Taking the plunge with $10,000

[Jon Fairhurst]

Originally Posted by Scott Lancaster

Thanks everyone. Lots of good info for me to consider. A lot of my work is getting broll of what is happening on campus (freshman move-in day, student life stuff, sports). But, in addition to capturing real life stuff we also schedule a few broll/photo sessions throughout the year where we set up shots with selected students and faculty. These are the best because I can walk away from the shoot knowing I got exactly what I needed. I also do lots of sit down type interviews. Definitely a lot of "run-and-gun" but also lit interviews. I think that one of the trickiest part of my transition to the C100 MKII will be finding the right handheld solution... rig?

Based on your use cases, a jib is not necessarily the right solution. It's great for showing the toys in the engineering building (as you can quickly get a stable shot of circuits and test tubes with the camera flying over a desk), but it's not the right thing for filming people around campus doing their thing.

My full, tradeshow setup (based on a 5D2) includes a monopod, RedRock's "The Event" chest pad rig and follow focus, along with a loupe. The problem with a DSLR (or a C100 for that matter) are that all of the weight is in front of you. This causes fatigue, which causes shake, etc. Some sling some weight behind their shoulder - and this helps - but it means that you're lugging around more weight, which is tiring.

My solution has been to use a monopod as well. (And when going light, I stick with the monopod and skip the rig and follow focus parts.) This gives me many options, and with the exception of the pod, it all fits within a backpack that stows (barely) under an airline seat. The modes of use are:

1) Standard full-length monopod mode for impromptu interviews,
2) Rest the pod in the belt while holding the handles, resting the pad on the chest, and holding the loupe to the eye. This gives multipoint stability and the weight is on the hips, rather than tilting you forward.
3) Hold the rig at the top of the monopod for psudo-steady shots.Let the arm float and you can walk with it (sort of).
4) Remove the monopod (with a quick-release plate) and adjust the handles and chest pad of The Event in order to form a fixed low-boy tripod. This works great for locked down shots and timelapses.

Another option would be to get a monitor/recorder and loupe to make a true shoulder rig, with the camera properly balanced to the side of the head. That gives you balance without too much weight. The main problem I've seen with this approach is that the system can grow too many appendages. That can make it fragile and difficult to set down. My monopod/Event/follow-focus setup is pretty clobbery already, but it rests easily either by holding atop the monopod or by removing the monopod and resting on the handles. Note that audio adds to the clutter as I have a VideoMic Pro on the camera, a preamp on the rig, and a lav with cables at the ready. (Thankfully, the C100 doesn't need an external preamp.)

For me, the Steadicam Solo will take my setup to the next level. Add a tube from belt to handle and it will cover all of my modes while providing weight support and more angle flexibility when used as a rig. Carry the handle, rather than the monopod, and the psudo-steady shots become real Steadicam shots (for short durations anyway. Get an arm/vest for longer and smooth walking shots.)

In any case, take weight support seriously. Either put the camera on the shoulder, support it on a monopod, rest it at the belt, use a "fishing pole from the back", or wear an arm/vest - or some combination of these. Holding all the weight in front of you gets old quick!

[Eric C. Petrie]

Scott, if your considering adding a slider to your arsenal i can't say enough good things about the Redrock Micro One Man Crew.

The New One Man Crew Motorized Parabolic Slider from Redrock Micro on Vimeo

It's not a magic bullet, do it all solution. BUT, for $1500 its pretty freaking amazing and very versatile. I've used it quite a bit myself.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Eric Petrie
provideoandtape.com
Finance the Canon C100 for $129 a month
Finance the Sony FS7 for $248 a month

[Scott Lancaster]

Thanks to everyone. Eric, on the One Man Crew... Do you use it on a tripod or a set up that supports each end? I'm wondering how it would handle a C100, atmos recorder and lens. Thanks.

[Nate Haustein]

One Man Crew works fine with the C100. I just used one all last week with that same Ninja setup. I wouldn't call it "heavy-duty" but it works fine, especially since it's just slowly running itself.

I actually used a portable x-type keyboard stand for it. Worked much better than a center tripod (scary!) or stands on either end (too slow!).

[Steve Bleasdale]

Originally Posted by Nate Haustein

Without question, the Canon 17-55mm F2.8 IS is THE most used lens for my work. I have about a dozen primes, zooms, and telephotos, but I'd say the 17-55mm is on the camera a solid 60% of the time. The other 30% goes to a 70-200mm F4 IS and a Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 and the last 10% for all the others. Primes are nice but honestly, F2.8 on the 17-55mm is pretty adequate for most interviews where you don't want things to look like bokeh-city. The IS is a huge asset for doing handheld work and also smoothing out camera movement in general.

Unless you're very used to using ONLY primes, it's going to be a harsh wake-up call for you after the XF300. I do a ton of university promo type stuff and for run-n-gun type coverage, you really can't beat the two lens combo of 17-55 & 70-200 for the C100.

+10, they are great lens, if you felt you may add a dslr in the mix then a 24-70 is good also and will work with the c100