F35: First impressions

[Lawrence Karman]

If necessary we could always remote the Modulus back to the DIT tent, which would likely give a more stable signal as it wouldn't be moving during a take, which is what I intend to do once I start using an HD transmitter (not needed on this job).

 

 

I'm confused, Charles. What's the point of having the HD transmitter if you are not going to put it on the camera? I thought the idea was is to eliminate the always annoying hard wire link to the DIT tent.

[Charles Papert]

As described earlier, on this job we have a fiber link with the decks remoted to the DIT tent, so cable-free was not a possibility. No point in transmitting HD as it was already hardwired. When Sony comes out with their onboard flash recorder, that would make the cable-free rig a reality with the F35 (already possible with the Genesis) and that is when I would use an HD transmitter.

 

We wrapped up today but I managed to get a still of the handheld setup with the Easyrig in use. While this setup has it's issues, I got used to it and when I did a shot with the camera on my shoulder I came to appreciate the advantage of distributing the weight with the Easyrig. Note position of viewfinder way out front. With this setup the camera perched fully balanced on the shoulder, took only fingertip guiding when minimal tilt was required.

 

[nick franco]

Thanks for the write up Charles, nice to know progress is being made in our favor.

Emily looks thrilled in the last photo.

[Charles Papert]

I think she was just "focused"...!

 

Emily was actually responsible for hanging mistletoe on the EasyRig as seen here--it netted me a few seasonal smooches over the course of the day!

 

[Brian Freesh]

The supplied power cable for studio mode has a splitter that powers a standard Arri-style 3 pin lemo breakout box for AKS

 

I dunno what is available from Sony, but that power cable and splitter box are from Clairmont. Only making the distinction in case another rental house doesn't have a similar solution. Which would be a surprise considering how few amps can be drawn through the camera, and how many accessories that tend to run at once. Also, it's 3 pin Fischer splitter box (4 output ports), not lemo, and they are 12 volt ports (12v system after all), so not standard Arri, which is 3 pin fisher 24v and 11 pin Fischer 12v. I would think another rental house might provide a box with 11 pin 12v ports.

 

This camera got real popular real fast, expect to see it out a lot!

[Brian Freesh]

I stand corrected. It's not that the camera itself can't handle the amps, it's that it is a pain in the butt and time consuming to change the fuse if it does blow, as previously mentioned. That's why Clairmont powers the splitter box from the power cable, just like with an ST or LT. And Clairmont's splitter box has an individual fuse for each port, so if one port blows, only one port blows. Also, anyone wondering about the 24v accessory port: A 24v battery block plugged into the regular lemo power connector on the camera can be used to power that accessory port. I'm a little fuzzy on how the camera is powered from that point. Aparently you have to go through a distribution box of some sort and then 12v back into the camera. Not sure where the 12v in is since the 8 pin memo is being used by the 24v at that point.

[Charles Papert]

Speaking of standing corrected, thanks Brian for the proper info on the Fisher vs Lemo port and the 12v-ness of it all (and that the cable setup is proprietary Clairmont). Must have been my getting-ready-for-holidays mode when I posted, clouding the brain.