Inspired by Suta... THE KINDA-PURPLE RED / MAROON POCKET MINI ZERO™

[Bruce Allen]

Moving on to more constructive things, Suta, the coolness of your setup made me finally post pics of mine. Don't want to hijack your thread so have started a new one with the longest title imaginable... THE KINDA-PURPLE RED / MAROON POCKET MINI ZERO™! Hii-yah!

http://www.boacinema.com/projects/lcd_monitor/bruces_hv20_rig.jpg

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

[Sanjin Jukic]

Bruce,

your 720p monitor looks very promising.

When are you starting to ship that beauty?

[Leif Thomas]

... and what will the price look like?

[Robert Batta]

Great setup Bruce ! :)

you have demo footage?

[Jaime Vallés]

Holy tomatoes, Bruce! That is hilarious!!! "Already obsolete, but who cares"... Brilliant!

Do I spy the Zacuto shoulder mount setup in there? How is it working out for you? I'm debating whether to go with the RED basic production pack, or with the Zacuto baseplate, z-grips, etc.

[Russ McDonald]

Bruce
The only thing that it's missing, is hundreds of terrified villagers with torches, and pitch forks chasing you through the streets.

I like it.

[Bruce Allen]

Bruce,
your 720p monitor looks very promising.
Thank you!


When are you starting to ship that beauty?

Already shipping (in limited quantities). I sold my 2 prototypes (including the one pictured), plus a couple of very brave people bought the raw LCD / controller kits from me. So far, they seem to like it. Next week I'm hopefully going to ship out a quick production run of 5. After that I'll do a bigger run in October. It's just a for-fun hobby project...


... and what will the price look like?

The setup or the monitor? Monitor is selling for between $775 and $850 (some people have been on the waiting list for about 6 montht so I had to give them a discount - besides I also initially said I'd sell for less, based on an overoptimistic estimate of how easy it was going to be to build the case).

As for the setup, it's roughly $1000 for the HV20 plus $1000 for the SGpro plus $1250 for the Zacuto stuff (bought it for 25% off at special at Cinegear, before I even saw the RedRock prototype) - I'm only using the shoulder mount, handles / grips and the ZAmerican arm to attach to my monitor. I'm using the rods and base plate from the SGpro (which are cheaper). I want longer rods, though. The sad part is that I've had everything ready for months except the SGpro, which I had to patiently wait for ;)...


Great setup Bruce ! :)
you have demo footage?

Matt Garrett and I tested the HV20 + SGpro combo back in June (just a rough test, no time to fix vignette, etc):

http://www.boacinema.com/projects/camera_tests/hv20/hv20_17_35_28_rack_test_cmp_960x540.mov

This is with his SGpro R2. In case you want to compare to an HVX200, here's a link to our full HVX200 tests. The HV20 stuff was shot on a different day but I tried to keep the lighting setup roughly the same (key is Diva 400 on the left, fill is a couple house lights on the right, plus some fill light coming in through windows behind us)...

http://www.freshdv.com/2007/06/nikon-lens-tests-with-the-sgpro-35mm-adapter-and-hvx200.html


Holy tomatoes, Bruce! That is hilarious!!! "Already obsolete, but who cares"... Brilliant!


Thanks! I should have mentioned that only the HV20 will be obsolete :) In 2020 when they have a 4K consumer camera, I can just swap it in where the HV20 was. Although I do wish I could know what's up with the Red pocket pro camera - if it's coming out early next year but doesn't work with Nikon lenses, I'll be sad ;) Can't wait forever though...



Do I spy the Zacuto shoulder mount setup in there? How is it working out for you? I'm debating whether to go with the RED basic production pack, or with the Zacuto baseplate, z-grips, etc.

Yes, that is the Zacuto shoulder mount setup. It's pretty comfy. Personally I'd wait for reports on the Red system before making a decision. Probably the Red one will be much better. My only worry is the rather spartan look of their shoulder mount. It does look a bit softer now, though, compared to the very first original prototype shots. Probably I'd go for the Red setup with some foam padding.

Actually, I originally wanted to buy the Red production pack without the Red (can' afford that yet ;) and then stick my HV20 on top of it! But then Red got delayed so I couldn't go ahead with that crazy plan.


Bruce
The only thing that it's missing, is hundreds of terrified villagers with torches, and pitch forks chasing you through the streets.

I like it.
Haha, I'm taking it with me back home to South Africa next month for a few weeks - so that missing component might be added!

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

[Sam Druckerman]

Congatulations Bruce!

Well done.

Lets test it on my #81?

[Bruce Allen]

Lets test it on my #81?

Haha, awesome! Would love to! Happy weekend...

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

[mjeppsen]

You know I love the rig, Bruce! And I can't wait to get my hands on that monitor as well. :-)


Do I spy the Zacuto shoulder mount setup in there? How is it working out for you? I'm debating whether to go with the RED basic production pack, or with the Zacuto baseplate, z-grips, etc.

Jaime, my compatriot in crime Kendal Miller wrote a review on the Zacuto rig recently, it's in the September issue of DV Magazine. You can also read it online here free (http://www.dv.com/reviews/reviews_item.php?articleId=196603335). And I've posted a few supplementary Zacuto rig images here at FreshDV (http://www.freshdv.com/2007/08/freshdv-review-of-zacuto-shoulder-mount-system.html). Here's a couple attached to this post...

In a nutshell? The Zacuto system is pricey, sure. It is also easily the best designed baseplate and handheld system I've laid eyes on, let alone used. How will it perform vs the Red kit? I honestly don't know. But I know now that this Zacuto rig kills. And I can't say enough about the intelligent design of the Zgrips and Zamerican Arm. It's a shooters rig, no doubt, and highly configurable. Now, normally I personally balk at that level of entry price, but IMHO this system would pay for itself in performance (providing of course you need the features it offers...many Red users probably will). And I'll put my money where my mouth is...I'm budgeting to buy one, hopefully sooner rather than later. Hope that helps.

[Gary Ploj]

Hi Bruce,

So, are you making your most excellent monitor to the masses? If so, when and what is the damage?

Can you tell us the specs too.

Thanks.

May be a cool way raising money for the RED ONE...Hmmm...interesting!!!
I must say...

[Bruce Allen]

Hi Bruce,

So, are you making your most excellent monitor to the masses? If so, when and what is the damage?

$850 plus shipping. I've shipped some to people (who have posted some positive reviews on hv20.com and dvxuser.com) but am probably back-ordered until the end of October now. And that's just with people using it for HV20s, HVX200s, etc. Imagine if it actually works with the Red (and I think chances are good)... cross fingers...



Can you tell us the specs too.


Kinda like a consumer HDTV, but tiny! 10.6", 1280x768, HDMI, HD Component in, PAL & NTSC, peaking, contrast, brightness, r,g,b color balance available via factory menu, picture in picture options. Great in a studio, sucks in daylight, of course. Here's a FAQ:
http://www.boacinema.com/projects/lcd_monitor/faq.htm



May be a cool way raising money for the RED ONE...Hmmm...interesting!!!
I must say...

Haha, thank you! Although if I had spent the 400+ hours I took working on the monitor on doing freelance animation work instead, I'd be able to buy a Red by now. Okay, well, probably not if you consider tax. But still, this has the worst hourly pay rate of anything I've done for the last 3 years. Hey, at least the commercial monitors haven't caught up to my specs yet, so I am running around with a higher-res monitor than the "pros" ;)

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

[Gary Ploj]

Sorry to hear about your labour of love to make this monitor...well, I think it was...since it seems you did a very good job because of the many posts I've read in various forums throught film nation.

Until October...not bad. Is the $850 - the plastic housing or metal? It seems I did stumble on your site and it stated that the metal one was more expensive and cooler...not sure; if you meant for the ladies...or the monitor is cooler for internal heat problems or purposes. Ha Ha...Whatever...either way; I like it.

You were also saying it "Sucks in daylight"...even with a hood or shade...can't be that bad, can it?

Anywho...I think you did a great job...keep it up.

Don't worry you'll get your RED One soon oneday!!!

Cheers.

[Bruce Allen]

Until October...not bad. Is the $850 - the plastic housing or metal?

Metal - plastic housing was bad so got cut.



You were also saying it "Sucks in daylight"...even with a hood or shade...can't be that bad, can it?


It doesn't suck more than other LCD monitors suck. I just don't like making false promises. I'm working on a daylight-readable solution that would be available as an upgrade.



Anywho...I think you did a great job...keep it up.

Don't worry you'll get your RED One soon oneday!!!


Haha, thanks! Have a good weekend!

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

[Gary Ploj]

Hi Bruce,

Cool. I like the metal one anyways!

Thanks...you too.