Steel, aluminum, or carbon rods?

[Stephen Pruitt]

Hi all. . .

Our REDs are pretty heavy, and, with my order of the EVF, about to get heavier still. It seems to me that about the only way to shave weight without killing functionality would be to drop the heavy steel support rods for something much lighter in weight.

But the steel rods are very, very heavy-duty, too. Can anyone give me any advice as to if the weight/expense ratio of the aluminum or carbon fiber rods is really worth it? Will we actually feel the difference in the weight? Are the aluminum and carbon rods sturdy enough for daily use?

Thanks very much.

Stephen

[Joel Kaye]

Can't tell you about the carbon fiber, but I have ET rods and they are lighter than RED steel rods by a lot. Those RED rods are heavy.

More bizarre, but true - I found some 3/4" poplar wood dowels at Lowe's fit the 19mm almost perfectly and are lighter than the ET's. $2. Good for top rods. Also good for testing rod sizes.

[Nick Gardner]

I have not used Reds CF rods, but I have a set I've been using for a few years (no idea where I even got them, ebay maybe? Maybe they came with a dovetail I bought) they are great. Super stiff, you will get the least amount of flex from the Carbon rods. I also have a set of ET's rods and they are great, light. They are aluminum, and they behave like it.

Nick

[Steve Gibby]

I use the RED steel rods for heavy loads, and the ET aluminum rods for mid-weight to lighter loads. I have different complete sets of 15mm and 19mm rods, in all lengths, in both steel and aluminum, because I use each at times. For giant heavy lenses like the Optimo 24-290 I use RED 19mm 24" steel rods. For my Canon FD 150-600 zoom (9lbs) and RED 300mm (8lbs) I use ET aluminum 15mm 18" rods. On the top of RED One I always use ET aluminum 15mm 12" rods.

Though they're very light, the ET aluminum rods are quite strong. For all handleld work I use the aluminum rods.

I haven't used the RED carbon fiber rods but I have handled them and they are very light, and I assume strong for most uses except extremely cold temperatures where CF can be brittle.

[conrad gaunt]

...For giant heavy lenses like the Optimo 24-290 I use RED 19mm 24" steel rods. For my Canon FD 150-600 zoom (9lbs) and RED 300mm (8lbs) I use ET aluminum 15mm 18" rods. On the top of RED One I always use ET aluminum 15mm 12" rods...

Does the Red 300mm need to be fixed to rods at the front, or is that only when using gears etc ?

[Steve Gibby]

Does the Red 300mm need to be fixed to rods at the front, or is that only when using gears etc ?

To avoid unnecessary strain on the PL mount, I would recommend using support rods with the RED 300 at all times.

The RED 300 has a rotating support collar near the barrel end of the lens with a support screw hole in it. I use my ET-made ARRI 19mm bridge plate with 19mm rods and the RED universal bridge there is a small gap between the bridge and the lens support collar. I would assume RED will be making a small bracket to bridge that gap, but my workaround has been to simply get a long screw to run from the universal bridge adaptor up to the bottom of the lend support collar.

Because of the relatively light weight of the RED 300, I have found that the 15mm aluminum rods are more than enough to support the lens, so I use my ET-made 15mm ARRI bridge plate on the tripod, the 15mm ET aluminum rods, and a custom support bracket I had from former kits of mine to support the lens from beneath via the lens collar. My custom bracket has a built-in telescoping support screw in it.

The ET-made ARRI bridge plates are sold by RED. You can find them in the RED Store on the RED web site. Alternately, I've used the RED plate, with it's 19mm rod capability to support the RED 300 with rods.

Because of the mobility of my sports and nature shooting with the RED 300, and the need to carry the equipment long distances, I never use that lens with a follow focus or matte box. I work the focus and iris gears by hand. Likewise when shooting sports and nature with the Canon 150-600, I never use a FF or matte box. The lens has a built-in lever on the left side that pushes/pulls for zoom, and the same lever twists to rack focus. The iris is via a manual twist of iris wheel on the Century PL mount converter.

[Harky Jewett]

I have the Carbon X and love them, unbelievably light and strong, the only draw back is the price.

Check out this thread: http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14400

And look at post #8 for the Element Technica vs. Red Carbon X weight difference.

[gdv]

Shaving some weight off the camera?
Yes the camera is heavy in relate to video though compare to film is not.
I would take the battery of the top mount, this cradle is horrible it is in the way to the round control panel, yes you can top mount it but still.
So I would think of having the battery with a cable just next to the camera like most of film cameras has and you can plug it to a heavy load 12V brick battery that will last much longer than the Red batteries.
As for the rods a few years ago I went to a alum-metal shop and got from them a few 15mm light weight alum rods cut them into various lengths, conned them at the edges, for hand-held camera. I was sure they would bend in a short time but to my surprise they are still in use.
I will try to find 19mm alum rods. They were not cheap but much cheaper than the one you will buy from Red or ET.
Where do you think these guys are getting them from? the very same store. Only color will be different but that wouldn't mater for the script or the image.

[Stephen Pruitt]

Thanks much, guys. . .

I guess I'll break down and try them. . . maybe ET's first. . . see if they are stiff enough for me. I'd love to save money. After all, I'm one of the ones using the Nikons.

Stephen

[chuck colburn]

stainless steel rods.