What to buy and what to wait for ...

[Andrew Patterson]

First of all, thank you to everyone making this forum work. I've been dreaming of buying a RED for years and am in the final days.

That being said: What should I purchase and what should I hold out on? Here was my original plan pre-October 30:
RED ONE CAMERA
BASE PRODUCTION PACK
18-85 ZOOM
COMPACT FLASH MODULE
COMPACT FLASH 16GB FOUR PACK
7" LCD
RED POWER PACK
CHEESE PLATE
EXTRA HANDLE (WHICHEVER ONE DOESN'T COME WITH THE BASE PRODUCTION PACK)
TOP HANDLE EXTENSION
24" RODS
12" RODS
EXTRA UNIVERSAL MOUNT
NIKON MOUNT

I'm well aware that I missed the big cutoff, as it is now being called. But I would like to go ahead and purchase knowing that I will upgrade to the EPIC when my time comes. I know I will be losing some money since I will have to repurchase items like the Nikon Mount and Compact Flash Mount for eventual upgrade.

But is there anything else I should wait to purchase? I assume the 18-85 Zoom will cover the S35 sensor -- but I haven't found a post that specifically states that. If not, I will definitely wait.

Any suggestions in the this POST-OCT. 30 RED WORLD would make me feel much better about making the leap.

Thank you all.

[Scott Miller]

Just my suggestion.... (I hate to take money from Red, but in a way it doesn't, as any end user sales will most likely go to upgrades:) )

Buy your Red specific components, handles, top mounts, rods, etc, second hand off of the FS section at reduced prices. You can save several thousand doing it that way and help yourself and fellow Red owners.

[Andrew Patterson]

Scott -
Thank you for the advice. Do you foresee any of these elements not working an EPIC?
Or suggest other "must haves"?
Thanks!

[A. Clint Litton]

There are a few items you may want to hold off on buying, but there's no denying that if you want to be shooting right away, you'll need some of those things to make your Red One up to task. All the same, try to think about how you'll need to build the camera for the type of work you'll be doing in the meantime, and do your best not to go overboard on extra gear you may not need (especially if it won't carry over to Epic).

Some of that gear that won't carry over is stuff that mounts directly to the Red body, like the bottom plate, top mounts, etc. If you have extra money, it may be worthwhile to invest in the ET hybrid baseplate (19mm or 15mm, depending on your needs) and one of their dovetails, which is said to be ready for Epic. That will set you back at least $1300, but it will survive the migration. If you're set on using the base production pack, I happen to have the main components which I'd be happy to sell you at a good price, which can be viewed here:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36527

In addition to those items, I have the 18" SS rods, and would possibly consider parting with my cradle and universal mount, leaving only the top mount, top handle, and red handle out of the mix. Of course, if you don't plan to buy a Red Drive or Red Ram, you don't necessarily have to use the cradle, and may look into buying a battery plate or even a battery belt clip, which will help you lighten your load when going handheld, with other ways of mounting it to the camera in studio mode.

The other item I have listed is the Allstar Dovetail, which works beautifully with the Red Bottom Plate, and is a far more efficient manner of securing the camera to a tripod than the cheeseplate, which is more a PITA than anything. The Allstar Dovetail will allow you to slide the camera fore and aft on the dovetail in order to adjust balance, much moreso than the shoulder dovetail, and more than pretty much any adjustable sliding plate I've seen on a tripod head. Furthermore, it won't require a big changeover to go into handheld mode...just slide the camera off the allstar dovetail, slide on the shoulder dovetail (the cheeseplate requires removing bolts and screws, possibly even taking the bottom plate off to remove the cheeseplate, then putting the bottom plate back onto the camera in order to use the shoulder dovetail...requires tools and a good few minutes). The only reason I don't use the Allstar/Bottom plate combo is I bought the ET arri-style bridgeplate and dovetail and have been using that exclusively, so this other gear has been on the sidelines.

Along the lines of other must-haves (or rather, should-haves):

2 extra batteries (2 alone just won't get you by, IMO)

instead of SS rods, you may like the ET ultra rods, which are aluminum and cut a lot of weight out of your built camera.

an extra battery plate and/or other means of powering the camera (AC)

an extra LCD cable (possibly a longer one...I have a 10' cable that I bought in part as a backup and in part for different needs, like when you want the LCD to be moved away from the camera body, i.e. car rig or dolly shots), especially if you only have that one means of monitoring, which means if that cable goes bad, you're in trouble.

Regarding the handle extension, many would question whether it's necessary to use it. Personally, I have mine set up that way and take comfort knowing that it's rock solid, no chance of failure...I believe there may have been an instance or two where someone only using the top handle without the extension (and hence, the single point of contact with the camera) has had the handle crack or break...at the very least, I would be very cautious when using only the top handle in conjunction with big zooms on the camera (like the 18-85...I have a 20-100, and I really wouldn't feel great about picking up the camera without having a good hand underneath to support the full rig). Bear in mind that using the handle extension will also require a second top mount for the rear of the camera.

I would definitely hold off on the 18-85 until you know positively that it covers 5k S35...I think it probably does too, but better to be safe before putting that kind of money into it.

Skip the Red Nikon mount and get the Optitek mount. It's $250 more, but is said to be a far superior mount when using Nikon lenses for motion use (no image shift when racking, etc) and will enable the use of DX/G lenses which have no external iris ring. You'd have to pay an extra $300 to enable DX/G lens iris use via the Underdahl modification, why not pay a little less and get a better mount the first time around? Jacek from Optitek has said that he'll make some sort of adapter plate for the use of this mount on Epic and Scarlet, so you could possibly keep this, though it won't be an electronic mount like the one Red will be selling for Epic/Scarlet. On the bright side, you should have no problem selling it to a Red One owner if you want to buy the electronic mount down the road.

Can't think of anything else at the moment, though if you have any questions feel free to shoot me a PM. Good luck with your future Red ownership!

Cheers,
Clint

[Andrew Patterson]

Clint - Thank you for such thorough feedback! I will definitely be PM-ing you as well.

So it sounds like I should buy my support/handheld rig either used or third party. I shoot a lot of handheld and tripod -- so what would be the BEST option for that? It sounds like the All-Star mount is a quick option for back and forth. Is the Element Technica Mantis capable of this? Or something by Zacuto?

At some point, I would also like to know the best way to filter the 18-85 for outdoor full sun shooting without a matte box -- while I'm waiting for the RED MATTE BOX.

Sorry for all the NOOB questions!

[Justin Machacek]

Andrew - I'm in the same place as you. Since this is the perfect thread to discuss build up options I was wondering about the batteries. Have you heard anything about standard V-mount batteries? Do you know if Red requires a specific mount or is it the universal V-mount? We are buying Sony PDW-F800s and a Red... we'd like to utilize the same batteries. Thanks! Justin Machacek

[Andrew Patterson]

Andrew - I'm in the same place as you. Since this is the perfect thread to discuss build up options I was wondering about the batteries. Have you heard anything about standard V-mount batteries? Do you know if Red requires a specific mount or is it the universal V-mount? We are buying Sony PDW-F800s and a Red... we'd like to utilize the same batteries. Thanks! Justin Machacek

I'm not sure about your specific battery needs - I've yet to purchase mine, so I won't know until a few weeks down the road if both batteries will work.

All of my research and the responses above have made me realize that buying the Base Production Pack has a few components that will not be compatible with the EPIC, such as the top mounts and handle. And since I'm trying to purchase only items that will transfer, I've decided on the Element Technica Mantis, Hybrid Baseplate & Ultra Light 19mm Rods.

But before I buy it, I would still like to be sure that 18-85mm Zoom covers the S35 frame on the EPIC.

The other things I'm still not sure about making the leap from RED ONE to EPIC are the RED QUICKPLATE and the current RED BRICK.

Once again, this thread is advice for those buying a RED ONE post-OCT.30 that would like to know what to buy and what to wait for ...

Thank you all!

[Peter Hodgins]

7" LCD
My cable for the 7" LCD didn't work, out of the box. It has a straight end and a 90 degree bent end, the straight ends are poorly designed. The EVF cable has two 90 degree bent ends. Get your rep to switch the cable for the 7 inch for a EVF cable ... the one with two 90 degree ends.
Also on my base plate one of the 4 holes (the rod holes) is the wrong size, ie. the screw wont bridge the gap. (hammer and/or pliers might fix it)
Also the handle for the production pack won't fit, same sort of thing a screw problem wing nut hits side. But I use part of this handle for an extra top handle.

main thing get your rep to switch cables for the 7" LCD, I'm using the HDMI port for monitoring until I get a cable that works.

[Martin Weiss]

Do you know if Red requires a specific mount or is it the universal V-mount?
Standard V-mount are fine. I'm using both IDX and Global Media Pro. Works fine on Digibeta, DVcam, Monitors, LED lights and the R1.