Tilta Lightweight Shoulder Rig (Black)

The product is nice, but material construction is average. My unit is loose on the lething.ft arm. Plastic and metal are not always compatible materials. When I lift up my rig with my left hand it clicks due to some slop in the rig..or something.

This rig is a breeze to set up and is really well built. The stabilization it adds to my FX6 with cine lens, mics, and monitor is no joke. The only thing missing straight out of the box is an interface to mount on tripod but it can be easily resolved.

This is the rig I've been waiting for years for. Very solid piece with several features that I've come to love, not the least of which are the locking rosetta style handles, adjustable and removable upper camera mount with a plate that slides into a Manfrotto tripod, cable clips, and more. Very flexible piece. Love it.

Please note that I purchased this on Nov. 16, 2022 directly from Tilta, not. I generally like the design concept of this product a lot, but it is plagued by a big issue. The promo videos imply that the receiver plate is compatible with Manfrotto 501 quick release plates. I have five of these and NONE of them are held securely on this shoulder rig. Tilta confirmed that the cinch lever on the receiver plate needed to be adjusted and recommended that I send it in for the adjustment. After waiting for 10 weeks to get this resolved, the adjusted receiver plate came back and it still does not hold my Manfrotto plates securely. My solution is to wedge sheets of Post-It Note paper on top of the receiver plate to close the gap...very disappointing. Some other frustrating issues: 1. The front arms pivot on a common horizontal bar that can be adjustable laterally. This is a cool idea, but the single tightening screw tends to slip. I fear that over tightening the screw will eventually cause failure, rendering the shoulder rig useless. 2. If you intend to use the carry case, allow time to assemble and disassemble the rig every time you use it. It is a nice, compact system, but not quick to deploy. 3. There is no way to mount the should rig to a tripod via a VCT-14 system. Thus, you need to remove the camera and rig mounted accessories any time you wish to switch from shoulder rig to tripod. 4. There is a single 15mm rod mount, located on the right hand side of the rig, presumably for a follow focus. This seems like a strange placement limitation, and prevents the use of matte boxes that require 2 rod mounting. I see nothing in the design that would prevent having 2 front mounted rods. FWIW, I have a lot of Tilta gear and think it is well built. My hope is that Tilta will do a new version of this with some design changes.

Now, if only this supported the VTC-14 QR Standard, it might be a perfect rig? It is light, strong and ergonomic ... plus ... it looks smart. The back pad is also a must have! Caveat is that it's single rod design. Obviously, this is meant to restrict the buyer to using Tilta's own Mirage lightweight matte box. However, I want one anyway!

I've looked at quite a few lightweight shoulder rigs and, having tried this one out at NAB, settled on it. Like any shoulder rig, it takes some playing to find the best set up for oneself, but I've found it quite well thought out. The center adjustment is great, though it does need to be tightened a little more than first expected. It allows for good offset as needed. I also like the ability to move the camera quite far back, though I tend to use it further forward. The many choices of rod placement for batts is also good. All in all, quite pleased.

This is the first rig I have purchased, but not the first I have used. Cons: The front rolling lock is not always tight enough. The cushions are not comfortable. You could build one for much cheaper and get almost the same results. Total price after accessories (not a monitor or camera) was ~1200. I had to buy a lot of little pieces which added up. Pros: the case has extra pockets. They do have a lot of gadgets for a base build. The base expands, but the camera stays on the front portion. The handles telescope and turn to most positions that anyone would want. 15mm rod holders on the back and 1/4 20 screw spots on the arms. Overall I am not upset about it since there were no reviews before, but I would have gone a different route. It is too much hassle to deal with 15+ returns for this one setup