Camerarig review

[Zottl]

Hello everyone!

 

Since I am new here I thought I will start of with a review. Still in hope, that this is the right place to post something like this. But I do get an incredible amount of information from this side so I thought maybe someone is interessted in a low budged shoulder rig. I certainly have been and I could not find a lot on this anywhere so I thought why not give something back. If it's the wrong place please just let me know or delete it or so :/

 

 

 

Let’s get to the review already. 

 

The rig I am talking about:

http://www.proaimshop.com/pas/CAMTREE-Camera-Shoulder-Mount-Kit-201.html

 

 

General

Since I live in Austria it is not that easy to test a lot of different quality video gear and I have been looking for a shouldermount/cage for quite a while. A friend of mine has imported quite some stuff from the US and all over the world, so his stuff was/is my reference. He owns some wooden camera stuff (which I guess is some kind of standard) and quite some manfrotto things among diverse other brands. The most important feature for me was, that the system has to be versatile and offer a lot of flexibility.

 

Processing

Everything is made of black aluminum which looks and feels great and has the perfect amount of weight to it (thus still keeping everything light weight enough to carry it around for a while). Processing is seamless for the most parts. The only thing I found are the edges of the cage brackets are a little sharp on some parts (I used sandpaper to get rid of them, now everything is smooth again). I had no issues with loose parts or loosening screws so far and I don’t think there will be any problems anytime soon.

 

Accessoires and packaging

The number of accessories that come with this set is incredible. In fact there are so many, that I didn’t even knew what to do with every part when I first saw it. It is equipped with 9 15mm rods (!!) with gives you a lot of possibilities to mount stuff together. You can have a look at everything that is shipped via the link below. And everything has its own space in the amazing box the ship it in so nothing gets a scratch or anything the like.

In fact there are so many accessories that I was able to make two rigs out of everything! One small handheld and a larger shoulder mounted rig. You can mount literally a hundred different things to the cage up to a point where you can’t really carry it anymore because it is just too heavy ;)

 

Ease of use and long term work experiences

I had more than just one chance to use my rig now and there are many ups and some minor downs to it. Proaimshop.com is very thoughtful with every request you send them and the really have always a solution to a problem you might face. The First thing I didn’t like about the kit is the shoulder pad itself that comes as standard with the kit. It is not really soft and very small and it can not offer you a lot of stress relief on your arms. Another thing I didn’t like (or need) was the quick release system. I already use one system and mixing different systems together is counterproductive. With all that being said here is the great thing about proaimshop.com: I wrote them that I don’t need the quick release system and if I could get some extra handles instead and it was no problem at all. I had to ge the shoulder pad with a different shipment tough because I didn’t know that I would not like it. So I would suggest to get a different shoulder pad on your first order. (I have and love this one: http://www.proaimshop.com/New_Images/DSLR_Rigs/CAMTREE-HUNT-Quick-Mount-DSLR-camera-Rig-(CH-QM-SR)-Pad.jpg)

Now to the ease of use part: the rig is thought through and  this makes it easy to adapt to any situation while shooting. The thumbscrews make it easy to tighten everything up or make the rig smaller if you need to (I would suggest some iron washers tough because the plastic things that come with it tend to break if you tighten the screws to strong). Besides the breaking plastic washers I have not a single scratch or anything on my rig and it has been through some serious video shoots!

EDIT: The cage is tall enough for a 5D MK3 plus battery grip so you should easily fit every DSLR out there =)

 

Summary

This kit is just amazingly versatile and for its price it is unbeatable! I can really recommend everything from proaimshop I bought so far (which you can find in the link section below) even when compared to wooden camera or manfrotto stuff. The customer service is amazing as well and shipping is surprisingly fast. All in all it’s just an amazing product with only very little minus points.

 

If you have any specific questions please feel free to ask! I will try to answer everything. I purposefully did not attach any foots because the pictures on their side are really representative and everything looks like on their pictures. If you however want a picture of a special part or something the like I can make pictures and send them to you!

 

 

 

LINKS

The rig I was talking about:

http://www.proaimshop.com/pas/CAMTREE-Camera-Shoulder-Mount-Kit-201.html

 

 

 

Crane (I love it - it is like the aviator travel jib or kessler pocket jib)

http://www.proaimshop.com/pas/Camtree-Scout-Video-Camera-DSLR-Jib-Crane-with-Tripod-Stand-CSJT.html

 

Flycam (you couldn’t want anything more from it)

http://www.proaimshop.com/pas/FLYCAM-3000-Handheld-Video-Stabilizer-with-Free-Plastic-Quick-Release-Plate.html

 

Cheap and good enough slider

http://www.proaimshop.com/pas/CAMTREE-3ft-Linear-Camera-Slider-C-S3-4010-with-Level-Feet.html

 

 

 

Thanks =)

 

ps: since, as mentioned above, I am from Austria my english may not be perfect, please connive at it :) also this is my very first review so you may forgive me that as well ;) I am not payed by proaimshop.com or anyone else to write this, it really is just my opinion and I understand that there might be some people who do not like pro aim stuff.

[Johnp]

Hey Zot,

 

Camera rigs are definitely handy for mounting extra things to your camera and just in general making it more useable. Of course, if you're wanting to be subtle, just use your DSLR body on its own. But for more professional shoots, a shoulder rig is definitely recommended - it impresses your clients too!

 

I've actually got, it seems, a similar rig to yours in terms of its layout. Not quite as high end, but it does the job and it was pretty inexpensive as well.

 

It's called the Film City Camera Shoulder Mount FC-50. Link: http://www.thecinecity.com/eshop/FILMCITY-DSLR-Camera-Shoulder-Mount-Kit-FC-50.html

 

 

In the photo attached to this post, you can see my Canon 5Dmk3 (with 24-105 F4 L), Kamerar viewfinder and a wireless lapel receiver on the shoulder pad. This is my go to set up for filming interviews and piece to cam footage.

 

It came with many sets of rails and spare screws and connecting plates and handles. As you can see from the website photo, it's set up differently than I have it in my photo. I stripped it back because I didn't need some of the parts - but the bits I didn't use were utilised for some other things like mounting a wireless receiver and battery packs to a second monitor unit (for larger productions). I like how customizable this thing is! You can mount handles at just about any angle.

 

The material feels sturdy, and has supported the camera on many shoots. The shoulder pad is nice and robust and sits comfortably on the shoulder.

 

I'd say the main downside to the rig is the weight. After a few hours of shooting, my arms get quite tired, but it means I get a good workout hahaha. Obviously upgrading to a more expensive rig, with carbon fiber rods and lighter materials would help, but that would be more expensive. For the price of this rig, I can't complain.

 

I got the rig from www.thecinecity.com, who I've bought a few products from before. They seem like pretty good guys and they have loads of kit options too.

 

Link: http://www.thecinecity.com/eshop/FILMCITY-DSLR-Camera-Shoulder-Mount-Kit-FC-50.html

 

Hopefully this added to the discussion =)

 

Cheers