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EX-3 VCT-14/Shoulder Mount
I’ve been working on a camera mount for the EX-3 for a little while now (see pictures). I’d be interested to know what EX-3 operators think.
The idea was to have a mount that utilised the VCT-14 style of baseplate, was compact enough to be left on the camera, help with balance, power the camera/accessories via a V-Lock battery and allow mattboxes to be mounted – just like the big cameras!
Fortunately my brother is an engineer – and we’ve come up with this!
Planning to add some extra stuff – a bracket to hold radio mic receivers, extension rods on the back for other accessories etc.
We’ve made it so the shoulder pad has two postions – forward position to attach to the VCT-14 baseplate – rear postion for more comfortable operation on the shoulder (Viewfinder is in the right position and not jammed into the eye!).
Still working on some of the details, but I’d be interested in some feedback.
Thanks,
Mark
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28 Replies
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That looks very interesting. Hard to tell but if this was on shoulder where does the viewfinder come to? It looks tight to the operators face? Like the concept. Pricing?
Jim McNally
The Commercial Factory
http://www.commercialfactory.com -
The shoulder pad and rear ‘block’ has 2 positions:
In the forward position, the front v-wedge and rear tripod plate stopper engage to the VCT-14 tripod plate as you would expect from a ‘normal’ Sony shoulder mount camera – so the mount (and camera) are locked solid to the tripod plate and not just held by the front v-wedge (as I’ve seen on some other systems).
It also makes the mount quite compact.
In this position, it is possible to operate the camera on the shoulder – but the viewfinder is quite tight to your face.
so…
by pushing the gold button in on the back of the mount, the whole shoulder pad and rear block will slide back to the end of the rods (about 50mm/2″) – which puts the viewfinder at a comfortable position for operation on the shoulder.
The V-lock battery also moves back with the shoulder pad.
The down side is that the camera is effectively moved forward – but using a reasonable size/weight battery on the back helps keep the camera firmly on the shoulder and helps keep things balanced.
Hopefully these pictures might illustrate things more clearly:
As for pricing, we’re working through that at the moment. I’m trying to gauge what sort of interest there might be – and what features/options should be standard.
Any feedback is appreciated!
Thanks
Mark
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I like the concept a lot. I have shoulder mount now but it has to be fitted on and off the rails to be used. How do the rails fit on the front? I use the Sony batteries on the camera so wouldn\’t want to invest in new batteries just for counterweight.
Does the extra height off of tripod change feel of pan/tilt control?
Jim McNally
The Commercial Factory
http://www.commercialfactory.com -
At the moment it is set up to use a Chroziel mattbox system. The front tripod wedge plate is replaced by the Chroziel version which allows the mattbox rails to be mounted.
What mattbox system do you use? I can look at other ways of mounting rails.
Another option I’ll look at is just using a ‘weight’ – ie a block of Aluminium in a similar size to a camera battery to provide some weight for counterbalance. It really does need something over the shoulder to help balance the camera. The ‘weight’ could be attached directly to the battery plate – so the IDX V-lock battery mount wouldn’t be required (saving cost).
In practical use, I don’t find the extra height of the camera on the tripod to be an issue. Compared to my PDW-700 the camera lens axis is only 10mm higher.
I can take some more detailed pictures of the mattbox setup, but below you should be able to make out the Chroziel mounting plate which is attached to the front of the mount in place of the standard wedge plate.
Above is the EX-3 with mount, ACM-21 adapter, Fujinon HA13x4.5 W/A lens, Mattbox and V-lock battery. This is a combination I use quite a bit on a Jimmy Jib and Glidecam X-45.
Mark
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I have the Cavision box and follow focus. https://www.cavision.com/pictures/EX3/EX3fullset_1.htm Using the standard EX3 lense.
Jim McNally
The Commercial Factory
http://www.commercialfactory.com -
I’ll take a closer look at the Cavision mattbox – but I’m sure it will be fairly straight forward to attach to the EX-3 mount. I should be able to get hold of one Monday/Tuesday next week.
Mark
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Mark, that looks like a great setup. Would be interested in buying this if it works as good as it looks.
Dajen Productions, Santa Barbara, CA
MacPro Two 2.8GHz Quad Core – AJA Kona LHe
FCS 3 OS X 10.6 QT 10 -
Thanks for the comments Dave. Its been a bit of an evolution over the last 12 months or so – but I think its finally getting to the finished stage – just a few tweaks here and there.
I just want to make sure it works with other accessories – ie mattbox systems (as discussed with Jim) – and to take on board feedback from other EX-3 users.
Mark
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Would be happy to test it for you and give our feedback.
Dajen Productions, Santa Barbara, CA
MacPro Two 2.8GHz Quad Core – AJA Kona LHe
FCS 3 OS X 10.6 QT 10 -
Thanks Dave – I’ll keep that in mind when we’ve got the design finalised.
I’ve been working on a plate that attaches to the base of the EXMount (in place of the VCT-14 wedge plate) and allows the Pan and Tilt head wedge to be attached to this plate.
It means that the EXMount can be attached to a Pan & Tilt head without the use of a VCT-14 plate – in much the same way as I have seen most people attach their EX-3’s to a P&T head. The main difference is that there is no strain on the EX-3 1/4″ mounting thread and no risk of twisting – the wedge plate can be fixed with 1/4″ and 3/8″ screws.
Balancing is limited to the amount of travel that the P&T head allows. I was able to balance the camera/mount on a Miller Arrow HD and Manfrotto 516 P&T head.
This could be another option if you don’t have/want to use a VCT-14 plate.
I’ll post some photos soon.
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