Since starting EikCaffery Creative in 2017 I have built up a stock of equipment tailored to the work I have done. If you are a filmmaker and have a shoot that could use some of this equipment, please get in contact. I don’t generally do off site rentals but if your shoot has space for an extra pair of hands I would love to have a chat and see how we can make something work.
FOR A MORE CONDENSED AND COMPLETE VERSION OF THE KITLIST CLICK HERE.
CAMERAS
My workshorse cameras are my two Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Cameras. They capture beautiful images, can record straight to SSD with no time limits, can shoot raw or ProRes and can be run off V-Mount or AC power - I never have to worry about swapping batteries or memory cards mid interview. They also work great for streaming, allowing for full remote control via our Blackmagic Atem Mini Pro.
BLACKMAGIC POCKET CINEMA CAMERA 6K
SmallRig/Tilta cage cage. All rigged out this camera can function as a more traditional cinema camera with wireless follow focus, V-mount power and 15mm rods for accessories.
BLACKMAGIC POCKET CINEMA CAMERA 6K PRO
SmallRig cage. This camera is great for a stripped down hiking shoot. Minimising weight without compromising image quality.
For filming in the rain / photography / extended periods of gimbal work we have three Canon stills cameras, the R6 is a current generation mirrorless camera and the 5D mk IV and the 1D mk II are the rugged iterations of the last generation of Canon DSLRs and are the cameras we originally built our business on.
CANON EOS R6
EF adaptor w/ VND + Clear filter options, SmallRig cage
CANON 5D MKIV
SmallRig cage
LENSES
I primarily shoot using Canon EF photo lenses, rigged with gears for follow focus compatibility. I have the ‘holy trinity’ of zooms and a selection of primes. The majority of our lenses are L Series: high quality and fully weather sealed. I have one vintage Zeiss Contax 28mm which shares the same optics as the classic Zeiss Standard Primes and which I have cinemodded with an EF mount and focus gears. I have a selection of filters (VND, Black ProMist), step up rings and a lightweight MatteBox that can be used across all lenses.
CANON L SERIES EF 16-35MM F2.8
CANON L SERIES EF IS 24-105MM F4
CANON L SERIES EF IS USM II 70-200MM F2.8
CANON L SERIES EF IS 100MM F2.8
CANON L IS USM 85MM F1.4
CANON 50MM F1.8 (THE NIFTY FIFTY)
CANON IS 35MM F2
SIGMA ART EF 18-35MM F1.8
ZEISS DISTAGON 25MM F2.8 AEG
AUDIO
I generally use the standard interview setup of boom mic + radio lav mic. We also have an additional wired and wireless lav mic as necessary.
ZOOM H6
With XY, mid/Centre and dual XLR adaptors allowing for recording of up to 6 channels simultaneously.
RODE NTG4
With blimp as well as mountings for on camera rigging and boom pole.
DJI Mic
Simple wireless lav mic.
LIGHTING
My lighting rig is primarily optimised for shooting interviews with 1 or 2 subjects. My primary light, the Aputure 300D is bright enough that I have options, even in most rooms with large windows. I have a variety of other lights I can bring in to add fill and rim light as necessary. While inteviews are my bread and butter I have also use this lighting setup to light livestreams, product shoots and live events. I have enough batteries to run all lights for at least an hour full power, with spares that can charge while I shoot.
APUTURE 300D - V-MOUNT
Bowens mount. I have the Lightdome softbox, lantern, spacelight and fresnel accessories that can work on this and the 120D.
APUTURE 120D - V-MOUNT
APUTURE LIGHTSTORM LSC - BICOLOUR PANEL - V-MOUNT
APUTURE 20D, 20D, 20C MINI FRESNEL SET - V-MOUNT
APUTURE AL-M9
APUTURE B7C FULL COLOUR, REMOTELY CONTRALLABLE
4X C-STAND, 3X TURTLE BASE, 1X ADJUSTABLE LEG
RIGS
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema cameras are famous for their compromises. They give incredible image quality at an unbeatable price, at the cost of lacking some of the plug and play ease of use of their more expensive documentary camera cousins. To work round this I have built up various rigs that allow us to add all the functionality I need on a case by case basis.
HANDHELD RIG
Designed to be quick and easy to setup. Everything I need to start filming lives in a single case with minimal construction needed to go from lid closed to recording. I use this rig with the BMPCC 6k.
Tilta cage, Portkeys BM5 mkII, Ikan STR-FF manual follow focus, Tilta Mirage Matte Box system w/ VND + Clear filter options, VMount battery plate (powers camera and monitor), 15mm rails, Manfrotto video tripod plate. If necessary NTG4 boom mic or Sennheiser G4 radio mic.
SHOULDER RIG
My shoulder rig turns any of our cameras (especially the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras) into a classic, shoulder mounted cinema camera. It is great for extended periods of shooting, from walk and talk interviews to event videography. This rig provides real estate for the maximum amount of accessories to be rig up, from wireless HDMI transmission to wireless follow focus. Suitable for all cameras.
Smallrig cage, SmallHD 502 monitor on outrigger, V-Mount battery plate, padded shoulder mount
1st AC support via PDMovie Remote Air Follow Focus kit and Hollyland Mars 300 wireless HDMI set
RONIN RS2 PROFESSIONAL KIT
My gimbal setup can take any of our cameras, up to and including the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6k Pro. It comes with all accessories including wireless video control via the raven eye kit and follow focus. It can also be used for hyperlapse capture and automatic tracking of subjects. Paired with the R6 it makes for a very comfortable setup on longer shoots. With remote control from an ipad it has been used with professional camera cranes for remote operation.
RHINO ARC + ARC II
I have both generations of the Rhino slider kit with both the 24” and 42” rails. Combined I can have two automated sliders running simultaneously or some combination of fast or high torque motor or long or short/lightweight rails.
SUPPORT
I have a heavy duty, bowl mount, variable friction head video tripod as well as a selection of photo tripods.
E-IMAGE GH06
2X MANFROTTO PHOTO TRIPODS
With video heads + misc ball and socket, fine control and Pan/Tilt/Roll heads.
PEAK DESIGN TRAVEL TRIPOD
Very versatile and very lightweight, works great with the R6.
POWER
Our preferred battery system is V-Mount. We have 10+ V-Mount batteries and a 4-way charger. All our rigs + lights are designed to run off V-Mount power. When operating body only our cameras use LP-E6 and NP-F570 batteries.
4X ID-X V-MOUNT (2X 179WH, 2X 286WH)
4X BEBOB MICRO V-MOUNT (2X 98WH, 2X 43WH)
3X VARIOUS BRAND V-MOUNT (1X 190WH, 2X 95WH)
7X CANON BRAND LP-E6
8X VARIOUS BRAND NP-F570
MEDIA
I use Samsung T5 1TB SSDs for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras. I also have a selection of CFast 2.0, CF SD, Ultra SD and Micro SD cards as required.
4X SAMSUNG T5 1TB
2X 128GB ULTRA SD CARDS
2X 256GB CFAST 2.0 CARDS
1X 128GB CFAST 2.0 CARD
1X 64GB CFAST 2.0 CARD
2X 256GB CF CARD
1X 128GB CF CARD
1X 64GB CF CARD
6X 32GB MICRO SD CARDS
DATA MANAGEMENT
After years of fighting with hotel rooms full of card readers and battery chargers I decided that I need a more bespoke solution. To that end I built a pelican case mounted offload / charging station. It is powered off an mac M1 mini with the industry standard offload software YoYotta installed. This can queue up 10+ storage devices for offload to multiple backup locations. The case also provides power for charging large collections of batteries simultaneously. For long term storage I also have Tape backup facilities.
M1 MINI OFFLOAD MACHINE IN A BOX
2x 7 port Thunderbolt 4 hubs (3x USB C, 4x USB 3), YoYotta, 6x infinity plugs for battery chargers, 1x kettle lead for charger, monitor, keyboard, mouse
2X LTO 7 TAPE DRIVES
STREAMING
I use an Atem Mini Pro, 4 channel streaming deck. This works excellently with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras giving full remote control over iris, focus and colour. My offload M1 Mini has OBS installed and I also have a powerful laptop (64GB of memory) that is capable of running multiple dongles as inputs. I also have an on camera monitor that can output an SDI signal allowing one camera to interface with an SDI livestreaming setup.
