Geared Head

[Samscad]

Okay, I tried posting this last year on the old DVX site and it flew like a lead pigeon, but here I go again.

If Jim can make indestructable sunglasses and prime lenses then surely he can make a geared head that I can throw in a back pack. I'm talking Arri or Moy head that weighs less than ten pounds. I mean, it should be doable with modern lightweight materials.

I think a geared head brings something really classy to the look of a film. I've forced my DPs to mount a DVX on an Arri Head before and pretty much everyone thought I was crazy, until they saw the result. Then they were like: Oooh! Cool!

Am I the only one that feels passionate about this?

It's hard to get good operating with small camearas, so come on Jim, you going to bite on this one? I really want a geared head.

:love: Pleeeeease!:love:

[Finner]

Samscad I am down with your thinking. Gear heads rule. I would love for RED to build one as I see what you mention as being totally possible. Maybe this is something RED or Curt over at view factor studios may be interested in sinking there teeth into but probably not for a while as it looks like RED is very very busy and I know for a fact that Curt is swimming in work right now.

A very interesting thought though.

[tj williams]

I've always had a weakness for RED HEADS...uhoooo I mean of course the Wheels.....eheh question is how many would they sell??

ps Finner you look so much better shaved.... I mean of course on your face....

[dalemccready]

I'd buy one in a second. I've always enjoyed operating with them
It's quite relaxing.

[Ralph Oshiro]

Gearheads rock!

[Brook Willard]

I've always wanted a miniature plastic geared head I could stick on my desk as a fancy, interactive paperweight. It'd be such a handy way to hone one's skills... put a laser pointer on the little $30 "head" and make 8s on the wall all day at work. :devil: Talk about a fast, cheap way to improve one's skills.

[allano]

Remember that some off the feel you get from geared heads are the mere presence of weigth - its difficult to add weigt via a dynamic resistance system , but I tried a rowing machine once that was using blades in air to give natural resistance but it was rather large......

The geared head is pretty easy to make ligthweigth and then maybe some heavy handwheels could be attached - but it would take maybe 2 small bagpacks.

[Samscad]

Well, 151 views and only 6 posts. I guess it swam like a brick again. Well, at least there's six of us. Maybe not a business model though. Damn. I'm going to have to make this thing myself. My wife's going to be pissed when she hears I'm taking on yet another project.

Thanks for the support guys.

[Samscad]

The geared head is pretty easy to make ligthweigth and then maybe some heavy handwheels could be attached - but it would take maybe 2 small bagpacks.

I think this is a great idea for compromise on weight. The handles being heavy steel would be nice.

[Bruce Allen]

Of course I'm interested. But then I'm crazy.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

[Jim McKinney]

A lot of the benefit of a geared head comes from its weight - something akin to a bigger and heavier head. What's the matter with using geared heads that are already available on the market? Frankly, I'd like to see this company focus on its cameras into the foreseeable future. Plenty of challenges right there.

(Then again, I would like to take a Red Head out for a spin.) ;-)

Jim McKinney

[Hans von Sonntag]

Hi Jim

I love geared heads, used the small Mitchell and the small Arri a lot. Even the small Arri was lighter I preferred the Mitchell for some reason.

Still, these two "small" geared heads are pretty heavy compared to hydro heads and yes, you are right a geared head needs weight. It is the unique preciseness and the possibility to stop a pan / tilt in a fraction of a second that gives the geared head its unrivalled position.

No, you can't use it for ENG/EFP. And even if there was a geared head for 4 kilos it's still not good for intuitive, documentary work. Any hydro head is far better for those applications. Nor reason for RED to worry about a new bread of geared heads...

My two cents,

Hans

[Brian Ferguson]

Also remember that both your hands are occupied when using a geared head so that sort of makes a second person mandatory for focus and zoom - very anti ENG workflow. Basically the reason that A.C.'s were a must have on shoots with geared heads. The idea of an ENG geared head is sort of an oxymoron.

[Charles Papert]

One thing I'd love to see someone tackle is an updated version of the Mitchell Vitesse head, which allowed for nodal tilts. Much as I love working with gear heads, the annoyance of having to raise tilt plates and the resulting shift in the center of gravity often sends me back to the fluid head when a shot comes up that requires significant tilting. The Vitesse was big and bulky and not particularly accurate, but a scaled down, lighweight (carbon fiber maybe?) version could be pretty smokin'. And making it optionally motorized a la Hot Gears would be a smart progression also.

[Priyesh P.]

One thing I'd love to see someone tackle is an updated version of the Mitchell Vitesse head, which allowed for nodal tilts. Much as I love working with gear heads, the annoyance of having to raise tilt plates and the resulting shift in the center of gravity often sends me back to the fluid head when a shot comes up that requires significant tilting. The Vitesse was big and bulky and not particularly accurate, but a scaled down, lighweight (carbon fiber maybe?) version could be pretty smokin'. And making it optionally motorized a la Hot Gears would be a smart progression also.

You mean something into the direction of Walter Klassen´s carbon head ? ( but of course less expensive )

[Samscad]

The Vitesse was big and bulky and not particularly accurate, but a scaled down, lighweight (carbon fiber maybe?) version could be pretty smokin'. And making it optionally motorized a la Hot Gears would be a smart progression also.

Now you're talking!

I'm still not convinced that the head needs to be heavy to work well. I'll grant that heavy is best in the ideal world, but I think I already said elsewhere that Technicolor was the peak in film capture evolution, if you take convenience off the map. The reason I don't want a heavy head is because it really slows things down. It's a two man job to mount it and moving sticks around with a giant head is just enough to wear you down. I've done a lot of shoots where we've had the head and but it only comes out once in a while because when the clock starts ticking, the geared head gets left in the van. If it were lightweight it would be first choice.

BTW what's ENG got to do with it anyway? This is a cinema quality camera, right?

[Jeremy Torrie]

All for it. LOOOVE the geared head. Yes you should be using Ronford legs with it, and have more than one person in the cam dept. Cine all the way.