I've been shooting on shoulder mount cams with manual lenses for 14 years now. I'd love to hear from seasoned veterans like myself about how it is shooting a lot of hand held run and gun with this form factor. I'm talking about a full 8 hour day.

We have 2 JVC HD-200's which are ergonomically perfect- just disappointed with the 720p60 HDV compression.

The EX's 720p60 HQ VBR is very tempting and it's the first "Handycam" with a real manual lens and half inch chips- but I'm so used to having the camera on my shoulder.

My question is: Is it any harder on the body or possibly even easier? Is a third party brace a necessity?

Thanks!

Well I just found the thread below by Malcolm which is pretty telling...

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=110877

Would still like to hear from shoulder mount guys that have switched.

Hey Justin,

I freely admit I've never done anything like 8 hours of run & gun, but I can also say with certainty that my EX1 would absolutely need a brace of some kind even for 5 minutes of R&G. The grip is just too far off center to easily avoid tilt. If you cannot for some reason use a shoulder mount of any kind, I recommend against the EX1. Otherwise, I give it a huge thumbs-up. i just pushed near-dark footage recorded on essentially the default factory settings to practically daylight and saw very little noise. If that doesn't help with the conditions of R&G shooting, I dunno what will.

Would a mono-pod be practical for the EX1 in these situations?

Bill, Monopod may be the ticket. That way you could still have manual control of the lens with your left hand which is what I would need.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Guys,

I use the Manfrotto 562B Monopod and its great. I have never used my Z1 or EX1 handheld - always use the monopod - footage always looks fantastic and my arm loves me for it. The monopod also allows crane shots etc. which is very useful in many situations.

I recently read somewhere of an easier way to hand-hold this beast. Rotate the handle so the record button is pointing straight up and hold the camera down at chest level (or lower?). Not tried it yet as my cam is in the shop and, of course, using the viewfinder wouldn't be an option if used this way.