My final cage rig, 5D Mark III with external audio and monitor

Started by togg, December 15, 2018, 12:00:59 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

togg

After some time spent testing and filming it's finally here!






Sorry for the strange photos, it's not easy to capture the multiple angles of this mess :P It's not a clean cage for sure, having to add external audio, a follow focus, a monitor and dealing with the already big profile of the Canon 5D makes it a heavy rig. Not that much weight wise but visually, especially since it is built for documentaries.

But still I like it very much!

- Adding the Tascam behind made the weight more balanced, the unit is exposed but there wasn't any space left on top.

- The camera is well protected on all sides, which is for me very important since I already had a camera drop, small mistake that luckly didn't have any consequences, and there's always a chance of bumping.

- The top handle already included on the neewer cage does his job well. The right one from smallrig is sadly more expensive but still very usefull for me, when at eyes level I keep the right hand on it and the left under the cage near the follow focus.

- The smallhd focus is a must for any rig I'd say, or another good monitor. You can't truly compose without it in a documentary setup.


I didn't measure the weight yet, but it should be around 4 kg.

domo94

Looks great man!

I want to do something like this for my 7D and later invest in a 5D mk iii for full frame or maybe even 5d mk iv when Magic Lantern starts working on it.

I don't need to mount an audio recorder for mine at least, but I would like an external monitor with an external battery pack for INFINITE (not really) battery life.

What monitor did you use?
What brands?
I need to know! :D :P

Dmytro_ua

Quote from: domo94 on December 15, 2018, 07:20:04 PM
What monitor did you use?
What brands?
I need to know! :D :P

If you are on a budget, have a look at a Feelworld T7.
5d3 1.2.3 | Canon 16-35 4.0L | Canon 50 1.4 | Canon 100mm 2.8 macro
Ronin-S | Feelworld F6 PLUS

togg

Quote from: domo94 on December 15, 2018, 07:20:04 PM
Looks great man!

I want to do something like this for my 7D and later invest in a 5D mk iii for full frame or maybe even 5d mk iv when Magic Lantern starts working on it.

I don't need to mount an audio recorder for mine at least, but I would like an external monitor with an external battery pack for INFINITE (not really) battery life.

What monitor did you use?
What brands?
I need to know! :D :P

SmallHD Focus for the monitor, Neewer the cage, smallrig and camvate the magic arms.

Having an external battery on the back of your rig will balance it, you can watch here a breakdown of a rig that follow this path: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kALg-hWiOOQ

domo94

Quote from: togg on December 16, 2018, 10:34:27 AM
SmallHD Focus for the monitor, Neewer the cage, smallrig and camvate the magic arms.

Having an external battery on the back of your rig will balance it, you can watch here a breakdown of a rig that follow this path: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kALg-hWiOOQ

Wow this is a gorgeous resource! Thank you!

I'm now reconsidering on how I'm going to build my camera rig from now on, wow!
I'm excited now.

Dmytro_ua

Is it comfortable to shoot handheld instead of a shoulder rig?
5d3 1.2.3 | Canon 16-35 4.0L | Canon 50 1.4 | Canon 100mm 2.8 macro
Ronin-S | Feelworld F6 PLUS

togg

Quote from: domo94 on December 17, 2018, 05:28:48 AM
Wow this is a gorgeous resource! Thank you!

I'm now reconsidering on how I'm going to build my camera rig from now on, wow!
I'm excited now.

Yes it is indeed a very good resource!! His instagram is plenty of configurations.


Quote from: Dmytro_ua on December 17, 2018, 10:57:53 AM
Is it comfortable to shoot handheld instead of a shoulder rig?

Mmm I'd say it is a different level of comfort and kind of image. First of all building a good shoulder rig is more expensive. A good handheld rig can be extremelly comfortable and light weight, just try to grab a EOS CXXX. Perfectly balancing a DSLR is not that easy, it is easier with a smaller body like sony than a 5D, my rig is not perfect but still recently I've managed to shoot a sequence while also pulling focus and moving between the action, it came out quite good. A shoulder rig is bigger and more difficult to carry around, it is also less versatile, at the same time the kind of images and movements that it produces are immediatelly cinematographic. I'd say start with an inexpensive cage and build a shoulder rig if you really need it.