Comments on: Zacuto Gorilla DSLR kits reviews (part 2.3: Tactical Shooter)

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:07:24 +0000

Yes Zacuto is expensive but their gear is top notch and they treat their customers very well. We are working on a new doc series all shot on DSLR and Mandy gave us some great discounts. And remember, you get what you pay for.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:07:52 +0000

I meant if I had the choice to buy either a FF or a Z-finder…

And no, I am not making a Zacuto clone, I am building the missing accessory to all the rigs I have seens so far. Should have been done a few days ago but I cant find a nut of the correct size and I have visited way too many stores…

By: Stefan

Stefan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:41:42 +0000

Why u think u can’t use a zfinder and a FF at thr same time? Bloom does that all the time together with a tactical AND a matte box. So the point of gravity should be no big deal. But does such a miniplate fitt on tactical or rapid fire – don’t know.
Just shot the first time with a FF and an letus adapter and this was really a nice workflow.
I guess first I need to get my 7D, some lenses and a zfinder first.
I’ll back for sure. Curious what you building there. If its a cheap Zacutoesque thing – count me in.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:27:51 +0000

I know… since my second camera is in repair, I only have one 5D so it is kinda hard to take picture or video of the rig. I am testing a 7D this weekend with my friend, I will try to get some clips.

I dont think the Gorilla rigs were designed to work with a FF in mind, it might add too much weight in front of the center of gravity. That is why Z has added a counter weight at the back of the Gunstock rigs. Then again, I could be wrong, I have not tried it since I dont have a base plate that would fit.

Would it be useful? It depends of what you shoot. Most of the stuff I do involves shooting sequences of 2-5 seconds. No need for a FF there. But if you want to shoot fast action or longer shots, the FF will be very useful. If I had to make a choice between a FF and the Z-finder, I would pick the Z-finder.

Come back to the blog once you get your rig, I am designing an accessory that fits perfectly with the Gorilla rigs

By: stefan

stefan — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:33:01 +0000

I am thinking bout buying a tactical shooter but not sure yet (price sucks!). Do you think a follow focus would be a great thing with your setup? I’d like to buy the Zacuto mini baseplate and add a FF (together with a Z-finder).
Do you have pictures of your setup? Just curious!
You write a lot bout the setup but I miss the pics…

By: admin

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:42:42 +0000

Zacuto prices have been talked and debated about a lot. They would probably sell a lot more products, but would they still be able to be in business? Would the be able to shoot all their webepisode? Would they go the extra mile to give incredible customer support? They have to factor these things in their prices while DIY solutions dont.

I am currently working on a product for the 5D and I can tell you the price of design & testing is many times the cost of the raw materials. I will have probably investing 2000$ in the research and testing before selling the first item. Knowing I will probably sell around 200-500, it means I have to sell my product at least 100$ while the cost of the raw material is probably around 25$. And I am not even taking into account the cost of my time!

By: Rod

Rod — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:26:22 +0000

Great, sounds good.

Now i’ll just go rob a bank to fund my purchase of Aluminum tubes and clamps!

In all seriousness, if they priced this for half the price they would still make a killing and they would sell many factors more units.

I’m just pointing out the obvious

I’ll stick to a homebrew kit for the time being!