The UPS man delivered quite a surprise today!  A box containing my new Gini K-5 DSLR support rig was dropped on my doorstep.

I was not expecting it for about a month, based on the shipping estimate I was given, but I’m not complaining!

Here are just some first impressions:

Build Quality

The build quality is very very impressive.   Everything is much beefier than expected.  Everything is very well machined and anodized.  It’s very hard to tell how substantial a part is just from pictures, but in person, everything from the handles to the rods just oozes quality.  Perhaps the biggest thing is that everything is of high quality– there doesn’t seem to be anywhere that corners were cut.

Rods and fittings connect to each other very well.  When you loosen the clamps, the rods slide smoothly and adjustment is easy.  When you tighten the clamps, the fitting does not budge.  This is a good thing.  One of the clamps on the shoulder pad is a bit tight even when fully unlocked however, so I’m hoping that it loosens up a tiny bit over time.

Endless Customization

After reviewing all of the various Gini rigs, I settled on the K-5 configuration because it offered the best price/part ratio and appeared to have the necessary fittings to let me build various configurations to fit the varied types of shooting that I do.

The reality of this is almost overwhelming.  There are so many ways to configure this rig for different shooting conditions– I’ve already built up at least 5 different configurations for a stripped down and lean street rig to a full cage + shoulder support rig.  With all of the available adjustment points, it will take some time to dial in the best configuration for each rig type.  I’ll be using the rig in the field at least a few times over the course of this week, so I’m sure I’ll get some good notes on the various configurations.

It’s Basically Awesome

That sums up my first impressions of the Gini K-5 DSLR support rig.  As usual, I’ll be posting field notes as I use the rig over time.