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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

As to pancakes, obviously (and scientifically proven in multiple independent international tests) pancakes are best with: Nutella, vanilla sauce, mashed apples, French apricot jam, sugar&lemon or indeed blueberries.

As to reservations, does anyone keep track on who is the highest reservation holder to have received a mount, and who is lowest not to?

I think we're in the fifties.
 
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V

who can we believe?​

You can only believe your own eyes with the lenses in your hand after you test them. Still lenses are often not that sharp and if you compare 3 at the same time you will likely get 3 very different results. Test your lenses. These super wide zooms especially. It took 5, yes five 24-70mm F/2.8L Canon lenses for me to find a really sharp one.

I could only get my hands on 1 Tokina lens which I tested with 3 new Canon lenses. The Tokina was much better than 1 Canon (it was soft wide open), about the same as 1 but it was not quite as sharp as the Canon that I kept. Other Tokina lenses could be better than the one I tried. Every lens is unique. As long as you get a sharp one either brand will be fine on the RED.

The Tokina was very even edge to edge (better than the Canon) and pretty sharp wide open. If it had zoomed to even 18mm I probably would have gone with it instead of the Canon.

__________________
Steve Murray
www.stevemurray.com
 
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who can we believe?​

my post was lost when Reduser was down... so in short

Only trust your own tests, I'm with Enzo. And there are bad and good copies... so test several copies of one lens if you have the chance to.
 
yeah... i always do the same when im buying sigmas.. always test.. i always compare between 3 copies when im at the store and pick the best one... and if i am not satisfied, i give them all back.
 
make a mark on the glass table they have, get a focus chart, hit the button and see how sharp the image is. try it over and over again.. until you get the best image from that particular lens.. sometimes you can feel right away.. how noisy the motor is.. if the image is softer.. how it communicates with the camera... i got a bad 70-200 sigma... the optics were prestine... but the mechanics sucked... and the only had one copy... i can't get to focus with it properly.. i mean it would focus.. but too slow. I can give it in for repair... but i'd rather wait to test it with my birger mount to see how the focus goes. Also one more thing i check out.. and that is the coating. i set the color balance.. point the camera to the ceiling or a light source and check for tinting. vingetting is easy.. i just point at a light colored desk.. esp.. a yellow desk or an offwhite surface... you can clearly see the vingetting.
 
Here's some quick tests of the L series lenses. They were provided my my friend Tom Raymond. A first rate still photographer http://www.freshairphoto.com/flash.html who has about 10 or 12 of the lenses I desire. He was heading out tomorrow for a couple weeks, so I tested the lenses without collimating the Birger mount.
It still worked beautifully.

I tested 4 lenses (shown) but did not include the tilt shift. It is designed mainly for architectural applications.

This was shot in a small corner of the studio (shown) with natural light only. The window was built for that purpose.

As we know, the 85mm 1.2 prime is not controlled yet. I set it with a 5D and was able to adjust focus by dollying the tripod a few inches. You can see the difference in DOF with the 1.2 ND added. This is a great lens and I hope the control issue can be resolved.

The stills appear softer that the video. I will try to get the QT files up tomorrow.

My thanks to Randy and Tamara for the impromptu modeling.

I hope to test more in the days to come.

The "L" glass will make very many RED Users happy, and I mean very Happy!

The EF 17-40 is a great lens, but I urge you guys to spend the extra $ and go for the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II, much better vignetting resistance at the wider angle and on RED also the extra 1mm at the wide angle might not seem important, but the way this second G. lens handles Flair, Vignetting, and CA + Breathing, will be important, but most of all the fact that the 17-40 F/4 will not give you the nice DOF that the 16-35 at F/2.8 can.

The EF 85mm F/1.2L II is no doubt my favorite of all no Questions, really that good, and the absolute crazy Shallow DOF that offers WO is insane, and you can literally shoot in the dark.

The EF 50mm F/1.2L is currently in its first generation NOT II, and it is also a fantastic lens, but not at par with the 85, said so the 50 1.2 remains and incredible lens and a great option in such a range.

The Tilt and Shift lenses such as the 24 L are in deed specialized lenses for Architectural but are also fantastic for People shooting such Portrait both up close (NOT TO CLOSE) and group but especially to have a very detailed and precise control of your focus range.

We will be shooting shortly here with the entire series of "L" glass with my Primes and Peters Zooms, will post soon.

ciao
 
I'm really anxious to start testing my L-glass, but first I have to get my FREAKING mount already!.... ERIC!!!!!!! THIS IS SERIOUSLY ANNOYING! Not even a reply to my direct emails? You charged my credit card the full amount more than a month ago... Get on it already man!

Seriously, I'm excited. If I wasn't, I wouldn't be so annoyed. Just pop in and say "we're working on it..." I don't think that is too much to ask, do you?
 
... not much ahead of you guys, or what do you say; Got the Fedex tracking number last Thrusday Nov. 6, but ever since the Fedex pages have said just "Package data transmitted to Fedex" although the estimated delivery is tomorrow Nov 11. This may well be just Fedex but we'll see. In any case it creates a bit funny feeling to read that only the package data has been transmitted. Good drama up to the last stage, nevertheless.
 
It completely fails me to understand how so many people have held out this long for this mount.......amazing.

No malice intended. Just amazement.

Cheers,
Mark.

Mark,

I amaze myself every morning with my ever increasing patience for this damn thing... Its like a giant rubber band-- You keep stretching, and stretching. At some point, you start to worry about it snapping, because when it does, you know its going to hurt, BAD. But yet, you continue to pull just a little bit more each time, and each time, it gives a little less. You keep pulling anyway, because you know that when you finally do let go, that baby is gonna FLY!!!
 
The patience might also be connected to the lack of alternatives...

I'm sure that's it.

I just got my Tokina and can't get infinity focus at 11mm. :waaa: Could be a bad lens or it's possible my Birger won't get close enough to the sensor to collimate properly. I was sorta waiting on the software to verify my collimation thoughts but it's not here yet. I don't have a Canon SLR body here so I have to grab a friends and verify the lens. It just might be the problem.

The mechanics of the Tokina are terrific. Very smooth focus and zoom. You could easily zoom during a shot with this lens... just need to see if it hold focus with proper collimation. I'm looking forward to getting it working right.
 
Yahoo!!! I just received my 2nd Birger mount. My first, non-Beta Birger mount! Wow! I just had to sit and look at the the precision craftsmanship for a few moments and admire the work Erik has improved on.

The instruction manual was extremely helpful and useful and dang I wish I would have had it during my first installation as my carelessness caused me to squash my I-cable which Red fixed for a reasonable $2,000. Ouch that hurt.

2nd the tool kit was a beautiful thing!!! My beta came with nothing and it took hours and a lot of gas driving all over town to find these very unique safety T bits.

I love the little indentation near the lens lock/release button which allows easier depression.

Just a suggestion. Someone posted a calumation post instructional somewhere in this post. It would be nice if something similar would be included with the mount, but officially from Birger.

Finally, I am telling everyone who does not yet have their deposit down for a Birger mount that you are absolutely missing out on a revolutionary attachment that will change your life and the way you use your red camera.

I believe that Erik is at the drawing board on something even greater as a expect to see auto focus in the works. I know Red and Birger both see the importance of auto focus with image stabilization using DSLR lenses.

Birger and Red will both be names in the history books as pioneers in this new kind of cinematography. I am glad that I was lucky enough to be present while it was all happening.
 
How long ago did you place your deposit. I'd like to know how far back the orders are currently.
 
How long ago did you place your deposit. I'd like to know how far back the orders are currently.

If I remember well Birger made the announcement Friday, Nov 23rd, 07. Sent my order by fax in the morning Monday Nov. 26th around 9:30 in the morning local time, that is 2:30 in the morning of Boston time. Still waiting ...
 
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