A new baseplate/shoulder-mount option for the F3

[Mark Kenfield]

Hi guys,

I’d hoped to make this announcement 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

[Doug Jensen]

Mark, congratulations on getting the product to this point. I know from experience that it takes a lot more time and effort than most people realize.

The one issue I see, that would prevent me from being interested, is that there's no way for the matte box rods to extend behind the camera. Is that correct? I need a few inches of rods behind the camera to mount my Samurai, batteries, and/or other accessories.

BTW, I already have the Bereky top plate and highly recommend it.

[Jim Michael]

That looks great. Brian is awesome to deal with. A few months ago I had a question about a baseplate configuration and the next morning in my inbox was a link to a video he made to demonstrate how it worked.

[Mark Kenfield]

Thanks Doug, there's actually two ways to get rails out the back of the baseplate. The first is to simply attach a counter-bored 'Ultra Light Rail Block' to the rear end of the top plate (there are pre-drilled holes for just that purpose) and mount your rods from there.

The second option would be to build a slightly different version of the baseplate; where instead of getting the regular shoulder pad, you use the 'CineCity Shoulder Pad' instead (or any clip-on or pass-through shoulder pad, for that matter - it doesn't have to be a Berkey System one), and simply run longer rods through the Quad Blocks so that you have the desired amount of rail protruding from the rear of the baseplate.