Howdy folks, I've had some time to play with my 7D and I think I know what I need as far as a "handheld " rig goes. Getting hold of lenses is easy but trying to put together a tripod/hand held rig is brutal - read tons of posts and spent a lot of time on Vimeo. I think I've got it figured out but would love opinions. so far looking at getting this from redrock:


"Captain Stubling" DSLR Bundle with lens gear size B

DSLR Tripod Platform

microFinder loupe accessory kit

microArm long - black

microLensGears Kit - 3 Gears
Lens Gear 1: Size A 32 Pitch
Lens Gear 2: Size C 32 Pitch
Lens Gear 3: Size D 32 Pitch
Lens Gear Color Option: Black


I'm also looking at picking up the small HD DP-1 kit.

Originally I was thinking about going with a shoulder rig but I love how small and portable the 7D is and the Captain Stubling seems like a good way to stabilize the rig and keep it small. I can always add stuff cause the redrock kit is so modular. I also already have a Cavision matte box that works fine so will be throwing that in front of the cam.

I was looking into using a sony VCT-u14 toe plate so I could just pop this on my tripod but the only one I can find is here:

EX3 Heavy Duty Base Plate System | VFGadgets.com (http://www.vfgadgets.com/grip-camera/ex3-heavy-duty-base-plate-system)

and I'm not sure if the threads will line up with the redrock tripod mount plate. I guess i could use the single threaded hole but want something a bit more secure. Right now I'm looking at just getting another Cartoni quick release plate:

A500 Cartoni Quick Release Plate for the Focus, Alfa, Alfa II and Action Pro Video Fluid Heads. (http://www.adorama.com/CCA500.html?searchinfo=cartoni)

and have it live on the bottom of the redrock tripod plate. Would love tips or opinions on this or if someone has a line on a VCT-U14 toe plate with a more generic hole pattern.

Any opinions, tips or info appreciated - thanks!

sooooooo I'm guessing silence is a thumbs up? Pulled the trigger on the whole kit, went for the toe plate and was non-plused to see that shipping is $30 bucks for this little chunk of metal. Went for it anyway, hope it works out.

and how did it work out?

Oh, hey there....

I'm still working on getting some pictures up but the short story is:

Redrock Micro Captain Stubling = WIN

great stuff but I need longer rails, the follow focus is NICE. The whole thing w/matte box etc is pretty small and works great hand held. I had to change few things slightly to get it on the tripod but highly recomended.

Small HD DP1 = WIN

Incredibly sharp monitor and I can't say enough good things about Small HD the company. Customer support is some of the best I have ever experienced. The DP1 kit special was under a thousand bucks and the design and quality of everything is top notch. A very sexy looking package as well. I've been having great results using this for rack focus because it is so freaking sharp, monitor is very tweakable as well.

VF gadgets toe plate = FAIL

Ugh. The toe plate will not mate to the Redrock Tripod mount cheeseplate. It has a metal flange that sticks out, probably works fine for regular shoulder style cams but not for my purposes. Factor in the ridiculously high shipping cost and..... oh well. Looks like I'm ordering another Cartoni dove tail plate.

All in all I think I'm good to go. I've got longer rails coming from Redrock but this thing goes from tripod to hand held real quick and everything works great. Wish i could get the vct-u14 lockable quick release working but this is working good for now.

I will try and post with pics later.

What is it like to hand hold all that stuff? Do you put the monitor on top while you are using the Stubling?

oh...

details about Hoodman loupe = FAIL

I actually use the hoodman loupe with the Redrock hoodman holder bracket thing when going handheld. It works o.k. - but I got a chance to try out the Zacuto Z finder - holy crap that thing is awesome. It's expensive as hell but the optics are incredible and a great design for DSLR shooting. I'm dumping the Hoodman and Redrock holder pretty soon and picking up the Zacuto.

Burke,
Are you using the monitor on your redrock rig or only on sticks?
Bruce Yarock

Only on sticks.

When you do put up pictures I would like to see some pictures of you holding the stubling. I have seen a few and some video but I of course would like to see more and just the whole setup.

I'm jealous... I just got my redrock follow focus v2 and it's solid as a rock! The v1 has nothing on the new one.