"Serious 7D Kit"

[William]

That's exactly the sort of Rig I want!
I want to ease myself into video making since I got my 7D last week. I've been doing some research on these rigs since they are essential to being able to shoot a decent well focused video. I'm betting he had a decently chunky fluid head sitting on his tripod too.

The gear thingy is indeed a follow focus, but is not motorised in this case. The square hole is to insert a "whip" which acts like a flexible extension cord so you can "pull focus" without bumping the lens and is more convenient when you're moving with the camera and can't keep your hand near the lens.

You NEED a system like this in order to be able to monitor what's in focus and keep tracking it consistently.

These rigs are very much customly set up accoding to personal preferences and shooting intent. Here are lots of "gear" shots of similar rigs
http://www.zacutoimages.com/p2123372...bce1#h3f7abce1

This guy has a series called HDSLR 101 which is well worth watching if you starting from scratch
http://www.youtube.com/user/NextWaveG

A not so tight shot showing tripod head