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Going Hand-held / Shoulder Rig for Scarlet Dragon

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Rich M

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Hey guys,

My boss is interested in going handheld / shoulder mounting our Scarlet Dragon, but I'm not exactly sure where to start. He does not really like the shoulder rigs with the handles, which are likely the most common option on the market. He prefers the feel of old school shoulder cameras where he can hold the camera with his right hand on the body and left hand on the lens.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a rig that might be able to accomplish this? I realize we could get a standard shoulder rig and ditch the handle bars to see if it will work for him, but I don't even know where to start. We are on a bit of a budget as well. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
 
Get the tilta eyepiece bracket and a pair of 15mm LWS handles, and it feels just like an arri SR on your shoulder. The trick is getting the eyepiece far enough forward so that the camera sits on your shoulder, the tilta bracket achieves this.

Nick
 
Is the Tilta better than the RED Spinner? Also, any rec on a brand of LWS handles?
 
Yes, the tilta is better than the spinner. If price is no object, I would say get a set of AATON hand grips. If you are on a budget, almost anything will work. I made my own, but I am partial to the AATON or SR hand grips.

Nick
 
I use Wxxden Camera Cross piece with their leather handles and then throw a House of Power shoulder pad on. Keeps the camera's CG very low and makes on/off a tripod a breeze. Another great hand grip are Spider Grips. I use these a lot and very versatile. If you're pulling your own focus, look into Ergo Cine.
 
The CLUTCH has been my fave of all the ones Ive experienced.

You can get one for cheap here.
 
If I had to choose just one set of grips for all around use on several different set ups it would be Spider Grips with the telescoping extenders. Here's why: You can offset the handles to the left, which makes sense because your camera rests on the right shoulder; you can offset your right handle to be almost under the lens, which is good for doc work when you need your left hand free to pull focus; you can extend the arms long enough to have the left handle rest low on your chest for those extremely long takes where and extra point helps; they attach to 15 LWS and 19mm; you can add a stop/start; round knobs over ratchet style make it easy for operator adjust on their own; they're super light and fold up real small; you'll get a kit rental for them.

I find the Cltuch grips and system severely limited and over engineered. The ideal handheld set up should involve as few parts as possible, go on your shoulder to tripod and back without hassle; have as lowest CG possible; should be able to move forward or back to find your balance point; be adjustable up/down/left and right for myriad of situations; have little to no flex. On that last note, Spider Grips have more flex than my WC's and you can't mount a monitor on the cross piece. But overall, they're the most versatile, and it's the reason most high end rental uses have them as standard issue.
 
My advice don't get sucked in by overly complex rigs . Kiss. principle works the best . Nicks ideas are very sound also another vote here for spider grips.

The clutch they're always in the for sale section .....why?
 
Are there any affordable Aaton style hand grips (or any style handgrips) that have stop/start triggers? Affordably like, $100-200 (or is that wishful thinking)?
 
Mike P. said:
Are there any affordable Aaton style hand grips (or any style handgrips) that have stop/start triggers? Affordably like, $100-200 (or is that wishful thinking)?
Click to expand...

Wishful thinking. Handles without triggers are more than that.
 
Yeahhhhhhh.... But damn, if they aren't necessary for handheld.

Is there any triggered handles for less than $500? I hate spending that kind of money when it likely won't work with Weapon (or any other camera) without replacing a $200 lemo cable (if removeable cables is even an option on a sub-$500 triggered handle).
 
Finally got my fave stripped-down run and gun handheld config down yesterday for Dragon with the bigger red top fans (is this fanboyism?)!:

ET EVF mount for Red EVF on top front brain holes (normally where you'd put the Touch 5.0).
+1 module adaptor on back & put touch 5.0 on its top holes (god knows how they fit but they do).
Red Sidehandle with redvolt (right hand) - start/stop for you Mike / plus camera controls & settings etc
Quickplate module on back of plus 1 (vLock) - will power hotlink too.
Olympus button mic in 3.5mm audio jack clipped onto front evf cable
left hand on lens focus ring
shoulder tucked into back of batt
eye in EVF
AC on Touch 5.0 / accessing all the things I can't quite figure out how to get to once i've factory defaulted my mapped keys for some reason (which 99% of the time is only either the playback button or audio controls. Default red buttons are pretty good).
Want more holes for mics, PL glass & stuff? Add carbon rods and OBox (though this feels like cheating now I have the others above).


This setup is pretty light and certainly not front-heavy plus at the right height for my eye to head to body ratio. Only took me three years of shooting scarlet, then Epic, now Dragon lol. Thanks for the upgrades btw red!

No more cage / Plates and sharing/fighting with other acc manufacturers to find 'cheaper' solutions which just weighed it all down and ended up unused on the shelf, then eventually back on reduser as used items to eventually trade back for red ones lol.

I even use the original Red One EVF with this setup. Love the original red one evf on my dragon with new dragon colour 2, DragonGamma4. Now that's obsolence obsolete!!
This EVF image looks to me like film straight out the camera with low con coating lenses (FD SSC in my case, thank you Lens Doctor in Glasgow) and lovely sharp images I can pull focus to with great blacks. I now need to make a red look to perfectly recreate this evf look (next mission)! Just regularly swap OLPFs for interior / exterior (love this by the way, its like changing film stocks!!).

I can handheld this thing now as smooth as an ENG cam with a servo grip.

: )

Finally!!

And this is all official red DSMC bits (apart from ET but red own them still now right so I guess that is technically still true?!). Maybe technically not also due to the Red One giant Stick Grenade EVF which also happens to look like a crazy weapon ironically but I don't think was originally DSMC??!

Jim you so made obsolence obselete truly happen! The red one evf buttons don't work any longer but damn the image looks superb man!!

Lols.

I'm in no rush to upgrade but knowing my luck, it'll be MF; lower weight with more built in CF parts; better lowlight and more x fps and i will somehow make it happen again & I'll be back to figuring out the handheld conundrum again?!?

Jim & Jarred, do I win a prize to solving this conundrum?!? Please pretty please?!? I'd love a battered (tested) old 2000hr + scarlet brain only. We could call it War Scar sn#2000 ; ) I would treat it like a child and love it forever and let it run in the wild 'til it was old and grey (even though it always has been this way since it were birthed to me) and grow even more old and grey with another 20,000plus hours by keeping all my dsmc acc's 'til the day I die with this camera. And when it would finally die and your own bloodline can perform the autopsy, when you cut it, it's body will indeed bleed grey but then of course it wil bleed RED.

; )

Will take a pic of this setup tomorrow and share.


Hope it helps.



Craig Lees
ED UK
www.3dstories.co.uk
 
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