So since my last entry for the 5D I have added a few new goodies to the rig… As you can see (kind of) I have the whole enchalada mounted in an cage (love it) which makes grabbing this camera and using it a dream. The cage is made by Easom and this particular version is called the Halo. It provides 2 ribs for connecting the upper and lower sections and I have them staggered here. Their other model called the Solo has only 1 rib – an equally nice cage. Also I found a great D-Tap power distribution company: Hawk-Woods in the UK. They sell a kit that allows you to use you V-mount batteries with DSLRs by way of voltage regulating the power with the adapter that goes into your camera where the battery fits. Now I power my camera, monitor and any other goodies from a single B4B V-mount battery. This is a mid sized battery 6Ah/90Wh and lasts about 2 to 3 hours each.
To go with the “all growed up” look I added my RedRock follow focus and CA Vision matte box. I had to go up to 18″ rods to make everything fit and balance out but it all sits there nicely now. I put a small Pony clamp on the back of the cage handle and slid both of my Sennheiser wireless receivers on there for a tight cable package. I used XLR splitters to feed the mic’s outputs to both the ZOOM and the 5D at moc level. There is an XLR to stereo mini adapter cable in there going into the 5D itself.
Rounding out the system I have a Zoom H4n mounted to another part of the cage and my Marshall monitor is being held on my a Manfrotto mid sized articulating arm. It all fits… and comes in at about 16.2 Lbs…. ouch =) I have another Noga arm on order that should drop a pound or two off the total weight of the package. I’ll keep you posted.