American Cinematographer - June 2013 - 93

lighting stands or on a specially designed
19mm rail-support system; when used with
the rail system, the complete rig can be
panned and tilted along with the camera.
The flicker-free RotoFlood 6K is ideal
for super-slow-motion work. It delivers a 110degree beam angle and color-controllable
soft light. The rig can be controlled locally, by
DMX, or over Wi-Fi with the Rotolight Magic
Eye iPhone/iPad app.
Rotolight has further expanded its
Anova line with the Anova 5600 and Anova
3200 fixed-color LED floodlights. 35-percent
brighter than the bi-color Anova, these
fixtures share such features as V-Lock battery
plates, and DMX and Anova networking
capability. The fixed-color Anovas also feature
the latest generation LEDs, which boast a CRI
of 97 for excellent skin-tone reproduction.
For additional information, visit
www.rotolight.com.
Manfrotto Extends
Camera-Support Line
Manfrotto Distribution has introduced
the Sympla Shoulder Rig, the latest addition
to the Sympla line of camera supports that
can be assembled, configured and adjusted
to a wide range of shooting situations in
seconds without tools. Every product in the
line, from the Flexible Matte Box to the Variable Plate, is made of steel and aluminum to
withstand the rigors of professional use.
Sympla accessories are 100-percent compatible with other Manfrotto photo and video
support products.
“The basic [Sympla Shoulder Rig] can
be configured to accommodate most of the
interchangeable-lens video cameras in the
market right out of the box, with little or no
additional accessories,” says ASC associate
Wayne Schulman, Manfrotto’s sales and
product manager for video. “The Sympla line
bridges the gap between off-the-shelf, readyto-use convenience and custom modularity.”
Sympla modular rigs incorporate
design and technology elements from
Manfrotto’s full range of product offerings.
For example, self-supporting clamps that stay
in place even before they’re locked come
from heavy-duty stage lighting; flexible, easylocking ball-joint hand grips were inspired by
Manfrotto’s photographic ball heads; multiaxis micro-adjusters and single locking mechanisms, which make fine-tuning easier and

safer, come from Manfrotto’s photographic
geared heads; and sliding plates with quickrelease and secondary safety buttons were
borrowed from Manfrotto’s professional
video heads.
Manfrotto has also introduced the
500 Video Head, a lightweight fluid head
designed for use with HDSLRs and video
cameras; the 500 replaces the 701HDV and
becomes the smallest head to be built
around Manfrotto’s successful Bridging
Technology.
Thanks to the hollowed-out structure of Bridging Technology heads, the 500
is lightweight but still manages to feature a
broad top plate that is better for supporting
the wider shape of a DSLR. The top plate is
also longer, so its sliding plate has a greater
range of adjustment to balance the shifting
center of gravity of a camera used with
interchangeable lenses. Professional fluid
cartridges on both pan and tilt axes ensure
smooth, controllable movements, and the
head’s comfortable pan bar can be switched
between left and right sides depending on
operator preference.
The 500 features a side lock lever
that allows the camera and a sliding quickrelease plate to click quickly into the head
from above. There is only one locking
control to release, and the camera lifts easily
out from above. Additionally, the 500 is set
to a fixed counterbalance of around 5
pounds, but locking power on the tilt axis
ensures the head is perfectly stable under
camera equipment weighing up to 11
pounds. To allow an external monitor or
other accessories, the 500 has an industrystandard Easy Link 3⁄8" connector.
The 500 is available as a standalone
head, in either flat-based or 60mm half-ball
versions, in a kit with twin aluminum-leg
tripod or single carbon-fiber-tubes tripod. A
combination of the 500 head with
Manfrotto’s fluid monopod is also available.
For additional information, visit
➣
www.manfrotto.us.
93

http://www.novocamera.com http://www.rotolight.com http://www.novocamera.com http://www.manfrotto.us

American Cinematographer - June 2013

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