2/3" B4 Mount for Scarlet/Epic? Anyone interested in this?

[Pete Lutz]

Since the 2K crop on the Scarlet/Epic matches the sensor size of a ENG 2/3" sensor I have been looking for a way to mount my ENG lens to my Scarlet for corporate/long form/event type work. I know this is under utilizing the power of my RED but it's another way for me to make money with my camera (I sold my HPX500 to pay for my Scarlet) and we all know some clients don't know or care about the difference in quality from one camera/setting to the next.

Today I met a nice guy online, Krzysztof (http://www.foto-akcesoria.com.pl) who makes all kinds of wild lens adaptors to fit anything you need. He can make a Scarlet/Epic 2/3" B4 mount!

I am definitely going to order one of these custom mounts from him and wire up a d-tap adaptor to run the servo zoom. This will be tremendously useful for some of the lame "video" work I get sometimes.

Krysztof asked me to see if anyone else would be interested in this kind of thing.

So? Anyone here think they would be interested in an affordable ($600 or less) B4 2/3" lens mount for a scarlet/epic?

[Peter Majtan]

MOSTDEF

Just to clarify - he will make a dedicated mount that replaces any current mount and attaches with the 4 corner screws?
Or is he planing to just make an adaptor for the PL mount - like the one RED is selling on their store?

I am only interested in the former...

Also - what material is he planing to use?

Thanks

Peter

[Pete Lutz]

The mount will be madeout of Duraluminum (AW-7075 alloy)

[Arnold F.]

I don't want to hijack the thread but I think it's great you finally met a nice guy online.

[Pete Lutz]

Yes Peter, it would be a full mount with the four screws, not an adaptor. I'm finding out about the materials.

Thank you Arnold, I'd been dreaming of this moment for years. hahaha.

[Norbert Jalitsch]

i´m also interested in this b4 mount... ptap (dtap) for zoom servo operation sounds interesting...

[Pete Lutz]

My bad on the typo Norbert....d-tap for sure.

Anyone know what that plug is called that comes out of the lens? Or where I can buy them loose?

[SeanBrown]

I would be interested.

[Mike Garrick]

My background is broadcast a question. Aren't most of these TV lenses for standard def ? Surely that could lead to resolution issues even with 2k Scarlet ?

Not sure just asking ........

P.S. Now S16 glass & mount that's another thing entirely.

[Jeff Kilgroe]

A mount for B4 / broadcast lenses will require optical correction, so it's more than a simple adapter. Those lenses are designed to alter convergence for a 3-chip prism block and that needs to be corrected out. Currently there are PL to B4 converters available with proper optical glass in them, like the one from Abacus. RED sold one in their store for a while (I believe made for them by Abacus), not sure what happened, but it may not have been popular enough to keep around. Anyway, the optics keep this from being a cheap solution. Additionally, the optics introduce some small light loss and some magnification. The two together come to about 1/2 stop of loss and enough magnification where a 2.5K mode could be justified for the medium to long focal lengths on some lenses.

And, as Mike suggests above, most only the "HD" broadcast lenses are worth using on the RED. And many of those don't resolve all that well at times. IMO, it makes more sense to forget the expensive adapter and pick up a good S16 zoom if you want to shoot a lot of 2K. But if you have good HD lenses at your disposal, it might be worth looking into.