Premium Members Nicholas Davidoff Posted July 24, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 Anybody have one of these laying around that they want to sell? It's a front mounted operating handle for Oconnor 2575 or 120EX fluid head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Charles Papert Posted July 24, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 Got one--but not parting with it! Are you having trouble ordering it from O'Connor? Nick, I imagine you are already sold on the utility of the handle if you are looking for one but I've personally never seen one in use on sets other than ones I was on, so in an effort to inspire others to give it a try: I endured a lot of teasing from AC's over the years (favorite title for it: "sissy bar") but to me it made absolute sense; we tend to rest our left hand on the side of the head where it is doing pretty much nothing while the right hand does all the work of operating. With a heavy lens (11 or 12 to 1, for instance), it's a lot of leverage and when one has to start or stop on a dime, there's plenty of inertia to manage. Using the front handle spreads the work between the hands and in my opinion, results in more accurate operating. Naturally we all like to believe that our operating couldn't possibly be improved but sometimes it pays off to have an open mind about these things. Incidentally, before getting the official handle I used to "steal" the handle off the other head and mount it on the left rosette with the handle facing forward, which has a similar result although it requires you to sit further forward. It's a good way to audition the concept before committing to the right-angle handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Lawrence Karman Posted July 24, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 Never saw one that had a right angle on it like that. I always carry a second Oconnor pan handle in my kit for just this use, but I find myself almost never using it anymore. Very useful for operating a fluid head on a jib arm and it allowed me to place my thumb on the underside of the focus knob and help out the AC on long lenses. But more and more AC's are using Prestons full time, so there's not much I can do to help (other than whisper to them during the take and subsequently get scolded by the actors for making too much noise...it's happened) I'm using Arri based camera systems more and more these days and just use the 15mm rods under the lens when on a long zoom. Charles, are you sporting "mutton chops" in that avatar photo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Alec Jarnagin SOC Posted July 24, 2011 Moderators Report Share Posted July 24, 2011 I too never knew about the right-angle handle. Been using a short handle facing forwards for years though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Nicholas Davidoff Posted July 30, 2011 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 You guys have all summed it up for me. I don't know of anyone who operates a fluid head with their left hand dangling by their side. The majority of the time your left hand ends up gripping somewhere around the front of the head. Wether it's under the lens rods or the front part of the head itself. Just natural leverage I guess. So having a handle there makes perfect sense. I've used this handle before and loved it. Rental houses rarely have one. I also have a rod mounted left hand grip that I use occasionally and even attach a microforce to it sometimes. To each his own. Works for me. I figured I'd check for a used handle before I order one new. Just ordered mine from B&H here - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=oconnor+front+handle&N=0&InitialSearch=yes Thanks for the feedback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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