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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

Videodisc said:
I took your advice and just ordered the 16-35 f/2.8L II.

Now I am wondering about the 50mm 1.4 prime. I know the EF 50mm F/1.2L
is a superior lens but the difference in price is substantial. Any one using this lens
with the Birger mount? Does the 1.2 justify the difference in price?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Great move on the 16-35 II vs. the 17-40 Frank.

Now as far as the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM vs. the EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, the difference is substantionally evident in the build quality, as the superiority of the "L" glass is just not a match for any NONE "L" series glass, but I must say that as far as the image quality the 50 1.4 holds its own, and at time I myself, a devoted "L" glass user, I found that that the 50 1.4 is very sharp, extremely light, build is okay and for the price you just can't get any better focal length at 50mm, so on this one if budget is a concern and only of budget is a concern, then do get the EF 50mm f/1.4 USm and you will get beautiful images no doubt!

ciao
 
EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

Now I wanted to point something out regarding my favorite lens, the EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM, this lens is a Marvel, literally, very sharp, extremely well build, super fast, not the USM, that is actually a bit slower then the 50 and other "L" primes up to the 200mm L, but when you hold this lens in your hands you understand why, it is a lot of glass, and the weight of it is a testimony to it as well!

It has a natural vignetting effect as it is build to be the perfect Portrait lens for full frame cameras, and here little vignetting it is not only excepted but very desirable.

I absolutely Am a fun of Exsagerated and Extreme Shallow DOF, and this lens gives me just that when shooting WO, now it is absolutely a great companion to the RED/Birger set, and yes shooting this baby WO on it will not be as easy as shooting Stills, but if you are good Polling your focus, or your Assistant is, then you can get incredible images, I have.

Just do remember that this particular lens will need electric contacts to work, as the focusing ring will not move with out it.

This below is a still of my best friend's son Brenden shot WO on the EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM.
304303444_iHa4K-XL.jpg
 
KETCH ROSSI said:
Great move on the 16-35 II vs. the 17-40 Frank.

Now as far as the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM vs. the EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, the difference is substantionally evident in the build quality, as the superiority of the "L" glass is just not a match for any NONE "L" series glass, but I must say that as far as the image quality the 50 1.4 holds its own, and at time I myself, a devoted "L" glass user, I found that that the 50 1.4 is very sharp, extremely light, build is okay and for the price you just can't get any better focal length at 50mm, so on this one if budget is a concern and only of budget is a concern, then do get the EF 50mm f/1.4 USm and you will get beautiful images no doubt!

ciao
Click to expand...

Thanks Ketch

I will order the 50mm f/1.4 and save for the 85 f/1.2L. Hopefully the control issues will be resolved.
 
I wonder if Thursdays announcement includes a new universal mount??? hmmmm
 
Martin, Glen,dmig,

Did you check your tracking numbers? Does the Fedex page say just "package data transmitted to FedEx" or does it also say "packaged picked"?

Since last Thrusday my tracking number page has shown "package data transmitted to FedEx". I finally called FedEx and asked what does this mean. They said this implies Birger Engineering has submitted the data of the package to FedEx webpages, but no package has left Birger. That is, Birger has not asked FedEx to pick the package from them. It's only when the system says "package picked" the mount has actually left Birger.

To learn all this is ... confusing.
 
Hoffman said:
I wonder if Thursdays announcement includes a new universal mount??? hmmmm
Click to expand...

That would fit my definition of "wildest dreams" -- I am putting my money on a collaboration between RED and ET to build a better mount...

Lauri, I know you're not supposed to call Birger because they are busy doing more important things than servicing customers, but this seems like an appropriate time to call them and get to the bottom of why you have been issued a tracking number but no mount is yet forthcoming.

It's been almost a week, hasn't it? I've been looking forward to hearing about your experiences with it.
 
Meryem,

Thanks alot for your sympathy. Yes, it has been almost a week and have neither received an answer to an email sent last Monday asking for further informations. Following your advive I tried to call Birger but no luck. Guess, needed to know Amy's extension to call her directly. Sigh of confusion ....
 
Deposit and the 85mm lens

Deposit and the 85mm lens

Avenger007 said:
How long ago did you place your deposit. I'd like to know how far back the orders are currently.
Click to expand...

I signed up and gave Erik my deposit for three Birger mounts on March 10, 2008. We just received our non-Beta mount on Friday November 7, 2008. Up until then, we were lucky enough to at least have one beta mount. Finally on Friday, I replaced my Beta mount with my new mount and it seems to be working great. Today, I am sending Erik my Beta mount, as it has old circuitry and still has a few bugs. I will be anxiously awaiting its return.

The 85mm lens is magnificent and I agree with Ketch Rossi about its value. We purchased the whole L-series prime set from Canon and feel our decision to do so has provided results way above our expectations. The 85mm will need a knob to adjust focus as the manual adjust ring on the lens spins freely without a DSLR camera providing power. In the meantime we have pulled focus with the 85mm lens using the Birger software. The software is cumbersome and requires a bit of clicking and keystroking. So if you're thinking of getting the 85mm you may want to wait until you see the knobs from Birger starting to ship. The griffen knob sounds like a great solution if it works. I'm sure for $35 I'll have one on order before the end of the week.

We have noticed a few wacky things with a few lenses in particular our Canon 50mm L-series prime. When first applied, it does its own thing. It actually looks like it is trying to auto focus, but it is very sporadic. Some of you may have also seen this happen with other lenses. We determined that simply removing the power lemo from the Birger mount and replacing it makes the problem go away.
 
Calumation or Back focus

Calumation or Back focus

Calumation seems to have gone a bit easier with my 2nd mount. I have previously understood this as adjusting back focus. I'll try to explain the process that we used; hopefully, it will help out a bit.

The birger mount actually has two parts, a bigger inner mount and a smaller outer mount. Completely remove the smaller outer mount from the camera. Loosen the screws on the bigger inner mount but don't remove this part completely. I found it easier that while calumating it was quicker to just use two screws for each part. This saves some time tightening and loosening screws. With the smaller outer ring removed, notice that the exposed circuit board reviles some markings from zero to ten on the right hand side. Now, look inside the middle of the circuit board and notice a black metal shim ring with etched markings. If the screws that attach the bigger mount to the camera have been loosened enough, you should be able to insert two fingers inside the shim ring and rotate the ring clockwise or counter-clockwise. Be careful not to touch the glass sensor protector inside the camera, otherwise you will need to clean it. Spin the shim ring until the etched 1 on the ring aligns with 0 on the circuit board marking. Notate this position on a piece of paper as 1.0. Now replace the smaller outer mount and carefully tighten the screws. Be especially careful to insure that the mount remains flat and flush with the face of the camera. Never over tighten one screw so that the mount cannot stay flush with the camera face.

Get a focus chart and place it about 5 feet away from your lens. You will need a lens like a 17-55mm or something that gives you a decent range. We used a 28-300mm lens only because it is a lens that we use very often. I think Erik recommended that we use something a bit smaller, but we found that the 28-300mm gave us a bigger range for accuracy. Hit your expanded button(button #2 on the side of your red) and hit the digital zoom button on your LCD. Place some white tape on your lens, one piece on the focus ring and one piece on the lens right next to the other piece. Be careful to not use too wide of a piece so that you can still spin your focus ring. Zoom the lens all the way in and focus. Draw a line straight across both pieces of white tape and label that as position one. Then zoom the lens all the way out and focus again. Draw a 2nd line just on the focus ring tape and label that as position two. measure how wide the gap is between the two marks. A flexible ruler with 64ths or millimeters is always helpful. Now notate this distance next to the 1.0 recorded earlier.
Again, remove the outer smaller mount from the camera. Loosen the screws that attach the bigger inner ring to the camera. Now rotate the shim ring to the next marking. Move it to where the etched 2 on the shim ring aligns with 0 on the circuit board markings. Notate that this setting as 2.0 on the piece of paper. Replace the smaller outer mount and tighten the screws. Go through the exact same zoom focus process as above again and notate the difference in gap size. If the gap is growing larger, you will need to start rotating the shim ring in the opposite direction. If the gap is getting smaller, it means you are rotating the shim ring in the right direction. As the gap gets smaller and smaller, you will want to use the smaller gradient markings on the circuit board. Instead of jumping from 1.0 to 2.0, you will move from 1.1 to 1.2, etc. Eventually if things are back focused correctly the lens should be focused while zoomed in as well as focused while zoomed out.

We actually went one step farther and used a 50" panasonic plasma with an HDSDI input card. This helped out a lot. AJA makes a HDSDI to HDMI converter so that calumation can be done using any 1080p plasma with an HDMI input.

I hope this helps. I didn't have a lot of time to make this a perfect set of instructions, please forgive me if I have just confused everyone.
 
Lauri Kettunen said:
Meryem,

Thanks alot for your sympathy. Yes, it has been almost a week and have neither received an answer to an email sent last Monday asking for further informations. Following your advive I tried to call Birger but no luck. Guess, needed to know Amy's extension to call her directly. Sigh of confusion ....
Click to expand...

It's a new, clever way of saying the usual, "Next week". :)
 
ldill said:
I signed up and gave Erik my deposit for three Birger mounts on March 10, 2008. We just received our non-Beta mount on Friday November 7, 2008. Up until then, we were lucky enough to at least have one beta mount. Finally on Friday, I replaced my Beta mount with my new mount and it seems to be working great. Today, I am sending Erik my Beta mount, as it has old circuitry and still has a few bugs. I will be anxiously awaiting its return.
Click to expand...

Did I miss something or not understand this right?

You ordered in March of 2008 and got your mount before customers who ordered in November and December of 2007?
 
Jason Ing said:
Did I miss something or not understand this right?

You ordered in March of 2008 and got your mount before customers who ordered in November and December of 2007?
Click to expand...

And January of 2007...:detective2:

However, he said he was a beta tester, so maybe he had some special deal with Erik.
 
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