Here are some shots of my new EX1R shoulder mount. It works fine on EX1's as well and without the NanoFlash. It is based on my Stronger EX1 Plate.

This is with an NanoFlash Arm set up as well as my "wing" for wireless mics.

When using the hood loop I find just using the "lean" small brace with the large Swit 96WHr battery works very well for me and Sharyn likes that as well. It also fits in a small r&g bag that way.

Using the Sony small batt and then mounting a larger battery on the back of shoulder extension does give the EX1 a very balanced feel.

And all of this can be mounted adjusted or removed while on the sticks.

These will be shipping next week. You can order from my site, it will be updated soon:
EX1 Stronger Plates (http://www.westsideav.com/EX1plate/)

Or you can contact me:
olof@westsideav.com
603.383.9283

Looks good, Olof!

One question before I can see mine "in the flesh":

I can see that with the longer support veersion, Sharyn can still use both the camera's own VF, and the Hood loupe (which is great) - does it involve some adjustment of the shoulder part of the rig (I'd say it needs to be longer for using the VF - but of course, another option would be to position the camera further away on the base plate)...

Piotr,

Good question. The way it works for using the on-cam viewfinder, is you swivel the back bracket to the right, so your head is in the right position to comfortable use the VF, and you also slide the camera forward all the way on your shoulder.

For using the LCD, you swing the back bracket to the left and keep the camera slid forward, so you have a good distance to the VF, I use a VF shade when shooting like that, it works well even outside in the sun.

For using the HoodLoop, you keep the back bracket straight back, and move the camera back on your shoulder so you are only using the small front bracket on your shoulder, this works very well, balance is perfect.

You can also remove the back bracket and just use the "lean" system if you have a Swit battery with a D-tap in the Camera. I like this a lot, it is a balanced and small system.

Can we see more pictures of the lean system?
Is it possible to keep the Nano a bit more forward, let's say in the place where the receiver is? I saw a setup by Alister Chapman that looked very compact..

Pietro,

Here is a link to a thread about the lean system in development.
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/convergent-design-nanoflash/470064-lean-nanoflash-setup-shoulder-pad-ex1.html

The shoulder brace in those photos (the last photo) was an early prototype that I have now abandoned for the system you see in this thread.

The Nanoflash can be mounted right on the wing, or on several positions on one of the 2 supplied NanoFlash arms.

There are more photos on my website, that I will be updating soon, with more photos and products. There just aren't enough hours in the day...
EX1 Stronger Plates (http://www.westsideav.com/EX1plate/)

Thanks Olof I'll wait for your website to be updated.

Looks like a nice system but does it work OK with a matte box and rails? Looking at the photos I think there could be a problem; the Chrosziel setup that I use, for example? see http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/members/serena-steuart-albums.html

I have a couple questions about the shoulder mount. I too have the large Swit battery, but the power cable is only so long. I doubt that the battery can be mounted on the back shoulder and the power cable can reach the camera.

Do you have a solution for the power cable length?

Also, I was wondering how is the battery secured to the shoulder mount?

Overall, I like the appearance of the shoulder mount with a side wing to hold the Sony UWP receiver. The rig as a whole looks tidy and professional.

Serina,

I think my plate system would work fine with most rail systems, you simply add the rail plate to the bottom of my plate. I have also made a rail holder system that attaches to the front of my plate, I use this myself on my EX3.

As long as your rails don't extend back of the camera there should be no problem with the shoulder braces. I will post some drawings in a while here that illustrate this.

I will soon be making a production version of my rail system, I will announce it here soon. And it will be on my website: EX1 Stronger Plates (http://www.westsideav.com/EX1plate/)

If you would like further info contact me:
olof@westsideav.com
603.383.9283

I have a couple questions about the shoulder mount. I too have the large Swit battery, but the power cable is only so long. I doubt that the battery can be mounted on the back shoulder and the power cable can reach the camera.

Do you have a solution for the power cable length?

Also, I was wondering how is the battery secured to the shoulder mount?

Overall, I like the appearance of the shoulder mount with a side wing to hold the Sony UWP receiver. The rig as a whole looks tidy and professional.

Tony,

I make cables, it is very simple to make an extension for the Swit Battery cable. I can also make one that uses the D-tap on the battery and splits this power into 2 or 3 cables for NanoFlash, lights or even a monitor. I even make small inline switches for power cables.

I use the Sony battery in the Camera and use the back battery to power my NanoFlash and on camera light.

I can easily put an IDX or AB plate on the back bracket. The Swit battery in the above pictures is simply vercoed in place, it works very well, I can also include elastic chord for safety. All this info will be on my website this week.

There will also be a section for ordering , battery plates, custom power, SDI and audio cables.

Hi Olof. I asked you about the teleprompter in my thread but I would like to get everything figured out here, if I can.

So...here are 2 scenarios I expect to encounter:

1) EX1, Nanoflash, 2 Sony Wireless, Swit/U60 batteries, Manhattan LCD 8.9" Monitor, Teleprompter(haven't figured out which one yet)

2) Same except switch teleprompter for Arri Mattebox with rails

What do I need to order from you to make this work? (I will most likely get your shoulder mount too)

THANKS!

Steve,

You can do all those things with my system. I have been using a setup like that for years now.

I just have not made the rail system for production yet. It is the next component in my system.

Contact me and we can discuss your setup. If you tell me about your tripod system I can make the bracket for your monitor.

I can also make you a beta tester on the Rail system. It will also be possible to use a monitor mounted on the rail system.

olof@westsideav.com
603.383.9283

OK, so I just got the shipment from Olof, and here are my first impressions.

1. The base plate is solid, extremely lightweight and well machined; it really adds confidence when fixing heavy stuff to the bottom of my EX1!

2. The wing + nanoFlash bracket are ingeniously designed, and can support the additional weight of my Sennheiser receiver and the nano exactly where they belong: at the rear of the camera, making the whole rig very easy to handle or even put in a bag without disassembling. It also makes it possible to use very short cables (the nano power cable, the HD-SDI cable, or even the wireless signal cable - whether it goes to the nano's analog input, or the camera's XLR port). In fact, it's so well arranged now that I can hardly imagine a situation when I'll need to disassemble it - it works well on its own with Olof shoulder pad, as well as on my own RedRock shoulder mount; it can also work unaltered with my full-blown, tripod setups with Letus, matte box, and the Marshall monitor!

3. Speaking of the small shoulder pad: using the rig described above with the Hoodman loupe and Olof's small shoulder brace under the battery is surprisingly comfortable - even for a partially disabled person like myself (I'm healing slowly after a couple of neck spine surgeries)! Everyting is extremely compact; the rig's center of gravity is (almost) on my shoulder, and there are as many as four points of support: the shoulder, the camera's hand grip, the Hoodman loupe against my right eye, and of course my left hand - when not operating the rings or other controls, I can use it to gently support the camera's stock sunhood. I can even operate the focus ring with my thumb, while still supporting the camera... Well done, Olof!

I still need to experiment with the longer shoulder bracket, but even without it - what I described above has been a very good investment.

Thanks Olof!

As a continuation of my previous post, I'd like to once again praise Olof for his simple, yet ingenious solution!

Some of you guys may recall my previous shoulder-mount rig, based around the Redrock device, and - due to the camera being too high for using its LCD - requiring an external monitor. True, it allows me to use my RR mattebox (which isn't always essential) - but making the ring very front-heavy, it also requires mounting a 2.5. kg counterbalance in the form of a PAG battery...

While that rig has its advantages in some circumstances, it's extremely heavy (above 15 kgs), and cumbersome in transport. All this has been solved with the "lean" version of Olof's shoulder mount I described in my previous post!

Today we have a beautiful winter day here in Poland - lots of sun and snow, and clear sky. I've used the rig for almost one full hour, to walk around and catch the beauty of the landscape - without any fatigue whatsoever. And what I got is a nice, smooth, stable picture that almost resembles a tripod-shot material! What's more, after a series of neck spine surgeries, I'm still very weak, and my arms are usually trembling... But not with this rig! The center of gravity (with the nano and Senny receiver) is perfectly over my shoulder, and both hands can be comfortably supported against my body. With the left one always able to do all kind of adjustments.

Yes, there's still room for some fine-tuning. But Olof is very supportive; I'll keep posting you here.

Absolutely, sincerely recommended!

PS Did I mention I'm using the Hoodman loupe with Olof's rig? It works perfectly - thanks Lou!

Piotr - I agree with your evaluation - just haven't had a chance to use the rig yet on an extended shoot - just around the house. I would say that for anyone using the combination of the Nanoflash + Hoodman HoodLoupe + the large Switronix battery that Olof's shoulder mount is the best solution to date. I really like the way it fits into my camera bag with no disassembly and ready for action at a moment's notice.

Yes Barry - the bottom line is that for the first time, I can use my EX1 as a proper hand-held camera, and get smooth and steady picture!

My RedRock "monster" rig will still have its use, but only where I have the tripod around - so that I can rest the rig on it in between those very short takes I can take with it before collapsing ;)

Piotr,

Good question. The way it works for using the on-cam viewfinder, is you swivel the back bracket to the right, so your head is in the right position to comfortable use the VF, and you also slide the camera forward all the way on your shoulder.

For using the LCD, you swing the back bracket to the left and keep the camera slid forward, so you have a good distance to the VF, I use a VF shade when shooting like that, it works well even outside in the sun.

For using the HoodLoop, you keep the back bracket straight back, and move the camera back on your shoulder so you are only using the small front bracket on your shoulder, this works very well, balance is perfect.

You can also remove the back bracket and just use the "lean" system if you have a Swit battery with a D-tap in the Camera. I like this a lot, it is a balanced and small system.

Does anyone know if you can use your left eye on the viewfinder comfortably? I'm "left-eye" dominant for focusing and I'm not sure it will work out for me.

yes you can

Yes Barry - the bottom line is that for the first time, I can use my EX1 as a proper hand-held camera, and get smooth and steady picture!

My RedRock "monster" rig will still have its use, but only where I have the tripod around - so that I can rest the rig on it in between those very short takes I can take with it before collapsing ;)

Just got back from a spring break cruise with the kids and shot over 3 1/2 hours of video - used the Shape WLB Spider II system once but the rest of the time used Olof's small shoulder brace (not the one hanging off the back) along with the smaller SWIT battery and it worked out beautifully. The system is so compact I can put it in a backpack easily and carry around.

Does anyone know if you can use your left eye on the viewfinder comfortably? I'm "left-eye" dominant for focusing and I'm not sure it will work out for me.

I have made a custom fit for one customer where the large shoulder brace pivots to the left, and it is working for him. I think he just flipped the eyecup.

Contact me if you want more information on this mod.

olof@westsideav.com
603.383.9283
Westside A V Studios WEB Store (http://www.westsideavstore.com/)
I also Skype, just email me to set it up.