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Cheapskate's EVF and LCD Mounts

Larry McKee

Larry McKee

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First off, I want to apologize to the good folks at Element Technica and Monstercine and anybody else that makes great products that may be effected by my discoveries. I am a firm believer in spending money where you need to. But I also strongly believe in saving money where it is possible to to so. With all that said, let me show you what I found by doing a little head scratching and mousing around on the internet.

I was frustrated by having to constantly screw and unscrew the RED Arms into the camera and the EVF and LCD. I was about to order the Hydra Clamp from Monstercine, but was just too cheap to spend the money. So, I started looking for a solution using commonly available parts. I found these http://www.adorama.com/BG3105.html?searchinfo=1/4 5/8&item_no=15 and these http://www.adorama.com/BG3108.html?searchinfo=1/4 3/8&item_no=52. I bought 4 of the Manfrotto Rapid Adapters and mounted one on either side of the top handle and the third one on the left side of the top handle on the rear of the camera. The forth one was attached to the EVF. I then mounted the Manfrotto Female Spigot Mounting Adapters on each end of the RED Arms.

842_1218161449.jpg


This gave me a place to mount the LCD on the dumb side of the camera and two places to mount the EVF on the operator side. I picked up one of these to attach to the LCD http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/48953-REG/Smith_Victor_401973_1_4_20_Screw_to_5_8_.html. The Smith Victor Adapter is really light and can be mounted in either of the ¼-20 ports on the LCD. I felt the square design of the mount looked better on the LCD than the rounder Manfrotto Rapid Adapter.

After a few days of having the EVF bounce around on the RED Arm, I started looking for another solution. I was hoping to find a way to more easily adjust the EVF when in handheld mode as well as be more stable in general. That is when I realized I could take a 5/8” spud off a Ceiling Scissor Clamp to join the Rapid Adapters on the EVF and the camera. Voila, solid and easy to rotate the EVF vertically. The spacing works well for both handheld and tripod/dolly use. If you wanted the spacing a little closer or farther away, you can just pick up some 5/8" rod from Home Depot and cut to whatever length you want.

842_1218161514.jpg


So, there you have it. A cheapskate’s EVF and LCD mount that is quick to mount, remove, and adjust.

There is a good chance that I will still get the ET EVF mount, but this solution is working surprisingly well for the time being.
 
Less than $100 for all the parts. That's less than a third the price of the Hydra clamp with all the parts it needs. Less than 1/10th the price of the ET mount. Not nearly as adjustable as the ET mount, but it works pretty well.
 
great idea. thanks for sharing.
 
very clever Larry. seems like you should be replacing your screws with stainless steel ones alr...my camera looked like yours and i had all the screws replaced with stainless steel ones...
 
Thanks guys, glad you found the post useful. flowerchildprojekts, yes, I planned on replacing all the screws with stainless this weekend. The RED hardware didn't last but about 2 days in this gulf coast humidity but I haven't had time to replace them. The RED Arms have rust all over them as well. I bought an Israeli arm from JBK Cinequip about 5 years ago and it just started getting rust on it a few months ago. Don't know why the RED stuff has such bad coatings. I need to pick up a gun cleaning kit before this stuff gets any worse.
 
Sorry, I dont have my red yet, so I`m wondering where exactly do you put this on? on the red body? or the red top mount?
Whats the size of the screws for the red EVF and the RED Body/ Top Mount?
 
Lets not talk ergonomic

Lets not talk ergonomic

Larry McKee said:
Less than $100 for all the parts. That's less than a third the price of the Hydra clamp with all the parts it needs. Less than 1/10th the price of the ET mount. Not nearly as adjustable as the ET mount, but it works pretty well.
Click to expand...

Man, you have the done the job for Red.
The arm that the EVF comes with is simply a ..... never mind.
I can accept it for the LCD but not for the EFV.
What you have done is something that Red should be doing from the start.
I still can't accept the way they are offering us the camera.
The image is excellent but all the peripheral operation is way under acceptable.
I was looking for a Hama one which I forgot its exact name and it enables you to tilt the LCD. This works for the LCD only.
Thanks again I will check it with the EFV and I hope Red understand it is all improvisation that is not a way to design a camera.
There is a post "Lets talk ergonomic" well lets not because there is hardly any.
 
The Hama one calls:

Hama Ball and Socket Tripod or Monopod Head
and you can find it on ebay or at stores for less that what is sold at ebay. i think there are two sizes make sure get the correct one.
 
Thanks Douglas. Eisenstein, you mount them to the top mount. All the mounting screws on the RED are 1/4-20. The universal mount has a 3/8 screw hole in it, but I can't think of any other place you will find anything but 1/4-20 including the mount on the EVF.

GDV, I looks to me that RED's philosophy is to make the camera capture the best images possible and give us the basic tools to get it to function, i.e. RED Arms. Integrating it into standard work practices is being left to creativity of the individual camera owners and third parties. While that can be frustrating for many, it can also be rewarding for some. Guess I'm one of the later. I thrive on problem solving and the RED has given me plenty of opportunities. I have customized a lot of my gear. I'm just glad the RED was designed to be modular. I can customize all I want.
 
Larry this is great!!!.

I'm going to Adaroma right now to get the parts. I've already purchased the ET EVF mount, but will use this method for the LCD. I hated all the twisting on and off too.

Thanks!
 
Hey Larry,

Thanks so much for the tip. I've got my camera and EVF and this solution may not be perfect but I have to say it that for the price it is the best accessory I've got for my Red.

Any other tip/invention you'll like to share? :-)
 
I'm not quite sure what this new system does relative to just using two Noga arms to mount the EVF. I saw a post on REDUser (which, unfortunately, I can't find just now, as I'd love to give him proper credit) from a guy who just used the two RED arms to mount his EVF. Well, I tried his system and it works perfectly, is very adjustable (for either hand-held or tripod use), and is solid as a rock. (Just yesterday, someone saw the mount and was blown away by how solid and easy to use it was.) And I'll bet that everyone already has an extra Noga arm or two already laying around somewhere. Total time? Almost zero. Total cost? One extra Noga arm at worst, and probably zero.

And the best part? At least in the big Pelican case I'm using, the EVF doesn't need to be removed at all when putting the camera away! I'm tearing up some new pick-n-pluck foam this morning!

Stephen
 
Stephen Pruitt said:
I'm not quite sure what this new system does relative to just using two Noga arms to mount the EVF. I saw a post on REDUser (which, unfortunately, I can't find just now, as I'd love to give him proper credit) from a guy who just used the two RED arms to mount his EVF. Well, I tried his system and it works perfectly, is very adjustable (for either hand-held or tripod use), and is solid as a rock. (Just yesterday, someone saw the mount and was blown away by how solid and easy to use it was.) And I'll bet that everyone already has an extra Noga arm or two already laying around somewhere. Total time? Almost zero. Total cost? One extra Noga arm at worst, and probably zero.

And the best part? At least in the big Pelican case I'm using, the EVF doesn't need to be removed at all when putting the camera away! I'm tearing up some new pick-n-pluck foam this morning!

Stephen
Click to expand...


Stephen,

Can you post some photos to show how you have used the two arms, I'd be interested to see how you have configured them.

Sounds like a good solution.

Greg
 
No need for pictures in this case. Just put attach your short RED arm to the top of the top mount and then to the front hole on the EVF (the one closest to the eyepiece). Then, attach the second RED arm (a short one will also work here, but I just have a longer one) to the FRONT of the top mount and then to the back hole of the EVF. Adjust and tighten into position.

Again, I didn't develop this system (I sure wish I could find that post!). But it sure as heck works like a charm.

Stephen
 
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