I went out with my “Sniper” configuration (see yesterday’s post for more information) of the Gini K-5 DSLR support rig today.

Here are some observations and notes:

Comfort/Ergonomics

This pared down rig is quite comfortable.  Using the top handle as a shoulder brace really helps with the stability while minimizing bulk.  I shot constantly for about 1.5 hours and my shoulder & neck did not feel any worse for wear.

Mounting the camera on the articulating “monitor” arm makes it possible to adjust the position of the camera (height, angle, etc.) to align it to my eye so I don’t have to strain my neck to look through the viewfinder.

The only thing that stood out as less than comfortable was that the handles are not padded at all.  I found that I tend to grip tightly when I’m focused on getting a stable shot, so after shooting for ~30 minutes or so, I looked at my palm and noticed some pressure marks.

However, in terms of discomfort, this was very minor.  After 1.5 hours of shooting, my hand was a bit tired, but it was far more less fatigued and strained than when I shoot for extended periods of time using my pistol grip (which screws directly into the camera).

Being able to reposition each clamp on the rod is great because I can adjust the shoulder brace and front handle independently for the most comfortable position depending on the type of shot I was trying to get (low shot, high shot, etc.).  However, the feature that had the greatest effect on my comfort was the ball joint in the handle itself.  No matter how the rest of the components were positioned, I could simply loosen the ball joint on the handle, turn my wrist until it was in a neutral position, and retighten the clamp with a flick of my thumb.  This definitely made a difference in keeping the strain on my hands to a minimum.  A camera support rig with articulating handles is an absolute must.

Performance

I still have to look over the footage, so all I can say at the moment is that things seemed a lot more stable when using the rig as compared to using just the camera.  I think the main reason for this is that the handle allows my arm to be lowered, which accomplishes two important things.  First, by lowering my arm, my elbow can now be braced against my body for added stability.  Second, my arm doesn’t get fatigued nearly as quickly (which leads to shakier footage) since most of it is resting at my side.

I’m interested in taking a look at the footage though to see if the improved performance I perceived actually translates to better footage.

Usability

I was very happy yesterday to discover that I could mount my camera to the articulating monitor arm.  This allowed me to start using a fairly minimal rig straightaway, and also meant that I didn’t have to buy a Zacuto Gorilla Plate just to get things as minimal as possible.

After shooting today, I’ll say that this is at least half true.

I was able use a fairly minimal rig today thanks to the monitor arm, which I believe made a pretty big difference on the weight and mobility of the rig as a whole.  However, it turns out that the monitor arm is not the fastest or most intuitive when mounting and unmounting a camera.  For one, the mounting base of the monitor arm is completely smooth, so it’s hard to get enough grip to tighten the camera down well.  Another thing is that you have to fully loosen the clamp on the monitor arm in order to turn the mounting base and screw it into the camera’s tripod socket.  This means that the monitor arm will need to be repositioned every time a camera is mounted, which adds to the amount of time that is required before you can start shooting.

I think I may end up getting a Gorilla Plate at some point in the future for easier camera mounting/unmounting.

Another nice thing about the “Sniper” configuration is that it is compact and light (at least lighter than the full rig).  This made it possible to use the rig with the Carry Speed CS-2B camera sling strap and hang the entire rig (camera included) to my side when I wasn’t shooting anything.

Conclusions

It’s only been one day of shooting, but so far, I really like the Gini K-5 rig.  It’s highly configurable for a variety of uses and the multiple points of adjustment help to keep the comfort level high.

I will report more once I’ve had a chance to look over the footage from today’s shoot.