The CinemaTechnic LWBP-16 Superlite Bridgeplate is one of our exclusive products. After 10 years experience shooting with the Arriflex 16SR., I was frustrated by the awkwardness of the standard ARRI BP-7 bridgeplate for the 16SR when shooting hand-held. I preferred using the ARRI Studio Follow Focus II at all times, as I was never a fan of the original Lightweight Follow Focus. I also would often use my custom 4 x 5.650" Matte Box (the first CinemaTechnic product) hand held. Finally when I bought my Angenieux 11.5-138mm HR Super 16 zoom lens, I had to use a lens support at all times. I knew I had to come up with something better than the original ARRI Bridgeplate, or the ARRI LWS "mini-rods".

I designed the CinemaTechnic Superlite Baseplate to be as small and light as possible and still accomplish three important goals:

1) It securely holds the 15mm rods with enough rod length in the bores to provide the needed support to the rods, which I frequently use as handgrips. It uses secure clamps that grip the entire circumference of the support rods, not just thumb screws which are not secure and scar up the rods.

2) It attaches to the bottom of the 16SR exactly like the full sized ARRI Bridgeplate, and it will not allow the camera to rotate. It is no larger that what is needed, and is cut away with a 45º bevel at the rear so it will not interfere with the operators shoulder. Yet is easily strong enough to support the weight of the 16SRII with Studio Follow Focus, Full Sized Matte Box, and 6.5 pound 11.5-138mm zoom lens. You can confidently turn the entire rig, as described above, and hold it upside down by one rod. You will not feel the LWBP-16 budge.

3) It accepts a standard 120mm Quick Release Plate (as used on Cartoni, O'Connor and Sachtler fluid heads), with both screws securely fastened to the LWBP-16. It also accepts all standard Steadicam camera plates and allows the use of two screws avoiding the typical twisting of the camera that plagues Steadicam operators. Yet you can still easily balance the camera as long as your fluid head has some sort of sliding top, as all truly professional motion picture fluid heads have. The LWBP-16 does not require a dovetail sliding balance plate

And, best of all, the CinemaTechnic LWBP-16 accomplishes all the above while weighing only ONE POUND, including a pair of 9.6 inch x 15mm Carbon Fiber support rods! . In fact, I have not used my standard ARRI BP-7 Bridgeplate since the first prototype LWBP-16 was finished.

Below is a photo of my 16SR with the LWBP-16 and optional Carbon Fiber rods. The rig, as pictured below, comes right off my Sachtler 7+7 head and onto my shoulder in seconds. The balance point (center of gravity) is right in the center of the LWBP-16.

Our Bridgeplates are protected by a super-hard, military-spec hard anodize coating. We call it “Titanium Finish” because the color is very similar to titanium alloy, but it’s even harder than titanium. We coat the aluminum with 40 microns of super hard aluminum oxide, one of the hardest materials known. Our coating is 25% thicker than the coating used on the original equipment bridgeplates. The pores in the aluminum oxide impregnated with PTFE (Teflon), the slipperiest substance available, to reduce friction of the weight bearing surfaces. This makes the top half, shown above, slide smoothly on the Dovetail Balance Plate, even with 60lbs of camera/lens/accessories on top.

On lesser quality aftermarket Bridgeplates, long-term use can wear out the anodizing. This is because the use the less expensive and easier to obtain Type 1 or Type 2 (Chromic or Sulfuric) anodizing, which builds up only 5 microns. Have you ever noticed areas where the black color has worn off on cameras or accessories? You are seeing Type 1 or 2 anodizing that has been worn off.

The top and bottom halves of our Bridgeplates are available separately, or in sets (except the LWBP-16 which does not require a lower half). Because our Bridgeplates are made to such high standards for accuracy, you can combine them with any original ARRI Dovetail Balance Plate and they will fit perfectly. We offer a 5% discount on the listed prices if you purchase the top and bottom halves together as a set.

Features:

• 6061-T651 Aircraft quality hardened wrought aluminum.
• Made from high-density solid bar stock with no voids, superior to cast aluminum.
• 40µm (.0015 in) AL2O3 "Titanium Finish" Al Armor MilSpec* hard anodize coating with PTFE Teflon, abrasion resistance and hardness comparable to hard chrome plate.
• Super-16 eccentric plate allows easy re-centering between standard and Super-16 formats.
• Machined to within tolerances of less than 12µm (5/10,000 in) of ARRI standards.
• Each Bridgeplate and Dovetail Balance Plate serial numbered.
• Custom engraving available.

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• Products Available: (PLEASE NOTE: The 35mm bridgeplates have been discontinued)
  
• BPA-35 35mm Brigeplate for 15mm rods, ARRI 35-III, 35BL, 35IIC.
• BPA-35S 35mm Brigeplate for 15mm rods, ARRI 35-III, 35BL, 35IIC Super-35 Compatible
• BPA-16 16mm Bridgeplate for 15mm rods, ARRI 16SR 1, 2, 3 Super-16 Compatible
• BPAA-16 16mm Bridgeplate for 15mm rods, Aaton LTR, XTR CinemaTechnic Exclusive
• LWBP-16 16mm Lightweight Mini Bridgeplate for 15mm rods, ARRI 16 SR 1-3 Does not require Sliding Balance Plate, Super-16 compatible. Exclusive to CinemaTechnic. (Pictured above)
• LWBP-A16 16mm Lightweight Mini Bridgeplate for 15mm rods, Aaton LTR, XTR Does not require Sliding Balance Plate, Super-16 compatible. Exclusive to CinemaTechnic.
• DBP-12 Standard Dovetail Sliding Balance Plate 300mm (11.5in)
• DBP-18 Extended Dovetail Sliding Balance Plate 457mm (18.0in)

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