In Review: Ugrip Diamond

By Douglas Bankston

The Ugrip kit is like the Erector Set of camera support, almost infinitely configurable. It accommodates 1/4" and 3/8" camera mounts, and most of those base plate holes are threaded for 3/8". Anything with a 3/8" screw can be attached, allowing you to build up the rig in whatever fashion.

Sliding plates mount to the wings of the base. To those attach the handgrips. Once a comfortable configuration is found, the hex screws on the sliding plates can be torqued tight. Built-in rubber gaskets prevent plate shifting. The handgrips can be tilted for wrist comfort and then locked into place with a twist of a ring at the base of the grip. For my Canon HV30 (hence the “C” model), I staggered the handgrips: the left positioned slightly toward the front and pitched forward with the right positioned toward the rear. If I wanted to switch to sticks, all I had to do was mount the tripod’s base plate to the Ugrip and leave it.


Ugrip’s greatest benefit is that it provides a wider camera footprint, allowing you to effectively pull your elbows away from the body. This helps your arms to isolate the camera from a lot of up-and-down motion from walking, running and breathing. It’s not a substitute for gyrostabilized support, but with some practice, handheld shooting can be smoothed out.

Extra plates, Bebob zoom/focus controls, bridge adapters and fastening boxes are available. The fastening boxes hold mike preamps, hard drives and other devices with spring-loaded clamps. At $1,129, the Diamond “C” kit cost more than my HV30, which I have a hard time justifying, but I can’t argue with the steadier footage it helped produce.

Ugrip kits are available at B&H, Abel Cine Tech and directly from Ugrip.



Ugrip Diamond

www.ugrip.dk

$1,129

DV Score:

Pros:
Almost infinite versatility; well-crafted; creates a more manageable camera footprint.

Cons:
Kits and accessories are very expensive.

Bottom Line:
The Erector Set of camera support.





Источник: www.dv.com

Категория: Видеокамеры | Добавил: asv_nix (22.11.2008)
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