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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 :)

Birger Lens Mount Reservations

Akube said:
im sorry guys... how do you set up the aperture on a canon slr and take the lens off... the darn lens stays open all the time?! and only closes when you hit the shutter release. as soon as you shut ure canon off.. the aperture goes back to being open.

I'm up for a dumb canon ef mount and im up for sending it back when birger gets ready with its new mount and its knob. ill send my dumb mount back when they are both ready.

And Erik.. i seriously like the power being enough for *all* lenses.
Click to expand...

Use the preview button to stop down the lens without setting off the shutter, then unscrew the lens. That SHOULD do the trick, though it's possible different models of Canon body will result in different behavior. If your Canon body doesn't have the preview button, you can set the shutter speed to something extremely long (several seconds) and then remove the lens before the shutter closes. You'll want to be careful to avoid contact with the swinging mirror if you use this method. If you power down the camera before removing the lens, it will probably open the lens aperture just before powering off, so you have to remove the lens while the camera is powered on.
 
FYI:

Removing the lens when the camera is on will result in a huge amount of dust being sucked onto the sensor while it is charged. Just be aware -- if you care about not having to clean the sensor every time you do remove the lens with the power on. This applies to most any digital camera except the new Canon 1ds MK III which is self cleaning -- but I would still turn of the camera to change the lens in normal situations.

Maybe if you have an old Rebel or 20D that you do not care about then you could do this without worry.
 
well. at least we got the bad news straight up this time. I respect Erik for that. It's depressing but at least we know. I wonder how hard it would be to build my own dumb mount....it's basically a canon rear lens cap, a tube and some black tape. anyone want to try?

I tried just handholding a 50mm lens in front of the pl mount and you know, it actually worked. focal distance is very short though, almost macro, so I think the PL mount would have to come off. We'll see if I get brave enough to try that later.

Let's give Erik till tomorrow to see if he'll sell us dumb canon mounts, if not, red nikon mount for me in the meantime.
 
birgerEngineer said:
My camera is back to RED for repairs/upgrades, and we will not be able to ship until it comes back. I talked to Stuart last night, and Brian emailed from RED earlier this morning to say they would look at the camera today when it got in. Fedex just confirmed delivery. My camera had some issues with the power on the AUX/232 connector. After three months of testing with a production version of the mount, it just stopped putting out power. Rest of the camera functions just fine. Yesterday, one of our customers put a mount on his camera for the first time, had the same thing happen after an hour of use. This customer powered the mount directly from the battery, and is off and running for his shoot in Africa later this week.

So, the limited amount of power from the AUX232, and the fact that lens data is not yet being recorded as metadata in Build 16, has caused us to make some changes. First, we will be powering the mount from the “Aux Power / GPIO” port on the rear of the camera.

This will result in the following positive changes:
  1. There will be enough power in the default configuration for *any* lens.
  2. The cable will no longer be captive, it will be removable.
  3. The GPIO port has an output, so we can monitor the record status from the remote control.
  4. Record start/stop is still supported.

This will result in the following negative changes:
  1. Camera recording of lens metadata will require an additional cable (once implemented by RED).
  2. All RED camera adapters have just left by courier for rework at the machine shop, and will be back on Tuesday. The rework is limited to boring out an existing hole, and tapping it for another LEMO.
  3. We will be releasing a new revision of the circuit board in the RED camera adapter (which is not required to support the first 10 units in the field, but is required for volume production) which will be released by tomorrow morning, and will be back next week. This is a very simple board, that mostly just replaces what would otherwise be a complicated cable harness. Risk is low, but it does become a schedule dependency.

We will honor all reservations, at the prices committed, including the new collimation adapter, and a 4pin to 4pin cable, instead of the captive 10pin cable. I think in the end all are still getting a bargain in the deal. If everybody recalls, when we announced this product the camera had a calibrated reference surface, and this product was much simpler.

I will not state delivery schedule until we have assembled a unit with the new connectors some time next week. The next 100 mounts are in a partial state of assembly.

Recent developments…

Image stabilization is now working along with the dynamic focus and iris. With no knob present getting the IS switch to control this requires manually homing both the focus and iris, using the push buttons on the mount.

PC application is working extremely well. The collimation part is still in final phases of development before we send it out to customers for further testing. The mac version is going to require a rewrite. We should have the mac version out during July.

Knob progress update will come early next week. We have put this on a back burner given that 90% of our customers have said that they would prefer to have their mounts shipped as soon as available, rather than wating for complete delivery of the knobs.

Amy and I will both be unavailable friday through monday of this week, as we will be in Maryland furthering our wedding plans for the fall. :love:
Click to expand...

Thanks Erik.

I have a big understanding of all that development process.

What can I say?!

Simple answer: Waiting and have a grateful patient.

It will be done when it's done.
 
I received my Nikon mount this morning but failed to install it due to three of the screws proving impossible to remove. I had read about this issue but hoped the problem had be resolved before my camera was built. Anyway, I'm now in further delay until the screw issue is sorted.

I seem to recall reading that swapping out the PL for the Birger would require removing more of the mount than is required to install the Nikon. Does anyone know exactly what has to be swapped out?

If the eight hex(Torx Plus screws may not be problematic) screws need to be removed to accommodate the Birger then it might be wise for everyone awaiting the Birger to verify whether they will have an issue removing the mount. It will insure they don't suffer further delays after the Birger arrives whenever that is.
 
Iris from a camera.

Iris from a camera.

billymc said:
I received my Nikon mount this morning but failed to install it due to three of the screws proving impossible to remove. I had read about this issue but hoped the problem had be resolved before my camera was built. Anyway, I'm now in further delay until the screw issue is sorted.

I seem to recall reading that swapping out the PL for the Birger would require removing more of the mount than is required to install the Nikon. Does anyone know exactly what has to be swapped out?

If the eight hex(Torx Plus screws may not be problematic) screws need to be removed to accommodate the Birger then it might be wise for everyone awaiting the Birger to verify whether they will have an issue removing the mount. It will insure they don't suffer further delays after the Birger arrives whenever that is.
Click to expand...

The screws are a big issue - particularly on earlier cameras. Here's what I found out. We were unable to get the 8 red screws from the PL mount adjustable portion out - even a lens repair technician with a special tapered allen wrench that could be tapped in for extra turning power. The only way we could get the pl off was to loosen the adjustment screws and basically keep turning it until it actually screwed off - thus we could get to the inner 4 screws (which are the ones you need for the birger mount. We were able to get those out okay.

So the issue is, you lose all adjustment of your pl mount when you do this - so you can't just pop it back on to swap from birger to pl. If all you will ever use is birger it isn't a big deal but if you want the ability to go back and forth it needs to fixed.

The actual installation of the birger mount was quite easy and collimation was same basic principle as red - the back portion of the mount has a threaded adjustment piece that you screw in or out to adjust the distance. Mine was almost exactly at the suggested starting point Erik gave us - and I suspect most will be pretty close.

As far as exactly what has to be swapped out - you swap the whole mount, but the difficult screws are on the adjustable part of the RED PL mount. The main mount screws are the 4 behind that section and are the ones that you use to attach the Birger mount. So to say it another way - you just need to get to those 4 screws, if you can get the eight front screws out you don't lose collimation, if you have to dismantle the front section by loosening the adjustable pl portion then you will have to reset collimation on the PL mount if you put it back. It is easier to do than it is to explain.
 
AquaVideoRed206 said:
The screws are a big issue - particularly on earlier cameras. Here's what I found out. We were unable to get the 8 red screws from the PL mount adjustable portion out - even a lens repair technician with a special tapered allen wrench that could be tapped in for extra turning power. The only way we could get the pl off was to loosen the adjustment screws and basically keep turning it until it actually screwed off - thus we could get to the inner 4 screws (which are the ones you need for the birger mount. We were able to get those out okay.

So the issue is, you lose all adjustment of your pl mount when you do this - so you can't just pop it back on to swap from birger to pl. If all you will ever use is birger it isn't a big deal but if you want the ability to go back and forth it needs to fixed.
Click to expand...

Are the stuck screws a permanent problem, or is it just a one-time problem due to over-tightening that could be fixed if the screws ever once get taken out? What kind of wrench are you using to get those off? Because it seems none of the bolt set hex wrenches are the right size.
 
I just checked mine and they loosened right up. My camera number is 1765 and it's got the 6 point screws.
 
maxwax said:
I just checked mine and they loosened right up. My camera number is 1765 and it's got the 6 point screws.
Click to expand...

When you say 6 point screws, are you referring to the 8 screws that have a star pattern?
 
well it does look like a star but there are 6 points to the star not 8 unless I'm counting it wrong... it's not something I normally see but I had a driver for it in my leatherman bit kit. loosened right up. not a lot of tension.
 
AquaVideoRed206 said:
The screws are a big issue - particularly on earlier cameras. Here's what I found out. We were unable to get the 8 red screws from the PL mount adjustable portion out - even a lens repair technician with a special tapered allen wrench that could be tapped in for extra turning power. The only way we could get the pl off was to loosen the adjustment screws and basically keep turning it until it actually screwed off - thus we could get to the inner 4 screws (which are the ones you need for the birger mount. We were able to get those out okay.

So the issue is, you lose all adjustment of your pl mount when you do this - so you can't just pop it back on to swap from birger to pl. If all you will ever use is birger it isn't a big deal but if you want the ability to go back and forth it needs to fixed.

The actual installation of the birger mount was quite easy and collimation was same basic principle as red - the back portion of the mount has a threaded adjustment piece that you screw in or out to adjust the distance. Mine was almost exactly at the suggested starting point Erik gave us - and I suspect most will be pretty close.

As far as exactly what has to be swapped out - you swap the whole mount, but the difficult screws are on the adjustable part of the RED PL mount. The main mount screws are the 4 behind that section and are the ones that you use to attach the Birger mount. So to say it another way - you just need to get to those 4 screws, if you can get the eight front screws out you don't lose collimation, if you have to dismantle the front section by loosening the adjustable pl portion then you will have to reset collimation on the PL mount if you put it back. It is easier to do than it is to explain.
Click to expand...

According to installation issue of Birger mount on RED when I get Birger EF I will sent it immediately to P+S Technik and they will have a look about possibility to make IMS adapter for Birger on RED.

Actually that would be the best solution for Birger EF mount on RED.
 
birgerEngineer said:
There will be enough power in the default configuration for *any* lens.
Click to expand...

Erik, The EF-adapter of Canon XL-series video cameras included the same 5V lithium battery to power the EF-lenses which was used earlier in EOS bodies. I had such an XL-EF adapter for almost ten years and employed it all the time with the big 300, 400 and 600mm lenses. If I remember well, during this time I changed the battery no more than twice only for the reason to make sure the battery won't run empty in the field. So, it seemed to last very very long like the Duracell bunny in the ad.

So, I would not mind if the Birger mount were powered the same way by such an external battery. In fact, such a solution sounded even somewhat better than another cord to the back of the camera. Nevertheless, any solution goes, especially if that implies we get the Birger mounts sooner.
 
The six sided star screws are Torx Plus.

They are on later cameras to solve the issue of stuck screws I expect. However, the Nikon mount came with a set of replacment hex screws. So I'm not sure what that is about.
 
The Third Man said:
According to installation issue of Birger mount on RED when i get Birger EF I will sent it immediately to P+S Technik and they will have a look about possibility to make IMS adapter for Birger on RED.

Actually that would be the best solution for Birger EF mount on RED.
Click to expand...


It's not a installation issue of birger mount it is an issue with the way RED screwed the original pl mount in. The screws were frozen in. I don't remember if it was an issue with the screws, the paint, the length or the overtorquing.

As billymc said - once you get them out it isn't an issue any more and it was corrected on later cameras. The stainless screws Erik sent work fine.

I actually don't see how P+S would make an adapter because the connectors are on the rear portion of the birger and unless they made a new hard front to the red it doesnt seem like there is enough room. With $20 adapters to EF for so many others it doesn't seem like it is necessary.
 
AquaVideoRed206 said:
I actually don't see how P+S would make an adapter because the connectors are on the rear portion of the birger and unless they made a new hard front to the red it doesnt seem like there is enough room. With $20 adapters to EF for so many others it doesn't seem like it is necessary.
Click to expand...

Could you drop some pics about all Birger EF mount sides here?
 
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