Jeff Whitehurst
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2011
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- Location
- Panama City, FL
- Website
- www.hydrocine.com
I've been asked about my shoulder pad by some of you, so I thought I should do a little write-up showing the rig. Nothing special, just a way to create a shoulder pad that I can take off and put the camera on sticks quickly. This mod works with the Miller Compass 15/25 tripod plate, but if you used the same size Manfrotto plate that comes with the quick release it would be even easier to achieve.
The goal was to create a system where I could take the camera rig off sticks, put the pad on, and go handheld in the minimum amount of time without tools. I think it does a good job and the cost was pretty low.
Materials needed: Shoot35 shoulder pad, Manfrotto 577 Quick release plate, 1/4-20 set screws and tap, and a flat metal file.
First, I tapped the existing metric holes on the shoulder pad to 1/4-20 then mounted the quick release plate to the pad using 1/4-20 set screws. As shown by the yellow boxes in the picture, the pad comes with 6 pre-drilled mounting holes, so the pad can be centered or offset in either direction. You have to use set screws as you don't want the heads of the bolts to interfere with the camera plate as it slides on. I could have countersunk some holes for flat head screws, but decided for now set screws was easier and I didn't have to mess up the existing holes in the Manfrotto adaptor.
Next, I had to slightly modify the clamp mechanism on the Manfrotto plate so it would grip my Miller Compass tripod plate, which is slightly smaller than the Manfrotto plate. To do this, I simply used a metal file about the same size as the opening shown in the picture, and filed down some of the aluminum as shown. What this does is allow the clamp to travel a bit further towards the plate and grip it soundly. After the clamp is bolted back on, no sign of the filed area can be seen. Obviously if you were using the camera plate that came with the Quick release this would be unnecessary, but I found that even with the modification the clamp still works fine with both size plates.
Now, all that's left is to slide on the pad and tighten down the clamp. The safety pin still works, the pad can be slipped on from the front or back, and it's adjustable to get the balance just right depending on your camera configuration. In my case, I mounted the pad offset to better align with my shoulder, but depending on the user it might be more stable to simply center the pad on the quick release plate.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with the results of this quick release pad solution. It goes from sticks to shoulder in seconds, I don't have any tools or lose parts to mess with, it's stable and not too high from the shoulder.
Hope this helps somebody with their own rig, if you have any comments about how I could have done this any easier or better (likely) feel free to post your thoughts.
Best, Jeff Whitehurst
The goal was to create a system where I could take the camera rig off sticks, put the pad on, and go handheld in the minimum amount of time without tools. I think it does a good job and the cost was pretty low.
Materials needed: Shoot35 shoulder pad, Manfrotto 577 Quick release plate, 1/4-20 set screws and tap, and a flat metal file.
First, I tapped the existing metric holes on the shoulder pad to 1/4-20 then mounted the quick release plate to the pad using 1/4-20 set screws. As shown by the yellow boxes in the picture, the pad comes with 6 pre-drilled mounting holes, so the pad can be centered or offset in either direction. You have to use set screws as you don't want the heads of the bolts to interfere with the camera plate as it slides on. I could have countersunk some holes for flat head screws, but decided for now set screws was easier and I didn't have to mess up the existing holes in the Manfrotto adaptor.
Next, I had to slightly modify the clamp mechanism on the Manfrotto plate so it would grip my Miller Compass tripod plate, which is slightly smaller than the Manfrotto plate. To do this, I simply used a metal file about the same size as the opening shown in the picture, and filed down some of the aluminum as shown. What this does is allow the clamp to travel a bit further towards the plate and grip it soundly. After the clamp is bolted back on, no sign of the filed area can be seen. Obviously if you were using the camera plate that came with the Quick release this would be unnecessary, but I found that even with the modification the clamp still works fine with both size plates.
Now, all that's left is to slide on the pad and tighten down the clamp. The safety pin still works, the pad can be slipped on from the front or back, and it's adjustable to get the balance just right depending on your camera configuration. In my case, I mounted the pad offset to better align with my shoulder, but depending on the user it might be more stable to simply center the pad on the quick release plate.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with the results of this quick release pad solution. It goes from sticks to shoulder in seconds, I don't have any tools or lose parts to mess with, it's stable and not too high from the shoulder.
Hope this helps somebody with their own rig, if you have any comments about how I could have done this any easier or better (likely) feel free to post your thoughts.
Best, Jeff Whitehurst
