By technical editor Matt Allard:
Are you frustrated with the ergonomics of your Canon C series camera? Ever wish it handled more like an ENG camera of yesteryear? Now Zacuto have the answer.
At IBC they were showing a new Canon C300 mkII ENG rig that you will be able to buy directly from Canon. Apparently Canon received a lot of requests from customers who wanted to use the camera in conjunction with their CN7x17 cine servo zoom lens to shoot reality TV and news programming. Canon then approached Zacuto to come up with a ENG style solution.
Creating a setup that replicates a traditional Betacam setup they designed the rig to keep the lens low and the weight evenly distributed. The key to balancing such a front heavy set up was to add a back-end that contained a power solution, radio mics and the standard C300 mkII LCD screen and audio connections. The whole back plate acts as a counterbalance and can be moved forwards or backwards depending on your lens choice. This way you can achieve correct balance on your shoulder and alleviate fatigue.
The kit will ship complete with Zacuto’s Gratical EVF, top handle, bottom plate, lens support and everything else you need to get up and running. I tried out the set up and it was nicely balanced and felt good to use. That said it was however pretty damn heavy – so get yourself down to the gym if you intended to buy it.
There is no indication of pricing or availability yet. Given that the kit includes the camera, rig, EVF and Canon 17-120mm servo zoom it surely won’t be cheap. For more information keep a look out on the Zacuto website.
