Rigging the FX6 – Shoulder mounts, Rod, Brackets, etc.

In this video I take a look at all sorts of rigging options for the Sony FX6.

Some of the key areas discussed:

0:01:30 Camrade Travel Mate 360 carry-on camera wheelie bag.

0:04:30 Vocas Sliding Plate Basic.

0:06:30 Chrosziel Base Plate and Quick Lock Plate.

0:09:00 Vocas Sliding VCT Base Plate.

0:10:00 Making sure the rod height is correct.

0:12:00 Vocas Matte Boxes.

0:17:00 Using a V-Mount battery to balance the camera.

0:22:30 Paglink V-Mount Batteries and flying with large batteries.

0:30:00 Vocas Flexible Camera Rig.

0:38:30 Arms for the hand grip (Vocas and Chrosziel).

300x250_xdcam_150dpi Rigging the FX6 - Shoulder mounts, Rod, Brackets, etc.

0:40:30 Viewfinder considerations and options.

0:42:00 Gratical Viewfinders with Vocas Nato Rail.

0:44:00 FX6 Screen with FX9 Loupe.

0:46:00 Adding Extra hand grips, other hand grip mounting options.

0:51:00 Using the FX6 with the FX9 viewfinder.

0:52:30 TopTeks and CVP FX6 viewfinder modification.

0:54:30 Notes on the potential for LCD screen sun damage.

0:57:00 Vocas PL Mount adapter – importance of shims.

1:00:00 Why I avoid magic arms, especially for viewfinders.

1:03:00 Atomos Ninja V discussion.

1:07:00 H&Y Variable ND filter.
1:12:00 Summary and wrap up.

9 thoughts on “Rigging the FX6 – Shoulder mounts, Rod, Brackets, etc.”

  1. Thank you, Allister.
    Very informative as usual.
    Can you please provide a link for the Vocas accessory you show at 11:00…
    I can’t find it anywhere on their website…

    All the best,
    Beppe

  2. Hello Alister,

    Thank you for all your information via your website and online video’s.

    I’ve got a few questions about the FX6.
    Some questions are already mentioned in former comments, but I’m not 100% sure if I understood them correctly.

    1. Will the viewfinder we use on our F5, the DVF-EL100, work on the FX6?

    2. Does the Zacuto VCT PRO Baseplate works well with the FX6?

    3. Can we use an assign button (in 3840×2160 XAVC-I mode) to use a smaller part of the sensor so we can crop the shot? I’ve read in the manual things about the Image Scan Mode in FF mode and S35 mode.

    4. Is the FX6 able to output an interlaced signal to an external recorder when shooting in 25p or 50p?

    5. Is it true that, when using this camera in Cine EI S-Gamut3.Cine/SLog3 with the s709 MLUT in the viewfinder, I can use the zebra’s at 70% exposing the skintones?

    Kind regards, Marco

    1. 1. Will the viewfinder we use on our F5, the DVF-EL100, work on the FX6?
      NO

      2. Does the Zacuto VCT PRO Baseplate works well with the FX6?
      I don’t see why not, but it weighs more than the camera!

      3. Can we use an assign button (in 3840×2160 XAVC-I mode) to use a smaller part of the sensor so we can crop the shot? I’ve read in the manual things about the Image Scan Mode in FF mode and S35 mode.
      No. It’s a 4K FF sensor, so if you crop it won’t be 4K.

      4. Is the FX6 able to output an interlaced signal to an external recorder when shooting in 25p or 50p?
      Not in 25p but it can when shooting 50p.

      5. Is it true that, when using this camera in Cine EI S-Gamut3.Cine/SLog3 with the s709 MLUT in the viewfinder, I can use the zebra’s at 70% exposing the skintones?
      Yes. But the correct level for skintones with s709 is between 55% and 65% depending on how much contrast you want. s709 is not the same as Rec-709.

  3. Thank you, Alister, for this very useful video. Accessories and rigging are some of the hardest parts of spec-ing out a prospective camera kit for a client, since each new camera gets bespoke accessories.

    I need to choose a tripod / head to recommend to a nonprofit organization that I’m helping to develop their in-house video production capabilities. I’m going to recommend the Sony FX6, and either a second FX6 as a B-camera for interviews, or (when they balk at the price) an a7siii or a7iv as B-camera.

    **So, my question to you is, what tripod, or what tripod head load rating would you recommend using under an FX6 with rigging such as you demonstrate here? **.
    This will be mostly for studio interview use, but I anticipate future on-location shoots. I’m partial to Sachtler, and at my current job we use an FSB8 under a Sony FS7. With attached monitor (SmallHD 7″) and wireless audio, or a matte box or small teleprompter on rails, handling gets clumsy with the FS7/Sachtler FSB8 combination. But, the FX6 is listed as 2 lbs, versus the FS7’s 9.9 lbs.

    I hope you see this question; thanks in advance for your reply.

    Cheers,
    Nicholas

    1. By the time you have added a base plate, a monitor and extra batteries to power everything to an FX6 you need a tripod that is rated for a payload of at least 10 or 12lbs. It’s important to understand that tripod payload ratings are for a weight that is at the height of the tripod mounting plate. A monitor mounted on top of a camera exerts a load on the head well in excess of it’s actual weight because of the added leverage due to its distance from the head. As a rule of thumb take the weight of the camera and all the accessories and multiply by 2.5 to get the absolute minimum payload rating. An FSB8 would be about right for an FX6.

      1. Thank you so much, Alister. This advice is extremely helpful.

        I seem to remember that there’s a place on your website where I can buy you a cocktail … I’m off to find that now.

        Cheers,
        Nicholas

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