Quick Tip: “Fixing” the Flimsy Top Handle of the Canon C100 Mark II
Our video production team’s main go-to cameras here in Austria are a couple of Canon C100 Mark II’s. We’ve reported in the past already how our video crew uses this camera as its main work horse for video shoots, and until now it hasn’t let us down and always delivers what our clients need.
We’re well aware there are many more capable cinema cameras out there and that it’s far from perfect, but believe me, this camera is more than capable of providing an enormous bang for your buck when it comes to paid video projects, especially ever since Canon significantly dropped the price of the camera.
In a previous blog post we wrote how videographers can securely attach their HDMI cable to the C100 Mark II by using the Gefen Mono LOK Cable, a great solution that we still use on our video shoots. One annoying thing about the C100 Mark II however in comparison with its Cinema-Line camera counterparts such as the C300 and C500 is how “flimsy” the top handle feels, no matter how tight you screw it down.
The best solution I’ve found is to simply attach a good quality top plate to the camera. There are tons of options out there from many different manufacturers.
Our video crew ended up opting for some plates from SmallRig, namely the hot shoe kit 1669 with the 1652 Cold Shoe to NATO Clamp Adapter for one camera, and the SmallRig 1703 Cage for the other (also with the 1652 Cold Shoe to NATO Clamp Adapter).
Copyright: SmallRig
Not only do they keep the top handle rock solid during our video shoots, but they also serve as cheese plates with numerous 1/4’’ and 3/8’’ threads, which the camera operator can use to attach other accessories like a monitor or EVF.
Posted by Vitor Goncalves
Vitor is a filmmaker, cameraman and editor based in Vienna, Austria. He is the owner of Reel Arts Media.
