 cents.

How freaking SEXY is that rig!!! in blue, no less...

Unfortunately it costs more than the camera itself!

I myself need a shoulder mount or other rig to shoot anything steady "handheld" - doesn't really matter WHICH camera I'm using!

The advantage of a shoulder mount with a couple of handles is that it's 100% easier to keep the horizon level (handles, spreading the center of gravity out from the camera - it becomes like driving a car), and easier to maintain the camera stable on a vertical plane (shoulder mount acts as a resting point/hinge). Between those two things, much of the shake goes away. Add a waist support or perhaps a monopod to the ground, and you're getting pretty stable results.

I've been fiddling with stabilizing HD cameras since I first got one - you immediately realize the necessity. Short of a full on vest/steadicam, with all the adjustment headaches that go with it, a shoulder mount with a waist support is about as good as you'll get for stable, near tripod like shots and SOME mobility (with practice, and a QR or some form of sprung suspension so you don't transmit too much bounce from the waist support is advisable...).

(edit)
Looking at the Redrock pix again, I see there's rails, and foo foo film looking accessories, but sure enough, other than a cool handle for low mode, I'm not seeing any real "stabilizing enhancers"...

I've been more pleased than I expected with the performance of lens IS. It should work well combined with a shoulder mount.
Panning will need to be tested. Various Canon lenses with IS have different behavior when panning. Some need to be set to mode two, some seem to disable IS.