The new Zacuto Z-cage takes a queue from the old Manfrotto Fig Rig and improves upon by leaps and bounds. The smaller diameter and hefty grips give it a sturdy feel. It leaves lots of room for additions to your DSLR rig. You can practically add just about everything need to the Z-Cage without compromising the maneuverability. This image below of a pimped out Z-rig should give you a fair idea as to just how many accessories can fit on it.
One thing not shown above is that you can also easily add a shotgun mic to your audio recording device which can make run and gun shooting a breeze with the Z-cage. The additional grip on the top of the rig adds the option of some really cool looking low angle shots and it’s also easy way to carry your DSLR rig safely. Some folks might find the lack of shoulder support a little odd at first because the dense weight of the rig will definitely tax your forearm strength. But once you get used to it, it’s benefits become fairly clear. With out the shoulder mount you are free to try a lot of canted angles and tracking shots that can add a really unique look to any horror film or music video. This is probably not an all purpose solution to all your shooting needs but it will open up a new realm of creative possibilities. When held correctly you can even pull off a full 360 degree camera rotation. There is a lot of stuff you can try but, a good follow focus would be a nice addition. The smaller square fame of the Z-cage allows easy access to you DSLR controls on the back of the camera when it’s held by the two side grips. Also, when used with the Zacuto Z-finder it is feels comfortable when help up to your eye. The Z-cage quick release please makes card swaps and lens changes easy. A simple turn of the red knob and your camera is free, then snaps back on just as quick. The base plate has standard threats on the bottom which can connect to just about any another support device you can think of. A monopod or tripod can be easily attached without have to remove any of you peripheral devices. I can see the Z-cage also working well on a car mount, jib arm or dolly. A cameraman I worked with also noted that the heavy square frame provided him a little extra protection when his camera was accidentally dropped. While Z-cage is obviously not an all purpose camera protection solution, it’s nice you know you’ll have a little more protection in case of an accident.
All in all this is a great rig that can open up all kinds of creative shooting options that your standard should mounted rig simply cannot. It’s sturdy, well built, versatile and extremely portable. In addition it has room to connect just about any peripheral device you can think of. I think the Z-Cage would make addition to just about anyone’s DSLR shooting arsenal.
A few weeks back I had the pleasure of working with the guy’s here at The Noob News at the Austin Comic Con. Christian asked me to do a series of short interviews with comic artists and writers at the show using a product he’d gotten from Zacuto, the Zacuto iPhone Point’n'Shoot.
Here’s a good description of the product from their Web site:
Small, lightweight, quick and portable! Zacuto’s iPhone Point’n’Shoot is the ideal handgrip stabilization system for shooting stable, smooth professional video with your iPhone. Simply press your iPhone into the grips and snap back onto the handgrip for quick stable shooting in a matter of seconds. This has an advantage over the Zgrip iPhone Jr as you can easily make this rig small and compact by sliding the cradle off the handgrip. The handgrip is also equipped with a ¼ 20” thread on the bottom so you can easily mount the system to a tripod.
Now first off I must say that nothing makes you look more professional then carrying around the iPhone Point’n'Shoot when asking people at a Con to give you an interview. Everyone I talked to was fasinated by the device and shocked that it was just essentially just an iPhone 3Gs attached to an cradle. During my interviews everyone wanted to play with it and do a little shooting of their own. The ease of use of this device amazes me in all counts.
One of the worst things about attempting to shooting video on an iPhone is the lack of stability. The shakiness of resulting video is horrible as the phone doesn’t stabilize the video so most things you shoot come out blurry. I myself have huge hands and usually when I’m trying to take a photo or shoot video with the iPhone my finger gets in the way of the camera or I have to hold it with my fingertips on the edge of the phone and thus make the images even more shaky. This little guys removes all of those worries. It’s easy to use and the cradle comes off fast and easy for ease of use storage of the phone. The fluid video I could take with my iPhone not only amazed myself but allowed me to trying shooting with my iPhone in ways I had not even tried before. I truly enjoyed shooting with this device and would love to get one of my own.
Now the price of the iPhone Point’n'Shoot can be a little daunting to some coming in at $121 (as of the time of this writing), but for those who want the best shooting experience with their iPhone it is worth it. For those who can deal with a something little less adjustable you can pick up the Zacuto Zgrip iPhone Jr. for around $69. And for those who own the Point’n'Shoot Pro for normal cameras, you can pick up the iPhone Cradle for around $30. You can can follow the links below to the Zacuto store for each.
The Zacuto Striker is a DSLR camera support kit offering multiple points of contact allowing for greater stability and support for the DSLR shooter looking to shore up shots and keep arm fatigue to a minimum when shooting long takes.
We used the Zacuto Striker for a long weekend of shooting at Austin Comic Con for not only live video but digital photography as well and found the Striker more than lives up to it’s reputation as a solid, helpful device. When shooting interviews it was rock solid, allowing the videographer to move in and out without getting shaky on longer shots, pan easily from subject to subject as well as saving the arms and shoulders of the operator on interviews that would sometimes go on for 10 to 15 minutes. It was steady, comfortable to hold and use, and allowed us to get the shots we needed in a fast paced ENG style environment.
If there were any complaint to be had it would probably be with the price point. The Zacuto Striker comes in at a whopping $948.00. That seems like an awful lot when you consider the components which include some aluminum piping, a chest plate, hand grip and camera mount. The people I know shooting on DSLR cameras are usually shooting on them because they are a less expensive alternative to shooting on higher end cameras and adding a nearly 1000 dollar attachment would surely break the bank on most small budget projects.
If you can get past the price point though you will find the Zacuto Striker to be a welcome ally to the Zacuto DSLR family of accessories. It’s lightweight, steady, won’t come apart in your hands, and on more than one occasion saved a shot that might have been lost to shaky camera syndrome on a regular rig. In spite of the rather large price tag I’d gladly recommend it for your next DSLR video shoot.
I love shooting on the Canon 5d. I love the professional film look it brings to any project, I love the ability to change lenses and shoot in any situation imaginable, and I love the community that has sprung up around it, sharing their wealth of information on a daily basis that allows anyone that picks this camera up the opportunity to shoot stunning video at the drop of a hat.
There are however, a few drawbacks (as with every camera) that keep this from being the perfect weapon. I recently had the opportunity to shoot with the Zacuto Z-Finder Pro 3x optical viewfinder, a tool that goes a long way in making the already awesome Canon 5d even better to shoot on.
When shooting video with the Canon 5d, one of the first things that you’ll notice is the lack of a large flip out LCD screen we’ve gotten used to in most HD cameras. This can make it difficult to accurately keep a critical focus on moving shots as well as just generally monitor takes on such a small screen. The Zacuto viewfinder does offer some help in solving a few of these monitoring issues.
First off, what is the Zacuto Z-Finder Pro 3x? The Zacuto viewfinder is a simple attachment that snaps on the back of the Canon 5d allowing you to see a magnified version of the LCD view screen. The viewfinder with attached eyepiece allows you a better view of what you’re monitoring which comes in handy when shooting in bright sunlight. You no longer have to fight the glare to see what’s being displayed on the in camera’s built in viewfinder or re-watch your shot after every take to make sure you didn’t miss it because the viewfinder wasn’t bright enough or you were squinting and couldn’t see clearly. I found the eyepiece to be very helpful in keeping the sun out.
As far as cons of the Zacuto viewfinder, I’d have to say that I didn’t exactly love the actual magnification of the LCD screen created by the viewfinder. It did help to an extent but since you are just magnifying pixels and not watching an actual larger viewfinder, it’s really not an end all be all to solving monitoring problems on the Canon 5d. I would probably prefer a version of this viewfinder without the magnification with just the eyepiece to help block out sunlight and make it easier to monitor with seeing the distractions around me.
Ultimately how well this product will work on your production is a truly a matter of what you are looking for. If you looking for an end all solution to the challenges that come with shooting on the Canon 5d, than I’d suggest you look elsewhere. But if you’re just looking to shoot the best video you can on a smaller budget, than you can’t go wrong with the Zacuto Z-Finder Pro 3x optical viewfinder.
During the pre-production phase of a recent viral video shoot, it was brought to my attention that I would once again have the opportunity to shoot on the Canon 5d. At first I was a bit hesitant, not because I don’t love the Canon 5d, but simply because the shoot would require a dynamic hand held look that is so popular these day and my prior experience had shown me that the Canon 5d can be quite challenging to work with in a hand held, free moving situation. This issue is brought about by the fact that the Canon 5d is a relative featherweight when compared to other full HD cameras on the market. It can be very difficult to shoot long hand held shots with this camera without suffering from shake and bump syndrome, especially when shooting off the end of the lens. That’s where the VariZoom ZG Rig DSLR, Zero Gravity Shoulder Support comes in.
The Varizoom stabilizer is another version of a poor man’s steady cam rig, meant to mimic the look of an actual steady cam without the high price of the steady cam and it does a decent job of this. The actual design of this rig is fairly simple and easy to assembly allowing the camera operator the opportunity to spend more time setting up the shot and making sure they get what they need instead of spending a ton of time putting together a complicated steady cam rig. It is also very easy to detach the camera from the rig allowing the change out of cameras at a moment’s notice or the ability to move on and set up the next shot without having to wait for the operator to disassemble a complicated rig.
As far as shooting goes it does a decent job of emulating the steady cam look. It’s not perfect and longer shots may tend to experience a few bumps and shakes here and there, but for the most part you can get fairly steady, dynamic shots without breaking the budget for a full steady cam rig.
The Varizoom stabilizer does come with a few cons the most relevant being that it is still not a true steady cam rig. The camera rests on a bar which slips into a pouch on a belt. When the belt is worn around the waist it can create jerky movements when walking. The solution of course is to raise and tighten the belt so the rig rests on your stomach but over long shots this can become somewhat painful and awkward but seems to be the best way to keep the shots steady. Even after you’ve mastered all the tips and techniques required to properly work this rig, the walking shots are only going to be slightly better than the most steady hand held work.
If you are planning to us the Varizoom stabilizer, you are not going to be able to achieve the floating on air look that true steady-cam rigs have, so if that’s what you are going for I would suggest saving your money and investing in a more expensive rig. If you need something to steady a few dynamic moving shots this rig should be more than adequate. The Varizoom does serve a purpose and if you stay within that purpose you should be more than happy with the results you get from the VariZoom ZG Rig DSLR, Zero Gravity Shoulder Support.
Written By:
Richard Watson
I love shooting on the Canon 5d. I love the professional film look it brings to any project, I love the ability to change lenses and shoot in any situation imaginable, and I love the community that has sprung up around it, sharing their wealth of information on a daily basis that allows anyone that picks this camera up the opportunity to shoot stunning video at the drop of a hat.
During the pre-production phase of a recent viral video shoot, it was brought to my attention that I would once again have the opportunity to shoot on the Canon 5d. At first I was a bit hesitant, not because I don’t love the Canon 5d, but simply because the shoot would require a dynamic hand held look that is so popular these day and my prior experience had shown me that the Canon 5d can be quite challenging to work with in a hand held, free moving situation. This issue is brought about by the fact that the Canon 5d is a relative featherweight when compared to other full HD cameras on the market. It can be very difficult to shoot long hand held shots with this camera without suffering from shake and bump syndrome, especially when shooting off the end of the lens. That’s where the VariZoom ZG Rig DSLR, Zero Gravity Shoulder Support comes in.
