When you’re required to shoot
for long periods of time without
the benefit of a tripod, you
must learn quickly how to keep your
shots steady so as not to make the viewer
ill. Steady shots require three things in my
opinion: skill in knowing how to properly
balance the camera to keep it steady;
strength in your forearm to smoothly navigate
through your environment; and having
access to a Dougmon.
FEATURES
Designed and created by Douglas Monroe
(“Dougmon”—get it?), this “small camera
and DSLR solution” allows the user to
shoot handheld for an extended period of
time with extra support where it is needed
most. When used in conjunction with
the Slingmon accessory, you can shoot for
hours comfortably without needing Popeye’s
arms and several cans of spinach.
So, what exactly is a Dougmon?
It’s a camera support system that was
designed with documentary, news, wedding
and reality TV shooting in mind, and it
certainly makes a shooter’s life easier. Your
torso only moves so far (some of us have
less range than others), and most shouldermounted
systems limit you to that range. Extending
the Dougmon to monopod mode,
you can shoot over your head, or reversing
it, almost at ground level.
I immediately knew upon its arrival
that the Dougmon had been invented by
a shooter. It’s designed to be used by righthanded
operators (a left-handed version is
in the works), with an adjustable arm that
extends to fi t the forearm of any size user
and which sports a cushion that straps securely
to the operator’s forearm.
The gear arrived in a red and black
mesh bag and once its drawstring was
opened the fi rst piece of business was attaching
the camera to the supplied plate.
Two screws are available to fi t most any
size camera, and I was easily able to remove
the larger screw and set it in a safe place,
as the smaller screw was the correct fi t for
the Nikon D800 I elected to use to test the
Dougmon. There was nothing complicated
about attaching the camera. Actually, it was
extremely diffi cult not to mount the plate
on the Dougmon correctly. An arrow clearly
shows the insertion path and a tightening
knob secures the plate to the hand mount.
There are only three other personal adjustments
to make.
The Dougmon is worn with the adjustable
bar against your inside forearm, the side
that would normally rest against your stomach.
This is clearly shown in the instructions,
and if you put it on backwards (with the bar
on the outside of your forearm), you’ll fi nd
that your range of motion is limited. (You
want the name “Dougmon” facing you.) An
adjusting knob slides the hand grip in or
out, to accommodate any length of forearm.
A padded, adjustable strap at the end wraps
around your forearm for a snug fi t. The third
and last adjustment is a knob at the base of
the hand grip which controls the tension to
the friction ball in the center of the hand
grip. Loosening this gives you the range of
motion needed for shooting. When attached
to your arm, the Dougmon has the look of a
robotic stabilization device, or at least something
mildly bionic.
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| The Dougmon support device |
The Slingmon is a must-have addition
to the Dougmon, as it lessens user fatigue
when shooting for extended periods. Slung
over the opposite shoulder of the Dougmon,
a gray, padded pouch rests against your
side with the sturdy, lined, black pouch facing
outward. With the Dougmon removed
from your forearm, extended and lowered
as if a monopod, it rests comfortably in the
Slingmon, thus taking the weight off your
forearm. With the Dougmon adjusted to
the shooter’s eye height, the Slingmon is a
comfortable device that holds the camera
securely and allows the operator to shoot
either via the eyepiece or the camera’s LCD.
IN USE
I was anxious to try out the Dougmon on
a shoot I had set up on a beach in Maine. A
Nikon D800 with a 24 to 70 mm f-2.8 lens
was the DSLR of choice for the shoot, and
handholding a camera of this girth quickly
becomes uncomfortable. I found that with
the camera mounted to the Dougmon, it
was as easy to pan, tilt, and maneuver it as if
it weren’t attached to anything. I really felt
no constraints on camera movement. And
ulike other stabilizing devices, it took no
practice to use the Dougmon properly.
With the Dougmon, most of the camera’s
weight is distributed over the length of your
forearm. Although practice is not required,
stamina is—as it should be when shooting
anything. You are not tied down to a tripod,
and although the images are not “Steadicam
smooth,” they do look quite good for handheld
shots. Running and jumping over rocks
among the waves was simple; however, the
stares from the beachcombers were disconcerting
when they saw me doing this.
Although after a few moments of watching
me, they realized what the Dougmon was
meant for and went on with their business.
The Slingmon is a lifesaver when used
with the Dougmon. After being involved in
beach shooting for more than an hour, the
Slingmon really came in handy, providing
me with a place for the camera system to
be put in “pause” for a moment.
While the Dougmon system isn’t the
perfect end-all in handheld shooting, it is
extremely easy to use and master. And as
with any tool in our industry, it does have
a specifi c purpose. If you really aren’t able
to shoot a smooth handheld shot to save
your life, then the Dougmon and Slingmon
will make you a smoother shooter. On the
other hand, if you’re blessed with the ability
to shoot handheld and to hold the shot
steady, then this combo will allow you to do
it for extended periods of time while allowing
your smooth expertise to shine through.
SUMMARY
If you need to shoot without a tripod
for extended periods of time and must be
mobile, the Dougmon and Slingmon will
allow you to accomplish such a feat quite
easily. The comfortable device is inexpensive,
mounts or dismounts in moments, and
has the shortest learning curve of any such
device I’ve encountered in quite a while.
Rarely in this business does “one size fi ts all”
apply, but for the Dougmon, it really does.
Chuck Gloman is chair and associate
professor of the TV/Film department at De-
Sales University. He may be contacted at
chuck.gloman@desales.edu.