A Cheap(ish) Multi-Purpose One Camera Setup!!

Future-proofing your camera rig!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have once again pretended I have an actual budget to come up with a multi-purpose camera rig. This time, though, rather than designing it to be part of something else, I wanted to design it so that it could be used on its own or used as part of a larger multicam rig or live streaming setup.

Before we dive into the price list, I'm going to go through a few of the key elements and explain why I picked them, as at first glance you may be wondering what I'm up to.

The Camera

Those of you who know me know that I love Blackmagic Design's products, and the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera (BMPCC) 6K is no different. Not only does the BMPCC 6K have great hardware, giving you amazing footage, but it's also quite cheap compared to other 6K recording solutions.

I didn't go for the Pro model because the issues that were fixed between the 6K and 6K Pro models would be sorted anyway when we included the rest of the needed gear, so we might as well save a few quid.

The other reason I picked the 6K variant is that when shooting, you have plenty of room to crop into your footage without any distortion.

The Lens

For the lens, I've gone with the Canon-mount Tamron 18–400mm. This all-in-one zoom lens is a great choice for video production, as in 90% of cases, it will remove the need to swap lenses halfway through a shoot. It should also work nicely with the BMPCC 6K's focus and zoom features—quite handy when paired with one of the Blackmagic switchers at live events.

The huge range of zoom will enable some amazing shots and mean you can shoot close-up A-roll of your talent and wide panoramic B-roll shots all with the same lens.

ND Filter & Matte Box

Next up is the PolarPro BaseCamp VND Kit. This beauty combines a variable ND filter with a matte box to keep your setup as light as possible—handy when you're lugging this rig around.

There is a lot packed into this kit, but as well as being lightweight, it's super durable too. Even better, it's completely toolless. I'll also be adding two additional filters: the blue anamorphic and the heavy mist filter. When these two filters are paired with the BaseCamp Pro, you can get some amazing lens flare effects that give your shots a proper sci-fi look.

The Cage

Now that we've built the camera out forward, it's time to build up. Before we do, though, we need something to attach all our goodies to.

For this, I have picked the Tilta Camera Cage Kit for the BMPCC 6K. The kit comes with pretty much everything we need to attach our accessories, including a side power handle, a quick-release top handle, a baseplate, a 90-degree USB-C cable, a rod, and a half sun hood.

I'll be swapping out the T5 SSD holder for a T7 SSD holder, as the T7 has better storage options. I'll also be adding a V-Mount battery baseplate.

Power

To power this rig, I'll be using a Bebob V150. This battery should have enough power to keep everything switched on for more than a few hours—definitely longer than the internal battery in the BMPCC 6K.

We're going to need a couple of accessories to power everything from this one battery, though. First up is the battery plate; this has all of the connections we will need to power everything.

Next, we are going to need some cables. For this, I've gone with a power cable for the BMPCC and two 5.5/2.1mm DC male cables.

Monitoring

To monitor the audio and video, I've paired the BMPCC with a Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR and a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 PRO headphones.

While we won't get full use out of the Video Assist's 12G connection right away, if you were to upgrade the BMPCC 6K to an URSA Mini at a later date, you won't need to buy a new monitor. You may also find other uses for the built-in recorder with sources that can use and abuse that 12G SDI.

The headphones are a personal pick as I'm a little biased towards Sennheiser, having used them for years. Their sound quality is top-notch.

Lighting

Tucked behind our Video Assist monitor, but facing the other way, will be the Ledgo E116C Bi-Colour LED Light.

It's cheapish, lightweight, and the ability to change the color temperature is great when shooting in different locations, so it doesn't require you to carry around a boatload of color correction gels.

Camera Support

When it comes to camera support, I've come up with a few different options: a support vest, the ever-trusty tripod, a dolly on rails, and a set of dolly wheels.

The support vest will help take the weight of the rig off your arms, making it easier to move around and keeping those shots steady.

I've gone for two dolly solutions because, while it's good to have a track, sometimes it's not quite what you need, and it's always best to be prepared.

This isn't everything for this setup, but they are the main pieces. You can check out the rest in the table below. All the products should have links to pages on the CVP website.

The Gear List

Product	Qty	Price	Total
BMPCC 6K	1	£1,786.80	£1,786.80
Canon-mount Tamron 18-400mm Lens	1	£599.00	£599.00
Blackmagic Video Assist 7in 12G HDR	1	£894.00	£894.00
Samsung Touch Portable T7 – 2TB	1	£329.99	£329.99
Tilta T7 SSD Holder	1	£17.99	£17.99
Manfrotto MB PL-CC-191N Camera Case	1	£112.00	£112.00
2x Blackmagic Video Assistant Mini XLR Cables	1	£30.00	£30.00
Female XLR to 3.5mm Jack	1	£15.59	£15.59
Tilta BMPCC 4K/6K Cage	1	£446.00	£446.00
Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones	1	£87.00	£87.00
Rode VideoMic Pro+	1	£289.00	£289.00
Ledgo E116C Bi-Colour LED Pad Light	1	£77.99	£77.99
X-Rite ColorChecker Video	1	£117.00	£117.00
SIRUI SH-25 Broadcast Tripod	1	£232.00	£232.00
Tilta Tiltaing VM Battery Plate V2	1	£136.99	£136.99
Tilta Power Cable for BMPCC 4K	1	£16.00	£16.00
Tilta 5.5/2.1mm DC Male (8v) Cable	2	£20.99	£41.98
Bebob V150micro V-Mount Battery	2	£334.99	£669.98
Bebob CS2-RL V-Mount Charger	1	£263.99	£263.99
PolarPro BaseCamp Matte Box Kit	1	£748.99	£748.99
PolarPro BaseCamp Bluemorphic Filter	1	£164.99	£164.99
PolarPro BaseCamp Mist Heavy Filter – 2/5 VND	1	£199.98	£199.98
Tilta Side Focus Handle Type III (F970)	1	£191.99	£191.99
Tilta Nucleus-Nano Lens Control System	1	£220.99	£220.99
Tilta Micro USB to 2.1mm DC Motor Cable	1	£19.00	£19.00
SmallRig 15mm Rod Combo	1	£26.99	£26.99
Easyrig Minimax Support Vest	1	£1,044.92	£1,044.92
Hague D5T Dolly System	1	£294.00	£294.00
Manfrotto Dolly	1	£149.00	£149.00
5x SmallRig Double Headed Stud	1	£7.00	£7.00
Total			£9,231.15

There's probably a cable or two missing, but I honestly don't think that just under £9,500 for a single camera setup that gives you amazing footage is all that bad. Plus, if you decided to expand your rig in the future, everything will just work together.

What do you think of my choices? Would you use this rig? Let me know in the comments below.