The DogLeg!
Hey gang! Turkey Day has passed and we’re feeling fat and sassy…
Today, we’re off to Las Vegas for a couple of presentations but lots of new stuff is happening at the studio as well. The Dogleg is now available! For those who have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll offer the following pictures.
I had this baseplate on my camera during the tour and it created a lot of interest at every stop. I’ve been using this is a gadget for a while. I got tired of jury-rigging a way to carry my Pocket Wizard transmitter whenever I needed to fill my camera’s hotshoe with an on-camera flash. On-camera direct flash does indeed suck, but the same unit aimed off to the side or rear contributes a very nice foreground fill when mixed with some off-camera radio-fired slaves. Whew. That was quite a mouthful….
Anyway, I use a lot of off-camera flash; flash slaves that are fired by a Pocket Wizard connected to my camera’s PC sync socket. I couldn’t find a way to mount the transmitter that looked both secure and tidy, so, as usual, I made something myself. Add a Paramount-to-PC cord and you’re ready to go! We now have both items in stock for one-stop shopping…
Here’s a look at it from the top:
It places the transmitter off to the left side of the camera conveniently close to the PC sync connector. I do most of my event work with a pair of Canon 5Ds. I made sure that The Dogleg would work equally well with the basic body and also with the accessory battery grip. Note that there is no interference with the battery access door on the basic body. The whole rig is nice and flat. This allows the camera and transmitter to sit stably on a level surface.
I often throw the camera onto a tripod when cranking through a short list of “must have” formals. I don’t like to resort to it, but now and then we find it necessary to do a head swap or two to make a perfect grouping. Having captured a sequence of originals from a tripod base makes the process almost painless….
I’m not terribly fond of tripods so if I’m forced to use one I want the process to be as close to effortless as possible. A quick-release head and matching camera plate helps immeasurably and, over the years, I recon I’ve tried ‘em all. My favorite version is based upon the classic Arca-Swiss “dovetail” system.
I’ve used the Kirk and various versions of the Really Right Stuff Arca-Swiss-style QR heads and found them both to be fast and functional. I decided I would like to have this QR option available when I was using The Dogleg so I made a custom Arca-Swiss plate as an “add on” for The Dogleg. Let’s just call it The Dovetail…
Here’s a shot of The Dovetail and The Dogleg installed on the Canon 5D:
Note: The Really Right Stuff “lever-style” quick release clamp is designed for a slightly larger-than-average Arca-Swiss plate. This means that a Kirk bracket will slowly slip in a Really Right Stuff clamp. Hmmm; a marketing decision methinks but very inconvenient for users of both brands. The Dovetail works with all brands….
Anyway, that’s The Dogleg and The Dovetail. Simple stuff, made properly…
