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Lugging a rig around for 2 hours : My arms still hurt

Les Dittert

Les Dittert

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Last weekend I walked around with a Scarlet on a light shoulder rig with a light Canon mount lens. It was on my shoulder less that 5% of the time, the rest was walking around on a beach boardwalk area. The camera is a lot heavier than you would think !
I'm wondering how others deal with this. Walking around 'run and gunning' for a few hours at a time. Pull a cart ?
Even carrying it with my arm fully extended down was a hassle. Backpack would be to slow to call into action.
My big DSLR was fine with a 'cotton carrier' on my chest. I'm thinking of using a steady cam vest and making a brace to hold the rig.
Anything to get the weight out of my hands while walking about!
 
i saw a buddy of mine use 2 bolts with eye holes screwed in the top of epic, he then simply put a strap through the eye holes. When not in use he just slung it over his back, This was with RPP lens. well unik optics lens but same size roughly.
 
Some guys can handle it 12 hours plus a day, some can't. Even lighter cameras for that matter. Easy rig is a good suggestion if you find yourself with lots of "in the air" time prior to rolling. Balancing out your shoulder rig with more weight could help as well.

Part of the reason I built my shoulder rig with 3 posts was to quickly put it down between takes if necessary. Great for quick lens changes and what not too.
 
guess it just depends on size. Im 150lbs. and that shit gets heavy even with handles. Bring a PA. Make them your bitch. Lol
 
Zacuto recoil is great! Wooden Camera is also about to release a shoulder rig in the ballpark of $900. It's important to built or buy a rig that outs the actual camera on you shoulder, so you don't have to add very much, if any, counterweight.
 
Domenic Barbero said:
guess it just depends on size. Im 150lbs. and that shit gets heavy even with handles. Bring a PA. Make them your bitch. Lol
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I'm 120lbs, ran around with the epic, RPZ 17-50, and quad module on my shoulders for a good 3 hours couple days ago. also ran around with it on my steadicam rig for an entire afternoon, longest run was 12 minutes non-stop.

I'm a bit out of shape from what I used to be, so I was quite exhausted at the end of the day:-P Coming from carrying around 70+lbs daily in 130 degree weather tho, this isn't all that bad hehehe:-P
 
It's all about proper balance. I'm pretty much a wimp at this point in my life (maybe I always was, just didn't know any better). When I have a rig that is properly balanced (including R1) I can operate for hours. With a badly configured rig, not so much. For example, I have a GH2 that has a cage and rod attachments. I have that setup in some configurations that I can barely shoot with the camera for more than a few minutes. When I get the balance right, the handle positioning correctly, and the viewfinder in a comfortable position, suddenly it's a joy to shoot. This is a game of inches. If you're off by a little bit, can make a world of difference. My recent back problems have added another challenge to the mix. Time to do Yoga. :-)
 
Easyrig looks good, I hope I can try it on at NAB.
I can't see myself walking around for hours with the rig on a shoulder. I'm kind of a street shooter, and for one thing the potentially interesting subjects would be scared away by the thing! It is a dilemma at this point in camera history. Finally there is a movie camera that shoots deep images with good detail, but it's still a little 'power hog hair dryer' type of thing that is bulky and heavy for where I take it. I want to do SBS 3d with them, and that makes it twice as bad. I am sure 10 years from now this will be like us looking at a Mitchel or Technicolor 3 strip camera with a 'my god how did they manage' comment ;)

Maybe RED will announce the magnesium case option for the cameras ... Or plastic even, they can call it something else, like unobtainium, that worked before ... HA
 
Hm... Lift light weights with many repetitions. The Scarlet is light as hell and easy to shoot handheld all day from my perspective. all day with a full Red One rig had me tired, but I could do it day after day if I had to. Scarlet / Epic is the perfect balance of light, but not too light.

Exercise must be the answer? (this advice coming from an out of shape dude behind a computer when I am not shooting, lol)
 
i can shoot with a shoulder rig all day no prob, its carrying it all over locations just dangling next to me via top handle. It cranks my forearm and shoulder like mofo. and the corners are sharp so trying to not have it bang into the side of me takes even more effort on my part to keep it cool while walking around with it
 
well if the OP's original Q about is about hand _carrying_, as opposed to shoulder-mounting, then really what option is there?
1) strap, assuming all the affixed hardware doesn't bash you all up (and would it any more than hand-carry?)
2) backpack, which likely means some degree of disassembly
3) quick-draw case like the Old School Betacam/Panny HDs use, which has a shoulder strap and presumably will permit a fully-assembled RED within...but more bulk to sling around
?
I'm going to give (1) a go once I have it all kitted out...ironically, off my dear ol' BVW-400.

Stu Aull
S-X #00199
Alaska
 
I got the Think Tank Speed Racer v.2.0 belt pack to keep the weight of my arms. Drop my Scarlet straight down into the pack with Canon lens attached, back in action in literally seconds. It even fits with the RED outrigger attached.

Feature-Speed-Racer-V20-6.jpg
 
Domenic Barbero said:
i can shoot with a shoulder rig all day no prob, its carrying it all over locations just dangling next to me via top handle. It cranks my forearm and shoulder like mofo. and the corners are sharp so trying to not have it bang into the side of me takes even more effort on my part to keep it cool while walking around with it
Click to expand...

Lucky your not haulin an Alexa or F65 around. Your arm would fall off.

Time to go to the gym mate. We shoot epic day in day out and never have any pain. Simple things to Carry around for long periods of time. Way lighter than out 35mm gear. . Unless you have it built to full production spec... Then it becomes a lug! Our lenses weigh more than the camera Alot of the time.
 
Try the BlackRapid (RS-4) camera strap/sling. it works great...simple!

-P
 
Mark Toia said:
Lucky your not haulin an Alexa or F65 around. Your arm would fall off.

Time to go to the gym mate. We shoot epic day in day out and never have any pain. Simple things to Carry around for long periods of time. Way lighter than out 35mm gear. . Unless you have it built to full production spec... Then it becomes a lug! Our lenses weigh more than the camera Alot of the time.
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Yeup^^
 
I suggest a steady Crossfit workout, low carbs and tons of protein.

You'll be juggling Scarlets in two months.

;-)
 
sadly a back injury has prevented me from working out, otherwise risk reinjury. however soon hopefully thatll change. on a normal narrative shoot never an issue, doc stuff tho where u just carry you cam and always have it ready, thats what wears me out
 
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