My Panasonic GH2 Handheld Rig

After many months of trial and error, I think I finally have a handheld video camera rig I’m happy with. Until I start using anamorphic lenses, this may be the setup for me for the time being…

Fully battery-powered, I’ve only tested it continuously for about 40 min but I’m estimating that I can last for a good hour –maybe 90 min without changing batteries. Starting with the camera, I am using a soon-to-be-hacked Panasonic GH2 that I simply could not be happier with. The picture quality is superb (and will only get better after the hack). The lens choices are virtually unlimited when using adapters. I am currently using a Panasonic 20mm f1.7 Pancake lens for a number of reasons but mainly I like the shallow depth of field, amazing low-light performance, and acceptable auto-focus. I will probably move away from auto-focus with my next rig but I am certainly enjoying it while I use it. For more controlled camera work, I fully expect to build a rail system with a follow-focus system but for the time being this has been working quite well. I occasionally have focusing delays when moving shots but for simple “people shots” I’m doing, I’m pretty happy…

The rig’s frame is from Cam-Rak.com. I managed to find them on eBay and got one of their Mark V units for a really good deal. I was initially afraid that the height would be too much but then I managed to unbolt the top bracket and reverse it. That worked for some time (mounting lights from below as opposed to the top) but once I decided to mount a Liliput field monitor, I moved the bracket back to the original position and never looked back! I experimented with many different methods of mounting the field monitor but ultimately wound-up drilling into the side of the vertical rails and inserting 1/4-20 2.5″ bolts with wingnuts to adjust the tension…

This turned out to be a fantastic solution. The height of the Cam-Rak frame was perfect for this application and now the field monitor is supported securely on both sides –and I can easily tilt the monitor depending on my viewing angle. Next I mounted the Zoom H4N digital recorder to the frame using some plastic clips I ordered when testing out ways to mount the field monitor. I don’t think this will be the final form of this mount but for now it works great. These clips (ordered on eBay from China) are just plastic and can break if tightened too much (as I found out). But supporting the H4N is not an issue at all. I simply may wind up drilling another through-hole and running more 1/4-20 bolts –but I do like being able to angle the direction of the recorder when needed. This may not be too much of an issue as most of the time my subject is holding this recorder just below view. Also, I may start resorting to a boom operator for sound.

For lighting I went with a pair of  Neewer CN-160 dimmable lights. At $30 each, you can’t go wrong. They get super bright, have a slot for gel coloring, and run on standard NP-F550 batteries (as well as AA’s if need be). When I need them, they’re great. Ultimately, I am aiming for a ring light from F&V and may have to change my rig somewhat, but these are working quite well for now. My field monitor is the Liliput 5DII-8. It also runs on an NP-F550 battery which means I can buy a 3-pack along with a few I already have for spares and I’m all set…

Some of the little things that were needed to pull this rig together came very slowly. I would begin to think of things I may need, order them from China, wait 3 weeks, and find out that it wasn’t the best thing. Each time I thought I’d get something else, it was another 3 week wait for delivery. Still, in the end, I’m very happy with the result –and for very little money relatively speaking. Some of the small details were the clamp for the H4N (the 2nd design I tried to use on this rig). It was a challenge because most camera rigs today run on 15mm rails and not 25mm vertical bars. I’m still not completely happy with the clamp I’m using but it seems to be the best available that I can find. The 1/4-20 screw post that came with the Cam-Rak system broke within days of use from the plastic head that was glued to the screw. I thought I’d find a more sturdy replacement and wound up with another wonderful China-based supplier for the all-metal mounting post I now use. I’ve also added a nice 1/4-20 fender washer and rubber washer under the camera…

Some near-future upgrades I’m considering (besides the F&V ring light) would be a unified / centralized battery system. Since I’m running both my lights and field monitor on extended camcorder batteries, it would make sense to simply replace those 3 big batteries for just one large battery with 3 outputs. They all run on 12v so I don’t see why this wouldn’t work. Still, that is a back-burner project now that this rig is up and running. I also have AC adapters for every single component on the rig –including the GH2 camera itself. This has allowed me to record several hours of continuous video without any trouble (having large memory cards helps too). Still, a central battery system may also lighten the rig somewhat too. Actually, I’m not as disappointed with the weight as I thought I would. I expected the Cam-Rak frame to be lighter by itself that it turned out to be (especially because it is aluminum). However, the total weight has helped with stability tremendously and maybe I just need to exercise my arms more anyways!! Still, if I intend on using anamorphic lenses in the future, I’ll need extra lens supports that I just don’t see this rig making possible. This would mean going to a shoulder-mounted rail system –but I’m going to hold off on that as long as I can. Then again, I’m just having too much fun using this thing!!