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Setting a Fig Rig down


David Grantham

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Maybe folks can save me from reinventing the wheel a stand for a wheel.

 

I need to support a tricked-out Fig Rig -- which has the stability of a unicycle -- in a more-or-less horizontal orientation when it's set down for a moment.

 

Permanent legs/outriggers will compromise ergonomics and versatility.

 

A cradle/c-stand/tripod has to be set up in one place, which compromises the convenience and efficiency of roving with the camera. This -- apart from being out of production and unavailable -- is a problem with the useful (but ungainly) cradle designed for the rig by Sinivision.

 

Maybe quick-attachable/detachable collabsible kickstands of some sort on the rig's crossbar (or -- probably better -- on the rails). Like the Upstand bike kickstand (but out of the box its size and angles probably aren't right): attached a link but our site seems to delete it - it's a tent-pole-collapsible carbon-fibre tube which magnetically quick-attaches/detaches over a small angled tab with a narrow diameter collar which attaches over a bike hub skewer (or small bolt - like the one on rail thumb-tighteners)..

 

The Fig Rig improves my camerawork, and the curved bottom and lower grip (which create the instability) provide a versatile grip and pivot points for panning and tilting while stabilized on a surface or object. But if I set the rig down for a moment to attend to it (with both hands) or to something else, it's only stable if the back of the camera rests on the ground (if I lean it back), or the lens area (if I lean it forward). Thanks for any advice/thoughts.

 

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  • 3 months later...
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How about a Maffer clamp with an appropriate length of camera rail or equivalent diameter pipe. Perhaps a small rubber cane tip to keep it from slipping on a smooth surface.

If I had it in my shop, I'm sure I could fabricate something in about ten minutes.

Dino "the mad gaffer" Giammattei

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As I thought about what I had suggested I realized that a single "kickstand" wouldn't keep the round rig from rolling side to side. An inverted "T" shaped appendage with rubber feet would though. If you can get me some pix of the rig it would help me visualize what is needed. I love doing stuff like this.

dino

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  • 3 months later...

I second a mafer or cardellini on a c-stand with a sandbag. Steadicam is balanced and stored on a c-stand....so the same sort of things makes the most sense for other rigs. I have a Jerry Hill Gorelock for my steadicam...unless someone made an expensive quick locking dock (which makes sense in correlation of the expense of the camera &/or lenses), this might be the safest solution. I'm always ill at ease seeing fig rigs leaning against a wall or just on the ground. Things on the ground are just asking to get dusty, dirty, stepped on/tripped on...having stingers dragged across...etc...

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Thanks for such well-considered thoughts, folks.

 

Sometimes I need to attend to the camera with both hands for an instant. Wouldn't leave it there, but I can't hold it up at that moment nor take time to go over to wherever there's a stand or bag.

 

I've fashioned a pair of light aluminum 'kickstands' attached to a double-clamp on the rig's rails. Just a pair of camp tent-pole connector tubes jammed onto splayed hook-eyes (over nuts ground down for a tight fit). They swing up out of the way alongside the mounting plate leaving the handle accessible, or down (against another clamp as an adjustable stop) to from a triangulated base. To be fool-proof they will soon get a bent-wire holder to keep their deployment (and retraction) held fast. And it would be best to connect them together so they can be deployed with one swipe. But they work very well! And add almost no weight. I'll upload a photo sometime.

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