New baseplate/shoulder-mount option for the F5, F55

[Mark Kenfield]

Hi guys,

I’ve just posted this in the F3 subforum as well, but since this is equally related to the F5 and F55 I figured I should post it up here as well.

This is an announcement I'd hoped to make some time ago, but production on a feature film I was lensing got in the way.

So without further ado, I’d like to proudly announce the result of a collaboration between myself and the remarkable Brian Berkey of Berkey System: The Berkey System Dreamsmiths Baseplate:



The baseplate is a compact, lightweight, low-cost and near universal solution for providing adjustable 15mm rod support, tripod-mounting and shoulder-mounting options for digital cameras.

Late last year I came to Brian with the design for the baseplate, after having had a great deal of success configuring and then reconfiguring a bunch of his parts to a variety of different camera setups. It struck me that the quality and versatility of the Berkey components would make them ideal for unified baseplate setup, if I could just get a top plate that would allow all of the components to be held together. Brian liked the design and the idea, and after just a couple of prototypes we had the solution.



The prototype plate in these pictures features fixed mounting holes, but the production version will feature a sliding mounting hole to provide the ability to mount a huge variety of cameras to the baseplate. From the Sony F3, F5 and F55, to the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, the Panasonic AF100, the Sony FS100 and FS700, Canon’s C100, C300 and C500 (with a simple 1/4” female to 3/8” male adapter), and many more – including cameras that are currently just a twinkle in a designer’s eye somewhere.



Pricing is tentative at the moment, but the Berkey System Dreamsmiths Baseplate should cost about $155 for the top plate (if you want to add it to existing components or configure it to your own needs), or about $495 for the complete assembly shown here with dual Quad Blocks and Shoulder-Pad.

For more photos and a full rundown on what the new baseplate can do, please take a look at my latest post over at The Forge.

For anyone interested in the baseplate, you can contact Brian directly at: bberkey@berkeysystem.com or you can reach me at: mark@dreamsmiths.com.au and I can forward your details on.

Cheers,

Mark Kenfield

[Mark Kenfield]

Hi guys, sorry I never quite got around to updating this. After getting my hands on an F55 to test with, it turned out the rod adjustment on the baseplate tops out 2mm shy of being able to achieve proper 15mm rod alignment with the F5/F55. So I can only confirm it's compatibility with the F3, AF100 and Blackmagic Cinema Camera at this stage.

Brian has however, already developed a new baseplate for the F5 and F55 operating off a similar concept (which whilst not as modular, is considerably more compact and can incorporate a shoulder pad as well): Sony PMW-F5, PMW-F55 w/Accessory Mount Block | | Berkey System it looks pretty great to me.