VCT-U14 Tripod Plate "Shoe" and "Heel"

[Ralph Oshiro]

Would there be a way to mount a Sony VCT-U14 tripod plate "shoe" and "heel" to the bottom of RED ONE so that I could use VCT-U14 plates as my standard quick-release plate? VCT-U14s sure are handy, and they;re not that expensive [$189].

[Brook Willard]

That's up to Sony...

[Anders Holck]

No offense, but while widely used, the shoe and heel system is by far one of the worst quick release systems ever. It's remarkable how fast, play is introduced in the thin heel clamp.
I really hope RED or third party offers a quick release stage for the RED dovetail, offering a real "No play" clamping.
It's amazing how well sturdy the Oconner

[Daniel Reichenbach]

Would there be a way to mount a Sony VCT-U14 tripod plate "shoe" and "heel" to the bottom of RED ONE so that I could use VCT-U14 plates as my standard quick-release plate? VCT-U14s sure are handy, and they;re not that expensive [$189].

Oh please not! It makes me always angry how instable this SONYfixes are. You will need a rockystable connection between your tripod and the camera, because you are shooting on 4k for HUGE screens and don't want shaky pictures or it is a style thing.

[Finner]

Ralph,

You should be ashamed of yourself. As you can see you will not win a lot of friends here by using the "S" word.

Just kidding but it is quite clear that there are very few sony fans here. I for one have had to put up with too much sony crap for the last few years and want nothing to do with them. It's nice to see Panasonic stepping up with great products but I am even happier to be getting a RED.

[Daniel Reichenbach]

Ralph,

too much sony crap for the last few years.

Thank you Finner :D

[Stephen Williams]

Hi,

FWIW the Thompson plate is far better and works with Sony cameras too.

Stephen

[Ralph Oshiro]

Uh, okay. So you guys don't like Sony plates. Well, I already have two VCT-U14s (one for my fluid head and one for my Steadicam). They're inexpensive and they work well enough for me. I shoot real fast and change supports A LOT, so a one-handed, spring-loaded, quick-release plate is a necessity for me. What other quick-release plate systems (that are both camera- and fluid head-independent) designed to hold 15-25lb. cameras are there? I couldn't find any of the ones some of you mentioned. The only other quick-release systems I found were tripod-specific (designed only to go on a certain manufacturer's tripod).

[Harry Clark]

Chrosziel makes a very nice version of the dreaded Sony plate that uses a lever to push the camera forward into the shoe, and the same action pulls down the button that the heel locks into.
If you must use that design, it's the most reliable, wiggle free way to go. It's the plate I use with my HDX-900s and SDX-900s.
Still not as rock-solid as the Arri dovetail though...
I hope that the Red has a bunch of thoughtfully placed 3/8"-16 thread holes. Then you could adapt it any way you like.
Cheers,
Harry

[Daniel Reichenbach]

Or look at this product, mutch better than Sony plate and there are some more gadgets: http://www.bebob.de/international/leo_eng.html

[Anders Holck]

It's totally alright if the performance of the VCT-U14 system suites you, personally I just find the system lagging in supporting cameras, especially in a dynamic application like on a steadicam.

If you want to try something different, here is a few that has two 3/8" screws on the underside:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=3937&A=details&Q=&sku=78907&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=3937&A=details&Q=&sku=67203&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=3937&A=details&Q=&sku=67201&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
Mounts to any camera with 3/8" holes

They are a bit more than $189 though...

[Ralph Oshiro]

They are a bit more than $189 though...Whoa! They sure are! Those are nice . . . who'da thunk the Sachtler would be even more than the Vinten! Well, there goes another thousand bucks!

[David Fairbanks]

I also hate the Sony system for its stability. But while the Steadicam has a balance system, I still prefer a dovetail system so that I can balance the camera easily on the tripod.

What someone needs to come up with is light weight dovetail system like Arri's. But heavier duty than Vintens.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=261498&is=REG&addedTroughType=search
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=3938&A=details&Q=&sku=67231&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

[David Fairbanks]

I just took a closer look at the latest renders of Red One and noticed that the Red-Rail already has a dovetail system. Very curious.
http://red.com/images/photo_zoom/redone_4.jpg

Specs are still changing, but we just need to find out what standard they are going with.

[Anders Holck]

Yeah like I stated in my first post in this thread, a quick release for the red dovetail would be great, although it possibly wouldn't offer repeatable positioning like the vinten and VCT-U14.

Of course it should be the dovetail on the underside of the red rail, otherwise you loose the ability to mount the mattebox, servos, magazinw, and battery. Would be cool to see a rendering of the underside at some point.

[Júlio Taubkin]

Well, I'd rather have RED using something like the standard Arri Bridgeplates...

[Ralph Oshiro]

Well, at $395, I think I'll have to just go with the Sachtler plate, since I probably won't wanna be drilling holes in my new RED to fit the Sony shoe (I have a "parts camera" BVW400 I could just rip the shoe from). It just would've been convenient to have a universal plate to hold all my broadcast cameras and RED too. It's good that the Sachtler plate only weighs 13.1 oz (important for my Flyer's max. weight specs). Of course this only works if RED comes with a 1/4"-20 and 3/8"-16 female threads right next to each other, or maybe that extra slot (shown below) will hold another 3/8"-16? The Sachtler plate may not have enough distance between its two screws, depending on the actual clearance of RED's threads when released.

http://www.24framefilms.com/sachtler.jpg

I'll be flying my RED fairly stripped down 99% of the time. Since I'm only using 35mm Nikkors, I'll only be using a small, 35mm-sized matte box, and will probably forgo any follow focus rig too. Like I said, I like to shoot really f---ing fast, so I try to my keep my gear pretty lean and mean.