Build a camera rig that actually balances

Six complete builds, every part priced and linked, split by the only question that changes the answer: are you the whole crew, or are you lighting a scene with time to set it up? The two paths share almost nothing, so this site does not average them.

Which path are you on?

Almost every bad rig purchase comes from taking advice written for the other kind of shooter. A solo operator chasing a subject wants light weight, dependable autofocus and batteries that outlast the day. A narrative crew wants manual control, a monitor the director can see and a cage that takes accessories without shifting balance. Buy for the wrong one and you own an expensive object you fight all day.

Run and gun

One operator, an unpredictable subject and no second take. Weight, autofocus and battery life decide everything.

Starter 16 items	$3,721
Working 27 items	$11,602
Pro 23 items	$19,008

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Narrative and cine

A shot list, a crew and repeatable takes. Manual control, filtration and lighting you brought decide everything.

Starter 24 items	$3,591
Working 31 items	$8,881
Pro 31 items	$21,165

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Totals are the sum of the listed parts at the price each was last checked. They exclude tax, and they exclude the card and battery count a real shoot needs, which the calculators below work out from your own footage length.

The three mistakes that cost the most

Buying the gimbal before weighing the rig. Payload ratings are measured with a bare body and a small prime. Add a cage, a monitor, a mattebox and a wireless transmitter and a gimbal rated well above your camera will refuse to balance. Weigh the finished rig, not the camera.

Spending on the body before the support. A sharper sensor does not fix a shot that wobbles. Sticks, a fluid head and a way to hold focus change the footage more than a sensor upgrade at almost every budget below professional.

Forgetting that power and media are recurring. Cards and batteries are not a one-off line. A working rig eats both, and the number you need scales with how long you roll, not with what you paid for the camera.

Work out your own numbers

Rig weight vs gimbal payload Whether the gimbal you own can actually hold the rig you are building. Media storage per hour Cards and drives you need for a shoot at a given codec and bitrate. ND filter and shutter angle Which ND holds a 180 degree shutter at your aperture and ISO. Battery runtime How long a V-mount or NP-F actually runs a loaded rig. Depth of field Focus depth at a given sensor, focal length and distance. Crop factor and field of view What a lens becomes on a different sensor size. Recording bitrate Card speed a codec demands before it drops frames. Hyperfocal distance Where to focus so everything from here to infinity holds.

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Gear, picked by job

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