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15mm LW or 19mm?

M

Michael Frymus

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I'm still a DSLR owner.
I'm not a fan of shooting on it, but its the best I can afford now.

I'm buying my self a whole rig that will allow me to use it on the DSLR and on the Red Scarlet/Epic in the future without having to sell everything and buy it again for new cameras.
I'm wondering what kind of rods do you have for your Red Scarlets/Epics?

Is 19mm too excessive?
Is 15mm too small/light?

Which type should I go for?
 
Michael Frymus said:
I'm still a DSLR owner.
I'm not a fan of shooting on it, but its the best I can afford now.

I'm buying my self a whole rig that will allow me to use it on the DSLR and on the Red Scarlet/Epic in the future without having to sell everything and buy it again for new cameras.
I'm wondering what kind of rods do you have for your Red Scarlets/Epics?

Is 19mm too excessive?
Is 15mm too small/light?

Which type should I go for?
Click to expand...

There isnt anything that heavy that you will ever need to put on a DSLR rig or cage that will make 19mm rods a must. I would go with 15mm for a DSLR and 19mm for a RED ONE or heavier. RedRock Micro make some good options
 
Scarlet/epic can work great with either DEPENDING on your setup/rig. So first you need to decide what your setup will be. 19mm is more flexible for bigger lenses, matte boxes etc, the opposite for 15mm. Personally, I switch setups for different types of shoots. It's best to have both but that's obvious.
 
For the Scarlet/Epic, I would be going with the Red Pro Primes.
From what I heard, 19mm is a good idea? I personally think it would be best to get 19mm now that I think about it. If I ever need bigger/heavier lenses it wouldnt be a big problem.

For the DSLR, I know 19mm is WAY too excessive, but if I can stick to one setup and just swap cameras, that would be much easier. I had a 15mm LW setup before but sold it.
Currently use the 19mm Studio on a rented Red One.
But, now that Im realizing it, I dont see how I'd be able to mount the DSLR on the 19mm Studio Bridgeplate. The rods would be too high for the small DSLR body. If I cant raise the body up, then I dont think I can do this...
any ideas?

For the Red, is 19mm the best solution in case?
 
Im interested in the Tilta gear. Its cheap and looks very good.
I also heard a lot of good things about them. But the new line is 19mm based. It says it works with 15mm too, but if 19 is better for the Red, I might as well stick to that
 
I am agonizing over this as well..
I have 15mm lw stuff on my f3 and dslr packages.. but many of the accessories I rent or have in my purchase plan are 19mm.. but the real issue is the 15mm studio stuff I have run across..
it is lighter, but my accessories are all 60mm center spaced... so I STILL need to get other brackets.. and these seem the least common..
 
You won't be able to use a dslr 15mm setup on a scarlet. The 15mm lightweight rods need to be positioned at the level of the front air intake and a regular dslr setup (zacuto e.g.) will not allow you to raise the rods like this.
If you go with 19mm rods, the dlsr camera will have to be raised with some kind of a riser. If I were you, I'd get a 15mm setup for now and just sell it when the time comes. Hardware like this holds its value pretty well.
As far as 19 vs 15 goes on the epic/Scarlet, I use both but tend to use the 15mm setup a lot more than the 19.
 
15mm accessories = $$$
19mm accessories = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

my .02

I spent $700 on the ls arri bridgplate for our RPZ 18-85. That hurt a bit. Could have gotten a full setup with 15mm stuff for that kind of money. I think that if you take care of your 15mm setup, you can sell it when you move to teh epic/scarlet and switch to a 19mm setup. I understand wanting to stick with one purchase, but I don't think it will serve you best, and you will always be trying to kludge together a setup that works. I have the 15mm rod adapter for our EPIC mount kit, and I did use that for a while, and it worked. Just don't plan on using it for a larger lens. You won't need a 19mm setup until you REALLY need it. Then you can always rent it for the limited time you need it. Go with a good flexible 15mm setup.
 
My thoughts.... Wait till you actually get your intended camera before you waste money on items which will set on a self not earning income. That being said, I own both 15mm LW and 19mm with multiple sets of rods in different lengths, as well as Arri dovetail with extended plate. Some lenses only need 15mm, while many of the large cine zooms I use need 19mm support and extended plate for balancing your camera.
 
If I had the Red or if I was getting it really really soon, I would have my decision already.
Unfortunately, I only have a DSLR. But, I do know that if I would be working on bigger projects and I am able to rent out a Red Scarlet/Epic, I would love to use that instead.

I want to future proof myself. I don't like buying gear specifically for one type of a few types of cameras.
There are some rigs that are DSLR specific but, you cant use them on any other camera. Which sucks. Cameras change quickly. Rigs stay generally the same.
Id rather buy once and be happy. May cost a little more in the end, but from the buying and selling, you'll end up saving a lot more.

Like even if Im shooting on a DSLR at the moment, I would still love to own a matte box with filters. Add more Zeiss Contax Glass to my collection and get a follow focus with that.
All this can be interchanged with any camera. But having one that can work on a broad range of cameras and be available on the proper rails will allow me to be more future proof.

The main reason why 19mm interests me is because of the bridgeplate and having a dovetail. It make things helpful balancing and quickly removing the camera.
But from what I could find, it is only available in 19mm and 15mm studio. If there was 15mm LW version then I would get those probably.
 
For DSLR, 15mm LW is the way to go.

Future proofing for Epic and Scarlet, maybe consider 15mm studio.
There is nothing 15mm Studio can't support, including the 12-1 Optimos with proper setup.

19mm is the European standard, but if you are in the US I'd stick to 15mm
 
Michael Hardwick said:
For DSLR, 15mm LW is the way to go.

Future proofing for Epic and Scarlet, maybe consider 15mm studio.
There is nothing 15mm Studio can't support, including the 12-1 Optimos with proper setup.

19mm is the European standard, but if you are in the US I'd stick to 15mm
Click to expand...


In my opinion the Optimo 24-290mm must be supported by 19mm steel rods.

It's also my opinion that owning a bunch of gear that you have no use for at the moment for the sake of being "future proof" is a little silly considering that you can rent what is needed as a package deal with the camera. Buy what you can actually use now, and get your Red accessories when you actually do own a Red.

All the Best!

Dave
 
Hmm.. I honestly do not see a lot of Studio 15mm accessories.
I mainly see 15mm LW & 19mm Studio.

Such things like matteboxes, follow focuses, etc Ive never seen them in 15mm Studio versions.
Im interested in the new Tilta gear. It says 19mm & 15mm, but it doesnt specify whether its 15mm studio or LW. But, I believe its the LW version.
 
Assuming your not buying a heavy zoom, go 15mm LW. I'm running 15mm LW with RPP and canon mount lenses. The one hassle is you have to cut a set of rods for each lens length.
 
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