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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

Ed Watkins said:
What's the Canon / PL mount combo? And who's making this...
Darn it's hard to stay on top of who's making what and when.

I just want a mount for either Canon or Nikon, with a realistic, announced production date, so I can reserve it and buy lenses.
Click to expand...

Ed,

Actually, I misunderstood. (Sorry, Erik.)

I just reread Erik's post and it appears there will be a solution for quickly swapping back and forth between Canon and PL mounts, but it's not a straight adapter (like putting Nikon lenses on a Canon mount). He doesn't say how it will work exactly. I hope it will be something like the P+S mount.

Here is his post:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showpost.php?p=137239&postcount=44

Sorry for the confusion.

-Thor
 
Maybe I can help explain this.
If I understand Erik's post ( http://www.reduser.net/forum/showpos...9&postcount=44 ) correctly, before using the Birger Mount for the first time, the front of the RED ONE (with RED's own PL mount removed) will have to shimmed, ie collimated and a plate attached to retain these shims on the camera. Besides holding the shims in place, this plate also has a small connector board on it to interface to the four /i contacts on the Birger lens mount, and a LEMO cable that connects to the auxillary power connector on the back of the camera.
About this process Erik says, "Collimation (shimming) of the mounts is quite straightforward. It can be done in about an hour, by an inexperienced person, with an allen wrench, a good zoom lens, and something to look at." Once the camera front has been shimmed and the plate attached, any Birger mount, including the soon-to-be-announced Birger PL mount, can be attached/detached without any further adjustment.
Apparently, this extra step has been made necessary by RED's changes to it's lens mount. While the changes were designed to make adjusting RED's PL mount easier, it appears to make using the Birger mount a little more complicated than was originally intended.

The above is just my interpretation. Erik can confirm if it is correct.
 
Cool

Cool

How cool will this be for us! We will be able to swap Birger mounts (Canon, Nikon, Four Thirds, PL and more). Practically any lens can be used on Red without a lot of hassel. All shimmed perfectly. Wow, I'm in for Birger's Nikon and PL on top of my Birger Canon mount right now!
 
Sheltie Guy said:
How cool will this be for us! We will be able to swap Birger mounts (Canon, Nikon, Four Thirds, PL and more). Practically any lens can be used on Red without a lot of hassel. All shimmed perfectly. Wow, I'm in for Birger's Nikon and PL on top of my Birger Canon mount right now!
Click to expand...

Okay - now we're talkin'. If we could just get the damn things. My camera is ready - need mount asap.
 
Thor Wixom said:
Ed,

Actually, I misunderstood. (Sorry, Erik.)

I just reread Erik's post and it appears there will be a solution for quickly swapping back and forth between Canon and PL mounts, but it's not a straight adapter (like putting Nikon lenses on a Canon mount). He doesn't say how it will work exactly. I hope it will be something like the P+S mount.

Here is his post:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showpost.php?p=137239&postcount=44

Sorry for the confusion.

-Thor
Click to expand...

No worries! Thanks for explaining things!

I get awfully confused these days.... :turned:
 
Erik or anyone who knows,

What is the last reservation day to qualify for the bonus? I thought I read it was near the end of this year, but then I think I read something that mentioned the end of this month? Could you confirm the date?

Also, if I put the reservation down on one credit card, can I switch the card for the final, full purchase?

Thanks!
 
Any updates on expected delivery times for these mounts?

I put my reservation in yesterday! I just hope they'll be out by the end of Feb!
 
I ordered the Canon mount on november 29th, but never got a confirmation. By the end of december I sent an email to Birger engineering, asking them about my order. But they did not reply.

Last week Erik told us :
"We have started processing reservations again today. We should be in touch with all reservation holders by the end of the week, and will close the initial reservation period (and free offer) by the end of the month."

I have to admit that I'm a little worried now... :waaa:
 
Erik,

I too, am still waiting on confirmation of my order, placed back in mid December. I have not received ANY communication from Birger in regards to my order, or any of my previous follow-up requests. I seriously hope you guys got it...
 
reservation bonus

reservation bonus

jing said:
Erik or anyone who knows,

What is the last reservation day to qualify for the bonus? I thought I read it was near the end of this year, but then I think I read something that mentioned the end of this month? Could you confirm the date?

Also, if I put the reservation down on one credit card, can I switch the card for the final, full purchase?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

If I were you, I would just fax in your order and make a note that it is contingent on the bonus. I bet Erik will honor it.

EDIT: Uh Oh he's here - now I'm in trouble :biggrin:
 
Erik, I faxed my order in on 11/25/07 and have not yet received a confirmation. In reviewing the order today, I realize I might have omitted a necessary cable for running the remote in a wired fashion. More importantly, I may want to change to a Canon mount instead of the Nikon but was awaiting your promised assessment of the pluses and minuses (as applicable) of each product.

You indicated you would post your thoughts in detail on this as we approached the finish date for the mounts. You did touch briefly on it in another thread some weeks ago, and your stated Canon preference seemed to come down to the fact that Nikon doesn't have a set of AF-S prime lenses, thus limiting both the maximum speed and sheer number of compatible Nikon lenses vis-a-vis Canon lenses. On the other hand, I recall that you posted the number of "steps" in focus and/or iris possessed by lenses you tested, and it seemed that the Nikon lenses generally had more fine steps in control of focus and/or iris than the Canons, which might mean an overall slightly more pleasing performance with the Nikons.

My question is this: would you prefer that we make any changes to existing orders very close to the date we have requested for shipping, or is it more important for you to have an accurate gauge now of exactly what products we want? I would like to wait until the last possible moment to firm up the details of my order because I'm still on the fence in the Nikon/Canon debate, having already invested about $1,800 in a Nikon D40 setup.
 
I've never had any doubt about preferring the Nikon mount. Besides the advantage in the number of "steps" in focus and/or iris possessed of the Nikon lenses, my conviction is even stronger now that the new FX 14-24mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, and 70-200 f/2.8 zooms are here, and which I can use as variable primes. According to reviews, these lenses perform better than their prime counterparts, both at the short and long end. The 14-24mm, for instance, is sharper wide-open at 14mm in the far corners than the 14mm f/2.8 lens is stopped down at f/5.6.so I'm feeling confident there.
 
jaadgy akanni said:
I've never had any doubt about preferring the Nikon mount. Besides the advantage in the number of "steps" in focus and/or iris possessed of the Nikon lenses, my conviction is even stronger now that the new FX 14-24mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, and 70-200 f/2.8 zooms are here, and which I can use as variable primes. According to reviews, these lenses perform better than their prime counterparts, both at the short and long end. The 14-24mm, for instance, is sharper wide-open at 14mm in the far corners than the 14mm f/2.8 lens is stopped down at f/5.6.so I'm feeling confident there.
Click to expand...

Yes, those lenses are definitely on my radar, too. The reviews all indicate these are stellar lenses. But recall what Erik stated in the other thread:
The zoom lenses are f/2.8. At some point in the future you will need all the light you can get, and an f/1.2 prime will be attractive because it will give you 5 times as much light. With the nilon mount, you will have to use an external follow focus, and give up on the remote control and the the meta-data for use in post. With the Canon, it is a $50/day lens rental, and none of the workflow changes. . . .

If Nikon came out with a full set of AF-S primes, it would be a very different story.
Click to expand...

So he's saying that no matter how well the new Nikon zooms perform, a shooting situation is likely to arise at some point where you need a faster lens. It will be simple to rent/borrow a faster Canon prime and maintain all functionality of the mount. It is not presently possible to do that with a Nikon prime and maintain the electronic functions of the mount because it can only talk to AF-S lenses, which at present are comprised only of a couple of very long primes and F2.8 or higher zooms.

I'm not sure the issue he raises is enough to deter me from going Nikon, since I already have a couple of AF-S lenses (and since I tell myself I'll just have to make enough light available for those lenses to perform). But the lenses you mention have another issue in relation to the RED: they are full STILL frame lenses, thus there will be a 1.5 magnification factor in focal length on the RED (and on DX-sized DSLRs). So instead of a 14-24mm, you've got an effective 21-36 mm lens, which isn't going to be wide enough for a whole lot of indoor shooting situations. I would certainly like my base lens to go down to at least the 17mm range.

Of course one answer is to augment the lenses you mention with the DX-sized 12-24 AF-S, an option which I'm also considering. It would just be nice if they had an AF-S lens with the quality of the new full frame 14-24 but in a DX-sized 17-35, or thereabouts.
 
More Canon lenses on Red

More Canon lenses on Red

Here's three more shots taken with the pre-prototype Birger Canon EF mount.
Canon 70-200 2.8 at around 200mm at 2.8. The mount I am using has Iris and Focus control only with the use of an XP pc and a usb cable. Fine for studio and limited location. All will change with the production units that will have full control. Also, the new mount is going to feature a Birger submount, so any Birger mount; Nikon, Canon, Four Thirds, PL, whatever Birger makes, will quickly and with proper back focus connect to the submount, making swapping lens mounts a lot easier.
 
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