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Element Technica Mantis Configurations

C

Chris Burket

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Just thought everyone might like to see a few of the possible configurations of the Mantis as well as the accessories. One of the greatest features that I've found is the ability to mount the ET Shock Mount on the back of the shoulder pad. A lot of people have been using the "cat on the shoulder" analogy and I can say that that mounting the drive on the back of the shoulder pad moves toward a more cat like feel. I noticed a huge difference when I moved the drive from the side of the camera to the rear of the shoulder pad. It's a perfect spot to help make a front heavy camera a little more comfortable by lowering the CG and moving more weight toward the rear.

How do you mount the drive to the rear of the shoulder pad? The shoulder pad mount has 4 holes drilled in it and all you need is a V Lock mounting assembly and your ready to go. The V Lock mounting assembly is available from ET.

I snapped several photos of an ultra light weight configuration which a lot of people seem to be interested in. You can bolt the Mantis directly to the bottom of the Red. There are three holes in the dovetail of the Mantis and you use two of them to attach it to the Red. You just have to pick the two that will allow you the best balance with the camera depending on the accessories you have.

You can attach a remote FF and matte box when using the Mantis directly attached to the Red. You can use a clip on matte box and you can use a rod coming out the front of the cheese stick to mount a Viewfactor, Preston, or Bartech motor. Or if you have an offset bracket, you can use the top mount rods to mount your remote FF motor.

I also placed the EVF mount in two possible configurations. One was using the normal EVF mount attached to the front top mount. For those who may want the EVF mount a little lower, you can even screw an extra top mount on top of the Mantis dovetail and move your entire EVF mount to there.

I also noticed some people like to use the monitor to operate which is also a great option. I attached it using an ET speedy clamp that is clamped onto the Mantis Cross Bar. ET speedy clamps have a 1/4-20 thread in them that you can use to attach the Red Arm.

I also threw up a more larger rig with all the standard cinema AKS. Didn't have any lenses handy though.

Personally I'm pretty excited about how many different ways I can configure this thing. I just finished a commercial shoot with the Marine Corps. and we used one of the Mantis prototypes and it went really well. We were using the Bridge plate configuration. Our operator chased around a bunch of Marines as they assaulted a mount town in an exercise for over an hour and he seemed to really like the rig.

Personally I will probably attach the dovetail directly to the camera most of the time as I like the ultra light weight configuration when I'm shooting, unless I need the studio FF and 4 filters. Also, using the bridge plate configuration allows much quicker conversions from studio to Handheld mode. It all depends on how much Handheld you want to do, how much time you can afford to convert, and what accessories you will need mounted to the camera.
 
a few more photos
 
Chris,

How does the Red Drive attach to the shoulder pad? I like that idea.
 
To attach the Red Drive to the shoulder pad, you need the ET shock mount on the Red Drive. Then you need to order a V Lock assembly (without the speedy clamp) and you can attach it to the shoulder pad using four screws. Then you can attach your Red Drive or anything else that uses a V Lock.

I was shocked at how much more comfortable it made the camera feel on my shoulder. It puts some weight right where you most need it to lower the CG and make the camera less front heavy.
 
In all of the pictures I have seen so far, it seems the camera is always off level. The animated picture on your website shows that it is possible to rotate the shoulder pad hinge to tilt the pad to fit the shoulder and keep the camera level. Is this hard to do or perhaps not a currently available feature? Even Geoff's pics seem to indicate the camera is off level when at rest on his shoulder. Obviously, keeping the camera level without much effort is of ultra importance? Is there a a bubble level on the front bar so that the operator can see if the camera is perfectly level to the horizon? If not, could you add one there assuming the front bar is perfectly level with the base plate and in the operator's view. What would be really helpful would be some additional markings on the bubble level that would indicate the amount of rotation of the shoulder pad hinge required to level the camera on that particular operators shoulder. In other words, Operator would just put the unit on his or her shoulder, look at the bubble level markings, take the unit down and know exactly how much to adjust the shoulder pad hinge so that unit and camera will be perfectly level when operator puts back on shoulder again. Something like that would really demonstrate additional value.

-shooter
 
There isn't a bubble level on the rig, but the best way to level it prior to shooting is put the rig on your shoulder without the camera and adjust the yaw axis of the rig so that it is pointed straight along the operator's line of sight.

Then with the camera on your shoulder (turned on and looking through the viewfinder ideally). You can loosen the shoulder pad adjust the roll axis so that the horizon is level. The most important thing is that the image is properly level and that the shoulder pad is comfortable on your shoulder. Here is a link to the manual that comes with the Mantis. http://www.elementtechnica.com/hand-held-kit/notes.php

If you wanted a bubble level you could easily attach one to the crossbar. I have one that I got on a keychain which sometimes comes in handy for steadicam ops if they can't find theirs. It would be easy to attach it to the crossbar if I wanted. But, its not something I could really look at while operating.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you are asking if once the operator uses the mechanism to level the camera on his/her shoulder, can they take it off their shoulder and put it back on knowing the adjustment will stay the same? If so, the answer is yes. The idea with the Mantis adjustable shoulder pad is that once you adjust it to your shoulder and lock it, it won't change unless someone else unlocks it and readjusts it for their shoulder. The mechanism is something you adjust once and lock. It's not something you would leave unlocked and constantly adjust while shooting.

If you are interested in a level indicator that you can view in realtime while operating, you should look into a transvideo HD monitor and use it for HH operating. They have the only HD monitor on the market with an integrated level.
 
It would be neat to have an electronic level image in the viewfinder like they do on a Steadicam monitor.
 
Yes there is a run/stop button option for the right side handle. We decided to give people the option to use their existing Viewfactor Origo's since they are so small and work great.

I have a nice shot of the Origo on the handle, but I can't upload photos right now for some reason. I'll try again later.
 
Chris Burket said:
To attach the Red Drive to the shoulder pad, you need the ET shock mount on the Red Drive. Then you need to order a V Lock assembly (without the speedy clamp) and you can attach it to the shoulder pad using four screws. Then you can attach your Red Drive or anything else that uses a V Lock.

I was shocked at how much more comfortable it made the camera feel on my shoulder. It puts some weight right where you most need it to lower the CG and make the camera less front heavy.
Click to expand...

So do you need to drill four holes in the shoulder mount to accept the V-lock?
 
A quick note on mounting your V Dock to The Mantis shoulder pad. We have recently started modifying the V Dock mounting plates to work with the Mantis shoulder pad. If you have an older V Dock/Speedy Clamp that you would like to take apart and use with your Mantis, you can send back the old V Dock mounting plate and we'll swap it out.
 
Mark, you don't need to drill any holes. The production Model shoulder pad mounts come with 4 holes pre-drilled for our V Lock Assemblies.
 
What a dummy! I just noticed that I can move the EVF mount to the Mantis. WOW, what a huge difference that makes. I've made the permanent switch and now I have more adjustment fore and aft that I ever could possibly need. Port to Starboard also. Thanks ET for thinking this thing through so well.
 
I've had this puppy in my hands all this time and never realized what those threaded holes on the front of the dovetail were for. Brilliant bidea putting the VF mount there. I've you're going to shoot off the shoulder all day it's definitely the way to go. And the V-lock on the shoulder pad is great as well. No reason you couldn't put the battery there as well, although I like the way you hang the battery plate off that one long rod out back.
 
Just got mine this evening, beautiful piece of work. can't wait to try it out tomorrow !
Aloha
-A
 
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