Zacuto VCT PRO- A Universal Base Plate
23:15:00
Baseplate or quick release plate is a very important accessory that allows to place a camera and lens to the tripod head.
In general, the quick release system is based on a two piece mechanism.
The first piece, generally referred as a ‘plate’ is attached to a camera or a lens (or any other device). It comes in a standard dovetail and can vary in length .
The second piece is the mounting base, generally referred as a ‘clamp’, where the plate gets attached and secured. The clamp can be fully opened, allowing the plate to be dropped in and secured or can be partially opened to allow the plate to be slid into the position.
The new VCT Pro baseplate is compatible with all cameras including , DSLRs, Mirrorless cameras to Cinema cameras like Canon EOS C-series, Sony FS5 and FS7, AJA CION, BlackMagic, RED cameras, Arri Alexa, Amira and more. Designed to work with virtually any camera, it enables to go from hand held / shoulder shooting to tripod shooting without changing mounting plates.
The VCT Pro has a built-in, curved shoulder pad and an Arri M6 rosette for accessories and grips. It comes with quick-release, extendable 6.5” rods at the front and lightweight spaced quick-release rod ports at the back.
The red sliding top plate offers easy adjustability for lens changes, removing camera and balancing the rig correctly on the shoulder. This sliding plate combined with a double screw track offers 10” of camera balance sliding range.
The soft gel pad is still in place, it just has been moved a little bit to one side in order to achieve perfect balance of the whole rig.
The real improvement is the now detachable top plate which can be slid back and forth for about 12″.
The idea is to get one of these top plates for every camera using on a given shoot. With these attachments, it enables to do in a lightning speed when it comes to switching camera from tripod to shoulder operation.
The lightweight, adjustable rod mount is set far back in the plate, offering plenty of accessory-capable area under the camera lens. This allows to position camera further back on the plate, keeping the balance point of the rig directly over the shoulder.
The shoulder pad portion of the VCT Universal is set as far forward on the plate as possible, also to maximize the accessory capable rod area and aid with balance.
The VCT pro Universal Baseplate is excellently designed for balance and comfort for every camera and it is easy to adjust, without having to dig into the unit with a screwdriver.
It weighs only 960 grams and priced approximately at $650.
Video Link : https://vimeo.com/182102619
CJ Rajkumar
Author/Cinematographer.
0 comments