35mm Adapter & Shoulder support Help

[Kevin Pineda]

We have several XHA1s's and are going to be purchasing some 35mm adapters for them. However, instead of just standard tripod shots using the rods and what not, can anyone please help me out on what would be needed for a shoulder system for this camera? the 35mm adapter we are going with is the Jag35pro.

[Andy Wong]

For my set up, I use the RedRock shoulder mount: comes with a shoulder mount and two grips. The shoulder mount attaches to a screw plate so that you can mount your camera directly onto it. The base of the shoulder mount also has screw holes for tripod plate attachments. The rig will be front heavy so you might need to counterweight it somehow, unless your operators have strong steady arms.

Redrock microShoulderMount

[Les Wilson]

I shoulder mounted my A1 by modifying an older design Spiderbrace* for the XL1s. When you look at shoulder mounts, be careful to note if they are designed for the semi-shoulder rest camera designs like the Canon XL, Sony EX3 and JVC lines versus the Canon XH, Sony HVR/HDR, Panny HVX-170 etc. It's important because the location of the eyecup on the semi-shoulder designs lets you put some of the camera's weight on your shoulder as it moves the camera eyecup close to your face. THese designs also have the handgrips forward mounted on the lens instead of the center of gravity. The forward mounted handgrip plus the push of the camera onto your shoulder means the center of gravity is suspended between your hand and shoulder. The result is less weight on your arm.

The rear mounted eyecup design of the A1 et al ends up with the center of gravity at your hand in order to position the rear eyecup at your face and the screen far enough away that you can focus on it without a diopter. These cameras have their center of gravity significantly more forward of your shoulder and the resulting weight distribution puts significantly more weight on your arm. This affects your ability to control the camera BTW. Since you are in this category and are adding more weight to the front of your rig, it makes matters worse. Andy's point about getting a design that adds counter weight on your back or supports the rig from your chest/hips will be crucial to both function and control.

Another thing to look at is: How free are your thumbs and fingers?

Designs that require you to hold handgrips limit your ability to manipulate camera and lens controls. Designs that have you using the camera's handgrip instead the shoulder mount's grip also saves you the cost of a LANC remote control for record/zoom (using these well takes time and skill).

Lastly, take a look at where steadycams rigs place these cameras. The level of the camera relative to your eye level may be a factor for you. Some shoulder mounts come straight across the shoulder. This means the rear mounted eyecup is high along with the camera's LHS controls. I customized my Spiderbrace to dip down in front of my shoulder and lower the camera so I could see the controls, LCD and scene better. The nice thing about the Spiderbrace is that they are very cheap and easy to customize with stuff from your local home improvement store. Once you dial in the relative positions, then maybe invest in a more expensive rig that you know will do what you need. YMMV

* I am not affiliated in any way with Spiderbrace. I just am a happy customer and own other rigs customized to my needs.

[Chris Wysocki]

indiSYSTEM - Home. I bought the indicompact for my xh-a1. It should be in mon. I looked everywhere and the indisystem truely is the best for it's price. u can check out other rigs at dvxuser.com Scroll to 35mm and the to rigs.