EX-3 VCT-14/Shoulder Mount

[Dave Jenkins]

Will be interesting to see your other design, but I really like that you are adapting to a VCT-14 plate. 25 years of using that plate makes it second nature for quick release.

Dajen Productions, Santa Barbara, CA
MacPro Two 2.8GHz Quad Core – AJA Kona LHe
FCS 3 OS X 10.6 QT 10

[Mark Rule]

Its basically just a plate that can be attached to the base of the mount instead of the VCT-14 type wedge plate. It allows a pan & tilt head wedge plate to be attached further back – so that the camera/EXMount can be balanced.

Just an option I thought could be useful in some cases.

I am planning to take some more photos of the various setups tomorrow night – so I’ll post them here.

In the meantime, here’s a picture of the mount with a Letus setup:

[Mark Rule]

This is the basic wedge adapter plate I machined up a couple of days back. It replaces the VCT-14 wedge and allows the pan & tilt head wedge to be attached to this plate. The camera/mount can then be attached direct to the p&t head without the use of a VCT-14 plate.

With this plate attached, it is not possible to put the EXMount on the shoulder while the shoulder pad is in the forward position – the shoulder pad needs to be moved to the rear position to clear the plate.

Could be an option for those that don’t have (or want to get) a VCT-14 tripod plate.

and on a Manfrotto 516 P&T head

[Will Salley]

Very nice design. I think your solution for mounting the camera with the large thumbwheel is unique but may add unnecessary weight to the front. If it’s aluminum, it may not matter though.

One peculiar thing I have noticed about trying to shoulder mount the EX-3 is the tendency to pitch to the left because of the weight of the viewfinder. It could be remedied by offsetting the mount a little to the left. Ideally, it would be adjustable – but that would add weight and may make it less stable. Maybe a slotted screw hole oriented perpendicular to the lens?

Anyway, it’s an interesting potential product and I think you could have a winner.

FWIW, I’m using the EX-3 with a Letus Elite and a KiPro mounted on the rear rails. I have a Redrock Micro shoulder mount but it elevates the camera a bit too much.

Mac Pro 2×2.8 Quadcore – 10.6.3 – QT 7.6.3 – 22 GB RAM – nvidia8800GT – SATA internal & external storage – Blackmagic Multibridge Pro – Open GL 1.5.10 – Wacom Intous2 tablet – AJA io
SONY XDCAM EX3 – Letus Elite – FC7.0.2 – CS4 Prod Prem.

[Mark Rule]

The large thumbwheel is made out of Aluminium (as is most of the mount). Its a bit like a ‘wagon wheel’ in its design, so it is as light as possible.

We have tried to keep the front end of the mount light but strong – and put a bit of weight into the back end (the large solid block that holds the shoulder pad).

I understand what you mean about the large viewfinder and the camera pitching to the left. I think the easiest way to deal with that is to have some sort of counterweight on the other side – ie a radio mic receiver etc. At this point in time we won’t be looking at off-setting the camera – just starts to make things too complicated.

The primary aims with the mount are:

– compatible with VCT-14 tripod plates
– can be used on the shoulder
– accept standard accessories (ie mattboxes)
– can be left on the camera
– quick, easy and versatile to use

I am happy that we have achieved the above with the mount that we have designed. I think there will always have to be compromises with this camera – the challenge is to find the best compromise!

Mark

[Ryan Johnson]

Well it looks great. What price range are you looking at ???

Ryan

[Mark Rule]

Pricing is still to be determined.

We are pretty much there with the design now.

The basic options will be along the lines of:

– Main chassis
– choice of tripod wedge adapter plate or VCT-14 wedge plate
– basic angle plate (attaches to rear of EX-3) or angle plate with accessory bracket
– rear plate with basic counterweight system or V-lock battery plate and powering system

We need to work out the manufacturing costs of those options – and then see what the interest is and try and determine how many we are likely to make.

I’m hoping we can work all this out pretty soon – and get some more photos taken to show the options.

Mark

[Eric Corbin]

Mark,
This may already be in your design, but if not, it would be very helpful for an ENG set up to have a place to mount a wireless receiver box (BEC) near the battery. It looks like there are already pre-drilled holes on the backside of the battery mount. Is that what they’re there for?
Great design!
Eric

[Mark Rule]

Hi Eric,

The screws that you can see are the ones that hold the battery plate on. If the EX-3 semi-shoulder pad is on the camera, there isn’t a lot of room between the pad and the battery plate, so mounting a receiver there wouldn’t be too practical.

What we do have is an option for a plate on the side of the camera that could be used to mount accessories:

This shows the plate with mounting options (velcro/slots etc) and auxiliary BNC connectors mounted underneath the angle plate.

My cameras and 2 of the mounts are currently on a 4 week shoot – they are mounting a lockit box to this plate and radio mic receivers on the battery plate (and just using the camera batteries to power the camera).

This also shows the new shoulder pad.

and mounted on the Jimmy Jib hothead…

The Chrosziel mattbox is mounted using a standard Petroff Sony type plate/rod holder.

We are currently doing a short run of mounts – and will probably go straight into another run. I am hoping to post more photos of the finished mount – with all the various accessories/options very soon.

Mark

[Eric Corbin]

Mark,
Thanks for the photos! Anton Bauer makes an adapter allowing you to power the EX-3 using one of their full size batteries. The adapter is called (QR-EX3). Could this adapter be used with your design or are you only using V-mount batteries?