DSLR Rig for Scarlet-X

[Mike Garrick]

Hi Liam, If you want hard stops there's another chinese manufacturer getting really favourable reviews Tilta. Here's a link.

http://www.tilta.com.cn/en/pro_show.asp?ID=34

P.S. checkout there entire rig systems I think for about $1600 plus shipping. Includes everything, MB. FF, V mount, Monitor, Handle setups dual 19mm & 15 mm setup, rails , shoulder pads, monitor + arm, etc. Apparently engineering quality is exceptional. Also they are releasing a Scarlet / Epic configuration early next year, I'm may be seriously considering depending what the specs are.

 

[Adam Jeal]

Hi Lliam,

I own the TRUSMT Swing-away Mattebox & I am staggered at how good it is. I wasnt expecting much, but honestly, nothing comes close in terms of quality, features and price. With the follow focus, you should be aware that the pivoting arms on the NF4 & NF2 have issues with tightness & slipping. I think the NF1 (the actual FF is the same on all 3) is the way to go. This is the one I'm getting.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRUSMT-DSLR...077?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415fd4e155

All the best,

Adam

 

[Lliam Worthington]

Hi Mike, thanks very much. Again

I had seen TILTA, went on their site, but wasn't sure where they fit in the scheme of things as I could't see any pricing anywhere except fro this one seller on EBAY
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Film-DSLR-F...ltDomain_0&hash=item4aaa5150fa#ht_6130wt_1343
Which is close to 3K. Kit looks GREAT - but at 3k - for now will be too rich for my blood. I've emailed them though and asked about Scarlet rigs and pricing, so will post when I get a response.

Hi Adam,

Really appreciate your efforts and advice mate. Will make sure I pick up that later model unit.

Best Wishes

Lliam

 

[Arnold F.]

Money is definitely a problem for me which is why I AVOID the Cinevate gear!

I have Cinevate gear.

I've used it with Epic.

I kind of hate it, but it works.

If money is a problem, you can certainly just keep using the Cinevate stuff.

Frankly, I'm thankful that I have the Cinevate ... but its way past time to replace it with something way more flexible.

I recommend dumping your proteus/pegasus baseplate and brackets for whatever you can get and just investing in 15mm studio Red stuff.

You'd want the dovetail quick release platform:

http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/quick-release-platform-dovetail

Two universal 15mm studio brackets

http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/dsmc-universal-mount-15mm

A mounting plate which will live on your camera:

http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/mounting-plate-epic-2

and a dovetail for each of your heads,mount points.

Mostly you'll be able to use the short dovetail plate

http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/dovetail-mounting-plate-short-2

but occasionally you'll want the long dovetail plate

http://www.red.com/store/rail-components/product/dovetail-mounting-plate-long-2

That's expensive by comparison ... so let me tell you why you want it.

With this arrangement you'll be able to move the entire rig, rails and all from one set of sticks to another (or maybe a high hat, or a dolly) or you can decouple the brain & lens from the rails and go.

You'll also be able to run rails that extend on both sides of the camera ... which will let you build the sorts of rigs you are used to.

You've moved up to a pro camera ... move up to pro support.

OK so that is the "right" way to support an Epic or Scarlet ... but you need to save money right ? Me too.

Try Wooden Camera

One of these:

http://woodencamera.com/easy-riser-epic

and two of these:

http://woodencamera.com/tiny-versal-15mm-studio

This is actually a bit craptacular ... but it does save a pile of cash.

I like the Wooden camera stuff, but I'm probably going to get the Red myself ... your investments in camera grip will outlast the camera, in fact it will outlast several cameras, with just a bit of care.

You can make dumb decisions based on budget, like I did, and then be faced with buying again, or you can just bite the bullet and get what you really need now, and build on that for the future.

Learn from my mistakes. Get the "TOP PRO" camera grip gear.

 

[Thommes Ulfeng]

Has anyone experimented with using this kind of mounts to have gear securely placed on camera or rod-adapters?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tactical-...513?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cfbbfc4f9
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Quick-Rel...514?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336ecd4d42
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Weaver-Si...729?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a6d990fa9

This stuff should be made to take a beating and the look and feel should go nicely together with std rail accessories.

Anyone ... ?

Edit: I could start with answering myself
http://www.reduser.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-66762.html?

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

Thanx Alexander for that, I knew there was something I was missing, I suspected it was a still lens thing . Fortunately, I like all my lenses manual, so I haven't encountered the problem the only exception are the EFL Canon Zooms. So will they be a problem? I know Scarlet/ Epic have auto focus control but is it any good in the real world ? Maybe showing my age here, but I have more faith in a manual tactile system then a software based solution. Are Epic owners actually using the in built focus control with good or better results? It would be interesting to know.

Yeah the EF L lenses are where I have most of my experience... but to be fair every SLR autofocus lens seems to suffer from this to one extent or another.

As far as autofocus on the Epic ... there are two modes. One is touch to autofocus, which sort of works like an iPhone 4. That is better than guesstimating by eye under daylight conditions, but under anything "low light" its close to useless.

There is another "mode" which I have yet to test ... that I know of no one has. Red is developing and planning to release a "RedMote Pro" and, that I know of, no one outside Red has used it yet.

One of the features of the RedMote Pro is that it has a follow focus hand wheel. This is to be used for menu selections and whatnot. Of interest to this discussion is that it will work with AF lens motors and essentially give Epic and Scarlet users a remote follow focus.

With this system you are setting marks the old fashioned way, and getting focus. The camera will then allow you to precisely control the internal gearing of the lens and finally give excellent repeatability of focus with AF lenses. Also, because the throw (the amount of rotation of the handwheel) is software configurable, you can finally extend the focus motion of wider SLR lenses to something much more comfortable.

To expand on that last point, right now if you have a "wide" lens like a 35mm then you often have fairly wide ranges of motion that are described with follow focus rotations inside 2º. That often means that your focus points key differ by less than the width of your mark on the hand wheel. With some follow focus units the entire focus range is inside the backlash of the gears!

So, instead of having a 35mm with a focus rotation of 45º and an "interesting" throw of 15º (say from 4-20 feet) you can expand the total throw to a 360º rotation of the hand wheel, and have the interesting range mapped to say 180º. (instead of the 120º a linear expansion of my example would give.)

Depending on your workload and such, it may be worthwhile waiting to invest in new lenses and follow focus gear.

I am myself sticking with my Cinevate and low end lenses and waiting for that to shake out. My inclination is to look at "economy" PL lenses like the Red lenses and the Illumina set, but as I aim to own more than one Epic and/or Scarlet seeing how real budget lenses work out is a huge factor for me.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

Money is definitely a problem for me which is why I AVOID the Cinevate gear!

Well ... if money is so tight that Cinevate's gear seems expensive, then I have to ask why you are buying any camera gear at all?

I think maybe you are overbuying on camera and underbuying around the camera.

Let me put this in perspective for you.

I like Sachtler tripod heads and I'm indifferent to legs, aside from wanting sold 100mm ball support.

With a good Sachtler head (I prefer the Video 15) I can reliably deliver better results with a DVX100 than a crappy Manfrotto head and an Epic.

No, seriously. Every day under any conditions.

Because I have the right composition and framing more often with the Sachtler. Because I'm not fighting the head.

Why do I like 100mm? Because I can drop my favorite lightweight jib right on the platform. Also, I can mount a 100mm ball to a Mitchell plate very easily - even without an adapter in some cases.

So ... I'm on about these mounting solutions ... and they have a similar benefit.

I have to spend 5-10 minutes to dismount a Cinevate rig from sticks and remount it on the dolly/jib.

With the Red gear I can go from sticks to dolly in under a minute. I can then mount up to Steadicam just as fast, and eventually back to sticks. Seconds per mount/dismount cycle. With the right selection of gear I can even change camera configurations radically (heavy dolly to extended shoulder mount for example) very quickly.

The time I save with that little bit of gear buys me more set ups in a day, which saves me time and money. It does a lot to make sure I make my clients happy and that I get the next job.

So, the question isn't why you should spend extra cash on the right gear ... its why you are trying to be so cheap and cheat your clients out of setups to save a few bucks?

If you are an indie film guy you get this ... but you may have forgotten that time is still money! All those volunteer cast and crew ... it costs them life to come back for another shoot day, and they may just not come back if you work too slowly. So ... why are you wasting the time they gift to you? Remember ... they are not only spending time, but also trusting you to deliver quality and maintain or enhance their work reputations. Being mindful of that makes people want to work with you more.

So, what do you value?

 

[Mike Garrick]

@ Alexander, Thanks for the Auto focus answer.

I believe a question yet to be asked with "upper end" still lenses, is just what is the difference in optical quality & cine glass ? Yes there will be obvious mechanical differences. But when your "eyeballing" the differences how noticeable are they ? Having worked in my early days with Pro still gear, 10 x 8 , 5 x 4 , 2 1/4, 35mm I am aware of the very high image quality that these lens systems can generate sometimes surpassing cine glass. So just how good or bad is a mass produced sold in volume Professional still lens for $1,000s verses the precision engineered limited run cine lens for $10,000s ? I would like to know. I assume others do as well.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

@ Alexander, Thanks for the Auto focus answer.

I believe a question yet to be asked with "upper end" still lenses, is just what is the difference in optical quality & cine glass ? Yes there will be obvious mechanical differences. But when your "eyeballing" the differences how noticeable are they ? Having worked in my early days with Pro still gear, 10 x 8 , 5 x 4 , 2 1/4, 35mm I am aware of the very high image quality that these lens systems can generate sometimes surpassing cine glass. So just how good or bad is a mass produced sold in volume Professional still lens for $1,000s verses the precision engineered limited run cine lens for $10,000s ? I would like to know. I assume others do as well.

Are you considering optical quality as a still or moving picture?

That's really the crux in the end ... still lenses benefit from mass production, but ultimately they are designed to capture a still.

If all you are going to do is look at a still image from one frame of your video, then you may conclude that still lenses are equal to or even superior to cine lenses. They are often sharper than the cameras sensors and in a still image they look pretty decent.

Motion lenses are designed to be used to track moving subjects from a moving camera platform.

I've seen a lot of lens tests on here that are essentially just moving stills. A lot of what makes a lens in motion imaging comes from moving the camera and the subject.

What the heck does that mean to the image though?

Well there are several issues still photographers just don't care that much about that are kind of big issues in motion imaging.

The first is breathing.

When you alter the focus on still lenses there is apparent "zooming" of the image, even with prime lenses.

Part of the extra cost of motion imaging lenses is to eliminate that breathing, which takes some pretty precise opto-mechanical engineering.

Throw up some Zeiss Ultra Primes or Master Primes and you breathing is so minimized ... only we will note it.

Another element is the rendition of geometry as the camera changes its view. A lot of still lenses distort geometry, and so as you pan a shot around you can see straight lines bend and such.

Zeiss's still lenses are pretty good about eliminating this ... but its a feature most still photographers don't consider when rating the lenses. However, when compared to Zeiss cinema lenses even the Zeiss still lenses look pretty bad with how they distort a scene. this is more and more of a concern as you look at wider angle lenses. (24mm and wider)

Then there is color matching. If you have a series of still primes ... they won't match each other. Zeiss and Leica pay more attention to this than other still lens manufacturers, but it costs a lot of money to deal with this in manufacturing. If you grab a series of Zeiss Master Primes, even a trained colorist in their suite would have a hard time telling you the difference between 5 samples of a given lens.

I already spoke about this. If you abut shots from a Zeiss ZF 35, 50 and 85 at the same stop with the same camera the color will be different, and that's annoying. So, you have to color correct it out. With master primes its not an issue.

Of course, by using zooms you can avoid some of that ... so long as you stay in your zoom range. That's one reason the Angeniuex 24-290 lens is so popular on TV and other shows that have to move quickly.

So what's my advice?

Well stay with Canon L zooms as you learn ... especially if your major work can wait until the RedMote pro shows up, or you have other means of controlling the lens to your satisfaction.

Later have a look at the primes as you need more speed from the glass, or more precision from the lens image. I'm partial to the Zeiss lenses. I've shot a lot of very good stuff with them.

With all the SLR lenses you have to watch out for the stuff above. I find that sometimes small alterations in the blocking (often just the timing) can make breathing work dramatically. If you move the camera, as opposed to just panning and tilting, you can make the geometric problems of still glass less obvious. At some point however, you just want to keep the camera still with the wide lenses. If you don't have a lot of strong vertical lines in your composition (think Lawrence of Arabia) you can often get away with a moderate push in/pull out ... but keep it on the lens axis.

A final note of caution.

Still photographers often look at images that are 8x12 inches at most. Maybe they'll judge them full screen on their computer. 27" or 30" at most.

Don't do that.

Get the biggest screens you can afford to judge your images with. Right now I have a piddling 50" plasma.

See? I said piddling.

You want a big image. I'm excited about Red's 4K laser projector. Its been compared to CibaChrome. I hear that when David Bowman saw it he said, "My God ... its full of stars!" Seriously, its 4K and can fill a pretty big screen. I've only seen my work at 4K on Sony projectors ... its pretty amazing and it changes how you think about your work. You want to get as close to that as practical.


Big screens reveal little problems ... so use them!

 

[Ryan De Franco]

With the Red gear I can go from sticks to dolly in under a minute. I can then mount up to Steadicam just as fast, and eventually back to sticks. Seconds per mount/dismount cycle. With the right selection of gear I can even change camera configurations radically (heavy dolly to extended shoulder mount for example) very quickly.

Are you referring to multiple dovetail platforms? So there's a Red dovetail on the tripod head (for sticks / dolly), one on the handheld rig, one on the steadicam? Otherwise I can't see how you do this without unscrewing a different baseplate from beneath the Red universal baseplate...

 

[Les Dittert]

I am very interested in revealing the differences between the so called 'cine lens' and some good still camera lens. While I do understand that the cine lens has no clicks for f-stop settings, and are built more rugged for stressful production environments, my usage is much more controlled and I think I can get away with the more plasticy still glass.
I am more confident in the modern optic designs that programs like OSLO can and do generate, and the advanced lens grinding that CNC has made possible. I am absolutely not interested in any artsy fartsy artifacts or other attributes that some might 'love' a lens for. Some of the artsy look plastic lens junk they sell to retro-hipster wanabees is rather amusing, to say the least!

Red should be taking notes in their own lens planning as well. The trend in optics is starting to take hold starting with the very controlled and very large point and shoot class cameras : relaxing certain lens design constraints such as CA and certain distortions to allow the lens priority to go towards MTF improvements. Some P&S systems have now used in camera image processing to fix the very fixable issues, making a nice image for the user. So image processing is now part of the lens, if you will. The images need to be *developed* much the same way that r3d files need to be developed as well.
I have no issues with this, but I'll bet many non technical film people will take issue.

So early next year, when I get my two Scarlets, I look forward to doing some real lens tests with some locals here in Hollywood. Tests with numbers not opinions. Tests where we don't care if a lens has a slight cool or warm look to it, because we know that makes no difference in raw workflow.
How about a test where we profile a cheap light plastic lens, correcting for aberrations, and see how that compares to some old vintage cine glass?

BTW: Anybody interested in a 'de-breether' plugin that takes away that issue based on r3d meta data, thus removing that worrisome and often commented fault of still glass ?

-Les Dittert

@ Alexander, Thanks for the Auto focus answer.

I believe a question yet to be asked with "upper end" still lenses, is just what is the difference in optical quality & cine glass ? Yes there will be obvious mechanical differences. But when your "eyeballing" the differences how noticeable are they ? Having worked in my early days with Pro still gear, 10 x 8 , 5 x 4 , 2 1/4, 35mm I am aware of the very high image quality that these lens systems can generate sometimes surpassing cine glass. So just how good or bad is a mass produced sold in volume Professional still lens for $1,000s verses the precision engineered limited run cine lens for $10,000s ? I would like to know. I assume others do as well.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

Are you referring to multiple dovetail platforms? So there's a Red dovetail on the tripod head (for sticks / dolly), one on the handheld rig, one on the steadicam? Otherwise I can't see how you do this without unscrewing a different baseplate from beneath the Red universal baseplate...

Yes ... you need multiple dovetails.

One on every head/platform you plan on using on set.

You also need multiple quick release plates if you plan on changing setups radically. Say you are going from sticks to steadicam and need to reduce weight. quick release out onto another rig pre-built for the steadicam.

That sounds expensive, because it is.

Its a lot cheaper than having an entire film crew standing around getting paid to watch while we re-rig the camera. Even with a minimum union crew you are into something like $400 an hour for camera grip and electric.

If you have B list talent on set the cost of having multiple rigs goes so far into the noise in the budget that you'd probably get fired for not having multiple platforms ready to work.

Now, most of us can't afford all this largesse at once. That's another reason I emphasize getting the right system. Buy a basic system for the sticks with an extra dovetail ... then add parts bit by bit as needed over the years.

The only qualm I have with the Red system is that Red is a relatively new company. While I find it unlikely with Jim Jannard involved, they could conceivably go out of business unexpectedly, thus eliminating access to new parts (for replacement or expansion). That diminishes the value of planning very long term. I expect to pay for this gear with no more than 5 years work. If I can't do that, then I can't buy the gear.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

BTW: Anybody interested in a 'de-breether' plugin that takes away that issue based on r3d meta data, thus removing that worrisome and often commented fault of still glass ?

-Les Dittert

Nothing in life is free.

You can already correct breathing to one extent or another in a wide variety of software.

Resolve gives you this capability fairly automatically. It was also in DaVinci's 2K and Spirit.

Yet people keep using good glass. Expensive cine glass. You know you can drop over a quarter million on a prime lens set right?

Why? Why would these smart professionals in Hollywood spend that kind of money when they have a set of tools that allows them to fix the problems of cheap lenses?

Because then you don't have the problem in the first place.

Because, lenses are a fixed expense. Visual effects artists and colorists are an ongoing expense.

Because when you remove these artifacts you lower the image quality in some other way. In the case of breathing you lose resolution.

You correct breathing by "stabilizing the zoom" in most software. Like any image stabilization it crops the image and/or "blows it up."

So, I for one will not be paying you for something I can get for free, that will merely allow me to use crappy lenses and make my ultimate image look worse.

Instead I'll just get the lenses that work properly in the first place.

That is the future.

Advances in technology will give us lenses that operate more accurately while reducing expenses dramatically. Red already started this. Zeiss is playing the game too. You can get an improved version of their still lenses for cine use. Illumina's may seem expensive to you, but they deliver performance that is as good as the Zeiss Mk3 Superspeeds - in some ways they rival the Zeiss Master Primes!

This will continue.

There is already a good crossover.

Today you can get the Red 18-85 t/2.8 PL zoom. It's $10,000

Or ... you can get the Zeiss ZF.2 7 prime lens set (18, 21,25,28,35 f/1.4, 50 f/1.4 & 85) for about the same price, with a clicky aperture, and no lens gearing .

What on earth are you even debating this for? Because you want to use a $499 f/3.5-5.6 18-135mm EF-S lens instead?

 

[Les Dittert]

glass for the 99%

glass for the 99%

Alexander ,
Your comments are good. You must also realize that many people who are trying to purchase the Scarlet are coming from a lower budget arena. Using SLR glass is in their scope. $10,000 glass is not.
The plugin I am thinking of would be fully automatic, driven by the meta data of the stream in the case of the r3d from Red. The amount of zoom needed to fix the lens induced breathing is very small, and would hardly be noticeable as far as sharpness change.
Personally I am building a compact SBS 3d rig, and the light SLR glass is just the ticket, especially for 'developing world' shooting that I like to do.

I can't wait to actually compare the lower cost SLR glass to the expensive stuff, to see what the imaging quality really is. I've been in the digital cinema / cinema digital effects biz for over 20 years and like to apply my imaging expertise to this new 'hobby' of mine. Side effects of my findings will surely help other budget filmmakers as well!
-Les Dittert

 

[jaadgy akanni]

I can't wait to actually compare the lower cost SLR glass to the expensive stuff, to see what the imaging quality really is. I've been in the digital cinema / cinema digital effects biz for over 20 years and like to apply my imaging expertise to this new 'hobby' of mine. Side effects of my findings will surely help other budget filmmakers as well!
-Les Dittert

Looking forward to that, Les. Thanks in advance.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

Alexander ,
Your comments are good. You must also realize that many people who are trying to purchase the Scarlet are coming from a lower budget arena. Using SLR glass is in their scope. $10,000 glass is not.

Seriously? $10000 is low end glass.

For that kind of cash I'm talking about a set of SLR primes.

Or a Red zoom.

The plugin I am thinking of would be fully automatic, driven by the meta data of the stream in the case of the r3d from Red. The amount of zoom needed to fix the lens induced breathing is very small, and would hardly be noticeable as far as sharpness change.

In theory this is great!

In practice this is useless.

One of the problems with low end glass, and a limitation of anything as idealized as using metadata for stabilization, is that these lenses are not well controlled.

That means that one lens is not like the next one off the assembly line.

That means that while two 50mm L primes will both breathe a similar amount, they will breathe slightly differently lens to lens. At different times, with different curves describing them, different points of inflection and stiction ... just different.

I've written elsewhere about having a L series SLR lens on a Canon body report one distance on its engraved focus scale, another distance in EXIF. Then when I tape out (and laser) the subject the real distance differs from both lens indicators by a wide margin.

This is why tracking is a better solution for fixing breathing than the metadata.

Look, if you want to tackle this, and you think you can do a better job than Black Magic/DaVinci, Autodesk, Adobe and The Foundry go for it. Who am I to tell you "no"

There is some slim chance that with the right attitude you could succeed where no one else has. All of those organizations have invested in solving this problem, they all have solutions that can really help with this and other problems. Everybody sees the writing on the wall, so to speak.

You have some experience in this industry ... so you should have an idea how sharp the folks at those places are.

Yet, you seem determined not to understand the problems because they conflict with your goal of using cheaper lenses.

Until you get over how "smart" you are and listen, you chances go from "slim" to zero.

Personally I am building a compact SBS 3d rig, and the light SLR glass is just the ticket, especially for 'developing world' shooting that I like to do.

SERIOUSLY ?!?

I'm sorry but this makes even less sense for 3D.

What I recommend is that you abandon SLR primes and get some low end film zooms for your 3D rig.

The set I always recommend is the Angeniuex Optimo DP 3D sets. These lenses are hand picked by Angeniuex to match for 3D work ... and they come about as close as practical in the budget they offer.

That said ... Scorsese used Arri LWZ for Hugo with very very excellent results.

Now ... the lenses matching is more important in the 3D context than any other.

See, even with the best matched lenses on the best rigs, with excellent stenographers you have an awful lot of work to do to align two images from separate cameras.

As we say in the sciences, its non-trivial.

Now, you can do SBS 3D with a cheap lens ... but you will not be riding the wave of current 3D technology ... your results will look like the 3D films of yesteryear.

I can't wait to actually compare the lower cost SLR glass to the expensive stuff, to see what the imaging quality really is. I've been in the digital cinema / cinema digital effects biz for over 20 years and like to apply my imaging expertise to this new 'hobby' of mine. Side effects of my findings will surely help other budget filmmakers as well!
-Les Dittert

 

[Mike Garrick]

@ Alexander
Thanks for motion vs still lens differences, many I knew but still good to hear it re-affirmed.

As the bunny who forks out the $$$ at the end of a shoot, I totally agree with the need, whatever your setup, for it to be precise & fast, minimum effort, maximum effect. Nothing bugs me more on a shoot than people stuffing around with allen keys & gear with people waiting around.....I know I'm in a special hell when I see a screwdriver!

Anyway I think for many Scarlet X'ers the main concern is have something up, running & shooting when the camera arrives without spending massive more dollars for a clutch, 19 mm rails mounts & Prime lenses etc. Whilst for seasoned professionals this may be a turn off, I think most can remember trying to kit up there 1st camera . I'm a firm believer in "sneaking up on the problem" as time goes by & finances allow. Very few can afford the nuclear detonation of their bank account to have full pro gear from day 1. I know I can't & I'm in a better position them some. So sneaking up the problem, any recommendations?

 

[Ryan De Franco]

Sneaking up on the problem, nicely put...

B&H carries a $100 shoulder mount, the "Video innovators" S8-100. It has a padded shoulder mount with as much grip and comfort as the Clutch, and a narrow slot that runs the length for mounting 1/4 20 screws that can attach to the bottom of the Red (or 3rd party) baseplate. Or Noga arms, or any other accessories.

Alone, it's useless. But the same company sells a folding handle. Using a Noga arm lock down (basically a female 1/4 20), you can attach this to where the shoulder pad terminates at your chest. Not only does this lock the rig into your chest bone, providing 2 out of 3 necessary points of contact, it folds--when it goes horizontal to the rig (perpendicular to your body), you can effortlessly lock the rig to your waist for shooting low, or set the rig down in between shots / for effortless, high-hat-less shooting.

Use a brick or AB battery for counterweight off the back. Use Red, CPM or other 3rd party rails bolted into the top.

The whole rig is lightweight, fits in a medium-large backpack and costs less than $200. As Alexander mentioned, use a dovetail on the shoulder rig, a dovetail on the sticks, a dovetail on the lightweight Steadicam and you can switch between three different shooting styles in seconds.

Of course you could buy the Clutch. But this is how you sneak up on the problem... this rig gets compliments on literally. every. shoot. It's versatile simple and dirt ****ing cheap.

 

[Les Dittert]

Alexander,
The guys at Foundry have been at my office more than once. Nice guys. Ask them if they have heard of me.

So I am a bit stubborn, and will still pursue the application of 'free' glass to what I am doing. I think of it as a neat challenge.
I'm well aware of image distortion/warp matching, as I use it in my work. The free glass does have some same lens repeat-ability issues that do cause some problems, but I'm confident that a substantial improvement can be had with advanced image processing. We often do more advanced processing than those companies you mentioned.
Probably won't make sense for most crews that are in a rushed production environment, where you need to see near perfect footage right away.
That's OK, my personal projects are slow, stock footage type stuff. I can let some cores cook it for a couple of days to improve the quality, especially for 1920 sized results.


I do look forwards to testing one or two 'cine' class zoom lenses, to see what they are made of, so to speak. The results will be fun to see for all, good or bad.
Can you point me to any sites that have done some testing on cine glass before ? Something with quantifiable results, or images. Not words like 'creamy skin tones', or 'organic'.
I'm not sure, but I think many 'Scarlet' class people would love to see!

-Les Dittert

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

I'm intrigued by that Tilta carbon fiber matte box. Looks from (admittedly easily manipulatable) product shots that everything is solid. Anyone taken a risk on it? Is it even available through any resellers?

http://www.tilta.com.cn/en/pro_show.asp?ID=36