Arri offer them in four versions: right-side and left-side grips, with either a rocker for zooming or a thumb wheel for iris or focus adjustments. As well as being used as traditional grips, they are also versatile enough to be mounted on tripod pan arms or studio pedestal heads. Clearly the Master Grips can be used in a variety of production environments.
As you can see in the pictures complementing this article, I am using the thumb wheel on the left grip to control the iris and the focus. I flick between them by pressing a function button which sits comfortable in my left hand.
The right grip features a rocker which I use to controls the CN7’s zoom. The harder you push it the quicker it moves through the range and for fine focusing you soften your touch. I found it to be very sensitive and extremely accurate. You can also choose which way the focus adjusts depending on which way way you push the rocker to your liking. This also applies for the thumb wheel, you can select how the focus and iris react depending on which direction you turn it. As you adjust the settings with the master grips, all the readings from the iris, focus length and zoom setting are marked in the cameras viewfinder, so you don’t to take your eye away from it.
Another feature I really like (and frankly just looks so cool!), are the LED displays that both left and right master grips boast. Apart from just looking amazing – they are very easy to read (both in bright outdoor conditions and of course in the dark), feature touch screen controls so you can quickly delve into their menu settings to alter features such as motor speed, zoom response and motor limits, screen brightness, user settings, direction, speed, etc etc. You can even select the language from English, Chinese, Spanish or German! When filming each grip LED provides you with a readout status of the lens – so you can always take a quick glance down to double check your settings.
I found the the Arri Master Grips also help spread the weight of my rig (an ARRI AMIRA with CN7 lens, V-LOK battery and top mic certainly couldn’t be considered light weight!). The grips have a really natural ergonomic design and I found the controls on either side easy to reach and never found myself changing a setting I didn’t mean too.
Just to make life even easier for me (as I’m not getting any younger!), I use an EasyRig to balance the whole rig (if you haven’t tried out an EasyRig please do, they are amazing!) as this takes all the weight off your shoulder and hands, and distributes it down your spine. Balanced on the rig, the camera just floats there and you can easily shoot on the shoulder and from the hip. You can see the set up in a picture here. It’s a great bit of kit. There are different models of EasyRig depending on the weight of your total set up. And using this combination with the Arri Master Grips, I have never felt so comfortable and more in control of my camera.
I took the Arri Master Grips for a road test during a two week production in Scotland recently, and after two or three days use, I felt totally at home with them. So much so that when I used the camera without them, I felt there was something missing! I found them to be lightweight, solid, rugged and reliable. I have no doubt they would be able to withstand sustained use in all shooting environments. I never had to worry about being too heavy handed with them at any stage and had full confidence in their build quality – they are from Arri after all!
So in conclusion, I am delighted to report my long wait to try out the Arri Master Grips wasn’t met with disappointment – I loved using them. I have only shared my thoughts from the experience I’ve had with them using my set up, but I know they can be partnered with a wide variety of camera and lens combinations which you might be working with. For me as an owner of my own equipment, they would be a great investment as they will always be used going forward. And perhaps more importantly, they help me do my job more easily, and comfortably. I imagine for equipment rental houses, they might become a must accessory in the camera packages they offer clients across all production requirements.
The Arri Master Grips – they get a thumbs up from Sparky Film!
