How it Works

We can now have the freedom of an untethered handheld camera without compromising our back health. The concept is simple: prevent spinal compression while allowing an operator to handhold the same as if shouldered, while not affecting the camera's movement or balance. 100% of the weight is transferred off your shoulder and back, bypassing your spine entirely.

By ergonomically distributing the weight around your hips and legs, the Ergorig makes handheld feel virtually weightless compared to just having a camera on your shoulder, or using a different rig that still keeps the weight on your back. Without the strain of supporting the camera, you can breath calmly and concentrate on the shot.

Operators often don't realize how much brain power is being used on the physical aspects of operating handheld until you experience a freedom without it. The goal is to make your shots better, while also protecting your body. Eventually every camera operator who shoots handheld for any extended amount of time will feel the physical consequences, and many experience de-habilitating issues. Prevention is key, don't wait till the pain is already there. We all sacrifice enough to pursue careers in camera, our health doesn't need to be included.

The Ergorig can be used with any camera, no matter how big or small. Wether you're shooting a movie, tv show, documentary, sport, industrial, or just love holding cameras, there is a way to handhold ergonomically, and this is it.

Designed for Camera Operators by a Camera Operator

After years spent with heavy cameras on my shoulder, I joined the long list of Camera Operators with permanent back damage.  The creative desire for shooting handheld, long takes, and heavy cameras had all taken their toll.  I decided I needed to find a new solution if I wanted to keep operating.  All the other rigs out there were cumbersome, only took some of the weight, and attached to the camera, affecting the shot in an undesired way.  I wanted something that allowed me to sit, stand, tilt and pan without influencing the camera movement, but that took all the weight off my shoulder and back.  After building a proof of concept, I had a eureka moment when I tried it for the first time and barely felt the weight of a camera.  Then after a few more years of prototyping, testing, adjusting, and getting other operators' feedback, the Ergorig was born.  

- Jesse M. Feldman, SOC