Easyrig worth it?

[sam caravana]

I'm considering buying an easyrig vario for a few reasons including to help save my back and allow me to go from my shoulder to hip height quickly. Should I just take the dive and buy one? I mainly shoot docu style/run & gunstuff and am usually on the shoulder but want to be able to get lower shots while shooting b-roll. I kind of figure this is an investment in myself as I doubt many clients will be willing to pony up for an easyrig in most cases.

 

[Daniel John]

Yes.

 

[Nick Gardner]

Just to be that old guy.... Easy rigs are fucking dumb. The only thing they are good for is if you have to stand in the same place forever shooting hand held. By definition, that is a dumb shot. The only reason to be handheld is to be dynamic. If you are not doing that, then it shouldn't be a hand held shot. I get reality tv bullshit, but I don't do that.

Nick

 

[Sean Solowiej]

Take a good look at the Ergorig instead. I'm a smaller guy without the requisite lopsided muscular camera shoulder. With Ergorig I can go to shoulder / hip / tripod quickly and easily all day with a fully rigged Epic-W and Cooke 20-60. I'm tired afterward, but I'm not twisted or broken and my shots are steady. Plus you really can walk forward/backward/sideways with it.

 

[Björn Benckert]

Just to be that old guy.... Easy rigs are fucking dumb. The only thing they are good for is if you have to stand in the same place forever shooting hand held. By definition, that is a dumb shot. The only reason to be handheld is to be dynamic. If you are not doing that, then it shouldn't be a hand held shot. I get reality tv bullshit, but I don't do that.

Nick

Agree and disagree.

If you do a lot of different setups in short time and want the hand held feel then you can easily swing a big zoom with a easyrig days on end. Without it you will run into back problems quite quickly, even if you have an assistant that grabs the camera between each take.

But yes, Easy rigs are not really built for walking / moving an filming at the same time they are shit bad for such setups. What they are good for is kind of the same setups where you use a tripod and a half inflated soccer ball to get that hand wobbly feel from the same nodal point.

 

[Patrick Tresch]

Just to be that old guy.... Easy rigs are fucking dumb. The only thing they are good for is if you have to stand in the same place forever shooting hand held. By definition, that is a dumb shot. The only reason to be handheld is to be dynamic. If you are not doing that, then it shouldn't be a hand held shot. I get reality tv bullshit, but I don't do that.

Nick

+1

Get that camera gravity right and lower it's weight. Mine is 9kg fully loaded. I find it stupid to frame by hanging a camera to a rope. But it became a common practice...

 

[Travis Edwards]

I mainly shoot docu style/run & gunstuff and am usually on the shoulder

These are the reasons/situations that make me love mine. It certainly isn't used on every shoot I do, but it has been invaluable for day-long run and gun doc shoots to save my back and shoulders. I'm doing the same shots I would be doing on a handheld/shoulder rig, but I can shoot longer and more comfortable, which enables me to get more creative in the long run.

We're clearly in odd times, but if you're able to rent one at some point, it might be worth it to see how it feels.

 

[Shaeden Gallegos]

ErgoRig + Undersling...plus they might be coming out with some extensions to get the camera out and lower.

 

[Curtis boggs]

Totally love mine, especially if I'm shooting hand held all day like on a doc or a corporate event.
It's great for taking the weight off when youre not shooting but no time to put camera down.

I don't shoot shoulder mount very much though, I tend to shoot alot w camera tucked in at chest height.
However it's really versatile, can shoot from the ground to shoulder height w ease.

Catch is I think it's kinda like steadicam or any other manually operated tool, you have to learn it and develop
the technique to get the most out of it.

Curtis

 

[Clermond Ferrand]

I'm considering buying an easyrig vario for a few reasons including to help save my back and allow me to go from my shoulder to hip height quickly. Should I just take the dive and buy one? I mainly shoot docu style/run & gunstuff and am usually on the shoulder but want to be able to get lower shots while shooting b-roll. I kind of figure this is an investment in myself as I doubt many clients will be willing to pony up for an easyrig in most cases.

I am 6ft 8 and I can neither shoot on shoulder mount nor can I walk through a door with the high bar of the easyRig. I know the EasyRig is very popular but the ReadyRig serves me great for a long time now. It has a small footprint and does not enlarge your silhouette. Worth having a closer look imho. I'm not affiliate nor connected in any way.

 

[Jason beaumont]

I just bought the easyrig Vario 5 with stabil arm, ran me over $7000. My DP Likes it better than the ready rig for Gimbal shots. I think I like the Readyrig More. For hand Handheld I definitely like it... Ive taken on simple jobs I wouldn't normally with my Alexa mini solely because I know im not going to be dead fcking tired during or at the end of the day. The stabil arm helps a great deal with walking, but still not super smooth. It requires a different technique than normal handheld shots and it takes practice. Overall I like it, not sure if it was worth $7000.

 

[Raymond Zananiri]

Take a good look at the Ergorig instead. I'm a smaller guy without the requisite lopsided muscular camera shoulder. With Ergorig I can go to shoulder / hip / tripod quickly and easily all day with a fully rigged Epic-W and Cooke 20-60. I'm tired afterward, but I'm not twisted or broken and my shots are steady. Plus you really can walk forward/backward/sideways with it.

Can the platform be shifted laterally, away from the head? I'm noticing in every demo the operator having to tilt their head left because the camera is too close to their head.

 

[Sean Solowiej]

Raymond: It is custom adjustable to your liking. But the layout wants to be close to your head for center of gravity. At times I even use the side of my head as another little contact point. It's basically having a cam on your shoulder, just transferring the weight to your hips. Throw your cam on shoulder and try to slide it 6 inches further from your head, and your whole body will tell you no.

 

[Kyle Kelley]

Just wanted to pop in and give a +1 for the Ergorig. I have never liked the Easyrig, as I find I have to completely change the way I shoot, which sort of defeats the purpose. The ergorig, on the other hand, allows me to shoot exactly as I normally would, but with far less strain. Like the Easyrig, it’s amazing for when you need to be a human tripod. Unlike the easy rig, it also allows for shooting on the shoulder, a super quick adjustment to hip level, and you can walk or run without introducing crazy bounce. Plus, it’s far less intimidating. I do a lot of run and gun doc stuff with small crews, and coming in dressed with a couple giant arms extending from my back is never a great way to encourage subjects to forget that I’m there. The ergorig just looks like a funny vest with some back support built in.

 

[Jules Ameel]

Can someone share a tracking shot with the Ergorig? I'm still worried that the weight being placed on the hip will cause a lot of z axis bounce.

 

[Kyle Kelley]

Can someone share a tracking shot with the Ergorig? I'm still worried that the weight being placed on the hip will cause a lot of z axis bounce.

Unfortunately I don't have access to the stuff I've shot with the ergo thus far, but in my experience there is little to no z-axis bounce when using the undersling, and a slight added z-axis bounce with the camera on your shoulder. I've found with practice that it can be largely negated by focusing on smoothing out your steps, but it's certainly still present. That said, compared to the EZ Rig, it's negligible.

 

[EdnaParrish]

Can the platform be shifted laterally, away from the head? I'm noticing in every demo the operator having to tilt their head click speed test left because the camera is too close to their head.

I normally would, but with far less strain. Like the Easyrig, it’s amazing for when you need to be a human tripod. Unlike the easy rig, it also allows for shooting on the shoulder, a super quick adjustment to hip level, and you can walk or run without introducing crazy bounce. Plus, it’s far less intimidating.

 

[Kyle Kelley]

A contact at cinema devices just shared a 10% off code for the new Riser -- I'm not sure if it's site wide, but worth a shot: ICG10%

I just signed up for the "Ambassador Program," so if anyone does end up using the code and wants to include my referral code, it'd be appreciated! 8SWNWHPSPWNXSO

 

[Christopher A. Bell]

Another old guy saying the EasyRig sucks. We all used to make fun of the handful of guys that used them back one the late 90’s/early 00’s. I swore I’d never use one, because you look like such a clown, that I’d have to kick my own ass. Okay, we’re 20 something years down the road and bodies start to wear out, so when there was the GB on the vario here in ‘18, I believe, I started kicking around the idea. So I rented a vario for a week to try. Hated it. Big and bulky, the camera never sits on your shoulder properly and when you do have it up there, you’re constantly whacking the support pole. I don’t like the motion you get when trying to walk and shoot with it at the same time, either “on the shoulder”(which it never really is) or “from the hip”. The ironic thing is, 9 times out of ten when I see someone with one out in the wild, it’s a young guy shooting with a little camera, like a pretty striped-down RED or Canon C series. The only thing I really found it useful for, is if all of your shots are between hip and chest level and your standing in basically one place for a while doing that.

Besides not working for my style and just generally getting in the way, they are still the antithesis of cool .

I have two other support/assist rigs for handheld work: the ErgoRig/Undersling and the SteadyGum. And the vast majority of the time, I don’t use either. But for me personally, the SteadyGum works the best with my style and type of work. The ErgoRig is much more of a “set” piece of equipment and for standing in one place while shooting, as well.

 

[Joel Voelker]

Easyrig is amazing. I’m 6’3” so shooting from the shoulder often means an awkward squat. Easyrig lets you shoot handheld from any camera height for more than a single take without frying your arms.