Neewer chest rig, matte boxes and follow focus
Both Fotga units seem very well built for the price, with good-quality connections and refined machining, as well as a professional-looking matte finish, and clear markings.
Neewer’s DSLR Dual Grip Video Chest Stabilizer is designed as simpler and more compact alternative to a full shoulder rig. Chest mounted rigs require fewer parts than shoulder rigs – with shorter rails and no need for counterweights – which keeps down costs, and makes it easier to fold them away for travel.
The rig is made up of two, 15mm rails, and a railblock with a basic QR plate for the camera with a captive screw. The handgrip connects to a second rail block, with a horizontal bar to connect on the two, adjustable rubberised handles. The shoulder mount connects to a single railblock on the horizontal bar.
The combination gives plenty of configuration options, and the use of two rails means a matte box can be fitted – although at the expense of more weight than on a single rail chest support. The Neewer rig lacks the refinement of the Fotga systems on test, but the cost, at around £53, makes it a good value starter system.
Also featured in the test were Ginirigs’ follow focus, and a Veedion matte box, sourced from eBay, although the version featured, which takes Cokin-type filters, is not readily available. We will look at matte boxes and follow focus systems in more depth in a future article.
See the video below for our view on these low-cost camera rigs, and how they work with a camera such as the Panasonic GH4.
The following items mentioned in our review are available on the Audio Video Pro Amazon store:
