D
E
C
B
2 - MOUNTING THE CAMERA - Make sure the safety lock is engaged
on the tilt mechanism. Attach the support belt to your waist, holster in
front. Mount your camera to the camera plate, tightening the screw
thoroughly. Slide the plate into the receiver and secure the plate
locking lever. Insert the brass tip of the support pod into the socket at
the end of the curved bar. Angle the pod roughly 30° downward and
raise the entire assembly over your shoulder, carefully inserting the
lower end of the support pod through the plastic D-ring and into the
holster. Unlock the support pod knobs to engage spring action.
3 - ACCESSORIES – If you wish to use the
accessory mount
(D)
for attaching lights, monitors, mics, etc., go ahead and
attach it and mount the accessories before proceeding with
adjustments or balancing. This mount allows you to keep
accessories off your camera and aids in balancing the weight of
the Rig. Four ¼”-20 holes are provided, and the mount rotates
to allow fine positioning.
4 - BALANCING – Once it’s fully loaded, you can focus on adjusting and balancing
the unit. Think of the balancing as an X-Y-Z affair. Start by adjusting the position
of the camera plate so it is balanced front-to-back. Then adjust the position of the
camera platform left-right by loosening the knob directly below and moving the
platform until it feels relatively balanced and doesn’t lean to one side. You can
also affect the side-to-side balance by adjusting the
counterweight position
(E)
at the rear of the shoulder arch. These are the familiar ‘X-Y’ adjustments.
Now comes the ‘Y’ adjustment that is unique to the ZG Rig – the
vertical balance adjustment. As mentioned previously, you must
disengage the safety lock (A) and position lock lever (B) in order to
adjust the vertical balance. Loosen the tensioner knob to the
minimum setting – the loosest point where the knob is still slightly
tight against the washer/bearing set and there is no wobble in the tilt
mechanism.
Test the vertical balance of the camera as-is by tilting it straight up
(or as close as possible) and see if it has a tendency to drift up or
down. If it drifts down, you need to raise the camera platform by
turning the vertical adjustment knob (C) counter-clockwise (left). If it drifts up, you need to lower
the camera platform by turning the vertical adjustment knob clockwise (right).
Once the vertical balance is set, tighten the position lock lever (B) and set the tensioner knob to
your preferred level of resistance. You should be able to tilt effortlessly and the tilt mechanism
should hold any angle unaided.
5 - ADJUSTMENT – If you haven’t already done so, now would be a good time to fine tune the
ergonomic adjustments of the Rig. There are several points of adjustment that should enable
you to wear the Rig with comfort and stability. The photos on the following page highlight some
of these adjustment points.
