Additional Gear Question [Archive]

Rick Darge

01-03-2008, 10:15 PM

So I'm getting the basic prod. pack, but what else do you recommend? I wanted to get the top handle and rods for the top but don't know how long of rods I should get, etc. I wish Red would post better details about all their accessories. Maybe show us pictures of different mockups of configuration with a short menu list to accompany.

Since we don't have that, what works for you 1-300 Redheads out there? We should build our own database/outline and post a sticky since Red is too busy building cameras. This would help a lot of people like me, who still aren't sure what to get.

peace

J.D. Frey

01-03-2008, 10:28 PM

Our general hardware list is:

24 inch rods (all steel so some gorilla can't over torque them)
prod pack (must have)
handle mount
4 universal mounts (must have)
top mount
handle left
top extension
focus hook set (must have)
15mm adapter (could be important dependion on what you already have)
4 bolt sets (cheap- buy lots)
extra body cap (cheap- and you get one free)
If you already have Nikon, or other lenses or need to save money the adapters are a good idea- you can always rent or buy nice glass later depending on the project

If you plan on only shooting with CF cards at some point you will want the quick plate since you wouldn't need the drive cradle.

I've been playing around with a center handle configuration tonight so we may get another top handle and extension.

not sure if you are talking about other accessories too- but you should get the EVF and the LCD they both come with RED Arms- which rock the house!

Rick Darge

01-03-2008, 10:37 PM

Thanks man. What length of rods comes with the basic prod. pack? Why would you want rails on the top of your Red by the way? Just a different way to mount the battery? Where does the universal mount attach and what purpose can it serve you? Solecize, do you have any pictures of your setup?

Unwounded

01-03-2008, 10:44 PM

What's the top mount? And could you better describe the 15 mm adapter?

Alexis Hanawalt

01-03-2008, 10:44 PM

Richard, I hear you... it's like scratching around in the dark trying to figure out what's what, and how the puzzle pieces can fit together.

Rick Darge

01-03-2008, 10:49 PM

We need someone that bought everything, to gear up their rig, take pictures and show us a diagram ala Anders Holck style..

J.D. Frey

01-03-2008, 11:03 PM

Top rails are good for additional mount space for accessories, or for side handles (i think). I want the side handels for the sole purpose of making our red look like a tie fighter. ;)

The prod pack comes with 18" rails.

There are some pics below- basically I come home every night and try to build and test a new configuration- some are crap, some work well depending on what you want to do.

http://www.deadworkers.com/files/red/config-1.jpg

http://www.deadworkers.com/files/red/config-2.jpg
you can see i'm using a universal mount for the LCD- there is also one pictured in the foreground.

Rick Darge

01-03-2008, 11:07 PM

Pretty sweet man, thanks for the pics

J.D. Frey

01-03-2008, 11:08 PM

What's the top mount? And could you better describe the 15 mm adapter?

The top mount are the two guys in the picture above that the handle is attached they are black and near the front and back. Some sort of top handle is pretty necessary for hoisting this thing around- I get tired just thinking about carrying it. I Just learning about the 15 mm stuff myself. You will want a 15 mm adapter if you already have 15mm gear (like a follow focus). Also if you are in California 15mm is very abundant as rental gear.

There is a very good thread here regarding 15mm- look for my posts as I'm basically asking the same questions:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7191

Rick Darge

01-03-2008, 11:14 PM

I thought the new mount was black.. It looks funny in those pictures

J.D. Frey

01-03-2008, 11:21 PM

I thought the new mount was black.. It looks funny in those pictures

the PL mount? it's just a bad picture and looks kinda blue because of the flash- The PL is smooth like the rail hardware, so its texture doesn't look the same as the camera body- but it doesn't look out of place in real life.

Rick Darge

01-03-2008, 11:26 PM

Coolio

Costelloe Michael

01-04-2008, 03:38 AM

J.D. Frey

01-04-2008, 05:51 AM

Hey Solecize,

Thanks for pics, you know there's gonna be a raft of questions now!

Is that the best place for the battery? Looks pretty top heavy. Have you tried it anywhere else/

Have you tried the LCD on top?

Those tie fighter bars will work pretty good for hand held when oriented south.

Mike C

Yeah it is top heavy- I probably wouldn't shoot with the battery on top unless I was on a tripod and using the drives. I was mostly trying out the handles on the 24" bars because some people are saying that they are "squishy". They seem sturdy to me- but I've only shouldered the rig for 20 minutes.

I played around with the LCD on top- that's a good place to put it if your focus puller needs to move around for whatever reason

Yeah- I'm excited about the side handles- the handheld potential sounds like fun- especially for shooting in the backwoods of Alabama.

Erik Rangel

01-04-2008, 05:04 PM

the handheld potential sounds like fun- especially for shooting in the backwoods of Alabama.

Thats what I'm looking at...as far as set up, are there any mounting points for the LCD on the camera body itself?
I want to keep it as lite as possible. I was thinking of getting the battery belt clip, CF module, and the top handle....nothing else. Am I out of my mind?

J.D. Frey

01-04-2008, 05:52 PM

sure- you can mount the RED arm to the body- or the top plate might be more appropriate- check out the FAQ by Brook- it's really good and I probably should have mentioned it before:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1487

Evin Grant

01-04-2008, 05:54 PM

RGD, if you're in LA you need the ET Arri 15mm base pate. ALL rental houses in LA are 15mm offset standard. It's still good to have the basic production pack but I LOVE the quick plate and Belt battery adapter. You really can't have too many ways to mount the battery. The handles are OK, I bought them. Buy two battery systems, you need them to be able to keep on top of the battery situation all day without down time. Plus you can charge all four batteries over night without waking up at 4AM.

Adrian T.

01-05-2008, 04:03 AM

I still don't get the pricing of the quick plate. :help:

I mean it's a battery plate with a mounting angle, right? The battery plate goes for $175 while the quick plate is $500. So we pay $325 for the mounting angle? :umm:

Or is there something else to the quick plate I don't see?

EDIT: I wouldn't complain if the battery plate was something like $400. It's just the price difference that doesn't make sense.

Rick Darge

01-05-2008, 05:25 AM

Thanks Evin. Good to know!

J.D. Frey

01-05-2008, 07:53 AM

Gregory Leno

01-05-2008, 07:09 PM

We need someone that bought everything, to gear up their rig, take pictures and show us a diagram ala Anders Holck style..

THAT is a great idea.
Anyone ?

The replies have been good but having a sticky that points all this stuff out in in photographic detail would be very helpful.

Greg

Shawn Nelson

01-05-2008, 07:12 PM

J.D. Frey

01-05-2008, 08:57 PM

today I used my Red extensively shoulder mounted for the first time (hours) with both front handles and the battery belt. Wow! The front handles and battery belt mount are sooo nice, though the camera does get heavy. I now *really* want an EasyRig!

Yes- I learned my lesson today- and that lesson is that I'm too fat and out of shape for the red. Anyone want to produce a RED workout tape?

Shawn Nelson

01-06-2008, 11:31 AM

Yes- I learned my lesson today- and that lesson is that I'm too fat and out of shape for the red. Anyone want to produce a RED workout tape?

Lol, I know what you mean, though for me, I'm not too fat, it's just my arms are too skinny. After every few takes I'd need the AC to hold the camera for a minute to let my muscles breathe!

Brook Willard

01-06-2008, 12:49 PM

Lol, I know what you mean, though for me, I'm not too fat, it's just my arms are too skinny. After every few takes I'd need the AC to hold the camera for a minute to let my muscles breathe!Shawn, it sounds like the weight is too far forward on your rig. A properly balanced rig should put the weight on your shoulders and use your hands for stabilization.

Adrian T.

01-06-2008, 03:20 PM

Shawn, it sounds like the weight is too far forward on your rig. A properly balanced rig should put the weight on your shoulders and use your hands for stabilization.

That's why I think the battery belt clip is not the wisest thing to use for handheld. Use the battery to balance the weight of the lens.

Rick Darge

01-06-2008, 04:00 PM

Maybe not shoulder mounted but I could the battery belt being really useful for times when you want to hold the camera with both hands, hip-side, or when you're in a car or something.

Finner

01-06-2008, 05:55 PM

Shawn, it sounds like the weight is too far forward on your rig. A properly balanced rig should put the weight on your shoulders and use your hands for stabilization.

Easy for you to say Brook. Not all of us have Schwarzenegger arms like you have Brook.

Alexander Nikishin

01-06-2008, 06:16 PM

That's why I think the battery belt clip is not the wisest thing to use for handheld. Use the battery to balance the weight of the lens.

The battery belt clip is extremely useful considering the fact that it alleviates about 3-4 lbs. off of your shoulder.

The best way to balance the rig in hand-held is to use the RED backbone in combination with the RED sliding shoulder dovetail......

The RED backbone has about 10 locking pin holes which the shoulder dovetail can be slid into and locked in from further up to further back on your shoulder.

It's pretty simple to balance the rig with a variety of lenses.

Rick Darge

01-06-2008, 06:19 PM

What's the Red Backbone? Does that come bundled with the basic prod. pack?

Adrian T.

01-07-2008, 05:33 AM

Do you mean the RED bottom plate when speaking of the "RED backbone"?

Billy Summers

01-07-2008, 05:47 AM

If you do happen to mount battery on camera, it's pretty useful in helping to balance the rig for handheld work.

unless of course your Brook "I gotta pump a little iron everday or I just don't feel right" Willard

J.D. Frey

01-07-2008, 07:01 AM

Battery belt clip- is this a new accessory that popped up on red.com or something?

Erik Rangel

01-07-2008, 07:16 AM

Battery belt clip- is this a new accessory that popped up on red.com or something?

It's hidden in the battery section and the accessories section.

battery belt clip (http://www.red.com/store/product_detail/79)

Finner

01-07-2008, 10:41 AM

unless of course your Brook "I gotta pump a little iron everday or I just don't feel right" Willard

True That! I thought I was impressive at LART with my black speedo's until Brook showed up each day with only that "Conan the Barbarian" loin cloth on.

J.D. Frey

01-07-2008, 11:52 AM

It's hidden in the battery section and the accessories section.

battery belt clip (http://www.red.com/store/product_detail/79)

sneaky- i just found it. and to think they could have made even more money off me last week.

Ramis

01-10-2008, 09:58 AM

What do you use the 4 universal mounts for? Excuse my ignorance but , why is the basic prod pack coming with only one of them? If I take a look at "normal" configurations what I guess I see at the top of the body is two top mounts and two 12" or 6" rods, Am I right? Honestly I'm finding it quite confussing ,especially since the red official webpage does not give any specifications of their own products. Thanks god this page exists!!

Thanks again!