A guide to Sony FS7 Rigs and Accessories

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by Tim FokJanuary 26^th, 2015

Sony listened to users and developed something completely new with the FS7, an ergonomic camera.

Yet despite their efforts there’s always going to be points for improvements, this article looks at how which manufactures offer what, to make the FS7 a more shooter friendly camera.

The Sony has hit the ground running with the FS7, elaborating on the popular and affordable high framerate Sony FS700, adding 4K internal recording, a much stronger XAVC codec and perhaps most surprisingly for Sony, far better ergonomics.

A specification list seemingly always comes first with a Sony large sensor camera; the FS700 and FS100 are…. a challenge to operate. The FS7 is a different beast, a shorter body, removable viewfinder and handle make it far easier to operate out of the box; Sony really listened to users with the need for ergonomics.

However, there’s always room for improvement (at least that’s what every retailer I’m about to talk about will tell you). The shoulder pad was a great idea, but sits quite far back and lacks adjustment therefore is not ideal in many situations. The solution? Well there are a few, loads in fact considering the camera was only announced in September.

Here we’ll take a look at what’s currently on offer.

Zacuto

Price range $585 – $1200

We’ve talked a lot about Zacutos Next Generation Recoil Rigs in the recent past. Fresh out of the factory and boasting capability with pretty much every camera setup there is; the FS7 is no exception.

A Zacuto Recoil Rig is built on a simple philosophy, balance. Find the centre point your rig and sit it on your shoulder; Zacuto state this is nearly always where the lens meets the body.

The VCT Universal Baseplate is the heart of this system, add an Axis Mini for the FS7 EVF, and you’re pretty much ready to go.

The only problem with a perfectly balanced (with no counter balance weight) system is quite often the camera sits back on your shoulder, meaning you have to reach back to make settings changes. With the supplied FS7 handle, this is less of a problem. Simply mount a rosette to the baseplate and you’re ready to go.

A Zacuto Z-Drive and Tornado relocates focus control also if you want to bring your left hand further down too.

Wooden Camera

Price range $938 – $2,350

Wooden Camera has taken the more tripod approach to its accessories. Offering a 3 different kits for the FS7, the Base Advanced and Pro. I’ll discuss what the Pro kit includes.

A top cheeseplate offers a whole host of threaded mounting points for various accessories, including the existing handle if you require, or an improved rotating Wooden Camera option.

The top handle connects via popular Nato quick release, and offers cold shoe, 15mm and 19mm compatibility for accessories.

Most notably is the 15mm side connector to accommodate the native FS7 viewfinder mount or Wooden Camera EVF mount.

The FS7 Quick Base offers two 15mm rods up front, and can accommodate another two on the rear for further mounting (more on that shortly).

The baseplate adheres to the Arri dovetail plate meaning compatibility with existing shoulder rigs etc. is quick and easy; I love how much fore and aft adjustment you get with this setup.

Lastly the Pro system from Wooden Camera takes advantage of two rear facing 15mm rod connectors on the baseplate, offering a battery plate to attach V-lock sized batteries.

Shape

Price range $399 – $2285

The Shape Rig returns to a shoulder rig orientated design. Offering a baseplate with a nice shoulder pad, 15mm rods to the front and rear as well as a dropped down handle for the left hand side. The right side makes way for Sonys existing handle, offering a rosette to accommodate this.

The FS7 Pro Bundle from Shape includes their existing Follow Focus Pro, a hard stopped multi directional follow focus with height adjustable arm.

As you can see from the pictures, due to the placement of the camera and shoulder pad, this rig will easily become front heavy, so best compatible with users adopting a v-lock battery system or the raw recorder to counter balance.

Shape has also developed a lightweight baseplate solution for the FS7. Supplied with dual 8″ long 15mm rods, rosettes on both sides and a delta plate on the bottom for use with VCT style plates minus the rear-locating pin.

Movcam

Price range $990 – $7000

https://vimeo.com/116823868

Movcam has become increasingly popular with their bespoke camera accessories. Notably their fantastic Sony A7S cage, which I myself own.

The Movcam FS7 rig benefits from a half cage style design, running up the back of the dumb side of the camera, offering a host of threads as it goes and protecting the EVF cable connection.

The baseplate is split into two parts, the bottom offering a standard VCT connection & dual 15mm rods, and the top a more compact Arca-Swiss dovetail mount. The connection between the two offers moderate fore and aft adjustment of the camera setup; the slim dovetail mount means you can add a shoulder pad for shoulder setups.

Arri rosettes can be found on both sides of the baseplate to accommodate the Sony FS7 handle. The half cage also providing one on the dumb side to enable a rear mounted handle setup.

On the top, a 15mm rod connection point and rod adds some adjustment to the current FS7 viewfinder. There’s also an option to remove the existing handle with a threaded-out Movcam equivalent that stretches the length of the setup.

Lastly to mention is the neat little adjustable lens mount support. Between Sony E and Canon EF there’s often a tiny amount of play (a popular lens solution for FS7 users), and this support just firms that connection up.

Vocas

Price range $745 – $1900

The Vocas FS7 has similarities to both Wooden Camera and Movcam solutions. Primarily designed for tripod use, but by using existing common plates it’s compatible with a host of other setups including shoulder pads and rigs.

The baseplate takes the curved shape of the underside of the FS7. Like many here it offers dual 15mm rods up front and a rosette on either side for use with the FS7 handle and popular Vocas wooden ergonomic handles. In order to keep the profile of the plate thin, rods do not pass through and instead a separate small module is used to connect 15mm rods at the rear.

A top cheeseplate offers a wide variety of threaded mounting options, as well as inclusion of a heavyweight handle, and 15mm rod support for existing EVF.

Tilta

Price range $700 – $2800

The Tilta rig for FS7 is the most cage-like setup I’ve discussed so far. Expanding up from a baseplate across the front of the camera, serving as a front armour and offering many threads for mounting accessories.

A top half cheeseplate does as many others in this list do, but rather than stretch the entire surface area of the top of the camera, the Tilta plate resides only around the sides meaning the top handle stays put.

A back top plate piggy backs existing mounting threads and hangs a battery plate down the back on the camera for V-Lock solutions.

The baseplate also equipped with dual 15mm rods and rosettes houses a curved shoulder pad.

The pad sits pretty far back on the rig however, so like the Shape rig would be recommended for use with a V-lock battery or two (or a lot of rear counter balance).

Like the Movcam, the Tilta rig also has an adjustable lens mount support, and also has the option to upgrade the system to accommodate larger 19mm rods.

Arri

Price Range – €695 – €2695

Arri has broken down their support into four main packages – Lightweight EF Mount Kit, Lightweight PL Mount Kit, Studio Kit 15mm and Studio Kit 19mm.

Each package contains the same baseplate with front and rear rod support, an inbuilt shoulder pad plus rosettes for attaching handles. A raised top cheeseplate also runs throughout each package as well as a rear plate that connects via dual rods to accommodate batteries and/or counter weight.

What’s unique about the Arri kits are the inclusions of matteboxes, with each package getting a slightly different flavour. The EF Mount Kit benefits from 4 flagged box that bolts directly to dual extended rods. The PL mount kit takes advantage of a sturdier camera mate and mounts directly to the end of lens with top and bottom flags only as standard. Both studio kits return to a fully flagged matte box, connecting via 15mm and 19mm respectively.

Threaded rings, clamp adaptors and reduction rings are available for the relevant matte boxes, the Studio kits get a hard matte set and filter frames also.

Further more for the studio kits is inclusion of a top handle, the lightweight kits making use of the native Sony handle.

The Lens Adapter Support LAS-1 fits a huge range of third party lens adapters, including EF and PL adapters, as well as popular special ones like the Metabones Speedbooster.

Lastly, each kit comes with a hand grip, microphone bracket and follow focus (Mini hard stop and MFF-2 for Lightweight kits, FF-5 for Studios).

Chrosziel

Price – $770 

If you’re just looking for a baseplate, Chrosziel offer the LWS 401-FS7. Based on a 15mm rod system but compatible with existing Chrosziel 19mm products also, the bespoke FS7 baseplate offers an additional shoulder pad, Arri rosettes and VCT baseplate connectivity.

A nice feature with this baseplate is the multi connection points of the camera body, using 1/4″ and 3/8″ threads as well as 3 point further back to ensure a solid mate with camera and baseplate.

Whilst the philosophy of each of these rigs is very much the same, each design is fairly different from the next. Due to the modular nature of the Sony FS7, manufacturers have chosen which parts to improve and which parts to leave alone. Only the user can decide which works best in any situation. In many, a combination of any of the above can often be the best solution.

It’s quite likely I’ve missed an FS7 solution, or in a day/week/month another comes out that is equally as useful. Please do share any rigs and setups you’ve seen that make the FS7 an ergonomically better camera.