Pyxis 6K/12K Cageless minimalist rigging

Apologies if a thread like this already exists, the forum search turned up empty.

With the Pyxis 12k on the way I am thinking how to rig this camera. Most of the rigs I see online seem way over the top. For me the appeal of this camera is its small form factor compared to its big brother. So rather than trying to turn the Pyxis into an Ursa Cine, I would like to keep it small but usable and would be thankful for any pointers in that regard.

A few questions:
- How much does a BP-U35 form factor battery (46mm deep) protrude from the Pyxis body? I ordered the Nitze V-Mount plate that sits flush against the body while leaving the SDIs accessible.
- Hoping to rig this with a single top-mounted 15mm rail for motors and lidar. In order to secure the PL adapter and the V-Mount plate I am searching a cheeseplate to attach to the camera bottom. Right now my best fit seems to be a 20cm cheeseplate from Aliexpress. Anyone have gone down a similar route and have recommendations?
- Could someone share the distances and layout of the bottom side threads? I found a drawing in the manual and it helps to estimate sizing, but would be great to double check.
- Attaching a mic - very few people on the internet seem to be recording sound with this camera, so I am wondering how people are attaching their mics? Right now I am planning to use a Cold Shoe receiver to Nato rail adapter, and slide it on the top Nato rail.

Beyond those specific questions I am also just looking for general rigging advice and do's and don'ts from people who have used in the Pyxis body in a similar approach for the last few months.

Many thanks in advance

Paul, from what you’ve described, you are already beyond a minimalist rig. And that’s not meant as a criticism just an observation. Rigs evolve to serve the various shooting requirements one has. There’s nothing excessive if a camera rig satisfies three or four different shooting scenarios.

For example:
True minimalism begins with no rig. You might be surprised at what the in-camera audio can achieve. I’m recording with at least four audio feeds, but in post I can ‘see’ my in-camera audio tracks and they’re not bad, even usable with some sweetening in post (which is why I use them for insurance in case there’s a failure of my feeds.

Depending upon one’s needs, the standard BP-U power interface and a battery don’t require rigging.

I like that you’re including the DJI Pro LiDAR but that does add rigging and rails. Lenses can require rigging and a matte box depending upon the lens. There will likely be an in-camera support for continuous auto focus tracking on the L-mount eventually so that could reduce some of the rigging.

Even on a minimal rig, I think I’d want a bare-bones handle. But that Pyxis Pro handle that includes an EVF would certainly be a minimalist approach for most handheld shooting and might be something for one to consider compared to the complex precise ‘architectural’ rigging of the Pyxis Monitor EVF Kit. But that minimalist appealing Pyxis Pro handle is not as flexible in different scenarios such as taking shots near ground level or with the camera mounted out-of-reach or handheld while your assistant leans over a balcony.

Paul, I agree many rigs are too over-the-top and are oftentimes not utilizing what they've added on to it.

For me, even the smallest screw needs to have a reason. I'm all for a lighter rig!

Before I sold my PYXIS 6K, I owned the full Kondor Blue cage. The PYXIS is hefty and the cage was way overkill. I ended up using a SmallRig cheese plate on top and that was pretty much all I needed for most things. The Tilta cage for just $100 is quite tempting, though.

I think having a BPU-35 and placing a v-mount plate is a great idea. I've seen that done and it leaves room for the SDI. I believe it was the Nitze plate too.

@rick.lang, with my current cameras (EVA1) I plug my Schoeps CMIT directly in and get good results. I recently picked up a mixpre6 ii, which I’ve only used once so far. Do you think I’d find a difference in sound quality between the Pyxis 12k and the Mixpre for interview type work if I only need a single channel?

If your mic is mounted on the camera for the single XLR In on the Pyxis versus mounted away from the camera and the MixPre-6 II, you might get more camera noise. The audio circuits on the MixPre-6 II are likely better quality than within the Pyxis as well and support the convenience of 32bit float audio.

That said I’m always using my Sennheiser 416 MKH U48 mounted on my UM4.6K for ambient audio and it is usable compared to the other mics and audio feeds into my MixPre-6 II.

If it’s convenient and doesn’t disturb your interviewee, I’d recommend your external MixPre-6 II recorder for your external mic mounted on a mic stand and leave the Pyxis to record scratch audio. But if circumstances are not ideal, you’ll still get good results using the mic and camera only. Again mic off camera if possible but if not feasible, you’ll be fine.

If there’s no sound in the background going on that you want to capture, the Voice Isolation and Dialogue Leveler available in Resolve are going to be helpful as well as any other sweetener you want to apply.

I often (in the situation you describe) duplicate my audio track so I have two independent tracks in post. On the second track I apply the audio effects to improve the spoken audio, but the original track remains to provide ambience. You can adjust sound levels to your satisfaction to mix the clean voice only track with the original dirty track. It’s a preference for me as I’m not trying to master a high-end project with only ultra clean tracks. An example would be if you were doing ADR, you want the ADR very clean but you want the deliverable to have the same background noise.

Hi Rick I should have clarified I almost never mount the mic on camera. It’s always on a boom/c-stand.

Once in a while I’ll mount a AT4051B which has a wider pick up pattern on the camera for natural sound, but the CMIT I think might be too narrow. I guess I’ll just have to test the camera vs. Mixpre when I get it.

As far as cleaning up tracks, while resolve’s isolation has gotten better, and is find for certain projects, I find the most natural sound comes from RX11 advanced and the other tools in allow me to get the pristine audio in generally after.

So you are good with either approach.

If you can manage the extra equipment on your set, I’d run separate external audio through the MixPre-6 II. Its timecode clock is so good, I jam the MixPre from a Tentacle Sync and then remove the Tentacle and leave it mounted to your camera for the duration of the shoot for hours. So sync in post is so quick given your boom mic is fairly close to your subject.

I'm also leaning towards a minimalist rig, my concern is side screen could get damaged rigged or not. XLCS has a screen protector
https://www.xlcsdesigns.com/products/tempered-glass-screen-protector-for-pyxis-6k

Good point! I always use an expensive screen protector on my iPhone and the Pyxis is a little more worthy of protecting than the iPhone.

Hi guys,
I'm also a proud Pyxis owner now, and I am medium-light using the Neewer foldable V-Mount with some self-3d-printed lifepo vmount batteries and only a top cheeseplate, and so on...

anyway, if you want some screen protection, I have one designed for free download here:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7006274

large_display_1744294254908.jpg (292.09 KiB) Viewed 1852 times

please note, that I have now placed an Accsoon SDI transmitter on another 3d-designed screwable backplate to the Neewer V-Mount adding an NPF Mount for the transmitter.. I someone is interested, I'll make it avail for download, too...

greets
Mike

While this isn't as minimalist as it could be. I don't feel like removing the shape base, side, and top plates; it only has the Pyxis monitor and a right-side handle. My left hand sits under the lens, providing support and focus, iris and VND filter control. I'd say this is my smallest practical "work" rig since it has an anamorphic lens. I won't be running without an external monitor and turning the camera on its side, and rotating the OpenGate footage in post, I leave that for using the Pyxis for fun run and gun stuff.

IMG_2875_resized.jpg (250.01 KiB) Viewed 1808 times

IMG_2876_resized.jpg (256.5 KiB) Viewed 1808 times

I also have the XLCS screen protector installed, and use the Core 98x BPU battery, which I can charge with my MacBook charger, which saves space in the camera bag since I usually have my laptop with me.

Thank you everyone for sharing!

@Michael: would be interested to hear what piece you are using to attach the V-Mount plate to the body? Maybe a picture from behind or the side would help? Thanks!

Paul, I agree many rigs are too over-the-top and are oftentimes not utilizing what they've added on to it.

For me, even the smallest screw needs to have a reason. I'm all for a lighter rig!

Before I sold my PYXIS 6K, I owned the full Kondor Blue cage. The PYXIS is hefty and the cage was way overkill. I ended up using a SmallRig cheese plate on top and that was pretty much all I needed for most things. The Tilta cage for just $100 is quite tempting, though.

I think having a BPU-35 and placing a v-mount plate is a great idea. I've seen that done and it leaves room for the SDI. I believe it was the Nitze plate too.

Sam! Completely missed your reply between all the audio talk (which is important too!) I 100% agree. Do you have any pictures of your minimal rig still? And do you remember which cheese plate you used? Also interested to hear about base plate solutions that don't add too much height.

I'm also leaning towards a minimalist rig, my concern is side screen could get damaged rigged or not. XLCS has a screen protector
https://www.xlcsdesigns.com/products/tempered-glass-screen-protector-for-pyxis-6k

Thanks for linking this! Will order it along with their locking USB-C cables. I managed to bump both my OG pocket and 6K Pro screens, even though I was quite careful with them.

@Michael: would be interested to hear what piece you are using to attach the V-Mount plate to the body? Maybe a picture from behind or the side would help? Thanks!

Hi Paul,
the Neewer V-Mount is mounted via rods, and the body is screwed to the smallrig rod plate 1674.

If someone is interested, here is the V-Mount-to-NPF adapter to squeeze in a hollyland or Accsoon TX and the SSD Disk ...
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7018985

npf vmount back-small.jpg (113.32 KiB) Viewed 1558 times

BTW: I've already ordered a small BPU-35 and hope to get it sqeezed in between as well, to get uninterruptable power supply.


greets
Mike

Michael thanks for letting me know! Was hopping for a rodless mounting solution for the v-mount but I am slowly getting around to realising that I might need bottom mounted rods after all.. So now I am looking for a baseplate that won't add too much height, Looks like the Smallrig 3357 might fit the bill.

Thanks for the V-Mount to NPF Adapter. I am wondering whatever happened to V-Mount transmitters that would go directly between the V-mount plate and the V-mount battery. Tilta has an adapter like that for the DJI transmission system but doesn't look like any of the other budget solutions are going that way. But perhaps that is a good thing, not adding further length to the camera overall.

Wanted to share an update with everyone here. I came across the Haoge HQR-MS220II that is a universal mount plate for Sachtler and Manfrotto tripods which I have ordered now. The length of the plate should allow for an attachment of the Kippertie Revolva Pyxis foot and the rear has two through holes ideally placed for the Nitze N21-D6 V-Mount plate (I might place a Nato rail in between for quick removal).

The idea is to use a single rod on top of the camera most of the time and when dual bottom rods are needed I could attach a Manfrotto compatible baseplate, while keep the rig intact.