Although most of them are comfortable, I found that a lot of of shoulder braces are either too complicated or two heavy and kind of defeat the purposes of having a smaller, portable cam. I found the S-800 Pro Shoulder Rest #106 from Video Innovators that is very light and simple. To complement it, I am looking for a trigger that would work with the EX, any ideas? I don't care to have zoom control. I find the zoom motor to be quite slow and and prefer to keep it set to manual mode (feels like shooting 16...).

Thierry.

Thierry,

Have you tried the S-800? I did and found it not to be as light as expected. And I would love the handle to have been offset to the left. Still, I agree that simplicity is better for this kind of thing and this is by far the best thing I've seen in that regard. But not quite a buy for me. Perhaps they'll make a new one for the EX1?

Regarding the trigger, I know of nothing, but when we find out the pinout of the lens remote and a source for the connectors, that should be pretty easy to make, or to modify another trigger to work.

Eric,

I have not tried the S-800 yet but I am about to order it... It will probably need some customization. There are two good other design feature in it that will help with this:

- The 3" wide shoulder brace should easily accomodate a V-Mount plate so we can use our XDCAM HD V-Mount lithium batteries. This should help quite a bit for balancing the camera weight.

- It should be easy to mount a wedge for a Sachtler quick-release head (DV6)to the flat bottom metal rod so you can switch from shoulder to tripod easily.

Will let you know how it goes.

Thierry.

Hi Terry
Have you tried the DVmultirig ? I use it on my Sony HVR A1 and I can't imagine shooting without it. It is light, easy to set up and very effective with the waist support rod.
D Kane

I 2nd the multirig. After coming off full size rigs I wanted something to support and steady my small form factor cameras and found the multirig ideal. It allows stability while also allowing for some nice smooth moving stuff. Not to replace a Steadicam device but for simple walking shots or just locking off for a period of time it works very well.
Don

DVRIG PRO, hands down the best. I like the old model better than the new model by varizoom. It's worth every penny. If you want something cheaper, I would recommend the spider brace.

Hello, here is a solution from Chrosziel

http://www.videoaktiv.de/content/view/1352/2/

Another DVRig Pro/Multirig vote here too.
Quite simply there's nothing like them for the money.

They're not just shoulder adapters. They actually let you control the camera properly for extended lengths of time. One or two-handed.

Hello, here is a solution from Chrosziel

http://www.videoaktiv.de/content/view/1352/2/

I like this! But is there any way to quickly remove the camera to put it on a tripod, in my case a Sacthler DV6?

Hi Terry
Have you tried the DVmultirig ? I use it on my Sony HVR A1 and I can't imagine shooting without it. It is light, easy to set up and very effective with the waist support rod.
D Kane

Looks too complicated for my taste. I just want a simple brace that balances nicely. Thanks for the rig info anyway, looks pretty fancy!

actually the DVMultiRig is very simple to setup and is far more balanced than any other shoulder brace I've ever used with small cameras. I use my rig a lot and found it takes about 2 minutes to set it up with my camera, LANC controller, wireless receiver and the sprung balance bar for the rig. Don't forget the headphones and on camera light. it really works quite well for th run and gun and some moving shots. Again not a Steadicam but with a bit of practice it's good stuff. I use a Bogen QR577 mount which works with the tripod heads I use so it's an easy set up and the camera cam be adjusted forward and back a few inches to achieve good balance.
Just my $.03 worth (adjusted for inflation and a sagging stock market)

Don

Thierry,

Here is a link to the brace that I found online. Not sure when they are shipping though.

http://indifocus.com/products.htm

Did you get your camera today???

I should have mine by the end of the week.

Daniel Weber

I've found that a simple Bogen monopod with a cheap Bogen tilt head tucked into a fanny pack on my waist is incredibly effective, simple, light, flexible and does a great job of both stabilization and reducing the load without limiting you in any way. For long interviews you can even drop it to the floor and triangulate which is more stable and comfortable than any shoulder rig.

I haven't liked any of the shoulder adapters - mainly because when I'm handheld I don't want to sit at shoulder height all that much- I need to be able to move to all different heights very quickly.

I put a cheap quick release adapter on the Bogen tilt head and another on the tripod plate and so can go effortlessly between the two in seconds.

For me all those other rigs are just too limiting and cumbersome.

I often use it on 2/3" cameras now as well using the 1/4" screw in the front of many camera bases.

Lenny Levy

I second Leonard's approach. The Manfrotto (Bogen) 562B is a great little monopod with fold out legs (if you want to use them) that has worked superbly for me in the past in the fashion Leonard described.

Another thing I like about a monopod is that I can raise the camera above shoulder level. As a 5'7" camera operator. Sometimes I need a couple of inches to get to eye level on taller people.

I use the Bogen 680B monopod and the 3232 head. I often have a Marshall mounted to the top of my HVX (that mount is another story) with a Panasonic battery. and the weight is OK.

Yes it is really cool to be able to hold the camera over your head. I worked on the Barry bonds "reality " show last year and could get an overhead shot at press conferences that only a gorilla could have pushed his way into.

I use the Bogen 680B monopod and the 3232 head. I often have a Marshall mounted to the top of my HVX (that mount is another story) with a Panasonic battery. and the weight is OK.

Yes it is really cool to be able to hold the camera over your head. I worked on the Barry bonds "reality " show last year and could get an overhead shot at press conferences that only a gorilla could have pushed his way into.

Yes, but not that practical or walking/tracking shots...

What's not practical for walking shots?

It is braced in my fanny pack and sits out in front of me where I really can focus on the flip out viewfinder by the way ( I don't want that any closer to my face at all). Its very easy for tracking or walking and might even absorb a bit more bounce than my shoulder. Plus i can vary the height while shooting - even grab it and go low easily.

All the shoulder rigs I've tried lock you into one position.

Lenny levy

Thierry,
You can borrow my Multi Rig Pro and play with it. I've got a sachtler QR assembly on it so I can remove cameras quickly . MR works well with all the smallish cameras - I use it on HVX and HDV cameras. very versatile and folds flat for easy storage. The spring-loaded shock absorber stick that attaches to your belt works really well for all day handheld shooting.
Originally, I was attracted to MR because when collapsed on bottom of camera it could still be attached to my tripod w/o removing MR. very cool.
Unfortunately, I found it to be a little unstable when used on tripod this way. It jiggles just a little bit, not as rock steady as I wanted. Not a deal breaker as I can still quick release camera from MR and attach to Sachtler .
Big plus is that the rig folds up very compactly for easy storage/transport.

I'd be curious to see the EX camera on my multi rig. EX is so unbalanced for protracted handheld work, it needs something.

chris/bethesda MD

Hi Chris,

Nice to see you here neighbor!!! Sure, I'd love to bring in the EX to try it on your rig. I am out for a few days but will be back on the 29th. Will call you then. I did received the 800S shoulder brace from video innovators and as simple as this thing is, it actually do a fairly good job.

Chris
Please post the results of your findings. I plan to use the EX on my multirig and your observations will be most helpful.
D Kane