Top handle using just one mounting tap?

The place for questions about shooting with Blackmagic Cameras.
  • Author
  • Message
Offline
User avatar

Benton Collins

  • Posts: 639
  • Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:03 am
  • Location: Brooklyn, New York

Top handle using just one mounting tap?

PostFri Feb 22, 2013 5:00 am

This is probably best answered by the BMCC engineers, but can the camera with lens, rails, follow focus and matte box be supported properly by a handle that is mounted using just the center 1/4 20 tap on top of the camera? I have tried this using just a lens mounted and it seemed fine, but I wanted to be sure it was OK before adding the additional weight. I would like to add a simple T handle top the top to keep it clean and still have the other two taps available for other items like a monitor. A T handle like this is what I had in mind:
T handle.tiff
T handle.tiff (31.16 KiB) Viewed 2729 times
Offline
User avatar

Randy Walters

  • Posts: 223
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:28 am
  • Location: Bristol, RI USA

Re: Top handle using just one mounting tap?

PostFri Feb 22, 2013 2:25 pm

For the sake of both safety and utility, you might want to consider something like this...

http://store.redrockmicro.com/Catalog/f ... ema-camera

Very inexpensive, rugged, and gives you more options in the long run.
Offline
User avatar

Benton Collins

  • Posts: 639
  • Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:03 am
  • Location: Brooklyn, New York

Re: Top handle using just one mounting tap?

PostFri Feb 22, 2013 6:25 pm

Thanks for the tip Randy! I've seen this one and I may go for this depending on what the folks at Blackmagic say. It probably would provide an extra degree of safety and function.
Offline

Nick Smith

  • Posts: 76
  • Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:37 pm

Re: Top handle using just one mounting tap?

PostSat Feb 23, 2013 12:12 am

I've always questioned 1 mounting thread on the bottom of a camera being too unsturdy. Yet have never had a camera fall off a rig or tripod. These things are pretty well designed. Honestly, I think it would probably be fine.
Offline
User avatar

Benton Collins

  • Posts: 639
  • Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:03 am
  • Location: Brooklyn, New York

Re: Top handle using just one mounting tap?

PostSat Feb 23, 2013 1:32 am

Nick Smith wrote:I've always questioned 1 mounting thread on the bottom of a camera being too unsturdy. Yet have never had a camera fall off a rig or tripod. These things are pretty well designed. Honestly, I think it would probably be fine.


Hi Nick,
Using the single mounting point on the bottom does not stress the mount the way hanging the camera from the top would do. When the camera is sitting on a tripod plate, the mounting tap and screw primarily just has to keep the camera from moving around or sliding off if tilted, the tap is not supporting the entire weight of the camera and rig as it would be doing if the camera was hanging from a single tap. That said, I'm sure the camera would be fine using one tap if all I had was a basic lens on it and nothing else. But it was out of my concern about adding the extra weight of a full matte box, glass filters, follow focus, rails, external monitor, battery pack, etc. that I wanted to be sure a single tap could handle it. I am waiting on a return email from BM to get an official answer. But right now I am leaning toward the Redrock Micro plate that Randy pointed out.
Offline

Whitehorsevideo

  • Posts: 39
  • Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:56 pm

Re: Top handle using just one mounting tap?

PostWed Feb 27, 2013 1:44 am

The correct solution is a cage of some kind. Yeah, it costs more, but that way the handle is lifting the rig from the rails under the camera. You don't want to carry a tripod around by a camera handle, so the same idea applies here. Lift the tripod and let the camera go for a ride. Lift the camera rig from the baseplate/rails. Don't stress your camera body no matter how well built it is.
Just my 2 cents.
Offline

Joshpapp

  • Posts: 6
  • Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:54 am

Re: Top handle using just one mounting tap?

PostWed Feb 27, 2013 5:28 am


Return to Cinematography

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 95 guests