GEAR MINI TESTS
VOCAS PRODUCTION KIT FX9 £1512/$1884 vocas.com
“The kit turns the camera into a very useful shoulder- mount rig”
where everything locks together as it should and doesn’t move. The kit comes with all the bolts you need, and hex keys to snug it all down. The heart of the system is the shoulder base plate which should be considered an essential buy for anyone wanting to use the FX9 on the shoulder. The kit bolts securely to the bottom of the camera and the soft rubber shoulder pad is adjustable forward and backwards using a single clamp lever. It means you can adjust it to balance just right for your own needs, and to take into the account weight for different lenses and attachments youmight be using. This base plate has the quick-release mounts so you can snap it on to a large tripod base plate. We used it with a Protech VST-14 and it worked absolutely flawlessly. On to this bolts the left-side handle extender arm and beautiful wooden hand grip. This really does add stability when you are shooting handheld, making it far less wobbly than just using the standard right- side handle. The plate also has 15mm rails to attach a matte box, follow focus or other bolt-ons. At the top of the camera is the viewfinder bracket with NATO-style rail, and it’s a great bit of kit. It
If you’re lucky enough to be the owner of the latest full-frame Sony FX9 camera, then you’ll quickly realise the expense isn’t over yet as you need some accessories to turn it into a fully production-ready rig. Of course, you can buy mix-and-match brackets and the like to customise it to your needs. But Dutch grip specialist Vocas has taken all the hard work out of sourcing parts by unveiling the Production Kit for the for Sony PXW-FX9. This kit combines the most popular Vocas accessories into a complete set and features a 15mmUniversal Shoulder Base Plate with a rubber shoulder pad and standard 15mm rails. There’s an H-cheese plate which fits inside the original Sony top handle, giving multiple extra connection points on top of the camera for 1 / 4 in and 3 / 8 in accessories. It also comes with a viewfinder bracket based on a NATO rail to prevent the viewfinder from tilting, plus a left-side handle extender and ergonomic wooden handgrip to give a comfortable way to hold your camera while operating it on the shoulder. Typical of Vocas quality, all the kit is precisely machined and fits perfectly to the camera. The FX9 has an all- metal chassis and the kit bolts right onto this, giving a solid foundation
SPECIFICATIONS Material: Aluminium, rubber, stainless steel Bar system: 15mm Rosettes: 2 integrated Shoulder pad: Standard size, removeable Cameramounting points: 1 Weight: 1215g/2.68lb
mounts to the standard top bracket and can swivel towards the back of the camera for portability or when packing. For use, it swivels forward and the standard screen fits right to it. There’s no movement, as often happens with the standard viewfinder bracket. It oozes quality. The kit turns the camera into a very useful shoulder-mount rig that gives the camera ultimate flexibility. It adds 1215g/2.68lb in weight but it’s a worthwhile payoff for the improvements in ergonomics. AD PROMOVIEMAKERRATING: 9/10 Transforms the handling and usability of the Sony FX9 Pros: Great fit and quality Cons: Does add a chunk of weight
ABOVE LEFT The Vocas kit bolts securely on to the bottom of the camera ABOVE RIGHT The wooden handgrip adds real stability when shooting handheld
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PRO MOVIEMAKER SUMMER 2020
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