ihave a bunch of photos in my mediafire cloud storage for anyone to look at, plus a shitty video i recorded in the mirror of our bathroom to poorly demonstrate how i use it.

this is made entirely of 20mm pvc plumbing pipe and connectors, and spray painted with 2 coats of black acrylic car paint, and used some hollow foam tubing for the neck and chest supports.

i also made a pvc sun shade hood for my camera screen, made from a plumbing downpipe connector, also made one for my sons GH2 camera as well.

i now have 3 different versions of this rig, but not yet completed the other 2.

this rig has a removable neck/chest support so i can use the camera on the main base rig when doing complex freestyle shooting where i need the camera down low or up high.

very versatile rig, and while i am not shooting, i dont need to take it off, i can walk around with this rig hanging off my neck and it is quite comfortable, and i dont need to hold it with my hands until i start shooting again.

here are the links to my photos, and the video.

my sons GH2 sun screen Hood http://www.mediafire.com/folder/hw0oejw3cl771/GH2_Screen_Sun_Shade

photos of my camera rig http://www.mediafire.com/folder/4j68i78y974gy/Camera_Rig_1

youtube video

Not too keen on the whole DIY lead diving weight idea on account of lead being poisonous and all. Don't particularly need a V-Mount battery pack for anything.

Any ideas? Has anyone else been in a similar situation?

We ended up getting an Opteka X-Grip MK II.

The only modification I had to make to it was to cut off the legs because they interfered with our tripods and buy a 1/4 UNC bolt and cut to size for mounting the quickplate underneath.

All in all it set me back £38 and I'm now able to mount all our other stuff at the side as well which is a big bonus.

It just fits the GH3 with battery grip and if positioned far enough right it can allow for battery changes as well into the grip.

If you are not needing to mount a lot of kit then this works very well and keep everything light weight.

ME: I have an older microClamp that had the black plastic levers that were 1/4 20 thread and the plastic pieces came off. Now it's just 1/4 20 bolts. They still work, they are not quick release now tho. Anyway I would like to buy replacement levers if I can. I'm not sure if the newer microClamps still have 1/4 20 threaded levers or not, but if they do I would like them. Actually if the new levers work I would like 2 sets (4 levers) because I have a second microClamp that I would like to replace the older levers on as well. If there is a color choice I would like black, if not blue is fine. Anyway if you have some to sell, let me know the cost. Thanks.

Dunashay Thomas: Hello Brian, Thank you for contacting support. We can certianly help you get replacement knobs. I will send you a quote for 4 black knobs for that microClamp.

Dunashay Thomas:

Several days later

ME: You sent me the wrong levers. Like I said in the very first email they are 1/4 20 threaded. The levers you sent are 1/4 but they are a fine thread.

Dunashay Thomas: Brian, Thank you for contacting support. Send me a photo of the screws you were looking for and the screws you received please. If you need anything in the future, please don't hesitate to ask.

With best regards, RedRockmicro Customer Support Team

ME: Here is an image of both screws. The old one is on top and the one you sent is on the bottom. As you can see the old one is a courser thread, 1/4 20 to be exact like I said in my first email, and the new one is 1/4 inch, but a finer thread.

Dunashay Thomas: Thank you for the reply and photo. Please be advised that the screw at top is very old. We have gone to two different styles of knob since then to my understanding.[url]http://store.redrockmicro.com/Catalog/microClamps/microClampNow[/url] use have a ratchet style knob(the one you have). Are you telling me that this screw does not fit your unit or that it is just not what you thought it was going to be? If you need anything in the future, please don't hesitate to ask.

With best regards, RedRockmicro Customer Support Team

ME: It does not fit my units. For the tenth time they are the wrong thread.

Dunashay Thomas: Brian, I'm going to see if by chance we have some old ones around here and let you know if we do and I'll send them. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

With best regards, RedRockmicro Customer Support Team

Several days later

ME: Any word on this?

Dunashay Thomas: Brian, We were able to locate 4 of those screws for you and I just dropped them off with our shipping departement to be shipped to you. Thanks for your help in resolving this. If you need anything in the future, please don't hesitate to ask.

With best regards, RedRockmicro Customer Support Team

ME: Do I get a partial refund since I paid the higher price for ratchet levers and the ratchet levers didn't work?

Dunashay Thomas: Thank you for your reply. No sir, the knobs cost the same price either way. As previously mentioned all special orders are final, and we are not recharging you for the parts or shipping in this matter.

With best regards, RedRockmicro Customer Support Team

ME: Well if you read my very first email you'd know I only needed 2 levers if they are the same as the ones I already have. It's not my fault you didn't read my email when I said I needed 1/4 20 levers and I only need 2 if they are the same as I already have. If they were 1/4 20 ratchet levers I wanted 4. They were not 1/4 20 levers.

Dunashay Thomas: Brian, Thank you for your reply. At this point sir all I can tell you is what's already been said and that's sorry for the inconvenience this may cause. You now have the 4 of the knobs originally requested coming to you now, so it is fact just what you wanted to order sir. Please enjoy the rest of your day and package upon arrival. If you need anything in the future, please don't hesitate to ask.

With best regards, RedRockmicro Customer Support Team

End of emails

Ok so I ended up spending $60 on four 1/4 20 bolts with plastic pieces on the ends and I only need two. Now a days with China companies making better and better quality gear the only thing an American company like Redrock has over Chinese companies anymore is customer service. I can say Redrocks customer service if far worse than any Chinese company I've dealt with regarding camera gear. I will no longer deal with Redrock Micro because of it, and it's too bad really. Ok enough venting. Moving on.

• http://www.wondlan.com/category/dslr-rigs-sniper-2-0-6102-62ae/1
• http://www.wondlan.com/category/sniper-series-17013-ecba/1

Reverved

It is copy of Tilta design, just more affordable.

Price: $592 for AU, $617 for all the rest.
Shipping: Includes express shipping for US/Canada/UK/Australia&NZ/Western Europe. Ask for other regions.

Handles

Also more afforable copy of Tilta design.

Price: $232 for AU, $245 for all the rest.
Shipping: Includes express shipping for US/Canada/UK/Australia&NZ/Western Europe. Ask for other regions.

Send me personal message (on the left column at http://www.personal-view.com/talks/profile/1/Vitaliy_Kiselev ) if you want to purchase item here.

I have a Wooden Camera cage for my GH3. Quite expensive, but great quality/form factor. I'm looking for some cold shoes to mount to the cage, but most I find mounts to a male 1/4-20 and not a female which would make it easier to mount to the cage. Wooden Camera makes one themselves, but at $25 for one, they are quite expensive. http://woodencamera.corecommerce.com/1-4-20-Hot-Shoe.html

So I'm basically looking for a cheaper version of that one.

Anyone know of any?

Thanks!

1

2

Is one of them fake? Or which one is the latest model?

Also, which one seems the strongest for you?

Thank you all

360 degree rotating (so they face the right direction) Mountain Bike Bar Ends. http://www.ebay.com/itm/360581573227?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Berkey System Handle Bar Sleeves. They usually send out one plastic one and one metal one. Ask for two metal ones, they grip better. http://www.berkeysystem.com/store/hand-grips-and-accessories/handle-grip-sleeves/

And just pick up some $10 bicycle handle grips from your local bicycle store to slide over the bar ends.

You can mount them going up for the rods to have a handheld solution or you can mount them down from the rods to complete a shoulder type rig. I bought this set up and it is a better solution than any other more expensive solution I've tried.

I'll post more pictures soon once I get the handle grips put on and I have a camera around to mount on it.

I know Skier makes the O ring, but it's expansive as hell.

Any ideas guys? Thanks a lot!

I looked at the Portabrace rain slicker on another Videographer's rig while we were on the platform and it didn't appear to have much in the way of padding, so I'm thinking about the Camera Armor.

Has anyone used it, have opinions or suggestions for something else? I want something I can leave on the camera. Thanks

http://i.imgur.com/lw6QTlQ.jpg

I have a few questions:

When the GH2 is mounted to the baseplate can you still get your eye close enough to use the EVF? Does the cage allow the battery door to swing down far enough to change the battery without twisting or removing the camera?

At first I couldn't quite visualize how the GH2 fit into the cage until I saw a 360 degree view on Youtube so here are a few reviews I found to be helpful:

Here's a link to a list of videos that feature or review the Varavon Armor Uni on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=varavon+armor&page=1

The rest of what I have to say is probably influenced by fact that I've never used a shoulder rig. I was able to get some pretty stable stationary shots at times, but sometimes they weren't the most stable. That's probably me not getting used to the rig yet. I did get some beautifully smooth panning and tilting shots, and was able to get those consistently. I have one of those cheap $15 dollar "matte box"/shades, and it fit right onto the rails. But that made me have to push the camera closer to my eye, so it felt too close to see LCD properly. So I actually slid the shoulder pad back, and slightly off the rails (1/3 off, 2/3 on), and all seemed good. If I go with this as a working solution, a bit of tape on pad to rails to ensure no pad slippage should work just fine. I also did some shots walking with the rig, and got mixed results, but that's probably just me not walking properly...and I suppose a stabilizer is really the correct tool for handheld walking shots (or proper dolly/track setup).

Bottom line - if you want a solidly constructed shoulder rig and really don't want to be paying a lot of money, I would definitely recommend this, and at $109 including shipping, it's a pretty damn good deal. @Vitaliy_Kiselev Thanks for this deal. That's 2 for 2 with the deals. (Also ordered the 312AS LED lights and they are great)

These 3 pics of the Hermit Thrush were all taken because I was able to haul my GH2 around with the vest. Very pleased with its build quality and adaptability. The pics are converted from the DNG originals. Edited in Camera Raw and exported using PS Elements 11.

I'm looking for a 1/4 inch long camera mounting screw that will go through my manfrotto 501 plate and then through my opteka Xgrip rig and then into my camera. So it needs to be around 25mm long.

Anyone have any idea if this part exists and where I might find it?

After the first production testing with the GH3, we had some challenges with the mini HDMI connector. We actually broke one adapter moving the camera. We have constant connection of a long HDMI cable for waveform monitoring with Scopebox.

I heard about a product from Lockport Universal http://www.lockcircle.com/lockport/buy/?m=u

Does anybody have experience with this product on a GH3. Would be great to get some thoughts.

How does it work with baseplate (they say on their page that it works with redrock without modifications

Cheers Chris

At NAB today Zacuto released a v2 gorilla adapter which works for small cameras and clears most battery covers better than their previous (but not the GH2 as it's too small). And a GH frame for their Z-Finders. It looked great on the GH3, so I picked one up for my GH2.

Put it on tonight when I got home. Fit's pretty good, but the GH2 is a bit small, and the plate extends too far forward for it. So with a pancake lens, it actually makes it difficult to focus (ironic!). But with a bit of a change in my manual focus technique, I was able to adapt, and overall I like it. Especially now that it gives me the ability to adapt other Zacuto bits if I want.

I've been trying to find out whether the hot show mount on friction arm rigs are removable as I would like to mount directly to the 1/4" or 3/8" thread on my tripod head and then to a 5.6" monitor but it isn't clear whether this is possible with any of tye cheap friction arms that I can see...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Shoe-Mount-Camera-DSLR/dp/B007OWCBL8/ref=sr_1_3?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1364641828&sr=1-3

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Max.

Will be on our deals very soon.