MultiRig Pro Review
 

I just picked up a MultiRig Pro from Alan Gordan Ent. out of LA, and have so far been very impressed with its capabilities.

For background, my primary reason to get one, was so that I could mount both my AT897 mic and a wireless receiver to the camera at the same time (I hate stuff connected to me and the camera in case I need to step away). In this regard the MultiRigPro excels.

My only two issues are the following:
1) The MultiRig Pro was missing the camera mounting bracket to attach a tripod quick release plate to the front right arm which folds under the middle of the MultiRig Pro. The bracket is in the pictures on the web site (shown here mounted to front Right arm with another one sitting on the ground in the middle of the screen), but was not provided in my package, also the pictures on the website are for an earlier model because the metal structure I received has some variations in size and dimensions). I also cannot find anyplace to sell this right angled bracket. Anyone know where I can get it? Yes I already checked the MultiRig Pro web site. No parts listed under accessories or replacement parts. Until I get the correct bracket, I have to screw the tripod quick release plate into one of the screw holes on the arms but there is no peg to keep the quick release plate from swiveling around the screw. Has anyone else purchased a MultiRig Pro recently and noticed this? May be I just didn't notice a change in the parts list. I'll be emailing the MultiRig folks to find out if my model was supposed to have this bracket.
and
2) The rig is hard to hold either at very high or very low angles using only the arm that extends with the 90 degree screw in padded arm. That single arm does not seem able to hold both my GL2 and the MultiRigPro at a 90 degree angle so the camera can remain parallel to the ground while I hold the 90 screw in handle wither with the camera hanging below the arm, or above the arm (using the front left arm as support). May be I'm not tightening the screw enough, but to go any further would require a wrench.

I have not used the MultrigPro at a wedding yet (my primary filming) but I have used it for several hours of test footage, including a music concert, street fair, and around the house / neighborhood walking tests. Overall, I highly recommend it for the added gear capacity, and customizations.

As far as a steady cam for walking, the MultiRig requires a lot of practice to not be jumpy when walking when using the spring loaded mono-pod & belt clip. It is better than nothing for sure and has the added benefit of providing wide grips so your hands are further away from the center of the camera, reducing camera roll and jitters. Some times I found movements to be more fluid and unencumbered when I did not use the monopod and instead just collapsed the extension arm and used only the two side arms to "fly" the camera.

I do not know how the MultiRig Pro compares to a Glidecam or similar pendulum-effect weighted supports so I cannot give a comparison. I do know that prior to getting the MultiRig, the only way I could produce a smooth moving shot was to leave the tripod attached to the camera and fold it up and then slowly walk holding the camera and letting the tripod swing freely below to dampen out jitters and bumps. In this regard, the MultiRig is far superior (and not likely to bump your knees like with a dangling tripod).

Thanks to Danny for producing a study product that will help raise my shooting to a new level.

Dang
 

I hate to reply to my own post, but I finally found an answer to problem #1, the Tripod mounting bracket. I was poking around on the site and found a reference that says this item will not be available till May 2008. Interesting that it was in the pictures for older models but is not now (ran out of inventory? who knows).

And I just found out that problem #2 is called "low mode" from the web site.

Nothing wrong with replying to your own post. Thanks a bunch for this review, Jason -- much appreciated!

Jason
to get smooth walking shots with the Multirig takes a little practice BUT you have to know WHAT to practice.
First I have found that the belt and rod pouch need to be off your waist as your hips will throw it side to side a bit so I wear the pouch on a seperate belt slightly above my waist. More importantly is how to walk. You need to take the smaller "steadicam' steps. Don't try to take a 3 foot step, instead take 2, 1.5 foot steps. Hope that makes sense. Finally when carrying the rig up on your shoulder as you walk your shoulders move up and down so what I do is carry the rig slightly off my shoulder and let the spring rod take the bumps. After a short bit of practice you get to be pretty good at it. I do circling shots during the 1st dances and once I "got it" (the right walk, the right way to carry) they have become quite smooth. Not "steadicam smooth" but much much better than handheld. the rig has become a staple of my reception kit (along with my monopod)
Frankly I have never used the rig on my tripod and have no reason to ever do so, so I can't speak to that.
Have fun with it and like any other piece of gear, practice practice.
BTW, my 170 has the 970 battery, WA lens attachment, Litepanel micro, and Blueline Hypercaroid mic. My AT receiver is set up on the mounting plate on the back of the rig and helps balance it out quite nicely.
Don

Thanks for the tips
 

Right. I've been doing the "marching band roll step" where my feet don't travel more than 1feet from the previous step. That seems to work well.

I also have a massive 2" wide stiff leather over belt (goes over a normal belt) that I put the belt clip on. It isn't padded, but it spreads out the weight. That seems to work better than letting the belt clip dig into my below the belt region. I try to place in smack in the middle because any hip movement from stepping will slightly sway left to right. I also found that holding the two handles pretty snugly eliminates much of the hip induced bouncing.

I'll have to see about placing the belt higher to avoid hip roll. I don't know that my over belt can go higher than the belt (it is sized to be worn over an existing belt so it doesn't snug down as tight with out clothing and another belt under it).

That is the ticket. I was just outside in the back yard walking with it when I decided to try that. A bit awkward with the rear arm still sticking over the shoulder, but that helped a LOT when compared to having the shoulder bar touching.

I hope to be able to have some footage of my wedding this weekend to show its use. I pretty much spent all income from this wedding on new equipment so I could get the best possible footage (and because I have four other weddings lined up this summer that will make use of the new gear). Got a WD58, a Raynox .3 (cannot possibly afford the Century version), some radios for comms between my other two shoots, the MultiRig, and misc cables & adapters I've been meaning to get.

I'll have a post shortly about this weekend's wedding on that board, because this wedding is going to be a real 3 ring circus, so logistics might be the straw that breaks my back as opposed to cinematography.

Thanks for all the help. Your comments were actually the primary motivator for my purchase of the MultiRig Pro over other options. So Danny should thank you for the sale. :-)

THat is somethign I have yet to get. I have done the "walk in a circle bit" but using the tripod as a counter weight. With the MultiRigPro I might need to retract the rear arm because it's bumping on my shoulder is causing problems. The rear arm also prevents me from angling the camera to one side (right) because it bumps into my neck. So your suggestion above should help fix that.

Part of the problem I might have been having while walking on grass is the uneven nature which meant that I found myself walking smoother when watching the ground, but the picture tends to stray from where I need it. Hopefully I won't have to perform that sort of maneuver (the circle walk) on grass.

uneven ground would be difficult even with a steadicam I would imagine.
Take the rig off the tripod and try the circle. Even now I still find my tendency is to go left - from my days with a full sized rig when there was no vision to the right I guess:-).
Yes the back arm will hit the neck but don't move the rig as a whole. Simply turn it on the spring rod axis as far as you can and then turn your upper body to finish it off. Hope that makes sense. It's early!
Anyway play play play, try all the different ways you can think of just don't hurt yourself ;-)
Don

I'm a relative newbie in the field of videography and am looking at some form of shoulder and/or waist support to take out in the field. I'm currently shooting with a PD150 but may be upgrading to an HVR V1P in the near future.

I have a couple of questions about the Multirig Pro which someone in this thread may be able to answer.

1. Does anyone know the dimensions of the Multirig Pro when fully folded up (including weight)? My main interest is wildlife video so I'm looking for something that can be packed away easily into a backpack - situations in which I am unlikely to want to bring my tripod.

2. I often use a monopod in situations where my tripod would be too awkward to carry around but the shoulder brace idea piqued my interest because of the added mobility. Is there a noticeable difference in image stability over hand held, as that would be the main purpose for me getting one - as opposed to camera support to rest my back, since I am not filming long functions etc.

I have been researching a number of options, from the spiderbrace to the steady stick, and one of the things that appeals about the multirig is that it seems it can be customised by removing handles/support rod etc. to fill a number of roles (ie shoulder brace, hip brace, shoulder and hip brace etc).

I have the DVMultiRig and use it with a Z1/FX1 and next week, EX1. The DVMT folds up nicely to an 8" x 4" x 12" package and will fit nicely into a pack. It's quite light to me, but you can get the exact weight from the manufacturer site. Obviously, it can't compete in vertical stability with the monopod. There is always movement in the DVMR shot, but in my use (moving cameraman for martial arts footage), the overall feel of the video was more stable than the monopod used before. That's due to the body mount design which stabilizes more types of movement. Yes, there is an obvious improvement over handheld.

Thanks for that. Does the support pod also telescope down to fit within that 12" x 8" x 4", or does it just fit separately?

David, the Multi Rig will suffice for all of your handheld shooting needs and then some.
Yes, the telescoping support pod does compress down and can be locked for very compact storage. The DVMulti itself, can stay attached tot he bottom of your camera and fold down to fit right in the camera bag without the need to take it off the camera. Very convenient.

Personally speaking I used to shoot events with a tripod and monopod, and since I picked up the DVMultiRig, I have sold all of my monopods and rarely use a tripod anymore. You can get very steady footage, with very little practice. And you have much more versatility over a monopod as you can reframe every shot (in/out verticle/horizontal) at a moments notice. You can't do this wit a monopod, or even a tripod for that matter.

A tripod is better for rock solid stationary shooting for long periods of time (30-60 minutes).

For handheld work there's no comparison, especially if you shoot for long periods of time. I personally use it for all of my event worka nd shoot 12-14 hours with it, with great results and no fatigue (except for the feet of course).

But for what you are looking to do, outdoor wildlife it should work fantastic.
It's easy to operate, you have many different configurations in which to shoot with, it's light and compact, and it's very affordable (Comparatively speaking. Although I don't think that there is anything on the market that has its configurative capabilities).

Zoom
 

I have found that footage zoomed in beyond 10x will still be jumpy with the MultirigPri (MRP for short so I don't keep typing it out)even with the mono pod, etc. And unless you are camping right next to all the animals, you will probably be zooming in. I used the MRP for about 6hrs solid this Sat for my wedding client. It was absolutely fantastic for the jump up and grab a shot because the flower girl was being very cute... etc.

But for zooming in towards the end of the telephoto range, it was still jumpy and hard to get usable footage. For wildlife work, I bet the same will hold true. A mono-pod with the operator leaned up against a tree would still probably beat the MRP.

But the MRP has the benefit of holding my AT897 and a light with softbox and arranging both in a pretty good configuration.

No offense Jason, but why couldn't you just lean against a tree like if you were using a monopod. I have done this quite often by leaning against a pole of wall while zooming in close.

Darn Trees
 

Those darn trees just don't seem to grown were I need to be in order to get the shot.

I could lean against some of the available trees, but those trees are either too far away, or not in the correct line of sight to get the shot.

Mobility is paramount to getting the shot.

If you would plan your shot a little sooner you could plant the tree to lean on a few years in advance...

See, now THAT is real patience. Imagine the kudos you'd get for the 'making of' sequence at the end of your wildlife documentary. It would certainly make all of those people that hide for weeks on end in a blind in the jungle waiting the perfect shot look like mere amateurs ;)

"huh, call THAT waiting? I planted this tree when I was eight, knowing that one day I'd want to lean against it to film a..."

ah, but therein lies the joy of Steadicam--the rig magically erases all signs of uneven ground and if you have a rig with its own monitor, you gain back much of the peripheral vision that is lost during handheld (especially a full-size shoulder mounted camera that, as you noted, blocks out anything to your right). This allows you to pick your steps carefully and the rig smooths out the difference.

But anyway--I have tested the DVrig Pro a couple of times and I am impressed with it. If I had to do a lot of handheld with a small format camera I would absolutely buy one. The limited amount of time that I have used it, I have found the "flying" mode actually quite nice--it softens the footsteps but again as noted, you do have to exercise the proper walk (which should be the case with anyone working with a handheld camera anyway) and learn how to minimize roll as well. I felt like I was getting very respectable results with it after 5 minutes of feeling it out.

Just to claify something, so readers here don't get confused...

Keep in mind that there are several models available from DVTec.
The DVRig Pro is one of them which is a stationary shoulder type support with a 2 section support pod.

There's the NEW DVRig Pro HD (same as DVRig Pro but will enable you to run with a rail system).

Then of course there's the DVMulti Rig, which I was being discussing here.
This would be better suited for field nature use, as it much more compact and very customizable.

Ah sorry, I must have read this too quickly. I thought you guys were talking about the DVRigPro. My bad. In any event, I like Danny's products, he's making good stuff.

No problem.
I started with the DVRig Pro and agree it was a rock solid unit.
I sold it after trying his DVMulti Rig. It just fit my run and gun (multiconfigurable) shooting style perfectly.

BTW, I just wanted to let everyone know that I just received the NEW DVMulti Rig Pro (I have had and loved the original DVMulti Rig version), and I must say that this unit officially rocks.

I used to struggle sometimes with unscrewing the support pod to place my rig on a tripod, but no more. The addition of the Quick Release Support Pod makes swapping from DVMR to tripod a cinch now, and blazingly fast and painless.
And the addition of the new knob tightening points, makes switching configurations, simple, painless, and blazingly quick. For me, the old locking clip under the handles were difficult to press at and get to times.
I also was able to mount Bogen 577 QR assembly on it (ala DVRig Pro). So now I can mount and unmount my camera with ease if needed. I prefer not to leave the unit attached to my camera so this is most beneficial to me when setting up my rig. As I now can slide my camera in and lock and go. No more having to access a screwdriver to mount. For the most part the camera stays attached to the DVMulti Rig all day long, and mounted on a tripod as needed (which isn't often).
And speaking of tripod mounting, I'm looking forward to trying out the new tripod adapter for the rig in a month or so when its released.

For anyone who hasn't tried one out yet or are still contaminating a shoulder support for your camera, Stop, go to the www.dvtec.tv website and order one of these. It's by far one of the best investments you will make this year for shooting live run and gun video.

All I can say is BRAVO Danny, well done.

Went to my camera store yesterday and got to play with the multirig...after flying around for 30 minutes in the store I now own one!
Thanks for all the reviews, I'll post some footage soon.

What camera store?
I didn't know that these were even in any local stores. Especially since they only have 2-3 U.S distributors, that drop ship their rig.

Anyway, congrats on the MultiRig. I think you're really gonna love it.

My guy from Southeastern Camera in Raleigh, NC saw them at NAB and ordered 3 of them.
I got the last one!

Last Problem
 

The last problem I have to report with the MultiRigPro, and unfortunately it is a very large problem, is that when folded up in tripod mode using a tripod quick release plate screwed onto the right arm, the panning & movement action on any tripod is.... horrible. There is so much give, wiggle, & slack in the whole system means that mounting the unit to a tripod is pretty much useless.

My unit didn't come with the tripod QR plate adapter, so may be that makes all the difference. But I don't expect a QR plate adapter to take up all the slack in the arm and the very top heavy nature of the unit when attached to a tripod.

My solution is to just not use the unit on a tripod. I'll just detach it from the beachtec & mount the QR plate.

I have never used it on a tripod and frankly have no intention of doing so.
It would appear that it would throw too much weight to one side and thus be off balance plus the rig (IMO) isn't sturdy enough to counteract that. It's a great rig and I use it all the time at receptions and well pretty much other than the ceremony. I've done run and gun interviews at trade shows with it, some sports pretty much anything that a tripod wouldn't work out to use.

IMO every piece of gears has pros and cons, good points and not so good point. I set my rig up with the Bogen QR plate and since my cameras have the matching plate on it it's an easy switch from tripod to rig to monopod to tripod, back and forth. The more I use it the more I like it.

Don

Well Jason that's a big thing. As my original unit came with the tripod QR adapter (which mounted on the right grip and folded under). It works fine, but I ahd to tighten the screw real tight to the handle to keep the rig from tipping when it was mounted to a tripod.

The problem that I had with mounting it to a tripod wasn't the rig itself, but rather the old support pod that you had to screw and unscrew to mount to the rig to the tripod. The new QR support pod alleviates that for me and now I can switch extremely quickly when needed.

I am looking forward to trying out the new QR tripod adapter plate when it is released in about a month.

So do you have a QR plate receiver on the top of the MultiRigPro so you can attack the camera's QR plate to the receiver? That would make sense so you could detach / reattach the camera from the MultiRig quickly.
(edit)
I would love to get a hold of the new quick release for the mono pod.... and get the tripod quick release adapter as well, because right now, just screwing the tripod QR plate into the screw hole on the right arm means that the spring loaded peg that is supposed to push into the camera (or in this case, the quick release adapter) just moves freely, dependent only on how tight I get the QR plate screwed in.

That would be correct.
You mount the QR assembly to the DVMulti Rig (DVMR) and then can add/remove your camera at will for quick swappability.
The only thing that I have to careful of is that I have a Varizoom LANC remote attached to my left grip on the DVMR. I have to make sure that I unplug my LANC remote first before attempting to remove the camera. This is why I prefer mounting the entire rig to my tripod. I don't have to worry about breaking the LANC cable and also still have the ability to use my LANC remote while mounted to a tripod.

I don't worry about anything else, as everything (lights, shotgun mic, wireless) is attached to my camera and not mounted on the DVMR.

This might just be a minor problem...but mine smells really bad, works great, smells really weird. Anybody else have a smelly multirig?
I'm sure it will die down over time.

Sorry, no. I ordered a MultiRig not the Smelly Rig. =)

Seriously though, talk to Danny about it, drop him a line.

I was able to counter this by extending the rear arm out to the right to replace the missing weight from the right arm which was folded up under the unit.

But despite being balanced, it still was very wiggly when panning using the MultiRig rear arm. I ended up panning with the tripod arm and that was smoother.

BTW, Jason, take a look at the post that I just did on the new MultiRig Tripod Adapter Bracket.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=125982

What kind of smell?

May be you were in a hurry to do a shoot and didn't wash your hands after eating a grease hamburger...

If any of the foam grips smell, you can slide it off the grip tube and wash it with warm water and some detergent. If you use some nice soap it will smell great...

Just ordered a DV MultiRigPro based on this review for use as my primary support while shooting a Rock Climbing centered documentary that goes into production next week; seems like it'll be the perfect choice with its flexibility. I have to compliment Danny on his great post-sales follow-up support and also thank him for accomodating my time frame in getting it out here in time for the first shoot.

Ooo now a rockclimbign film will be a bit more complicated but the MultiRig should be a good support while you are suspended. In fact, you can use the arms as attachment points and fully suspend the rig so you could just lower it down over the climber and get some nearly impossible shots. That was be very slick. Just watch the lens. I would be paranoid about scratching my lens with a camera sticking that far out in front of me.

Where are you filming and do you need a second unit op with 10yrs experience on the sharp end of the rope? :-) Of course I only was able to do a 10.c (at my best, which was 10 years ago). If you have the funding (I work cheap!) to bring me down, then I'm alllllll ears! :-) My climbing has mostly been limited to City of Rocks here in Idaho, and a few unknown alpine routes way up in the Sawtooths.

I've since posted a lot of other comments about my MultiRig Pro (it has been a year after all). I've shot with it for 9 weddings, a few corporate events, and for a bunch of hobby projects. It is the most versatile piece of gear in my bag of tricks.

Yeah, I figured because of the collapsability and versitility of configurations, it seemed like the best choice, plus we can rig it up all fun-like given the frame when I am actually on the ropes shooting. I'll be using (a couple) XH-A1s, which are surprisingly durable I've found and have a good 20x stock lens on them attached to the MultiRigPro for all of the time on the rock.

Shooting next weekend will be in West Virginia, but I'll be mainly centered around Raleigh, NC (South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia... Too many places to list, I'm going to have a lot of B-Roll) and Southern California (San Diego, Joshua Tree, etc) for it. This one is going to be self-funded, so no budget to transport anyone other than the primaries being featured when neccesary, but if you're ever really aching to shoot on the rocks, if you make it to a shoot site, I'll always make sure there's a tent, an extra set of climbing gear, and some hot meals for you! (I've adopted the Lloyd Kaufman approach to movie making and found it's done wonders for my wallet)

Coming in a little late to the party here, but was interested to see if anyone was using the MultiRig or DVRigPro with the EX1? Keeping my eyes peeled for information on a decent way to stabilize the camera and a pure shoulder-mount open isn't looking like it would be the best thing... The DVTec solution might be a good contender. I'm working with a stock EX1 - no adapters, matte boxes or anything of the like quite yet, so rails aren't a concern...

Thoughts?

I have a hard time seeing how an EX1 would NOT fit on the MultiRigPro. The GL2 is 2.5lbs (1.1kg) and the EX1 is 5.3lbs (2.8kg). Yes that is twice as heavy, but I load my GL2 with two of the 6hr batteries (one for a light), my light, a Beachtek adapter, a big clunky LANC, a AT897 8" shotgun + cables, and finally an AT1820 UHF receiver.

Now all that stuff isn't directly on top of the camera mount, some is on the shoulder mount, the LANC is on the right handle, the light is on the left, the Beachtek is under the cam, and the shotgun is on top of the cam...... so the weight is spread out a bit. But I think the weight of just an EX1 shouldn't be too much for it.

The MultiRigPro is OK for the EX-1. Some users asked for stronger springs to help carry the Sony WA lanse. We can add a stronger spring upon request, no extra charge.