Red on my Rig

[Rich Cornelius]

Just thought I'd let everyone know that I've just shot a demo on the new Red here in the Uk and after first looks we think its astonishing!

Some very cool picture exposure options within the camera, pictures are awesome and it's also a lot heavier than first thought and i'm glad I took along a big rig rather than a flyer.

I think it's going to catch on very soon and be the next big thing.

Rich

[joe mcnally]

Hi Rich

do you think the Flyer could handle it in a basic configuration ?

Is there anybody making an adaptor so as one could use the normal 4 pin canon power lead ?

Have you got any pictures of the set up ?

Cheers

Joe

[Rich Cornelius]

I'm sure they will be an adapter soon but as the first batch of Red's were getting fried from using alternative power sources we only wanted to use it's own batteries.

With the batteries gone it may well be possible to ride with a Flyer.

[Alfeo Dixon SOC]

I'm sure they will be an adapter soon but as the first batch of Red's were getting fried from using alternative power sources we only wanted to use it's own batteries.

With the batteries gone it may well be possible to ride with a Flyer.

 

Rich,

 

Does your flyer have a 2 Pin Lemo 2B connector (actually 3 Pin with one pin removed)? If so they are available now.

 

I just got my RED power cable from Steadicam. First two times I had to use that hugh flash drive cage for the cameras battery to ride. Now I can loose the cage and the battery, especially since no one eve has the flash drives yet.

 

Did you down convert? I ran straight HD-SDI through the Ultra2, but no transmission to video-village.

 

-Alfeo

[Dave Isern]

Hey Alfeo,

 

Does the "Red" like power from your rig? The camera's light enough that I just run with the battery. I did notice the "Red" camera can be finicky with power the couple times I've worn it. It likes certain power setups and will run perfectly fine, but some other ways of power accessories don't make it happy.

Does it like power from your rig?

 

Thanks,

Dave Isern

 

www.daveisern.com

[Alfeo Dixon SOC]

Hey Alfeo,

 

Does the "Red" like power from your rig? The camera's light enough that I just run with the battery. I did notice the "Red" camera can be finicky with power the couple times I've worn it. It likes certain power setups and will run perfectly fine, but some other ways of power accessories don't make it happy.

Does it like power from your rig?

 

Thanks,

Dave Isern

 

www.daveisern.com

Whut up Dave,

 

So I've heard about this fickleness. I'm going to my RED guy a call and give it a test run this week. Robert Orff at Steadicam worked with the folks over at RED and one of my concerns was the draw from the Power Cubes. I think the RED bricks have a bit more Amp hours than the IDX Power Cubes but they should hold up.

 

I will also give my run/stop cable for the Preston MDR2 a testing also.

 

-Alfeo

[Alfeo Dixon SOC]

Whut up Dave,

 

So I've heard about this fickleness. I'm going to my RED guy a call and give it a test run this week. Robert Orff at Steadicam worked with the folks over at RED and one of my concerns was the draw from the Power Cubes. I think the RED bricks have a bit more Amp hours than the IDX Power Cubes but they should hold up.

 

I will also give my run/stop cable for the Preston MDR2 a testing also.

 

-Alfeo

 

UPDATE:

RED Power cable - flawless

 

IDX Power Cubes - could give a fair critique because I didn't get a chance to putt any of my batts on the charger for a refreshing... in all fairness they where probably all half spent and I went through three within three hours with a total shooting time of about 15min.

 

Preston RED MDR2 camera cable - Run/Stop worked, didn't test for anything else because of time and man power (no AC, just me and the RED owner in a bowling alley). I was just happy no one had to hit the big run button on the camera, so I promise next time I'll check for controlling shutter and more...

 

-Alfeo

Edited February 13, 2008 by Alfeo Dixon

[Charles Papert]

My feeling is that for general purpose shooting the onboard battery will work fine to balance the masses and provide a more film-camera-like feel (not with the RED bracketry though, the Element Technica setups will be a vast improvement). And might as well save our batteries instead of burning them down. However for a lightweight setup, you can lose the baseplate with bottom rails (attaching the dovetail directly to the camera), eliminate the onboard battery and power off your rig. This will drop probably 6+ lbs off the rig, great for concerts/running/uber-long takes etc. It's pretty neat that the camera architecture will allow for it to be reconfigured into it's own lightweight setup, kind of like an Arri ST/LT that can transform into a 235.

[Amando Crespo]

Hi boys!. Thanks for all information about RED. Next April I´ll do a movie and may be possible that DP. opt for it.

[Clemens Treml]

Did anybody shoot with the Red in low mode? Which bracket did you use? Can I work with a universal bracket?

I'll be shooting a movie next week and the director wants a lot of low mode...

Thanks

[Anders Holck Petersen]

Element technica makes a top cheaseplate that will mount in between two red top mounts.

 

Perfect for "rightside up" lowmode.

Otherwise I'd personally opt for "upside down" lowmode as that will get the lens closer to the ground.

[Mike Germond SOC]

When I shot with it on my Flyer, production had rented a top handle that had 1/4-20 and 3/8-16 threads all down its length. We didn't shoot low mode, but it would have been incredibly simple! Also, the handle rose off of the camera body much farther than the Element Technica cheeseplate which would effectively put the lens closer to the ground..

[John Morrison]

Hello chaps,

 

Just lost my Red 'virginity' I was actually pleasantly surprised, I had expected somewhat of a nightmare but it flew very well, as Charles said a bit like a ARRI LT. My assistant was not as impressed, with re-booting problems and other software issues but overall it was OK.

 

I flew it with the on-board battery mounted up top with the element technica bars and as you can see from the photo I had a LED light attached also. We used the SD card for recording as the hard drive has a bit of a bad reputation.

 

We were also using some Russian lenses, Elite I think? I was around during the testing and they held up pretty well, not as sharp as Ultra/Master primes but quite close to Cooke S4's in terms of resolution/contrast. They were a bit of a pain because each lens is a different size and my 1st had to keep moving motors around, this also effected the trim of my sled, but overall no big problem.

 

John

[Charles Papert]

When I shot with it on my Flyer, production had rented a top handle that had 1/4-20 and 3/8-16 threads all down its length. We didn't shoot low mode, but it would have been incredibly simple! Also, the handle rose off of the camera body much farther than the Element Technica cheeseplate which would effectively put the lens closer to the ground..

 

You would have been able to achieve the same effect by simply sliding your gimbal towards the battery. It's always better to have the camera mount as close to the body as possible as it gives you more flexibility.

[Mike Germond SOC]

But with the weight of that camera and the limitations of the Flyer, I don't think I could have extended the post long enough to counterbalance. Both are effective solutions though. I've turned myself a post extension out of aluminum that works with Tiffen's D-bracket to put the camera closer to the ground in low mode anyways..