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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Looking for good 15mm rod handles Please Advise.

To be honest I'm not a fan of these cheap rigs. That goes for Gini too. Over time all those connections begin to feel loose and will rattle. I rent my stuff out and this kind of stuff is not going to survive. I'm sure your camera would not be in any danger but I'm positive you will be replacing this at some time.

In my opinion, the ultimate handles are.... the Ultimate Handles of course!

http://www.shapewlb.com/en/product/...urce=All&utm_campaign=HAND12&utm_medium=email


SHAPE%20HAND12%20KIT640x480-v1.jpg
 
The Tiltas are copies of Spidergrips, made by a company in the San Fernando valley called Camera Accessory Solutions. These have been in production for at least 5-6 years (I think a bit more), and are a bit of a word-of-mouth item on the west coast. They are fantastic, light, and fold down to almost nothing.

They flex a little with heavy cameras (think 30lbs and up), but I've used them up to maybe 40lbs, sometimes swinging the camera around by just the grips and they are more than solid.

Both Jeff Roberts & Abel sell them.

DSC06461wtmk.JPG
 
I used to own the Zacuto ones but didn't get on with them at all, although my taller colleagues liked them. I bought the Vocas ones from CVP here in the UK.
 
Lanparte also has some sweet tri-axis 15/19mm rod handles... They actually look pretty kick ass. Actually someone on here has a pic of them on their shoulder rig... I *think* the movie title was called "Imagigary" or something like that... It's in the Scarlet Rig Picture Thread.

No offense to the Shapes (I haven't used them so this is purely based off of what I'm seeing), but I trust bolt-down anything over the "quick release" button press things. I just can't trust them until I use them on a real shoot (and preferably not with my camera the first time out : )
 
Every thing I have every used from SHAPE is a poorly made piece of garbage. Need to adjust your stop while shooting hand held? Too bad. The shitty rubber grips spin on the handle and the whole rig droops over to one side. Every rod they ever made is a different size. All of their tolerences are sloppy and everything is hard to adjust. Does not play well with other gear designed by people who know how to work machine tools. I would seriously avoid spending money on shape stuff. It would be far more entertaining to just burn your money in a parking lot over a few beers.

Nick
 
Shape handles absolutely!

I have used multiple types and these so far are the most comfortable and easy to use. I haven't used any of their other products but these work perfectly. Rock solid, no twist, comfortable and the quick adjustment function of the handles works very very well. Much faster than tension knobs and is geared so cannot slip. These here in Australia are becoming extremely popular in the eng land of weeks on end of 10 hour days handheld on ob doc and reality rigged on broadcast XD's...so holding that weight is damn impressive. I use them on my Epic and XD...best of five types I have owned!
 
Rock solid, no twist, comfortable and the quick adjustment function of the handles works very very well.
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It's entirely possable they have gotten better since I last used them. I do like the spring loaded ratchet adjustment. My main problem was the rubber grips spinning on the handles, and the tolerances on holes wasn't up to snuff. They worked fine on a shape base plate, but if you tried to use them on a 16mm lws, they were really stiff and were hard to slide back and forth. Then once you did get them where you wanted them, they squuezed the rods too close together so that other lws stuff like an arri matte box was a real bear to get on. If they have improved, thn they would be a good option.

Nick
 
I presume you mean 15mmLWS. Mine are perfect, no slip at all, tight fit, no twisting of handles and my ARRI MB slides on just right. It could very well have been a bad batch. But if I got a set from any manufacturer like that I would be sending straight back that's for sure.
Nick Gardner said:
It's entirely possable they have gotten better since I last used them. I do like the spring loaded ratchet adjustment. My main problem was the rubber grips spinning on the handles, and the tolerances on holes wasn't up to snuff. They worked fine on a shape base plate, but if yodu tried to use them on a 16mm lws, they were really stiff and were hard to slide back and forth. Then once you did get them where you wanted them, they squuezed the rods too close together so that other lws stuff like an arri matte box was a real bear to get on. If they have improved, thn they would be a good option.

Nick
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