Ranger Shoulder Mount Set up...

[Randall Brown]

We just got our Ranger Gemini and we are getting ready for its first outing, wanted to see if anyone had any recommendations for rigging for shoulder mounting? If you have built up your rig, post up for some inspiration? Right now, looking at the Zacuto Recoil system.

Any help appreciated.

[Jens Jakob Thorsen]

What ever you do, be sure the the camera is balanced on the operators shoulder. He/she should be able to let go of the handles for a second while the camera stays. Balance is paramount. Make a rig where the balance can be shifted to do that. 30 years of operating behind this recommendation.

[Wes Van Heest]

the zacuto baseplate is pretty great because as Jens mentioned, you need to be able to slide the camera package backward for heavier lenses, or forward for lighter ones. The zacuto baseplate lets you do that for a reasonable price.

For handles, Shape makes the push button adjustable variant quite well. I prefer rod mounted wooden handgrip on right side and a ball on the left as I'm usually controlling my own focus, iris/zoom. Kino Grip is a US based company that makes great products.

Not specifically a ranger gemini, but that's how I'd rig up any camera for handheld use pretty much. Between either of those handheld options, it's all covered.

Not sure if you got the RED eVF but if not, the zacuto gratical eye is my reccomendation. I like to work with an EVF for shoulder mounted handheld, and then an LCD screen of some sort for waist level handheld operation/easy rig style shooting.

hope that's helpful

[James Sielaff]

The Ranger unibody is deceptively small, since it doesn’t really need any add-ons, other than a mic hop mount. So, whatever you choose, it may work in your favor to have the option to go lightweight. The Bright Tangerine dsmc2 base plate has been awesome. It can attach directly to the Arri dovetail on the tripod, or any number of Arri dovetail compatible options. And the quick plate can be attached to a should rig, so you can go from tripod to shoulder rig quickly. This all means the option of using lighter weight tripods, for a more mobile agile crew.