RED DIET - No rail, no cage, smaller handle?

[Greg Voevodsky]

I'd really like to see RED loose as much weight as possible - especially - with the cage, rail, and handle which must of added 10-20 pounds.

I'd like to see 2 lightweight RED brackets that would replace the cage, rail, and big handle for a single person run and gun shooting with a tripod.

The first bracket would go on top for a small flat handle (so the camera can fit into a carry on board backpack) and microphone mount.

The 2nd bracket would be on the back bottom for battery and drive to attach (and still swing up or down). Is this possible for an ultra-light configuration and steadycam work?

[Álex Montoya]

I'm with you on that.

[Charles Perkins]

i've been ordering custom titanium parts from a company in china for my bike and other stuff. their stuff is really well made, and if its going to help remove a decent amount of weight i'm going to get them to make me some of the cage system for me in Ti.

I'll ask red first, of course, but i foresee a major problem as i wont be selling it. but hey, all ways gotta check with stuff like that.

[Clayton Harper]

I was thinking that it would be great to have a longer cable for the battery and harddrive so you wear those on a belt of some sort and have just the camera, zoom and the lcd on there.

Is the sata/power cable detachable? Could we get an extender?

I am planning to go out and shoot some skate videos for a professional skater who is a friend as soon as I get my camera. I would love this thing to be a little easier to handle when out I'm skirting the law to get shots.

[Greg Voevodsky]

I'd like to see RED make some thing like Zacuto.com 's 1.75 pound baseplate and 12 inch rods that are simple and light. I'm not fan a fan of their funking hand held arms, RED's are much cooler.

However, a simple light version of RED rail or camera mounting brackets for (battery/drive) and mics are really needed for us. (Also, I do not want to buy a bigger heavier fluid head and tripod for a camera over 15 pounds in lite mode.) I was hoping to use the new 501 HDV Manfrotto head, but it is borderline at 12 pound capability.

Can Red's arms or drive mount directly to the camera or does everything have to come off the top or bottom rails?
I would like to see both options available.

Ugrip.dk has some cool grip stuff that mounts to the camera plate (rather than to the camera or rails). So you could mount arms, or screw directly onto the 2-4 inch flat plate on the right side of the camera: remote mics, monitors on arms, etc... Maybe RED, could do an adjustable plate that can slide out of the side of red 2-4 inches with holes for mounting items directly like remote mics, or arms for monitors, etc?
And maybe a slide out cup holder to boot! (just kidding) ;-)

Since I have to fit Red in a carry on backpack, it can not be too tall or long. It must be under 18 inches long, 6 inches high (with handle). I want to quickly pull red out of the bag, slap on battery/drive, mattbox, and Holophone.com H4 supermini mic (mounted off the left side of Red) and shoot in under 2 minutes. I think this is possible with some creative thinking and mounting solutions.

Any other ideas for RED LITE to consider are greatly appreciated?

[Ralph Oshiro]

You need some sort of plate that fits into/onto the camera's dovetail base--this plate then needs a place to mount the HDD cage and V-mount brick. So, I'm thinking a 6- to 8-inch piece of metal that slides into the rear of the camera baseplate, with a flat mounting area for the HDD cage/V-mount. Also, anyone have any good ideas on wireless receiver plate mounting?

[Brook Willard]

Remember guys... the accessories that RED have planned right now are not the only accessories that they'll ever come up with. This isn't some official inside information or anything, it's just a given. Of course they'll make more stuff in the future! How could they not?

[phatred]

I do much run and gun and would like a lighter handle as well.

[Priyesh P.]

Seeing this big, heavy supports from Red I was wondering too, if they´d come up with something like Arri´s LWS-4 ( light weight support-4 ).

[Jochen Schmidt-Hambrock]

From backpack to footage in 1 minute. That would be IT.
(And a normal backpack size, not something only a Sherpa would shoulder)

Jochen

[Greg Voevodsky]

Well, maybe the "sky hook" or "blimp mount" might lighten things a bit. ;-)

[Shaun Au]

Greg,

I'm totally with you on the Red's diet program. After picking up the cage(just the cage) at NAB, that sucker sure is heavy even with aluminum/carbon fiber construction. Something can definitely be done to shave some weight off.

Shaun


I'd really like to see RED loose as much weight as possible - especially - with the cage, rail, and handle which must of added 10-20 pounds.

I'd like to see 2 lightweight RED brackets that would replace the cage, rail, and big handle for a single person run and gun shooting with a tripod.

The first bracket would go on top for a small flat handle (so the camera can fit into a carry on board backpack) and microphone mount.

The 2nd bracket would be on the back bottom for battery and drive to attach (and still swing up or down). Is this possible for an ultra-light configuration and steadycam work?

[Alexander Nikishin]

The extra weight is a welcome addition for me....

Shooting on too light of a rig, (too light being in the 10-20 lb. range) makes for some shaky, unstable shots.

That added weight will help you out in the end.

Besides, it'll give most people a reason to hit the gym and eat like madmen!

[Stuart English]

We built the camera relatively small and light as we knew that we could bulk it up for applications that need that mass or multiple mounting points.

We built the rails system strong in order to support the heaviest lenses and also as we knew that we could take elements away to lighten things up.

Its the advantage of a modular system that we, or third parties, can provide a range of mounting solutions for different applications.

[Greg Voevodsky]

The extra weight is a welcome addition for me....

Shooting on too light of a rig, (too light being in the 10-20 lb. range) makes for some shaky, unstable shots.

That added weight will help you out in the end.

Besides, it'll give most people a reason to hit the gym and eat like madmen!

Well, I guess I'm off to Gold's Gym then. My friends are all saying I'm gonna look like Arnold after shooting with RED for a month on a tropical island all alone.

Unless Alexander, wants to be my first AC and carry 80 pounds of gear in 100 degrees down a 1/2 mile to the beach and back, or I rent a little mule, I'll be working out for then next few months.

[Alex D. da Silva]

We built the camera relatively small and light as we knew that we could bulk it up for applications that need that mass or multiple mounting points.

We built the rails system strong in order to support the heaviest lenses and also as we knew that we could take elements away to lighten things up.

Its the advantage of a modular system that we, or third parties, can provide a range of mounting solutions for different applications.

That's the deal! I've also found the cage to be a bit heavy for my typical usage (handheld docs) but lets wait and see what new additions from third parties or RED can be put together for lighter and ENG use.