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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

We are going to roll out 25 units over the first week in successively larger quantities per day. Lonny Dill already has his already, and we learned a little something about supporting the software application. The rest of the Beta group, Mark Crabtree, AquaVideo, Gates Underwater, and Rodney Charters will be getting theirs in the next round of shipments, leaving today/tomorrow.

The changes were limited to adding an additional component on each of two circuit boards, and swapping two wires on each of the connectors in the RED adapter and the cables. The changes are relatively easy to do, without revised boards, for ten units, but not 200. The replacement boards will be here in a couple of days. Fortunately we are sitting on lots of materials to make cables, rather than lots of cables.

This change in pinout did effect the knobs. Those circuit boards will be released early next week. As soon as we have shipped the first 25 mounts, we will kick off the last of the tooling for the knobs and start focusing on that. I expect to have first five knobs (prototype plastics) out late time next week, and production volumes the following week.

The preliminary installation instructions (minus the collimation software part) are located at: http://www.birger.com/pdf/Assembly_Instructions_Large.pdf. I am open to suggestions for improvement. It should be noted that all 29 photographs were taken in under 7 minutes. The process could have been documented in many fewer, but with the warranty concerns, we thought it better to show every last detail.

We will email the first 25 at some point today to alert that we will be shipping and charging credit cards for that shipment. We will not be offerring an installation service.

I should note that through the last six weeks, we have only had about 10 reservation holders cancel. So unfortunately, nobody really moved forward in line.

The cinema order form has been pulled from our site, and a new one will be placed there soon, reflecting the changes in features/configuration of the product that have occurred since November, and a price increase reflecting those changes.
 
Great news! But...
birgerEngineer said:
Those circuit boards will be released early next week. ... I expect to have first five knobs (prototype plastics) out late time next week, and production volumes the following week.
Click to expand...
...I hope you've learned your lesson. :usd:
 
A little fuzzy on the collimation process - I guess more features enabled/info to come...?
 
Seems like the mount can be moved a specified distance in units of 10 microns (0.01 mm), but only after unscrewing or loosening eight screws, if you were starting from the fully assembled mount. Presumably, you use the yet-to-be-described software collimation application to obtain the magic number (eg. "move mount out 0.03 mm"), then you shift the mount the specified amount once, and you are done. (?)
 
jbeale said:
Seems like the mount can be moved a specified distance in units of 10 microns (0.01 mm), but only after unscrewing or loosening eight screws, if you were starting from the fully assembled mount. Presumably, you use the yet-to-be-described software collimation application to obtain the magic number (eg. "move mount out 0.03 mm"), then you shift the mount the specified amount once, and you are done. (?)
Click to expand...

Exactly. You might have to repeat the process two or three times to get exactly on. We are using statistical models of the lenses. You have to rotate the inner ring to adjust thickeness. There just wasn't any room to make this adjustment external.
 
Is the collimation software still Windows, only? Will the software be released with the general release of the mount?
 
Just one of the perks of working at Harry & David...You guys did an awesome job rushing the mount through the approval process!
 
Whoa. That pdf gave me the shivers!

Erik, what are your thoughts on orders 26 and up? Are you still shipping mounts sans knob for those who requested it?
 
Harmonica said:
Erik, what are your thoughts on orders 26 and up? Are you still shipping mounts sans knob for those who requested it?
Click to expand...

Just wanted to set a reasonable expectation for the initial rollout. We will look at the right sort of schedule as we start shipping. I will announce that schedule next week. I think the next target will be about double the first one, in about the same amount of time. Everybody is calm now, so I don't want to set any unreasonable expectations that might undermine this.

We will continue to ship mounts in advance of knobs, until knobs are available in quantity. When the knobs come available, we will probably take a break from mounts for a couple days to get everyone with a mount, but without a knob, caught up. Camera cables and accessory cables are now the same thing, which helps with the supply issues.
 
Since Birger is not going to be offering an install service, I gather this will end up being done by people with a variety of backgrounds. Just to reduce potential problems, you might list suggested torque values to use when tightening the bolts.
 
Good news -

I might have missed this but who can blame me with 65 pages.

Has the I-Cable been abandoned? It looks from the install instructions it is just coiled up in the mount.
 
So, quick couple of questions...

1) The price increase won't apply to people who already put in their reservations and deposits, is that correct?

2) It looks like there's a two component system in this mount; a (Birger-made) Canon component attached to the Birger base. In the future, will the Nikon component be able to go into that same Birger base without having to install a different Birger base? And if that's the case, will just the Nikon component be available for purchase for those that already have the Birger base?
 
Erik,

Will trying to get the early batches of birger mount users completely equipped with a mount AND knob slow down delivery for everyone else who are still waiting in line? I don't mind just getting the mount and then the knob later. And how long is the line?
 
Lowkus said:
1) The price increase won't apply to people who already put in their reservations and deposits, is that correct?
Click to expand...

That is correct. New prices for new orders.

Lowkus said:
2) It looks like there's a two component system in this mount; a Canon component attached to the Birger base. In the future, will the Nikon component be able to go into that same Birger base without having to install a different Birger base? And if that's the case, will just the Nikon component be available for purchase for those that already got the base with their Canon mount?
Click to expand...

System is basically in four pieces:
  1. Smart Lens Mount (Nikon, Canon, FourThirds) $900/ea
  2. RED Camera Adapter (includes collimation, 3x LEMO, BlueTooth Radio and Antenna) $300/ea
  3. Electronic Encoder/Knob (removable railmount/knob, for integration into undwerwater housing) $300/ea
  4. Cable (18", need one between Camera/Adapter, and one between Adapter/Knob) $75/ea

If you want to switch between Canon and Nikon, you only need to add the other $900 Nikon Smart Lens Mount, and adjust your collimation number to the one that you figure out for that other mount. All other pieces can remain attached to your camera and be reused. You only have to go through the collimation procedure once per camera/adapter/mount combo.

By the way, the price of the lens mounts hasn't changed in six years, and they have a lot more features than they used to.
 
birgerEngineer said:
That is correct. New prices for new orders.



System is basically in four pieces:
  1. Smart Lens Mount (Nikon, Canon, FourThirds) $900/ea
  2. RED Camera Adapter (includes collimation, 3x LEMO, BlueTooth Radio and Antenna) $300/ea
  3. Electronic Encoder/Knob (removable railmount/knob, for integration into undwerwater housing) $300/ea
  4. Cable (18", need one between Camera/Adapter, and one between Adapter/Knob) $75/ea

If you want to switch between Canon and Nikon, you only need to add the other $900 Nikon Smart Lens Mount, and adjust your collimation number to the one that you figure out for that other mount. All other pieces can remain attached to your camera and be reused. You only have to go through the collimation procedure once per camera/adapter/mount combo.

By the way, the price of the lens mounts hasn't changed in six years, and they have a lot more features than they used to.
Click to expand...

That sounds awesome Erik, thanks!
 
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