O'connor 1030HDS (Studio)

[roryhinds]

HI Gibby

What would your mobile EFP setup consist of?

Its again down to the wait game, we all need to know from RED what the weight of the setups are.

All this guessing is no good.

Regards
Rory

[Adam Jeal]

Thanks for the all the advice Gibby. Its much appriciated! I think i'll be going for a 1030. When you said that you are going for the 1030 HD - did you mean this one or the HDS?

The 1030 HD handles 30lbs and the HDS takes 40lbs. Apparently the HDS only allows 60 degrees tilt as opposed to 90 degrees on the HD.

Regards,


Adam

[Mike the beginner]

I guess we will need to see just how competitive the 20% discount is from production gear. I phoned them because i wanted to know if we could get it at the same price as some of the big outlets in the USA.

I am just starting out remember, you guys know what you are doing i just try and help a little if i can.

I dont think it will effect the order re- what head you get so long as we get five or more.

I can phone round the USA outlets and see what their best price would be for five orders if you want?

I am happy to go along with you guys wherever is cheapest.

I dont think production gear prices include the extras either, so we would need to work things out there as well. The 20% will only be as good if their starting price is competitive to begin with.

Mike the beginner

[Adam Jeal]

Hi Mike,

The Production Gear prices do include the 'extras'. I had some confusion with Rory over this yesterday and it arose because B&H photo in the US sells the heads without the standard accessories.

If you look on O'connor's US Price list, they show the complete package price. The production gear price seems good to me. You also need to bear in mind the costs of shipping and import duty from the US.

I spoke with Steve at Production Gear this morning and he said that if we go for a bulk purchase on five heads it could take between 1 to 2 months to get the order from O'connor. He said that they would look into the cheapest way to get them shipped from the States. He's talking to O'connor this afternoon to see what can be done.

I've been mulling this one over a lot - do I go with the 1030 or the 2060?
I will be working across all areas of production, but I anticipate doing a lot of cine-style work on music videos, commercials and indie features. Myself and my partner are trying to put together a good red package with a second red body for insurance purposes.

The cost of this lot is fast aproaching £50,000 inc VAT and the big question for us at this time is what do do do in terms of Fluid head, Tripod & Spreader, Mattebox and follow focus. The Arri MB 20 /FF5-HD is £5,907.90 inc VAT! but i'm nervous about going with anything else.

[roryhinds]

I'm hoping RED will speak up about the weight of the units so we can make an informed purchase decision.

I'm holding off on purchasing Mattebox, FF as the Arri seems the only choice for now but View Factor say they will be bring equal quality to market for a fraction of the cost.

I plan to hire these in the interim because although Arri is fantastic the purchase price doesn't make sense.

Again the 1030 seems like a great setup, I like that its weighs less and cost less but if its not up to the job then its no good.

[Adam Jeal]

I'm hoping RED will speak up about the weight of the units so we can make an informed purchase decision.

Again the 1030 seems like a great setup, I like that its weighs less and cost less but if its not up to the job then its no good.

Hi Rory, I agree. We need Jarred in here!:)

[Adam Jeal]

I'm holding off on purchasing Mattebox, FF as the Arri seems the only choice for now but View Factor say they will be bring equal quality to market for a fraction of the cost.

If Curt's mattebox is as good as the Arri, then i'd definitely get one. That just leaves follow focus. Shawn Nelson posted this report from Nab a few weeks ago;

'At NAB I personally felt and played with 5 different follow focus units: Arri, Petroff, Chroziel, Cavision and Redrock Micro. Personally, I felt the order of quality went: Arri, Cavision, Chroziel, Petroff and then Redrock. The Cavision felt awesome, less play then even the Arri ones in the Red booth. The knob system felt better than anyone but Arri. Combine that with the rock solid adjustable system and a price of under $900, that's my choice, game over. I have no affiliation at all with them, I just played with 5 different units and they spoke for themselves'.

The Cavision dual follow focus looks very good for the money. It is for 15mm rods but they also do a version with a 19mm rod adaptor. One thing that they don't seem to have is an extension flexible 'whip' remote for the focus knob.

http://www.cavision.com/follow_focusing.htm

Other than the Arri FF i'd been considering the Chroziel, but several people have said negative things about them.

[Finner]

Hi for all you European guys looking at occonor heads take a look at the panther line out of germany. I checked their heads out at NAB and was very impressed. I felt they were close to comparable to a occonor and I have used the occonor for years so this is not something I say with little experience.

[dewaldaukema]

The real problem with the 2060 for doc work is it's weight and the fact that it travels (fly) in two boxes. The 1030 seems just a touch to lightweight for a 300mm lens though. A real option is the X15 Panther. Has a 33 pounds payload, so between the 1030HD and 1030HDS. Had a look at it, solid and well made as one would expect. Head and 2 stage CF legs with soft flight case approx £3600 incl 17.5% VAT from Ortis TV in London, or $5609 from Abel in the US. Anybody with serious experience with the X15

[Steve Gibby]

HI Gibby

What would your mobile EFP setup consist of?

*Note - all weights are unconfirmed estimates

EFP handheld setup for high/low shots
*Note - weights are unconfirmed estimates
Camera = about 8 lbs
LCD (sometimes I use either or both) = 1 lb
Short shotgun mic = .5 lb
Top handle = 1 pound
RED Flash or Express Flash = 1 lb
RED battery = 2 lb
RED 18-50 zoom = 3 lbs or 35mm still wide angle + adapter = 3 lbs

Total = approximately 16.5 pounds

EFP shoulder held setup
Camera = about 8 lbs
EVF (sometimes I may also use the LCD) = 2 lbs
Short shotgun mic = .5 lb
Top handle = 1 pound
RED Flash or Express Flash = 1 lb, if RED Drive = 2 lbs
RED battery = 2 lb
RED 18-50 zoom = 3 lbs, or B4 2/3" HD ENG zoom + adapter = 5 lbs, or 35mm still wide angle zoom or prime + adapter = 4 lbs
Basic RED Rail = 3 lbs
RED Super Grip with RED Motor = 2 lbs

Total = varies from 22 to 25 pounds depending on what is used on the setup


Notes
Add in a tripod claw (.5 lb) and the tripod head weights for those setups range from 17 pounds to 25.5 pounds for mobile EFP setups. If a sungun is used they are light - about 1 lb. Matte boxes and FF are usually not used for EFP setups. If a lightweight clip-on matte box is used, then add 1 lb. If a lightweight FF is used, then add on 2 lbs. Screw-in filters and the lens sunshade is fine for EFP. When using B4 2/3" HD ENG zooms, RED 12 volt powers the lens servo zoom. Focus and aperture are manual. If a Birger adapter is used with Canon still lenses, then a SuperGrip and RED Motor would complete the setup.

Its again down to the wait game, we all need to know from RED what the weight of the setups are.

The above should help you out. IMO my estimated weights should be very close. IMO a tripod with a 30 lb weight limit should be fine for the 25.5 lb estimate of the shoulder held setup I described above, when you are alternately switching from shoulder held to tripod mounted. If you use a lens like the RED 300mm on tripod EFP style for nature/sports, I'd estimate its weight to be around 5 lbs, so you could end up with a setup weight of 27.5 lbs. If you regularly use big, heavy cine lenses, and heavy cine accessories, then the weight of setups can be well above the 25.5 example I itemized above.

Like I said, I will probably be getting a 1030HD with two different kinds of stick for it. I've also had excellent service for mobile EFP work over the years from Vinten and Sachtler tripods, so I'll also take a hard look at them. To save money, I buy all my tripods used from rental houses and TV networks. I simply check them out closely for major problems. Tripods are expensive (for good ones). I refuse to pay new prices for them...