The New DV RigPro! Phhaorhh .. got it . .

farss wrote on 5/26/2005, 8:10 AM

I hope you got LANC controllers to go with it.
I tried heaps of these kinds of things at NAB, you really do need a LANC controller or better still two of them, one for each hand to control different camera functions.
Bob.

Grazie wrote on 5/26/2005, 8:32 AM

Yes Uncle Bob .. yes I did . . but only the one . . we have to eat this month y'know? It's a simple Manfrot LANC.

Heaps eh? Well I've tried veritable Everests, MOUNTANS of these over the years and this is the one that kinda feels "Grazie" - yeah?

Grazie

AndyMac wrote on 5/26/2005, 8:47 AM

Yep - I'm with you on that one, G - it's a fantastic device.

I shoot at trade shows, and managed to totally dispense with my usual tripod for the last event. Not having to lug it around and waste time setting & packing it up every few minutes was really liberating. Once you learn to cope with the stares and supressed giigling following you around, it's fine ;-)

Problems - both handles worked loose after one three-day show; the welds on the threaded studs holding them on both gave way.
OK I was using it all day, but still - not good. PEC in London swapped it out when I got back - good folk there.

I used a Manfrotto LANC controller, which worked great, but it fouled the body of the DV Rig when you did a large tilt downwards - minor but irritating problem which they could have easily forseen/solved.
And one last issue - the suspension was fairly sticky - I ended up locking off the upper section as I got tired of shots being ruined by it suddenly freeing and the camera shooting up in the air.

But apart from that... it's great!

Acts as a good platform for holding a Radio receiver and a Firestore FS-4, too.

Firestore FS-4 was total dogshit, though... but that's another story.

Cheers,

Andy

Grazie wrote on 5/26/2005, 8:58 AM

Oh, good Andy! At least I've done something correct this week then?!?

PEC sends their best wishes! I went to the exact same place as your good self . . Fab Guy looked after me . . . very patient . .

ok:

" . . and managed to totally dispense with my usual tripod for the last event. " . . oh bliss! Yes I'm filming a Volunteer Carers day and the thought of one of the dears tripping over various bits of Grazie-Stuff makes me shudder. . .and yes the time saving too.

"Once you learn to cope with the stares and supressed giigling following you around, . . . " . . so what's new?

I'll keep an eye on the handles/weld thingy . . PEC do seem rather jolly!

I can deal with the suspension unit .. point taken! I have used the small velcro tapes to snuggly afix my PAG battery light to the rear plate. remnoved the counterbalance weight.

Oh, so the FS is what you say - hey? Oh do tell! Nobody is reading this! People see my name and start falling asleep!

But thanks for the feedback - terrif!

Grazie

AND YOU! Over there ! Yes you ! Stop giggling! Seessshh the cheek of it!

Paul_Holmes wrote on 5/26/2005, 9:29 AM

Looks great Grazie! I love my Steady Stick so between the both of us we oughta be getting some pretty steady hand-held video goin' on out!

rmack350 wrote on 5/26/2005, 9:33 AM

I never fall asleep when you write, Grazie. It's always a wild ride.

The rig looks pretty good with the exception that you're likely to have a hard time panning the camera around it's axis. Looks like you'd be inclined to swing it around with your own body as the axis. I'm sure one could learn to control that, though.

Probably the best shoulder brace I've seen, though.

I see a car mount kit on the page as well. The problem with it is that it mounts the camera too high and looks like it'd never get close enough to the hood of the car. Still, the picture is good enough to suggest how to do it. Just not with that hardware.

Rob Mack

AndyMac wrote on 5/26/2005, 9:57 AM

>AND YOU! Over there ! Yes you ! Stop giggling! Seessshh the cheek of it!

Can you imagine what's gonna happen when people start turning up with Fig-Rigs? hehe ;-)

And yes... shhh! don't tell anyone, but I sent my FS-4 back. After waiting months for it too :-(
There were so many problems - big and minor - that I couldn't imagine ever relying on it. The first day of the show, first time I needed to use it for real (as oposed to when I was just testing it out)... and it just refused to even turn on. Swapped the battery (which is no mean feat in a hurry, I tell you) and it *still* didn't fire up. So I used tape. WhenI had a breather at lunchtime I tried it again and it worked - go figure! But it was very unreliable, and would just stop with little in the way of warning.
Also, using firewire as an interface is fine for downloading to your NLE, but it's not designed to be a robust connection, and in the field it's a nightmare. Even with the FS-4 securely mounted on the DV Rig, the weight and inflexibility of the supplied firewire cable meant that the connector would slip out of the camera when doing anything remotely energetic - totally bloody useless.
So it's a combination of the FS-4 itself being a great idea but very poorly implemented... and firewire being unsuitable as a reliable connection.

Cheers,

Andy

Grazie wrote on 5/26/2005, 12:40 PM

.. hmmm . .I wonder if there is any future in inventing a .. a . . a . . . A MAGNETIC TAPE storage devise?!?! Bet that would take on? . .er hold on a minute . . . cooo look what I found inside my XM2? It's all . . er . . tape . . cooo . . neat!

. . G . ..

Dan Sherman wrote on 5/27/2005, 2:09 PM

Only had my Rig Pro a week or so.
Amazing.
Camera feels like no weight at all.
But hearing reports of breakage from Andy is a bit unsettling.
Welds breaking? Ouch!

Still it's gotta be better than that Fr#*-- err Fig Rig.
Who at Manfrotta let that one get by.
Looks clumsy and another arm killer.
OK for a few minutes only
Comfortable with Rig Pro for hours!

Grazie wrote on 5/27/2005, 2:17 PM

.. just spent 3 hours with it around the client's venue. BLEEDING marvellous!

I'm born again! - The canera felt as if it was floating and all I had to do was keep the framing going, makes sure my Pistol Senni as outta shot and the tape was rolling. MARVELLOUS!

I've got some pics of me with it. Anybody wanna host them? I don't have a website - yeah shame on me - . ...

DV RigPro? What WAS better than sliced bread anyway?

Floating like a butterfly! .. . Grazie

winrockpost wrote on 5/27/2005, 2:21 PM

Grazie you toy hound, looks pretty nice, but you been gettin tired with a GL2, come on man, suck it up!! Was on a shoot last week with a sony HD cam, I wasnt shooting , but played with it a few minutes, had to have been 50 pounds a least, with the small battery. Toughen up man!!

Grazie wrote on 5/27/2005, 2:45 PM

Oh . . you are soooo MAcho! Toughen up? Get to my age and the only thing that . .er . . toughens up, are my joints!

LOL!

Grazie

winrockpost wrote on 5/27/2005, 2:51 PM

...........Get to my age

I probably am your AGE, Im just jealous , looks like a handy gizmo , best of luck with it Grazie. (by the way my backs still sore from holding a HD cam for 10 minutes,, yeah macho allright)

farss wrote on 5/27/2005, 2:55 PM

Every full time cameraman I've met always looked like they did serious gym time but you see these guys don't edit, just shoot.
Bob.

Grazie wrote on 5/27/2005, 3:04 PM

Y'know, Bob, that speaks/tells more than you realise . . maybe! Execellent comment! LOL1 . . I'll take that to bed with the pain killers I'm on! . ..

Grazie