best way to mount evf on epic?

[D Fuller]

OK. That's what I was thinking when I made my earlier post about the ET EVF mount. It does seem that so far, nobody has designed any way to get adjustment on the vertical axis. It's curious, though, that ENG cameras have never had vertical adjustment, only horizontal movement and rotation.

One thing I'll say about Ketch's setup is that it puts the camera very high off his shoulder. Compared to the Clutch geometry, for example, it must be at least a couple of inches higher. That's make a big difference in the angle of the EVF.

 

[Jonathan Stevenson]

One thing I'll say about Ketch's setup is that it puts the camera very high off his shoulder. Compared to the Clutch geometry, for example, it must be at least a couple of inches higher. That's make a big difference in the angle of the EVF.

That was my thought too. The top mount and EVF spinner were designed around the clutch, which sits the camera lower on your shoulder. So obviously using the stock clutch setup will not have the result seen in the picture.

 

[Paul Nordin]

A simple U bracket that bolted to the bottom of the bomb to provide 1/4" threads on the top would be a nice simple option too. Then yes a Hydro arm off that would give some flexibility.

Hi Jason, You've been working with an Epic for some time now. What have you settled on for the EVF?

 

[Filip Vandoorne]

try is what i probably will do when receiving my epic-x

start with :

http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/sliding-top-handlen 175$
and the http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/camera-guide-100mmn 100$
mounting with the guide in the lens axis of the camera, so that the rossette of the handle is to the side
you would probably need the FMJ topplate so that the rail can be fixed in front and back.
you can also mount it off-center so that the EVF is as close as possible to the EPIC body
http://www.viewfactor.net/index.php/fmj-top.html

then choose a dogbone:

http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/dogbone-a-straight-2 75$
http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/dogbone-c-arched-2 125$
http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/dogbone-c-arched-3 100$


then to mount the BOMB EVF
http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/dogbone-block 50$
+ http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/rosette-blockn for getting a rossette 150$

or the http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/accessory-attachment-bracket 200$
that needs perhaps to be a bit shorted
to mount the EVF on it. see picture.

The nice thing is that you can slide the handle to position the EVF forward and backward.
the only thing is that the handle is sticking to the side, and not to the back, but
that should not give problems to carry the camera. It even leaves place at the end
of the camera to mount the LCD.
-- perhaps RED should consider making a version of the Bomb EVF with sdi-input, so that on the small
body we can use both the EVF and the LCD at the same time. The LCD can then keep the touch-interface.

other possibilities would be putting a RED accessory-attachment-bracket between
the QRplate and the RED 15mmlightweight
http://www.redgrabs.com/up/1306598973.jpg
and use that rossette as starting point for a bone and second accessory attachment bracket.

other combinations are possible. that what modularity is about.

if somebody could try this with the real pieces and post some pictures?

 

[Jeff Garton]

OK. So here is my current solution for an Epic rig, including rigging the ET EVF mount. First time posting pics, hope this works.

Goals:

1. Make all configuration changes quick and tool-less.

2. Put a handle on top.

3. Mount the ET EVF bracket.

4. Be able to switch quickly between the touch screen and the EVF. Can’t use ‘em both at the same time, so I need to go back and forth without delay.

5. Have a 19mm rod on the top for remote FF motor.

6 Mount an AB gold mount on the back that removes quickly and doesn’t interfere with the Redmote.

Solutions:

1. All configuration changes use either 19mm rod mounting, swat rail, or rosette mounts.

2. Handle.



What I have done here is riff off Erich Roland’s pics. He had the great idea to mount the handle sideways. There is so little real estate atop the camera that mounting the handle in this way allows for more room up there. In this case it is mounted on a swat rail the runs lengthwise along the top left side of the FMJ top bracket.

3. This also provided the solution to mounting the ET EVF bracket.



I had been using an ET Tube mount on top, which worked fine, but took up a lot of room. Here I cannibalized the rosettes of a dogbone to allow me to connect the Dogbone to the Red handle, removed the 19mm rod off the end of the ET Bracket and bolted it to the dogbone. It can be repositioned any way that it used to be, and can be taken off in about 20 seconds. An added bonus is that in some positions it can act as handle for the left hand when working in more of a DSLR style.



Yes, its too big for the Bomb EVF. But there is no other solution out there right now that is as configurable, flexible and is “clutched” to reposition on the fly. A completely fixed position mount is not acceptable to me as an operator and the ET EVF mount has served me well over the years. Let’s hope we get something as good, but smaller, in the near future.

4. The Touch screen and Outrigger handle are attached to a Universal mount.



This slides onto top mounted 19mm rods.




There are likely times when I want the touch screen monitor and NOT the Outrigger handle, so I’m looking for a way to improve this. Maybe an ET V-Mount to allow a quick release option for the Touch Screen. The large base makes this LCD a bit funky to configure flexibly.

5. Provided by a DSMC top mount.

6. An ET tube mount with an AB plate/Speedy clamp set up.



Mounts quickly, does not block access to the REDmote and can flip up if necessary. This is the plate I mostly use with my RED one, but on that camera I mount it on the side over the ET breakout box. Works well here. Just need a new Goldmount with a short tail and the EPIC lemo to reduce the cable length. I used a small Wooden camera plate to reposition the Tube Mount more to the camera rights side to stay clear of the SSD slot. I’m still looking for a smaller way to mount a 19mm rod across the top back. While I like the swat rail concept, nothing beats a speedy clamp on a rail for quick on/off and positionability.

The whole thing is snapped onto a RED quick release baseplate on a RED LW dovetail plate. Works pretty well so far. We REALLY need the quick release plates with built in 15mm LW supports ASAP (C’Mon RED and Brook!). The RED QR system is pretty effective, but I need the LW rods on the bottom sans baseplate. This will allow a FF like the MFF-1 to go on and act as support position for the left hand when using the Epic more like a still camera. I can lose the Outrigger Handle perhaps and pull my own focus sometimes if I like. I don’t want to go the Hybrid/Riser/15mm LW mount or equivalent as the whole point of the QR system is to LOSE the baseplate. I’ve been dreaming of a good QR cinema system forever. Now with the QR baseplates and Red’s LW dovetail plates we can quickly move from Steadicams, to HH, to dolly, to crane in only a few moments.

For now I will use my Mantis rig for true HH. The Mantis is nice and comfortable, and I have rigged a V-mount of the back shoulder that accepts an AB Goldmount. This keeps the weight father back and lowers the center of gravity for the whole thing. I’ll rig a rosette off the bottom 19mm rods to mount the ET EVF Bracket. This will allow the EVF to be rigged at eye level for operator comfort. Overall the Mantis places the camera a little high for my tastes. I think an Easyrig will be a good solution for this camera. Not because it is heavy, but because it allows the camera to be placed below shoulder level, which I often like. It’s just me I guess, but cameras at or above head height often seem like news or reality TV. The overall short length of camera -- which makes it harder to rig balanced off the shoulder without excessive front weight -- makes it nice to work in front of and close to the body.

 

[Mark Pedersen]

Just saying there are options. Like I mentioned, we think the Adjustable Top Mount in combination with the spinner is a great solution. Two parts...

BC

When will the adjustable top mount be available?? It is the missing piece for mounting the spinner. I have a spinner and can't for the life of me figure out how to mount the thing in a way that is practical or useful.

M

 

[Curran Giddens]

Here is how I have my EVF mounted using the Spinner at the moment. Works just fine when going handheld with the Clutch. You just need to mount the NATO rail at a 45% angle on the DSMC Top Handle.

 

[Jake Bastian]

Here is how I have my EVF mounted using the Spinner at the moment. Works just fine when going handheld with the Clutch. You just need to mount the NATO rail at a 45% angle on the DSMC Top Handle.

Love it! That was my plan as well. Good to see it works.

 

[Curran Giddens]

Here is another shot of my Spinner and DSMC Top Handle solution using all RED accessories.

 

[Caleb Heymann]

Anyone have experiences with the Wooden Camera EVF mount? Looks great and the price is very reasonable, but I can't tell if it would prevent use of a top handle. Maybe with a top plate both could be accommodated?

 

[Caleb Heymann]

Wooden camera EVF mount:

 

[Paul Hazlett]

Anyone have experiences with the Wooden Camera EVF mount? Looks great and the price is very reasonable, but I can't tell if it would prevent use of a top handle. Maybe with a top plate both could be accommodated?

You need a top mount from anyone of the vendors , or the easyplate from WC, to bolt the wooden camera EVF mount and handle on to the top of Epic. I have the 5" on an arm since it needs to be closer to the AC at times and with a hot shoe adapter, the 5" slips on and off easily. The WC EVF mount is very flexible in that fact that I have both lateral and vertical movement. And with the arrival of a shorter arm, this mount will be just about perfect and well priced.

 

[Curran Giddens]

I went a different route for now.

I mounted Brook's FMJ plate on top.
I mounted the swat rail on the SSD side of the FMJ.
I mounted the spinner to the swat rail.

This setup works great too.

I also decided to keep my ET EVF Mount with extension and leveler. All you need is the ET EVF Mount RED Bomb Adapter.

 

[Johnny Friday]

BOMB FOCUS RING:

Wondering if others seem to think the eye-piece focus ring is too tight? Just got mine and i think it is far too tight to turn.....it is MUCH more difficult or stiff/tighter than any other evf foucs ring i've uesed. I'd say it takes about 5x more pressure to turn than the older red evf......is that normal? you guys/ladies experiencing same? wondering if i'm just over-reacting....when i go to turn it, it will take two hands to do so. One to hold evf the other to spin the ring.....otherwise it will move the 5" arm it came with.

 

[Curran Giddens]

BOMB FOCUS RING:

Wondering if others seem to think the eye-piece focus ring is too tight? Just got mine and i think it is far too tight to turn.....it is MUCH more difficult or stiff/tighter than any other evf foucs ring i've uesed. I'd say it takes about 5x more pressure to turn than the older red evf......is that normal? you guys/ladies experiencing same? wondering if i'm just over-reacting....when i go to turn it, it will take two hands to do so. One to hold evf the other to spin the ring.....otherwise it will move the 5" arm it came with.

I guess it is better than too loose. Once you get focus set perfectly you don't want to accidentally bump it out of focus in the middle of a shot. I don't see it as a big deal unless you are switching back and forth between operators all day.

 

[Rob Castiglione]

I agree that the focus ring on the new evf is too tight.

 

[Quentin Devillers]

6. An ET tube mount with an AB plate/Speedy clamp set up.

Dear Jeff,

I love the way you find to put batterie on the Epic, this is exactly what I was looking for.
I love The ViewFactor plate but I didn't like loosing the Redmote perfect spot !
Can you tell me exactly where does the element came from ? The quickclamp from Elemen Technica, ok...but what is AB Plate ?

Thanks a lot if you can help me this way !