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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Help with kit purchasing anyone?

K

Karl H

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It's getting closer to shipment for a lot of us on here. I'm still very unsure which components to choose now the Premium Production Pack has been scrapped.

Can any current users give advice as to what kit out there you need, what's useful, what isnt? I know I'll start with the Basic production kit and go from there....

Essentially for my set-up I'll be buying the EVF and LCD so will need mounting positions for those. Want it to be jib/tripod mountable, and also would like to use it on the shoulder/handheld. I will be using the Birger mount with Canon lenses, so I dont know how that affects what Rods/plates I will need. I'd like to carry it via a top handle too (why are there two of those?).

I'm not being lazy in trying to work it out for myself, there are some items on there that I cant quite see how they go together (like adaptors/mounts and how they all fit together) and others which look so similar in design I don't know how useful they would be. Any feedback on the best bits of accessories (or ones to avoid) would be appreciated too from any currrent Redusers.

I just want to get this right, as ordering from the UK I dont want to keep going back to Red and incurring shipping costs because I've forgot a $15 adaptor or screw kit. Or worse, I end up buying duplicates of bits and bobs that are included in the Basic production kit.

Thanks in advance.

Karl

PS It would be helpful on the Red site if they listed all the parts which were included in the Basic kit.
 
Hi Karl

description of the basic production pack is on the website...

The Base Production Pack includes:
(1) Universal Mount
(1) RED handle (Right)
(1) RED Bottom Plate
(1) Shoulder Dovetail
(1) Top Mount
(1) Top Handle
(1) RED Cradle (including Battery Plate)
(2) 18’’ Steel Rods

Cheers,
Wim
 
Thanks Wim I didn't see the sub menu. Makes things a lot easier.

So if I wanted to build a cage for mounting EVF/LCD, do I just need 4 side handles and a bolt set?
 
Yes, I suppose that would work... but in a modular system there are more ways to achieve the same goal... (which is part of the beauty)
 
I took a closer look: to mount the side handles you need to have rods on top as well...
 
Hi Karl,

Here's my two cents from my experience so far.


If you're going the birger rout and you're never going to do a cinema set-up and you're never going to rent out your camera for that purpose, you could get by without using much of the production pack. In fact, if you mounted the battery on your person, you wouldn't have to use rods at all! To do this, however, you would have to buy the RED Battery Plate Belt Clip as the cable from the CRADLE is too short for that purpose. I'm guessing most folks don't want to make their own cable.:whistling:

Remember that the production pack has the dovetail set-up for shoulder mount so if you do not go this rout you will need to find another solution for that.

The two handle idea is fantastic (especially when your using many different configurations). The ability to re-configure them to compensate for balance issues really comes in handy.

I'm sure this has been mentioned by someone somewhere but I haven't seen it.....

If your budget will allow, buy two of everything SIGNAL related. This means all cables and power items. I suggest you start out with at least four batteries (two POWER PACKS if you can swing it). Trust me. If you don't, you'll run out of juice at the worst possible time. Likewise for signal integrity (murpy's law). The RED cables seem pricey to some folks but AFIK ya gotta get what you need from RED.

IF you do expect your cam to end up in a cinema environment, by all means, buy the basic pack and add the extra parts. Also, somebody will want to use a zoom and so you might as well go ahead and get a couple of 24" rods (or at least be prepared to tell your client they will be necessary).

I'm sure there's more I can't think of right now. :wacko:

-Joe
 
hey dude i had the same question,



 [FONT=&quot]quote:

[/FONT]"You will not need to pay an individual deposit on these items we will figure the difference in cost out when it is time to settle final payment. However if you are going to add more (other than these) accessories to the order we will need to ask for an additional deposit. Let me know if you want me to change your order to the list of accessories below and I will do it internally."
[FONT=&quot]To make a Premium Production Pack equivalent:[/FONT][FONT=&quot](1) Base Production Pack [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]PLUS
(1) RED Handle (Left)
(1) Top Mount
(3) Universal Mount
(1) RED Handle Mount
(1) Top Handle Extension
(2) 24” Steel Rod
(2) 12” Steel Rod
(4) Side Handle
(1) Bolt Set

end quote:[/FONT]Sean Ruggeri, red team (the coolest R.D.C member)
 
Thanks very much Joe and Wim,

Are the 18" rods standard, and will that work with the birger mount? I'm moving up from a Betacam and a DVX, so I'm not used to the rod system for any of my work. I have lenses for my SLR, but again this is a different beast entirely as they dont need any support. Steel or Carbon Fibre? :-)

Im curious, if you dont have the production pack, where are you mounting your EVF and LCD to Joe?

Perhaps my over-cautious nature is heading me towards the basic pack at least, but with options to mount the LCD futher back. I dont think I will be configuring for a cinema set-up, assuming the Birger works well, but I do want a secure and flexible set-up for my own work.

I wondered about the handles... the production kit ships with one, but is two the most common set-up for handheld/shoulder use?

Thanks for the tips on the cabling and power, I've heard a lot of people say they expect these to break or get whacked often enough to warrant a few spares.
 
Hi Khristain,

I knew this would get confusing :-)

So you need a lot more mounts to make the cage. I guess the hard part is figuring out which bits are needed for what. I'm either a) going to end up with lots of spare adaptors and mounts that I dont need or b) end up with the red camera gaffertaped to a metal pole because I dont have the right bits.

The different size rods confuse me too. Maybe I should lie down for a while and read all this again tonight......waaaaaaaa
 
darkline said:
Hi Khristain,

I knew this would get confusing :-)

So you need a lot more mounts to make the cage. I guess the hard part is figuring out which bits are needed for what. I'm either a) going to end up with lots of spare adaptors and mounts that I dont need or b) end up with the red camera gaffertaped to a metal pole because I dont have the right bits.

The different size rods confuse me too. Maybe I should lie down for a while and read all this again tonight......waaaaaaaa
Click to expand...
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=4520&page=10
 
Karl,

The 18" rods do come standard with the production pack. Weather they "work" with the Birger mount may or may not be an issue. As you may know, the rods function as support for lens related items (and in the case of the red, the CRADLE and RED handles as well). If you're always using canon primes, for example, there won't be any need for lens support. The other main items that need support are the mattebox and Follow Focus. You might consider just going with a clip-on or just using screw-on filters. So, with no heavy zoom and no heavy rod-mount mattebox and no FF, there's no need for the rods (except for the shoulder mount/handle issue). If you DID use a rod mount mattebox with that set-up the carbon-fibers would a really nice way to go.

The cam I'm working with DOES have all the parts for the premium pack and ALL the parts come in handy for the type of work I'm doing. You could mount the EVF and LCD directly to holes tapped on the cam itself but if you do this your options are, relatively speaking, extremely limited. Also, I've noticed that holding the shoulder mount rig with TWO handles is much more stable than using just one. What also works, however, is attaching a side handle to the the right side rods and keeping one hand on that while the other hand stays on the lens for lens control.

I hope that helps.



-Joe
 
Thanks to both of you.

The nice thing about the system is that it's extremely flexible. The bad part is unless you're in the room with all the bits infront of you it isnt clear which parts you need for which task. For example everytime you mount a side handle do you need a universal mount to go with it? Are the 12" rods for the top of the camera only, and then you use 18/24 for the bottom mounting of cradle/mattebox?

I will go with the rods because I plan to get a matte box early next year (maybe Curts and will have some canon zooms in my kit). So I need the basic production kit, plus all the accessories that Khristian mentioned in order to build the cage or at least a few handles...

I'll PM you Khristian as you noticed the images in that thread have long since vanished.
 
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