Jump to content

WCU4/FIZ3


Brandon Harris

Recommended Posts

I can back up the claim on it being cheaper.

 

I got quotes for identical kits from both Preston and Arri and Arri's came out cheaper. 3/4 of the items on the quote were available, and the remaining items had a 4 week lead time.

 

Preston was 6 months. And they also didn't say which of the items were backordered and which were available.

 

 

The Arri customer service has also been excellent. It took Preston a week to send me a quote, and several days to answer a question, and another week to answer a second.

Arri had sent me a quote in a matter of hours, and they answered all my questions almost instantly.

Edited by Brandon Harris
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Members

Preston's service has been great. They have been quick to make repairs when I needed it. I have an Alexa and needed to replace a noisy fan. I waited almost 7 weeks for a replacement. If they don't stock a simple fan with thousands of Alexas in the field, I wonder what the repair/parts time would be for the WRC and motors?

I can't say too much about the Arri WRC. I have tested it and I know the AC's had an issue or 2 regarding software. That may have been addressed by now. Being able to control the camera from it (we couldn't) is a plus. The older system had range issues, that may have been worked out by now? The AC's said the vibrating stops were actually distracting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Members

I own both systems (Preston HU3/F/I unit/MDR2 and Arri WCU4,SXU1/UDM4) : Both are great/not so great for different reasons :

Preston:

•#1 remote in North America, all AC's have used it.

•Plug and play, no software bugs, no frills.

•Mix and match digital motors from different manufacturers (I have DM2/DM1X/RED motors attached to it)

•Built like a tank

•Ridiculously long wait for many parts and they don't seem to be catching up. High resale value on the used market.

 

Arri:

•No need of MDR when using Alexa's that have the internal MDR's, a very strong selling point.

•Ergonomics are excellent, not plug and play but fairly easy to use with minimum learning curve

•Lots of software bugs (most minor) , irritating coming from Arri, they do listen and updates are frequent.

•Zoom control built into the hand unit

•back lighting of the focus ring is great

•motors are amazingly fast and precise (CLM4)

 

I also rent both and as of right now, it's really 50/50 for preferences. I'm not ready to sell my Preston gear yet, but Arri is getting very good at making remotes.

 

Fly safe,

 

Frederic

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Members

Not sure if the follow focus division is the same as the rest of Arriflex, but it took me a month and a half to get a replacement knob for my Arrihead pan wheel because Arri was on holiday for the entire month of August. Again, I’m not sure if this experience is typical, but it would certainly give me pause, or at the very least cause me to ask more questions before I made a large purchase.

 

Also, living in Los Angeles, it simply makes more sense for me to own something that is developed, manufactured, and repaired locally - Preston. I’ve never seen one of the Arri units on set, which is perhaps another reason to own a Preston (in North America anyway)…AC’s know them backwards and forwards, and there is no time spent on set explaining how something works on a day-call.

 

Brooks

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Members

I've owned the WCU4 for around 18 months now and I haven't regreted my purchase at all. The CLM4 motors are very responsive and strong and the hand unit is both solid and light, built to last.

I'm in the process of buying the UMC4 and, I must say, it has been a process. The lead time on getting a unit is about 6-8 weeks which, for a newly released product, seems a bit long of a wait.

The market here in Oz is a bit different. It's split between Preston/Arri/Bartech.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Members

Does anyone think Preston will come out with a new hand unit anytime soon?

I guess there isn't too much for them to improve on to justify creating a whole new handset.

 

I don't think this is true.... here's a short list of wants from my focus puller who loves Preston but still has issues

 

 

 

The screen should be larger

 

The Iris slider should be on the other side of the unit so that one handed operation is easier and doesn't result in accidental button hits

 

The Start Stop button should feel different than every other button on the unit (set's are quite dark from time to time)

 

There is in fact a growing list of shortcomings with the HU3 as other companies come out with feature friendly units that are showing focus pullers what the possibilities can be.

 

iB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Members

 

I don't think this is true.... here's a short list of wants from my focus puller who loves Preston but still has issues

 

 

 

The screen should be larger

 

The Iris slider should be on the other side of the unit so that one handed operation is easier and doesn't result in accidental button hits

 

The Start Stop button should feel different than every other button on the unit (set's are quite dark from time to time)

 

There is in fact a growing list of shortcomings with the HU3 as other companies come out with feature friendly units that are showing focus pullers what the possibilities can be.

 

iB

 

The start stop button can be quite difficult to actuate when wearing winter gloves. I've thought about attaching a rubber pencil eraser or something on top of it.

 

I have no problem with the size of the screen; I'm not really looking at it anyway. Would rather not have battery power go towards a big screen, which, the bigger it is, the greater the vulnerability for damage anyway.

 

Number one requests for me regarding Preston is firmware either in HU3 and/or MDR to talk to Alexa. And a ring in between "D" (3' min focus) and "E" (6' min focus) with 4' minimum focus to match the 24-290 optimo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...