Reddit reviews Fancierstudio DSLR RIG with Follow Focus Matte Box by New Model Fancierstudio FL02M

I know that I have been taken more seriously when using actual equipment instead of DIY things that I made that practically do the same thing.


Also last February I went to San Francisco to do some corporate videos for a tech start up. We normally would have just used our 5d and 7d because the videos were just interviews in front of a green screen that were going to be broadcast on the internet and probably never seen at a size larger than you would see on YouTube. We didn't want them to ask us "we flew you to San Fransisco to film our video and you brought a picture camera?" so we rented a FS700 just for the looks. When we showed up with that they were impressed and thought it was pretty cool and it made us look better.


At the same time - the pocket camera looks like it is going to be a better camera than most DSLRs. If you do use you could explain to your clients that you have this amazing camera that was designed to be portable and lite weight so that you can get shots other cameras can get while still outperforming other professional cameras because it shoots 12-bit lossless compressed CinemaDNG 1080 HD. Focusing on the advantages of it being small will prime them for it being small. Also that last part talking about the recording will probably just make them think "words I don't know - that must mean it is good."


Another thing that you could do is buy a cheap rail system, follow focus, and matte box (like this one ). The matte box won't do anything for you (it is always nice to have a follow focus) but it will look your camera look more professional. Is it lame that you have to "pimp" your camera so that people take you seriously? Yes - especially when the pocket camera is such an amazing camera. Is it worth it to "pimp" you camera and put on appearances for clients because if you didn't they wouldn't hire you? Yes.

1: It was all natural light, I would have used some reflectors had I owned some so we improvised the best we could.

2: I used a D5100 for the first bit but it crapped out so we went to a D7100 to finish with the same settings. I used both a spider steady as well as a rig available on Amazon here.

This is the rig that I like to use personally

http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B005UF3G2Y
combine that with this
http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0036NMQ7S
and your hands are free to adjust focus, settings, etc. while you shoot.

Regarding the follow focus? It's solid. It came with this rig and, so far, I'm really happy with the overall quality.

It's a couple tubes and handles, that part really can't go wrong. The follow focus may or may not be adequate, but it's not going to be of use in any case if you're using MFT lenses which have too far of a focus ring throw to use a follow focus. I've gone even cheaper and use one of these: http://amzn.com/B005UF3G2Y I've added a shoulder weight setup and run it with only one handle with my other hand operating the lens. Works fine. What you really may be looking for is a Glidecam or Flycam. They take some learning and a bit of time to balance, but the results with practice are excellent.

edit: Note that the matte box with that rig I linked to is absolutely useless, but the rods and fittings do their job. The follow focus is of surprising quality, but again useless if using MFT lenses. I believe they sell the rig without it.

THIS ONE is 140 but I have it and can affirm that it's pretty darn good for the price.

For the hassle of DIY, I'd say you would be better off buying this. Comes with a matte box and follow focus.

Your camera is fine, you can use that to shoot video. Looking at the specs it doesn't seem to have a mic input. You might try doing a few bit of test footage to see how the sound comes out. If its not that great you could think about getting a separate audio recorder something like the zoom h4n (this will mean syncing the sound at edit time you can do this by ear and eye or use a plug-in like pluraleyes. A good tripod is also advisable. If you get in to doing hand held stuff it might be worth getting one of those camera rigs off Amazon something like this http://www.amazon.com/Fancierstudio-RIG-Follow-Focus-Counterweight/dp/B005UF3G2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419848204&sr=8-1&keywords=camera+rig Unless you have load of $ then you can go for something a bit less shit :D. I have one of these and its not great quality but it really improves hand held shots.

This is in your price range but from the looks of it looks extremely shitty. If you want some pretty well made stuff, the good people over at Jag35 have rigs/rods/follow focuses that don't break the bank like redrock or zacuto. But you do get what you pay for after all.

http://www.amazon.com/Ravelli-AVT-Professional-67-inch-Camera/dp/B00139XOCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412049345&sr=8-1&keywords=fluid+head+tripod

http://www.amazon.com/Ravelli-AVT-Professional-67-inch-Camera/dp/B00139XOCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412049345&sr=8-1&keywords=fluid+head+tripod

http://www.amazon.com/StudioFX-Camera-Slider-Dolly-Stabilizer/dp/B00BOGNUQK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1412049395&sr=8-2&keywords=slider

http://www.amazon.com/Kraft-948248-KRAFTtech-Adjustable-60-in/dp/B000Y9CNQG/ref=sr_1_3?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1412049427&sr=1-3&keywords=tripod

http://www.amazon.com/Kraft-948248-KRAFTtech-Adjustable-60-in/dp/B000Y9CNQG/ref=sr_1_3?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1412049427&sr=1-3&keywords=tripod

http://www.amazon.com/Fancierstudio-RIG-Follow-Focus-Counterweight/dp/B005UF3G2Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1412049533&sr=1-1&keywords=shoulder+rig

Heres your full set up, pick your poison mate