DIY DSLR bracket

I almost clicked an eBay offer for the Halo Rig Mini, and the seller would include a hotshoe mount (allegedly a $20 value) for $130 with free shipping. What was attractive about the unit was the price, design, and facilities to mount numerous devices: Litepanels, 416 shotgun mic, Zoom H2. What stymied me to forego the purchase five hours before the offer expired was the inability to mount the MixPre.

The tripod interface looks particularly precarious. That'll wobble:

DSLRs were not originally made for video, resulting in a third-party frenzy to make expensive DSLR-specific products such as Zacuto and Redrock, then send sponsored gear moles (e.g., Philip Bloom et al) to promote the apparatus on forums. DSLR filmmakers are completely lost when it comes to peripherals, so they always seek guidance (tutorials and webinars garner megabucks) and buy what the moles recommend. Everybody's happy: mole gets a cut, company accrues super profit, shooter goes further into deep debt.

DSLR products are expensive, which doesn't mean they're useful or will get gigs. When searching for a rig, mainly I wanted a method to mount devices and incorporate my MixPre hack. I considered this cage on eBay:

The seller makes these with Home Depot components and definitely looks it, but he didn't design it. It's based on a YouTube video. A lot of DIYers make and sell these with household parts. This particular seller could benefit from better photos, but even so, the rectangular design is a bit rambunctious and unwieldy, and probably still won't mount my MixPre.

My objective was a simple design for tripod mounting. Too many cages have features I neither want nor need, e.g., panning, low-riding, sliders, shoulder-mount, etc. My intent is mostly standard interviews and oral history sessions with no pans or zooms.

I already had a $16 Sima video bracket made of metal that I bought from BestBuy in 2009. I surmised two of these together might serve my purpose.

When I went to BestBuy again, the Sima was swapped for a Dynex. Still $16 but unfortunately made of plastic.

To prevent a wobbly tripod interface (see Halo above riding on a knob) I bored holes in the mounts, modified a quick release plate, and secured the hack to the GH2 with a 1/4"-20 screw. The weight rests on the plates. Screws that go into the MixPre are hard nylon to avoid electrical contact: two small screws on the bottom and one 1/4"-20 on top with some masking tape to prevent slippage.

This DIY setup is appropriate for stationary sessions but doesn't seem durable for run-n-gun. I've used an earlier version of this configuration for an oral history shoot with one bracket and no Zoom.



After all this peripheral and wirey mess, there's still a dormant hotshoe for another device. Furthermore, I can incorporate a Cool-Lux to add another hotshoe.

As with all DSLR rigs, this system is top-heavy yet lateral and somewhat wobbly. As cumbersome as DSLRs are, the benefits of interchangeable lenses, low-light shooting, effective aperture control, etc., outweigh using a camcorder. Of course for run-n-gun, I simply mount a self-contained mic and use ambient light, or sometimes use the internal mic (with permanent Windcutter) and call it a day.

How is this transported? It's dismantled and packed. Because of its bulk and precarious shape, it's not readily transportable as is. The best-case scenario is in a private motor vehicle with a dedicated space to absorb movement. Otherwise, I usually unpack and compile outside before entering the venue since I need to concentrate on details which is best done without distractions. The process takes about 20 minutes. Conversely, I repack outside after the session. Of course in bad neighborhoods nothing is done outside since getting jacked is likely. Just got to do my best to compile inside amid distractions.