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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 :)

#0600 Scarlet+Leica

Glad you are liking the Cartoni Focus HD. The one issue I have is that it does not have a larger euro style plate. I wish they made it with that option iike for example the Miller Compass 25 (almost three times the cost). Does the smaller DV plate hold the camera completely securely or is there some movement? By the way, I succumbed to the Leica fever as well and bought a set of Leica Rs sometime ago - they are returning home from Duclos on Monday. I cannot part with my Nikons though - too fond of them. Maybe I will change my mind once I actually start to use the Leicas.
 
Please post some video clips. I am not sure if I should go with a set of ZF's or a set of Leica R's! The ZF's just seem a bit contrasty to me and not a huge fan of the color rendition. When purchasing Leica R glass what should I be looking for in terms of mount? are there versions of the R's that I can't use cannon adapters on? I ask because on Ebay some are listed as compatible with Canon, Nikon ect.... and some are not. Thank you for your input! I personally am not afraid of going with the earlier versions of the Leica R because I personally like how older glass looks. Its very good to hear that you love the image on the 19mm v1.
 
Here's a good start:

http://www.pebbleplace.com/Personal/Leica_db.html

Joseph Coleman said:
Please post some video clips. I am not sure if I should go with a set of ZF's or a set of Leica R's! The ZF's just seem a bit contrasty to me and not a huge fan of the color rendition. When purchasing Leica R glass what should I be looking for in terms of mount? are there versions of the R's that I can't use cannon adapters on? I ask because on Ebay some are listed as compatible with Canon, Nikon ect.... and some are not. Thank you for your input! I personally am not afraid of going with the earlier versions of the Leica R because I personally like how older glass looks. Its very good to hear that you love the image on the 19mm v1.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Joseph. I went the Leica R route because i too found the Zeiss glass just too contrasty. I prefer a lower contrast look characteristic of some older glass. If you are going to go Leica R you will need to search out a lens set on the hateful ebay and also leica shops around the world. I preferred the latter course. There are good shops around and you know what you are getting. You will need to do some research. If you are happier with older leicas then you are in luck because everyone is obsessed with the newer or faster glass some of which is simply absurdly priced. Older versions of Leica Elmarits (2.8) are actually very reasonably priced. As for mounts, there is no problem. You can buy Leitax nikon mounts and put them on yourself - they are excellent. You can get Matt Duclos to put on canon or nikon mounts as well as gears and standard 80mm fronts and even declick them if you like. Alternatively you can buy a leica R mount from cindmodz and use it on your scarlet or epic. I have the 19mm f2.8, 24 f2.8, 28 f2.8, 35 f2, 50 f2, 90 f2 and 135 f2. There are people who will offer you detailed nuanced advice on each and every version of EACH of these lenses - the newer versions are sharper etc etc And it is true the newer versions do have a more "modern" look. But here is the thing. I just do not think that you can really go wrong with ANY versions of these lenses. The 19mm is a ood example. If you search reviews on the internet you will find that the second version comes up as the "best" and better than version 1. I succumbed to this and bought the second second version but now wish I hadn't. The good thing for people who are independent minded is that first version is in much plentier supplier but I have noticed that the prices of even the first version have gone a bit mad. I personally like the older Leica look.
 
Joseph Coleman said:
Please post some video clips. I am not sure if I should go with a set of ZF's or a set of Leica R's! The ZF's just seem a bit contrasty to me and not a huge fan of the color rendition. When purchasing Leica R glass what should I be looking for in terms of mount? are there versions of the R's that I can't use cannon adapters on? I ask because on Ebay some are listed as compatible with Canon, Nikon ect.... and some are not. Thank you for your input! I personally am not afraid of going with the earlier versions of the Leica R because I personally like how older glass looks. Its very good to hear that you love the image on the 19mm v1.
Click to expand...

Have you ever considered Zeiss Contax? The predecessors to ZF/ZE? Their color rendition is more along the lines of what you are talking about. Optically they are 95% the same as ZF/ZE.
 
I just have to add to my previous post concerning Leica R. Just checked on the internet and the prices are just getting madder and madder - some clown wants to sell the hood alone for the first version of the 19mm for $416!!
 
Rob Castiglione said:
I just have to add to my previous post concerning Leica R. Just checked on the internet and the prices are just getting madder and madder - some clown wants to sell the hood alone for the first version of the 19mm for $416!!
Click to expand...

Yeah that's why I went Contax.
 
You definitely have a point Nick. There is Leica R madness at the moment so probably not a good time to buy. I have my set now thank god and will just be satisfied with what I have.
 
Rob Castiglione said:
Hi Joseph. I went the Leica R route because i too found the Zeiss glass just too contrasty. I prefer a lower contrast look characteristic of some older glass. If you are going to go Leica R you will need to search out a lens set on the hateful ebay and also leica shops around the world. I preferred the latter course. There are good shops around and you know what you are getting. You will need to do some research. If you are happier with older leicas then you are in luck because everyone is obsessed with the newer or faster glass some of which is simply absurdly priced. Older versions of Leica Elmarits (2.8) are actually very reasonably priced. As for mounts, there is no problem. You can buy Leitax nikon mounts and put them on yourself - they are excellent. You can get Matt Duclos to put on canon or nikon mounts as well as gears and standard 80mm fronts and even declick them if you like. Alternatively you can buy a leica R mount from cindmodz and use it on your scarlet or epic. I have the 19mm f2.8, 24 f2.8, 28 f2.8, 35 f2, 50 f2, 90 f2 and 135 f2. There are people who will offer you detailed nuanced advice on each and every version of EACH of these lenses - the newer versions are sharper etc etc And it is true the newer versions do have a more "modern" look. But here is the thing. I just do not think that you can really go wrong with ANY versions of these lenses. The 19mm is a ood example. If you search reviews on the internet you will find that the second version comes up as the "best" and better than version 1. I succumbed to this and bought the second second version but now wish I hadn't. The good thing for people who are independent minded is that first version is in much plentier supplier but I have noticed that the prices of even the first version have gone a bit mad. I personally like the older Leica look.
Click to expand...

Agreed, Rob and I seem to have had a similar experience. I found using the Leica Shops (from around the globe, some on eBay) got me a better lens in better condition. You don't really know what your getting from a random eBayer. My lenses are set up with the Leitex adapters, the are pretty big beefy chunks of metal that become part of the lens, I highly recommend them. I really like the look of the older Leica glass, the 35mm f2 Summicron is the oldest of my set and it might just be my favorite. The 19mm v1 was the pricest (in comparison to the other lenses) I ended up paying $1950 for it...the v2 was around 3k+ at the time. But I'm really happy with the lens...wish we could shoot at the 5K FOV with the scarlet though..makes the 19mm sooooo much better! I love how small the lenses are...but get your FF system figured out, the WC 15mm LW protrudes so far that for the smaller lenses I have to swap my FF to the right side of the cam.

@emil tanem yes, Bob got it, it the DP4 with EVF. I just got an 18" HDMI cable (pictured is a 3ft) which makes for a little better cable management. I really like this monitor, I also have the 5.6" RED LCD (not touch)...not 100% which will be my goto...the RED is nice b/c less cable & powered by camera. The DP4 is smaller, has a loupe for Sunny days, has some extra focus & exposure controls...hmmmm

...Now, just waiting for my sidehandle and WC quickback to get me mobile...H

Had to send my REDMOTE back to RED b/c "Enter" button quit working after a couple days of shooting around my house :(

-Dane
 
I'm with Nick and Rob, it's gone pretty crazy. Some people are just plain ridiculous on ebay. I spent a lot of time trying to put together a Leica R set, but for 4K less I now have a contax set I am utterly thrilled with. Build and focus throw are fantastic and has some fast and truly stellar bargain lenses among them. Still have to be willing to work to put a great set together if you want mint or minty. But unlike the Leica, the research process to find the true gems is nowhere near as convoluted. Though I enjoyed every moment of that to be honest.
 
Lliam Worthington said:
I'm with Nick and Rob, it's gone pretty crazy. Some people are just plain ridiculous on ebay. I spent a lot of time trying to put together a Leica R set, but for 4K less I now have a contax set I am utterly thrilled with. Build and focus throw are fantastic and has some fast and truly stellar bargain lenses among them. Still have to be willing to work to put a great set together if you want mint or minty. But unlike the Leica, the research process to find the true gems is nowhere near as convoluted. Though I enjoyed every moment of that to be honest.
Click to expand...

Yeah and Contax has its own share of gems and duds. The 100 3.5 is a great example. Totally slow, totally useless I suppose. But when the charts come back it turns out its one of the sharpest Contax lenses ever made. Its the Jeremy Lin of 100s!
 
Stefan Antonescu said:
Congrats Steven ! :-)

What adapter do you use with the Canon mount ?
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Leitax - rock solid!

Ben Garvey said:
What slider are you using?
Click to expand...

MYT works - pretty nice for the price...


Rob Castiglione said:
Glad you are liking the Cartoni Focus HD. The one issue I have is that it does not have a larger euro style plate. I wish they made it with that option iike for example the Miller Compass 25 (almost three times the cost). Does the smaller DV plate hold the camera completely securely or is there some movement? By the way, I succumbed to the Leica fever as well and bought a set of Leica Rs sometime ago - they are returning home from Duclos on Monday. I cannot part with my Nikons though - too fond of them. Maybe I will change my mind once I actually start to use the Leicas.
Click to expand...

DV plate is very secure


Videos will be coming - I am still sorting out workflow, and best encoding settings for web. Really wish alchemy and HDRx were accessible CS 5.5 right now...
 
Awesome! could I get some HDRX footage to play with? I'm going to try and use a luma key in nuke to combine the x track, I think I will be able to get a better result than just Redcine x.... I think Redcine does a great job of extending the dynamic range without making it look unreal or surreal like most HDR photography. But i would like to see how far I can push it! I will share the results when i'm done
 
Steven Dean said:

I can't believe this quality of footage can be shot with something that fits in a small backpack. One camera backpack, one slider bag, and one tripod bag to make this - kind of puts it into perspective. These are some amazing times! This footage could be easily screened in a movie theatre (not with Vimeo encoding). Of course we all know what these cameras are capable of, but it is something different when you do it yourself with your own gear.

The latitude - amazing - HDRx, amazing, even with the controls in RCX. Can't imagine what could be done with Resolve (someday). I want to experiment more with HRDx to fine tune the proper number of stops, and A frame exposure that yields the best results.


This video was shot with Scarlet, and a Leica 28-90 zoom. I love this lens! I love this camera! Thanks RED Team!

More to come.
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Pretty good looking shots!!!!
 
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