After having played around with a c300 I'm not sure anymore on this topic.

A classic DSLR shoulder rig setup with a forward position will allow to use the c300 EVF.
But your arms will also have to carry the weight of the forwarded cam.
Camera handling ergonomics will be better, as everything is in front of you and you might also reach the audio controls much better.

On the other hand placing the cam directly over the shoulder is awesome to carry around all day.
Its very light and easy to move around.
But it needs a additional EVF and most control buttons are hard to reach. Some, like the audio control are completly out of reach.
Using a Follow Focus with a over the shoulder setup is also producing a extremly compact design.

The cam is also light enough to do some handheld stuff. But even with its light weight you don't want to carry it in your hands around all day.
But i might give that an extended try prior building a rig for it.

What are your plans on using rigs/hand held?

We've ordered the Zacuto C300 Stinger with the parts to convert it to a Recoil and the new "Blue" FF from Redrock. I think this is going to be a great handheld/shoulder mount camera with the addition of a stabilized lens. I just watched an Adobe video on Vincent Laforet's blog (it's from a panel at sundance...77mins long but great panel and very insightful) There was a comment talking about Premiere's warp stabilizer and the fact that in a time pinch there was no need to set up sticks...just shoot handheld and fix it later. Some of the samples I've seen on youtube seem to bear that out.

Should have my C300 soon and I will shoot hundreds of hours on my shoulder over the next couple years. My plan is to put the camera on rods centered or just slightly forward of my shoulder.

Then hopefully I'll be able to mount the LCD module camera left, in front of my face. I wasn't sure if it would be possible to do this until I saw this video (below). At 1:56-1:57 they have the LCD mounted off camera.

The audio controls will also be in front of me and I'll probably remove the clear plastic that covers them. As long as the cables reach, this seems like the ideal setup.

Check out the 2 quick cuts at 1:56-1:57

Whatever There Was with Vincent Laforet on Vimeo

But if you're filming outside in bright light you would need a display hood or another EVF to see whats happening.

Hmmm... I'm going to try a few setups. I'll wonder what i will be ending up with.
But I'll share some pics for sure when i got something that fits my needs :o)

I'm a do it yourself type so here's an idea I've used for using monitors outdoors.
I got a piece of thin black cardboard used for art project in many schools. You can buy it at almost any art supple store. Cost a couple of bucks. Then cut a sunshade to fit the monitor, a lillte gaff tape to hold it in place and it's done. Total time about 5 minutes. Works great UNLESS the sun is right behind you blasting into the monitor. Then of course your only option is an EVF or slight move to your camera position which of course isn't always feasible.
Good luck

Hi Don

I go just one step better and use foam board...it's a lot more rigid than card and a lot lighter as it's essentially foam with black paper either side. Sadly I found that you can't join the pieces with gaffer or duct tape and it tends to come undone so I just use a little strip of hot glue on the join and a bead inside. Works very well and you will find that apart being a lot more stable as a hood due to it's rigid structure it actually weighs a lot less than even one made from thin card!! The foam board I use is flat black (no reflections!!) and the core is about 3/16" thick

Chris

Yup, we'll definitely need a hood for outdoors. I'll also do a DIY thing until one of these companies comes out with a better solution.

I'm going to try a vocas shoulder I already use for my xf300. Only issue I have is where to attach the 2 wireless mic receivers.

Yup, we'll definitely need a hood for outdoors. I'll also do a DIY thing until one of these companies comes out with a better solution.

Wouldn't the hood for an XF300 fit?

If you plan on using the on-board EVF (which is really nice in the realm of on-board EVFs) then consider our ultra eyeSpy (http://store.redrockmicro.com/Catalog/ultraCage-Shouldermount-Rigs/ultraEyeSpy) rig. It incorporates into our ultraCage (http://store.redrockmicro.com/Catalog/ultraCageHandheldRigs/ultraCageBlueforCanonC300) system which securely attaches to the camera with 4 different mounting points. The left right adjustable counter-weight in the back also allows you to compensate for a lot of the weight of the camera, and depending on how heavy of a set up, I've put a microBrace body pad (http://store.redrockmicro.com/Catalog/DSLR-Support/microBrace-body-pad) on it as well to alleviate the weight from my arms with heavier lenses.

I've found that with the stock cables, the Canon monitor just can't reach a comfortable distance away from the camera for proper shoulder mount work.

The C300 is ergonomically sound out of the box and I think it is very usable as is or with minimal rigging. As Mathias mentioned, the C300 EVF is very good and I could solely rely on it. So, when using the camera with a light and compact lens such as EF 50 1.4, EF 24 1.4, EF 10-22... it is fine the way it is. For heavier glass, Zacuto's Target Shooter rig could be an interesting solution. They also have a bunch of other options that can pretty much accommodate a wide range of situations.

Canon EOS C300 | Zacuto USA (http://www.zacuto.com/canon-eos-c300)

As far as wirelesses and again to keep things lean and mean. I am using a Sennheiser G3 mounted on the camera handle going to CH1, a compact AKG SE300/CK93 shotgun in the mic holder going to CH1 and Zaxcom's ZFR-200 beltpack recorder for my third audio channel (reporter's mic). The ZFR-200 is an interesting beast.

ZFR200 (http://www.zaxcom.com/zfr200)

Here is the shoulder rig that Joe Sutherland Rentals use in Toronto. They already have 4 C300 cameras for rent and are waiting for a lot more. Joe also is promoting using the Easyrig Turtle X harness for reality TV.

You would need to wear reading glasses to see the LCD correctly and without a headache.

The C300 ergonomics are interesting. I think as others have said with a lightweight lens it works really well stripped down to just the body and then perhaps a shoulder stock for added stability. For on the shoulder work it gets quite top heavy when you start adding the LCD and all the other stuff up on the top and it's short body means the weight is well forwards, so either long rods and counterbalance weights or strong arms are needed. In some respects the Sony F3 lends itself better to being used on the shoulder due to the longer body. Neither camera is ideal and for serious shoulder work an external 3rd party viewfinder is currently all but essential. One possibility with the C300 will be for someone to produce an offset bracket for the LCD assembly to mount it further forwards a little more to the left and lower down. Then you could add a loupe eyepiece. Have to say I'm not really fond of the two chunky cables that connect this to the body, but at least they are long enough to allow you to move the LCD around.

I got my C300 for use as a run n gun camera, where I believe it has an edge over the Sony F3 simply because you can use it stripped down to a very compact package, with a stabilised lens and meet broadcast specs. For studio or tripod based work the F3 will still be my camera of choice.

Yes, those cables are a little worrying.

I'm hoping someone goes ahead and makes extensions for them.

Zacuto has quite an offering of mods on the way.

They Har a video that covers all of them, and a few a super interesting, especially the piece they are making that lets you put / extend the c300 handgrip to anywhere you want, like on the end of an extension off your shoulder rig.

There is also the option of an Israeli arm with a cold shoe on it that would let you put the LCD wherever you want.


I'm holding off on accessories for the moment, as I'm sure lots of I interesting stuff is going to be trickling onto the market in the coming months.

Here's a rig for those missing their Arri !6SR.

Canoflex C300 | Film and Digital Times: News (http://www.fdtimes.com/news/accessories/canoflex-c300/)

That rig is a joke. The batteries don't balance it as claimed, they are way to far forwards. Looks like an expensive piece impractical of designer clothing. Looks nice, but isn't comfortable.

Why add extra connections in the signal path to the monitor? It looks like the monitor arm is being supported by the lens! There's no shoulder pad. What purpose does it serve? I'm sure we will see far better designs than this CNC anodised slab of aluminium.

The Aaton is better than the SR for hand held shooting.