EPIC-M and Element Technica Mantis Hand-Held

[Justin Mitchell]

I got the chance to put my EPIC-M on an Element Technica Mantis rig yesterday and I was stoked! I can't get over how lightweight the EPIC set-up is overall and with the Mantis it all just clicked for me.

Personally, I need a hand-held rig that can balance on my shoulder. I just can't have my arms giving out in the middle of a long documentary take (20 minutes plus) and this has happened more than once using various front heavy rigs born from the DSLR world. With the EPIC/Mantis combination, I've found my doc set-up. The camera was balanced, lightweight and just felt right. The set-up could probably be another 4 pounds lighter as we had a large 150w battery hanging off the back and a monitor in place of an EVF - but even with that it was awesome. I will probably lose the two-stage extension to put the grips closer to rods.

We also tried mounting the RED TOUCH LCD as the operator monitor (so a lone operator could control without an AC) and this worked as well. Add a hood to the LCD touch and you're off shooting solo.

The set-up includes:

EPIC-M
18mm Zeiss Superspeed
FMJ Top Plate
ET Shim Plate
ET Hybrid Base plate (set-up w 15mm rods)
ET Lightweight Rod Bracket
ARRI MMB-1 (attached to lightweight rods)
ET IDX Battery Plate & Cable (custom made 4")
Batteries4Broadcast 150w RED Battery
TVLogic 5.6" Monitor (in lieu of EVF)

Most of our testing was done inside but we caught some sun and took some pics outside of the set-up. Here are some pics to check out.

[BigLu]

Looks great on the Mantis.

[Michael Hardwick]

Hey Justin -

Great pictures! I can only imagine when the redvolts become more available - although the weight in the back seems like it adds a healthy counterbalance. Seems like a surprisingly low center of gravity too.

I see you were shooting with an 18mm Superspeed.

On another thread, I mentioned that in the prep bay against a flat lit chart I noticed subtle vignetting in the corners in 5K FF when I prepped an Epic -M and a set of Mk3 Superspeeds.
Did you notice any such shading/vignetting during your test?

I think it may be okay for everyday use, but for VFX which was the pool I was swimming in, it could be problematic...

[Jason Diamond]

Nice setup. How do you like that new TVLogic 5.6"? How do you feel it stacks up against the DP6?

Jason

[Justin Mitchell]

Hey Jason - I really dug the TVlogic 5.6" - that was also the consensus of a bunch of other folks on hand who used it (or have used it.) I haven't used the DP6 but am pretty sold on the TVLogic 5.6"...

[Justin Mitchell]

Hey Michael -

Yeah, there is a slight shading/vignette with the 18mm at FF but this could be the MMB-1 creeping in - not sure. Will check tomorrow. Here's an example frame grab out of REDCINE (I crunched the blacks VERY heavy though so you can see where the shading is.)

One thing to look at - anyone notice what's missing???

Yep - bye bye black dot in the sun...

[Jason Diamond]

Nice, I think I'm getting sold on it as well.

thx for the feedback

Jason

[Billy Summers]

TVLogic is the best monitor available in it's class...hands down...or up!

[Shawn Nelson]

Jason, get the TVLogic. I just bought it myself. It's the exact same LCD as SmallHD but for only about $200 more you get...
-Real time HDMI input to HD-SDI output (great if you're not using it on Epic or Red), it's like having an AJA box built into your monitor
-Waveform and Vectorscope popups!
-The HDSDI actually plugs into the bottom like it should, instead of the top like SmallHD
-Audio volumes and more exposure tools (like false color and more).

[CJ Roy]

Yep - bye bye black dot in the sun...

Haven't seen the black sun effect since using the old M sensor, or the Alexa. Haven't seen it on the MX.