The PERFECT Z Cam E2 F6/S6/M4 Cinema Rig

[@thomasjmcclure]

I wanna hear your thoughts! what do you think about the Z cam flagship series?

[@DanielBasulto]

I love my S6, I pre ordered it and have had it as an A cam since. I also use E2 for a "B" & "C" cam when needed.

[@martinpucher8585]

I'm from Austria and love your setup - try to get all parts. Are there some extra cables needed too or are they coming with the components?

[@martinpucher8585]

Btw I'm a bloody beginner and it is really hard to figure out which part fits which and what to take especially care of.

[@thomasjmcclure]

@@martinpucher8585there are a few cables you may need depending on which parts you get. things like HDMI cables, power cables for any accessories (usually come with). it really depends on what accessories you use with your camera

[@martinpucher8585]

@@thomasjmcclure I bought all parts you mentioned 1:1 ;) for my M4 - even the preferred wooden handle as you are right it just rocks! Only the Tilta stuff will take a month before I get it as it was out of stock.

[@dariushilla]

As an S6 owner, this has to be one of the best Z Cam rig build I've seen man, would love to see more Z Cam stuff from you.

[@thomasjmcclure]

thanks! im thinking about it!

[@jacksmith62]

This is the best rig walkthrough I've seen so far - thanks!

[@ALL-eu3bn]

hi, nice video congratulations, very accurate.. I wanted to ask something, my NPF to V-Mount adapter has a lot of play when inserted into the Zitay, (it moves and when I use it freehand if I'm not careful to make it move too much, the camera loses power and turns off) I tried 2 of different brands, I'm the only one with this problem? Thanks

[@ifound14u]

Love to see more on Z-Cam. Just bought the F6.

[@WoolyJumper5]

I’m glad i found your channel, had a laugh at the wooden handle ‘priceing’ issue. Thanks bro

[@thomasjmcclure]

Thanks!

[@luuk8768]

Saw the ZV E10 rig couple weeks ago and now this vid popped up, loving the vids keep it up!

[@thomasjmcclure]

Thanks Luuk!

[@JK-ly7fb]

Your rigs are so awesome Thomas! Right now I am taking your inspiration from your other video for my black magic 4k... Just wanted to say thank you for saving me so much time with rigging it. And hopefully someday I can learn how to rig my cameras professionally like you do. 😁 btw keep making inspirational content, you have helped me and so many others pursue their passion by giving us options and finding budget alternatives... you are such an under-rated content creator, again THANKS 💖🎥

[@thomasjmcclure]

Thank you so much! ive had a lot of trial and error with rigging lol. I'll keep em coming!

[@NomadicBloke1]

I got the Zcam e2 m4 .. best camera I ever had and I'm not even considering an upgrade hehe

[@earnieboy54]

Z cam got ignored due to BM’s solid OS, internal features, braw, and interface. Then Sony and canon pretty much furthered the burial with the C70, FX3 and 30 and then BM coming out with the 6K g2 and pro… and the Komodo… but it’s actually a really great camera. It’s solid and I had the pleasure of working with one.

[@thomasjmcclure]

Totally true, kind of a shame, the S6 is a great budget alternative to the Komodo in my opinion, it’s pretty similar (minus it having a rolling shutter). I’m hoping they gain a bit more recognition over the next few generations of cameras

[@rileyedwardsfilms]

Defiantly wouldn’t say it got ignored, very strong community for a newish company into the cinema world

[@aram.v]

Never had any issues with powering the zCam and ninja from the same v-mount in 3 years . Myth

[@idrisso.g.6316]

SDI maybe if 12g

[@andreasbulowhansen9413]

Great video. May I suggest replacing the wooden grip with a rvlvr clutch. As an S6 owner I found that it transforms the usability of the camera massively in run and gun situations

[@thomasjmcclure]

I’ve heard that they are great, I’ll have to see if i can pick one up and give it a go

[@nengifubara38]

Hello Thomas, You mentioned that your church crew uses this setup for Livestream. How do you attach your wireless Transmitter to this Rig, or How can you also Hook it up to an SDI cable?

[@slablife]

I built a rig using the list outlined in the details. One thing I ran into was the cold shoe is not the same in the video. The video is using a Nitze N40C Cold Shoe adapter. Other than that, everything else worked great.

[@IssacIClarkReviews]

Bro I love your camera build! I’m planning to get me a Z Cam As Well!!!!

[@seanmartinflix]

I think it looks beautiful. I've only just recently learned what Zcam was when looking into pixas but really just day dreaming..

[@dushyantbhatt9345]

This rig what type you shoot with this ?? Films narrative music videos ??? Sports documentry ???? While focusing with one hand is tricky in many/most situations

[@ArmandoDagoDP]

Can you explain more about the correct sequence to turn on your monitor if you power the monitor with the camera output?

[@thomasjmcclure]

Id definitely encourage you to check out the facebook page as there are people with much more experience and knowledge than i do on this topic. there are some pretty good threads and discussions on the Z cam Users Group

[@Brazen_Rebel]

Found your channel a few days ago and have watched almost all your videos. I have a zv-e10 and your rigging for it was an inspiration. I'd love to see your take on an EOS-M build. I recently came up with something that works for me using the smallrig universal cage, but I wouldn't be surprised if you were able to come up with something much more beautiful and compact than I managed to build. Consider yourself challenged 🤣

[@thomasjmcclure]

Haha if i can get my hands on a cheap eos M or M50 i will! Thanks!

[@Brazen_Rebel]

​@@thomasjmcclureHow about the cost of return shipping? I'll gladly send you my entire rig to make a video with, all you gotta do is send it back when you're done. No rush. EOS-M was my first camera that got me started and I'd love to see it properly rigged with your style, and get your feedback on what I can do better, or differently. Let me know! And thanks again for the amazing content.

[@thomasjmcclure]

hit me up on instagram and show me what your setup looks like! thomas_j_mcclure

[@Drone443]

I know it may be difficult to track down the exact part that you have but the link that's up for the 15mm rod bracket with single arri rosette takes me to a niceyrig part that is only mounted on a single rod. I'm interested in trying a staggered left side handle mounted on my rods and I love the part that you've shown.

[@thomasjmcclure]

I found a listing on eBay 😊. Here’s a link www.ebay.com/itm/362216855267?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=DCsEsXeSSta&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=Fbl4e_VPRi-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[@mrdamiansingh]

Very nice 👍🏾 would love to see a 35mm or cine zoom lens ❤

Nice rig, thank you for this video ! I haven't understood the issue with the dummy battery powering the monitor though, if you or someone has more details about it I'm curious to read about it

[@aiiirlife9273]

Hi Thomas, I'm looking for a box camera for mounted use for live vertical recording of events (clubs, festivals, theatre). The feed will be captured in a vMix. What do you recommend as camera, theZ Cam E2 F6 or LUMIX BS1H? We will also use the camera for interviews and/or recording clips. I preferably would like to stick to one camera brand in the work flow. Thx!

[@thomasjmcclure]

Hey! Yeah there’s definitely a few benefits to z cam, there m4 is fantastic for the money and you can put a speedbooster on it to get it closer to s35 or full frame if you want to save money, or the s6 is great too. The other nice thing is that you can use almost any mount for them so whatever lenses you have you can use (mostly) But if you’re used to Panasonic and you wanna stick with them then go for it, i don’t have any experience with the BS1H I’m afraid.

[@aiiirlife9273]

@@thomasjmcclure Cheers Thomas, very helpful! I was already thinking about the m4 for fixed locations and the s6 as a hybrid option. Can you just let me know the details on the speed booster? Is that the EF from Z Cam or Metabones Speed Booster?Ta

[@thomasjmcclure]

Either will work, the benefit to the z cam one is that it has a positive locking mount, it bolts to the camera body and is a lot cheaper. The Beni fit to the metabones is that the glass quality is a little higher.

[@jameslloyd-wyatt]

Do you think it would be at all feasible to film one's self with a z cam? possibly even vlog with it?

[@thomasjmcclure]

It’s possible, but definitely not ideal, the lack of monitor or autofocus would make it much more of a pain. A cheap mirrorless camera would be far more valuable for that purpose

[@imDonDiestro]

If you have a lens with auto focus you can monitor and control the camera from your phone. So you could put the camera on a tripod and fully control the camera remotely. Not really vlog style but you are able to film yourself.

[@calebbrown3602]

Hey Thomas! I’m the main video guy at my church, I’m in the middle of trying to upgrade our livestream. What are your thoughts on the Sony fx30? How do you rig your roaming cameras? If you could have any camera for your livestream what would you choose?

[@thomasjmcclure]

I think the FX30 is a fantastic camera, personally i work at a smaller church, we dont use roaming cameras as for the size of our church it would be too distracting for people. we have 2 on tripods with operators. The FX30 would probably be great, i prefer to use manual focus though as you can have a bit more control of what the focal point is, so thats why i have typically used cheaper cinema cameras like the M4's. If I could use any camera it would probably be a komodo, maybe fx3's but budget wise I dont think I could justify spending that much of our church budget on camera gear, Livestreaming is great for people who are unable to be there, but we dont want people to miss out on good ole fellowship together. hope that makes sense. We are in a relatively impoverished area so theres plenty of more important things for us to put our finances towards to try support our community

[@MFmyk3]

dang where did you find the e2 m4 that cheap! looking to buy one for my next shoot.

[@thomasjmcclure]

Facebook marketplace, obviously risky but can be worth it.

[@MFmyk3]

@@thomasjmcclure nice! Thanks for the tip. I've been hunting ebay but think I might buy retail just to have that piece of mind and warranty.

[@dereksorensen8019]

Yea this is a sick rig.. I think solidified the zcam route.

[@dushyantbhatt9345]

Its nijna V/5 in V is roman way to write 5

[@MatthPeder]

Did your church's budget cover the cost of your rig?

[@thomasjmcclure]

So the F6 is my own personal rig, our church uses the 2 M4’s with very minimal rigging as it’s hard to justify spending the money on accessories that may not be necessary for a livestream

[@MARIOKINHO]

focus is on face not in the camera

[@thomasjmcclure]

the challenge with solo shooting and not having a camera operator lol