Mantis or Allstar hand held rig ?

[stu aull]

It's just unfortunate that the best balance for handheld make use of Red Bricks, as I was hoping to get by with only volts since I'm Stage 2 and will be getting the Quad Redvolt Module.

Its bricks of some sort for me, and over-the-shoulder like your photo. Unfortunately just hanging the soon-to-come Quad-Mod off the back of Epic/Scarlet isn't going to enhance its shoulder-mount-and-balance much. After 20 yrs of Betacams, having these wee cameras and a Brick (of whatever brand) will be a piece of cake!

Stu Aull
Alaska

 

[Mark Pedersen]

I'm planning to assemble a hand-held rig for my EPIC using a variety of components, most of which I bought originally for a handheld DLSR rig.

Vocas makes a really nice shoulder support that is contoured to wrap around your shoulder and comes down your back enough to grip when you point your rig down. It has a firm, but "grippy" pad that keeps the rig stable. It has 15mm lightweight rod mounts that sit fairly low and allow you to adjust the angle of the rods relative to the shoulder mount. Vocas also makes a Battery adapter plate that attaches to the back of the shoulder support to which you can mount a standard Vlock battery plate (I have one now for my DLSR rig and it works great).

I plan to buy Brooke's Vlock plate with a hard-wired 1B LEMO connector to the EPIC (as soon as it is available) with a RED BRICK attached on the back of the shoulder support (rests behind and below your shoulder).

Vocas also makes a dovetail balance plate (Arri Standard) that inserts into the 15mm rod clamps at the front of the shoulder support.

That way I can slide the EPIC with a RED QR plate directly on to the dovetail (without the need for universal mounts or rods) and adjust the camera forward or backward to find the best position for the Bomb EVF and for balance.

I plan to use the RED Assault plate (if there ever get around to shipping the damn thing!) for lightweight 15mm rods.

I'll try using the Vocas hand grips for now, or change to spider grips if they don't work as well as I'd like.

Then it's an Arri LMB-5 clip on mattebox plus an ARRI MFF-1 follow focus.

My goal is to keep the rig as light as possible, tight to the shoulder and lower than it would be if the camera was sitting on top of my shoulder - with the brick battery balancing it out as much as possible.

I will probably mount the Bomb EVF on one of Brooke's side rails in the front of the camera, using the RED Spinner.

I have a set of Arri LDS Ultraprimes which are about 5lbs each. So it should be a pretty comfortable rig.

Any feedback or suggestions welcome. I'll post a photo and initial feedback once I get everything.

Here's link to their catalog, which is a bit funky. But all of their stuff is really well made and solid, reasonable prices. I bought mine through Able Cine.

http://www.vocas.com/sites/default/...exa en red folder august 2011 web version.pdf

M

 

[Mark Pedersen]

I've been putting together a system made from both, and more. Will post pics once I get it all in. Similar to what Ketch has done.

ET Mantis dovetail / shoulderpad
Allstar grips
Allstar Rails
RED Dovetail Quick Release
RED Collarbone and dog bones
Wooden Camera Universal Mounts
RED lightweight Assault Pack

Did you get your Assault plate yet? I've have mine on backorder for weeks. ;(

M

 

[stu aull]

Mark, Jarek-
looking forward to seeing these!!

Stu Aull
Alaska

 

[Jarek Zabczynski]

Did you get your Assault plate yet? I've have mine on backorder for weeks. ;(

M

Nope...I ordered the week they went up on the store.

 

[Aaron McLane]

The Clutch rocks!