19mm or 15mm on the EPIC

[LukaszPruchnik]

Since Epic seems to be getting closer and closer I started considering other options for my personal rig.

All of my gear is based on studio 19mm setup. I'm really looking forward to be able to use the epic with only 15mm light weight rods. Shedding a few pounds off the rig and losing some adapters would be great. Lighter rig and fewer components to worry about.

Do you guys think (or maybe you know of this already) if this is going to be possible? I guess it all comes down to the distance between the optical center and the bottom of the epic.

I wonder if the MICRON would work

http://www.elementtechnica.com/development/

 

[Thomas Koch]

I plan on going 15mm Lightweight. Most of my stuff is already designed for that, in the mattebox and follow focus, etc. lighter and smaller, which is what I'm going for. I see 19mm still used on larger shoots where you are less run and gun and more dolly.

 

[Ken Willinger]

If you need to support big lenses... 19mm. If not 15mm will do.

 

[George A.]

I have a feeling that the DSMC system can be very well treated like a Super 16mm set-up. A light rig that could be perfectly suited for the 15mm lightweight rod system.

Most zoom lenses are ok also with 15mm studio. Only when you have large Optimo zooms etc, you might need to go with 19mm, which can be easily rented alongside the zoom lens itself.

But ideally, we would have the best of the two worlds (hopefully). The quality of 35mm and beyond, but the size, weight/maneuverability of 16mm.

 

[Ketch Rossi]

RED CARBON-X RODS 19mm all the way

 

[Franck De Togni]

These Microns look really nice ! Seems like they use 19mm rods.

 

[david_winters]

I hope to do as much as possible with 15mm LWS. Assuming there is room for the rods to pass the camera on the rear side. So, the rods don't have to be cut to length for each lens, as was the case with Varicam/F900 broadcast style cameras.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

The short answer is that yes, using 15mm on Epic will be possible.

As far as your personal rig goes... what kind of 19mm rods are you using now?

I generally use aluminum rods unless I need the strength, then I use steel. If you have a 24-290 on the camera, you won't notice a few ounces one way or the other ... trust me.

I am not a fan of carbon fiber because it has an odd friction. My AC's hate it. HATE I say.

In any case, unless you are unhappy from some other reason than weight, I'd consider all the changes you need to make in order to move from 19mm to 15mm. Bridgeplates, mounts for matteboxes and other aks... its expensive ,and I question the value.

So, I have both 15mm (all aluminum ET stuff) and 19mm (aluminum ET, but the long 18" and 24" rods are RED steel, I think there are 12" Steel from the RED package, but I don't use those.)

 

[paul engstrom]

Do any of you guys know if 15mm lightweight will fit under an Epic? I can't recall anyone demonstrating it one way or the other.

P

 

[LukaszPruchnik]

My 19mm setup is all ET. All of my Accessories are made for 15 lws (mattebox, FF) but I'm using 19mm adapters with them.

I guess what I'm trying to accomplish is to make the camera as compact as possible. In such way that I can have it built in a pelican case or a soft bag, and when I need to shoot I can just pull it out, pop it on a tripod or handheld and I'm good to go.

Fitting 15LWS under the epic would be ideal.