Premium Members Kar Wai Ng Posted May 21, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 Dunno if anyone has caught this, but Preston is releasing a new MDR, the MDR3 (not the same as the MDR-3D). Nothing yet on the Preston site, but there's an article in FDTimes. http://www.fdtimes.com/pdfs/free_previews/54FDTimes-FreePreview150.pdf A few new features such as analog input for zoom control (a request from steadi ops) and a fourth channel. Higher current throughput to the motors it sounds like, for higher motor speeds and torque. A little less chunky than the MDR2 but the weight isn't significantly less; just denser. Immediate impression is that the placement of the antenna looks a bit inconvenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Alec Jarnagin SOC Posted May 21, 2013 Moderators Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 Thanks for posting this. Looks very nice. I've long figured that this would be the next part updated on the Preston since its the oldest and a lot of useful R&D was already done to develop the MDR-3D. Looking forward to seeing it in person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Eric Fletcher S.O.C. Posted May 22, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Looks nice. Not a fan of the LED's to show torque or motor direction, they can be a distraction to actors or animals in low light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Kar Wai Ng Posted May 22, 2013 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Not a fan of the LED's either, very distracting. I can imagine them being a problem for sure when its sled mounted, as the motor ports are usually pointed toward talent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RonBaldwin Posted May 22, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 It's ok guys...I heard the LED's flash a morris code to subliminally coax the actors to tbeir marks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Eric Fletcher S.O.C. Posted May 22, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 It's ok guys...I heard the LED's flash a morris code to subliminally coax the actors to tbeir marks I thought it sent coded messages to the extras Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Kar Wai Ng Posted May 22, 2013 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 It's ok guys...I heard the LED's flash a morris code to subliminally coax the actors to tbeir marks Actually it's like the runway landing lights. Blue=proceed closer, green=on the mark, red=too close, pull back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Lawrence Karman Posted May 22, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Where are the familiar Steadicam bracket mounting holes? And Ron, Samuel Morse has only been dead for 140 years and you are already mis-spelling his name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Thomas English Posted May 22, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Looks great. Yeah, I worry about the lack of thread holes but this might be a prototype model. I hope they put a big red button on that reset switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RonBaldwin Posted May 22, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Ha! You caught me! I suck at many things...spelling is on that long list. I would have spelled it correct 140 yrs ago, back then we cared (and weren't replying to a thread while driving!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jarrett P. Morgan Posted May 25, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 An interesting move to smaller connectors. I wonder if the 2-pin power lemo is the Arri pin-out or the Bartech pin-out.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members David Baldwin Posted June 1, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 Lawrence- I took a gander at the MDR3 yesterday at their booth at Cinegear. There are bracket mounting holes, just on one side though, so the lettering is gonna be 'upside-down' when mounted to your sled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Victor Lazaro Posted June 1, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 Lawrence- I took a gander at the MDR3 yesterday at their booth at Cinegear. There are bracket mounting holes, just on one side though, so the lettering is gonna be 'upside-down' when mounted to your sled. Unless someone makes a U shaped bracket to flip the HU3 when mounted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Lawrence Karman Posted June 2, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 2, 2013 Thanks Dave. Saw it for myself and was told PRO and Skipps are making Steadicam ($$) brackets to interface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Aaron Haesler Posted September 4, 2013 Premium Members Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I received my MDR3 today, the first unit to hit Canada! To answer a couple of your questions: 1) The lights for direction and torque are quite bright, however they turn off about 3 seconds after you finish touching them, this eliminates all issues with bright lights in dark sets and I was happy to see that they weren't on full time. The green power light and the channel numbers are however on full time. I think I'll be cutting a small square of white electrical tape or something similar for the green power light. 2) The reset button is white, not red, but aside from that, it does everything a reset button is supposed to do. 3) There are in fact mounting holes, two sets. There are four holes on the back opposite the side that says "MDR-3" and also 4 holes on the side, opposite the side with the antenna. I'm looking forward to building some aluminum brackets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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