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3D Scarlet Rig Lowest Cost Solution ? Impossible Under $25K?

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John Bellari

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Now we have Scarlet specs, at best we can get 48fps 3K in stereo,
or 24fps in 4K stereo...

Just came to the drastic realization, that the dream 2/3 Scarlet 3D rig vaporized...


So What's your lowest cost 3D Scarlet rig?


2 Scarlet = 9750 * 2 = $19,500

Pair of Matched Canon L primes, not sure which...
Maybe Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Autofocus Lens = $1660 * 2 = $3320

Genus 3D Hurricane Beamsplitter Rig $8000

ALREADY OVER $30,000!!!
I haven't even gotten to media, cables, power or monitoring...


or my fun one...

1 Scarlet with 2 Go Pro hero on top with 3d kit = 9750 + 700 = $10,450 before essential accessories


Thanks for any feedback....

Anybody have a realistic, reasonable configuration with Beam splitter?
 
Talk to Michael Hastings about his Aero 3D rig - looks competitive for half the price?
http://www.aquavideo.com/press/AquaVideoAero3DPressrelease.pdf

Not sure exactly how far down the line he is towards shipping, but can't hurt to ask. I've ordered one but told him I wasn't in a hurry to get mine as I am doing crazy full-time work and also all of the other components necessary for cheap 3D shooting haven't appeared yet.

Right now, you'd have to drop another $5000 or so on a Bartech with motors to control focus for both lenses. In the future maybe you can get away with a RedMote Pro controlling the Canons? That'd save a lot in terms of weight as well. And then there were those mysterious RED electronic FF zooms... I am beginning to wonder if everything is just not ready yet - but will come together nicely sometime in the future?

Problem is: with all of the added paraphenalia needed currently (plus heavy-duty tripod, expensive media, etc), you might as well just rent Epics, since the camera is a small part of the overall cost currently, the Scarlet is no smaller or lighter, and with Epic suddenly you get 48fps 5K (heck, even 48fps 5K HDRx) - which is a huge improvement over 48fps 3K in terms of noise performance and resolution.

Eg if you need to shoot in the next year or two: Epic with matched Optimo zooms and a good stereo FIZ controller

If you can wait a few years: Monstro Scarlet FF35 with RedMote Pro controlling Red Electronic FF zooms?

Of course, the Canon C300, for all its faults, is very tempting since it will have great low light performance (always an issue with mirror rigs)... and weighs only 3lbs! Of course, it only records 1080p @ 30fps max (stupid!) although I guess you could get away with shooting 1080p @ 50i and deinterlacing cleverly then doing 4% slowdown to get pretty good 48p? Sigh.

Then there is the F3, with those synchronized electronic zooms (nice), plus an electronic cable (for a $%##@ing $5000 3D fee) that you can use to connect the two cameras so that they sync automatically. I must admit that the $5000 software unlock pisses me off somewhat - isn't it enough for Sony that we're using TWO of their cameras? Gnash teeth.

So yeah, I look at the options and they seem to say "rent Epic or wait" to me...

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com
 
SLR zooms aren't going to work well for 3D, and primes are an incredible hassle with realignment when you change lenses taking so long. Lens changes are not double the length of time, but like 10-20 minute procedures.

Now wanting to use primes may be smart ... but you have to plan way ahead. There is a reason Jackson and Cameron have so many Epic-Ms in their personal inventory. 50 cameras is 25 3D rigs ... That's really 5 shooting crews each with 5 cameras rigged with different fL's to make a set of primes.

You don't switch lenses - you switch 3D rigs.

Most of us didnt just shoot billion dollar films though. We really need a very consistent set of cinema zooms. Angeniuex has a nice kit where they ship two matched Optimo DP zooms.

3D is just not cheap.

I'd expect to spend $60000 to get a good working Scarlet 3D rig. That would use two Red 17-50 lenses, plus two complete Scarlet rigs ($18000-$20000 each) ... and about $10000 budgeted for a 3D rig and interlink stuff.

I also think that 3D 48fps 5K HDRx is the way to shoot 3D for any projects that can afford it to begin with ... so really Epic is the watchword.

Now ... if you just want to shoot some 3D to check it out and your project consists of a cool shot or two ... maybe a very short short film ... then you can be cheap on camera gear. You can fix most of this stuff in post ... its just a pain in the ass, and takes a lot of time per shot.
 
You'll need a 3D rig that allows control of interaxial and convergence in real time during shoots (cam brains moving with motors) and enough 3D control monitors on set, glasses and a dedicated stereographer specialist.
 
John Bellari said:
Anybody have a realistic, reasonable configuration with Beam splitter?
Click to expand...

Yes: rent. Decent stereo rigs are tremendously expensive to buy, and the cheap ones aren't often decent. You don't have to personally own every piece of gear you need.
 
Alexander Ibrahim said:
[prime] Lens changes are not double the length of time, but like 10-20 minute procedures.
Click to expand...
On a recent large stereo feature my fellow rig tech and I were changing out Ultra Primes on 3ality Technica TS-5 rigs carrying Epic bodies in about three minutes. The realignment would then typically take less than five minutes in most situations. Personally I feel this is a small price to pay for the hugely superior alignment provided by prime lenses over zooms, especially with proper pre-planning in terms of coverage and lens sizes. We had three rigs, though one of them was a dedicated Steadicam rig which lived on Optimo zooms (the Steadi op preferred the balance provided by zooms over primes), and there was a little bit of leapfrogging but less than you might think.

The key is having rig techs who can align a rig quickly. In some situations this will be a 3D engineer with a SIP aligning the rig remotely, but more often it will be the tech at the rig with a small stereo monitor turning knobs. Practice, practice practice, get to know what a good alignment looks like, and the lens changing time really becomes negligible given all the other work going on on set during a lens change.
 
Keith Putnam said:
Yes: rent. Decent stereo rigs are tremendously expensive to buy, and the cheap ones aren't often decent. You don't have to personally own every piece of gear you need.
Click to expand...

Rental is always good advice. 3D EPIC rental seems like better solution for most applications with framerate flexibility.


However, I'm sure some creative folks can assemble a workable solution for a good number of setups using Scarlet-X,
pushing the entry price down.

One example:
Laptop with $945 Blackmagic Ultrastudio 3D, SDI capture of 3D, use small $300-$400 3D Computer Monitor for HDMI output
http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/ultrastudio3d/

You can certainly shoot side-by-side Scarlet configuration with a $1000 or less rig such as
http://store.redrockmicro.com/Catalog/micro3D/micro3dsxsshroud

That setup gets you roughly to $25K, but no beamsplitter.

Of course that setup doesn't cover near 3D application, but it's a start. I assume you'd get better results with this than a pair of
Canon XF 305, maybe not...

Always open to suggestions...
 
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