Giveaway: Ditch the Shoulder Rig with the C3 Camera Comfort Cushion
Enter to win a C3 Camera Comfort Cushion and give your shoulders a rest when shooting with a heavy camera rig.
The compact size and light weight of hybrid cameras like the Panasonic GH4, Sony a7S II, or Canon 5D MKIII are two of their biggest benefits as they allow you to shoot stable footage with a much more minimal rig than is required by larger cameras. However, when shooting with a heavier setup due a large lens or additional accessories, using a shoulder rig for support can make a big difference in reducing fatigue and keeping the camera stable when shooting for long periods of time.
However, there are a few issues that make shooting with a shoulder rig less than ideal:
- Balance — Many shoulder rigs position the camera in front of your body so you that you can monitor your footage during shooting. However, this places most of the rig’s weight over your arms, resulting in an unbalanced rig that will cause you to become fatigued much faster unless you add weight behind the shoulder pad to counterbalance the rig and keep it stable.
- Flexibility — Most shoulder pads are one-size-fits-all and provide little to no adjustability to fit the shape and angle of your shoulder.
- Setup Time — As the rig’s shoulder pad sits below the camera, it can prevent the rig from being mounted on a tripod. As a result, production will need to stop while you remove the shoulder pad when switching between shoulder-mounted and tripod-mounted shooting.
The C3 Camera Comfort Cushion takes a different approach– instead of attaching the shoulder pad to the camera rig, the pad is attached to you. With the cushioning on your shoulder instead of being fixed on the rig, you can now position your camera setup so that its weight is properly balanced across your shoulder. This reduces fatigue so that you can shoot for longer periods of time without fatigue compared to a front-heavy rig.
The C3 Cushion also includes multiple inserts, so you can dial in the level of padding you need based on the type of camera setup you’re shooting with. The padding conforms to the shape of your shoulder, providing a stable base no matter how the rig sits on your shoulder.
By far my favorite feature of the C3 Cushion is that it allows you to shoot with any rig on your shoulder. You don’t need a special rig with a shoulder pad– the C3 Cushion’s padding absorbs a rig’s edges and corners, keeping things nice and comfortable. This also means you don’t have to waste any time attaching a shoulder pad to your rig when moving from a tripod to handheld shooting– you don’t even have to remove the tripod’s quick-release plate thanks to the C3 Cushion’s padding.
I’ve been testing the C3 Camera Cushion in the field and have been impressed with the comfort and stability it provides. An in-depth review is coming soon, but happy to announce that Suggestion of Motion has partnered with C3 Camera Comfort Cushions to send a free Camera Cushion to one lucky winner!
Simply enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a free C3 Camera Comfort Cushion. The winner will be randomly selected on April 27, 2016 and announced via email.
Note: While I hope to open future giveaways to international readers, this giveaway is open to US residents only.
Enter the Giveaway
Winner: Congratulations to Andre in New York! Sign up to receive updates below to make sure you don’t miss the next giveaway!