Ursa Mini Shoulder Rig Alternative

I've got the Ursa Mini 4.6 EF mount camera with the BMD Viewfinder and the BMD shoulder mount kit, but had two problems:

Problem #1) Even with a fat 190wh battery stuck on the back, the BMD shoulder kit was still too front heavy with the EF prime lenses I use. Because the prime lenses are so short, even though the shoulder kit allows the camera to be mounted further back, I couldn't take advantage of that flexibility. One solution is to add a lot more weight to the back. but the BMD kit has no holes to attach rails there. So, I was scratching my head trying to figure out a way to add useful weight in the rear in order to balance it.

Problem #2) No quick release for the all too frequent times when I'd like to quickly remove all the weight of the shoulder kit to put just the Ursa Mini body on a monopod or tripod mounted slider.

My solution was to hack together something different that met my needs better. It's not feather light, but it is well balanced with all the weight resting on the shoulder instead of requiring arm strength to keep it level. Also, it incorporates an Arca Swiss style quick release that integrates with all of the Kessler Kwik plates that are attached to my tripods, sliders, monopods, and my Fig Rig. Rather than sticking an extra battery plate or useless steel weight off the back end, I put two lens mounts on the back so that I can quickly switch between prime lenses without digging around in a bag that's awkwardly hanging off my body.

I'll have to see in practice whether this shoulder mount setup ends up getting more use than my Fig Rig and monopod, but it was fun to build. It's composed of the BMD top handle, the BMD grip handle and arm are attached to the rosette on the camera body, then the Wooden Camera universal base plate and rails plus an Edelkrone Folow Focus and two locking EF lens mounts on the back that I hacked from from an old Kickstarter product that I bought but had never used: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1022605159/quikdraw-an-innovative-lens-holster

I borrowed the idea of adding extra lenses to a shoulder rig from the genius documentary DP Bob Elfstrom.

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EDIT: Updated the post to accommodate some useful feedback. Thanks Paul and Rick!

I just purchased a shoulder kit for my mini 4.6. Both arrive tomorrow. I'm kinda sad to hear about the front heavy design. I was under the impression that you could slide the Ursa Mini back far enough to even it out. That's disappointing. I do like that everything is extremely compact though. I'll probably end up keeping it. I have an Atlas support anyway, and the Mini doesn't weigh all that much to begin with.

Not like my Ursa...

It's not crazy front heavy or anything, but with the setup I wanted I wasn't able to get it completely neutral on the shoulder. My main reason for building a different rig was mainly to have quick release to remove the rig. Almost all my shooting is for docs and I have to be able to move rapidly back and forth between built up and stripped down camera configurations all day long.

The VCT plate on the bottom was also unnecessarily heavy relative to weight of the Mini so I'm also really glad to be rid of that with the new rig.

EDIT: I also added a little lightweight DIY padding to the rails.

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Just to counterbalance, Jamie's comments, I've seen Marco Solorio balancing his URSA Mini 4.6K on his shoulder hands free, and I did it myself too. I have a larger battery and I hang a bag with rice in it from the battery plate to balance the camera. Jamie's right though that the shoulder mount itself doesn't give a good balance without adding a counterweight.

And it is unfortunate that the rails can't come out the back. I forget who did it, but on the BMC user forum, someone did manage to rig rails to the back end by attaching a plate to the rear mounting point on the camera I think.


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I'm pretty sure this is the shot you're referring to Rick.

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Marco found a fine way to add weight to the rear that worked in his case because he has a use for the power distribution box and his lens is long enough that he can mount the camera further back. In my case with EF mount primes, the camera has to sit at the front of the shoulder mount. Re-reading my post I see how I should have been more clear that I don't believe there is anything inherently flawed in BMD's design. There are certainly lots of way to balance this camera. It's just that my needs required something different than the solution BMD offered out of the box. And even my little hack still uses their lovely top handle and arm extension.

If you have shots of your own rig or other's to share, they would be great to see : )

Haha... genious idea with the lens mounts, I like it

Jamie, that was the photo all right. Except I forgot he wasn't using the BMVF mounted to the BM top handle. He was using that mod that allows him to have the BMVF far forward. With my bag of rice off the back to counterbalance the Fujinon, I can do this trick shot with the BMVF mounted to the top handle! 'Ricky's Believe It Or Not.'


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Jamie, that was the photo all right. Except I forgot he wasn't using the BMVF mounted to the BM top handle. He was using that mod that allows him to have the BMVF far forward. With my bag of rice off the back to counterbalance the Fujinon, I can do this trick shot with the BMVF mounted to the top handle! 'Ricky's Believe It Or Not.'


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Ha! I totally believe you. Bob Elfstrom, the DP I took the lens idea from, uses a similar technique to add weight to the back of his rig. In his case he hangs a small sandbag. Much less tasty than your solution