Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • 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 :)

Element Technica EVF Mount

The Zacuto mount is indeed the same concept as the Red one, except about three times bigger/beefier, which makes all the difference.

The ET one is definitely well engineered, but the problem is that it can't be anything but parallel to the camera. So, if you want to look through the EVF at a different angle, you're SOL.

Then there's the ET price...at NAB it was $960 and I thought that was just completely unreasonable, so I stopped by their booth and talked to them about it (and about the off-axis viewing thing). They then told me they were going to raise the price. Wow. $1190 for what it is...is just not reasonable to me. Perhaps if my Red was being rented more.
 
Shawn Nelson said:
Here's the kit you want, it includes two Zicromount IIIs and one large arm, only $379, quick release on both ends and plenty beefy for the job.
http://store.zacuto.com/product.php?productid=375&cat=97&page=1
Click to expand...

Looks like an OK solution. Actually a very good solution when comparing the price vs. the ET mount. But IMO, this is just a beefed up RED arm / Noga arm.

I do think the ET mount is rather expensive, which is unfortunate. But I don't think they are price-gouging anyone. Machine work and assembly are expensive and no matter how you look at this, the EVF mount is a low-volume item. It's hard to justify large production runs of 10K units or more to really get that price down when there's only maybe 1700 EVFs in the wild.
 
The ET Mount is great, and the price is fair. IMHO the only professional solution right now. I can always change back to the Red arm when i want of axis viewing, but this is one out of 100 cases. I also like a lot that there is an option to use the EVF Like a extended viewfinder with a leveler, this is great for dolly and tripod work.
If you consider, that Arri charges about 600 USD just for the Leveler Support, the EVF mount is a bargain ;)

Manuel
 
manuelwenger said:
The ET Mount is great, and the price is fair. IMHO the only professional solution right now. I can always change back to the Red arm when i want of axis viewing, but this is one out of 100 cases. I also like a lot that there is an option to use the EVF Like a extended viewfinder with a leveler, this is great for dolly and tripod work.
If you consider, that Arri charges about 600 USD just for the Leveler Support, the EVF mount is a bargain ;)

Manuel
Click to expand...

Except the Red arm is inadequate, and unable to properly hold it without slippage. The Zacuto arm is also a professional solution, just a less mechanically complicated or expensive one than ET, but it's not true to label the ET one as the only professional one.
 
RED ARMS are very good solutions.

In the case that you would like to perform more "exotic" or even so called professional like a Panavision solution you would CALL ELEMENT TECHNICA and arrange the appointment to have a look or simply get an order online.
 
If the Red Arm is fine for you, good. I can´t judge the Zacuto Arm, i haven´t worked with it but still, i prefer a mount that levels the EVF by itself, and doesn´t move during handheld shooting
 
I really wonder why Red doesn`t do anything to fix this? I`m seeing more and more accessories that don`t perform like they should. An EVF mount for the camera you are producing should be perfect and not require an additional investment of more than 1100 $. Sorry guys, but I still keep to it, 1190 $ is too much.
 
i just received my EVF.
first, i think it´s an amazing tool.

and for me the EVF on the arm is solid, really. for me no issue. free moveable, and more than stable if you fix the ring.
i don´t feel the ET is a must have.
 
kalone said:
I really wonder why Red doesn`t do anything to fix this? I`m seeing more and more accessories that don`t perform like they should. An EVF mount for the camera you are producing should be perfect and not require an additional investment of more than 1100 $. Sorry guys, but I still keep to it, 1190 $ is too much.
Click to expand...

Red's EVF arm isn't great, but it works, and at a very good price. For a camera as inexpensive as the Red, it's important to produce accessories that don't kill the budget. Personally, I'm glad they're concentrating more on the camera itself and letting 3rd party vendors focus on specific accessories.

I just received my Element Technica EVF mount. It seemed like a lot of money for something not that necessary. By the end of the day, I couldn't see how I could live without it. The thing rocks. It's smooth, instantaneous (once you find your sweet spot), and has a high degree of travel. My first impression of the design was that it looked a bit funky. Now that I've seen it in action, the design seems quite elegant. I can also rig it forward enough that it works well with handheld, yet will travel back enough in that configuration to work well with my geared head. I'm looking forward to that eyepiece leveler coming out soon.
 
i am sure the ET is great, i have the ET videobox and it´s cool, but at the moment i have to take a breath of buying buying :greedy: :greedy: ... i am sure someday it will be on my order list, right now, i am happy with the EVF and the arm.
 
I always found a viewfinder a matter of course and was pretty surprised that a lot of people purchased their Red without a viewfinder. There are many reasons why a viewfinder is compulsory IMO. One very important reason is the ability to balance the camera between shoulder, cheek and forehead/eye. With this kind of triangle the camera becomes fairly stable on the shoulder. Hence, a strong EVF mount is a must. As nice as it is for other applications the Red Arm won't do the job.

Because the RedOne tends to be pretty frontheavy it's vital not only to put most of the weight (battery, etc.) onto the back but to adjust the EVF pretty much to the front, almost touching the mattebox. Then the baseplate will sit on the shoulder of the operator when the camera is in balance, not confortable for sure but doable. Operators who need a comfortable solution and work with camera assistance can use the Arri hand-held rig, for instance.

For tripod work the EVF is better positioned more to the back and of course tilted upwards. For fast and convient operating a robust and quickly ajustable holding device for the EFV is needed. Red does not deliver this but ET does. Surely rougly 1200 USD are not a bargain but worth any penny.

Hans
 
Steve Sanacore said:
It would be nice if ET had a photo of the arm on the RED body so I could see how it worked.
Click to expand...

ET solution (1190 USD):
EL-VFM.gif

EL-VFM1.jpg


SIM video (2100 USD):
MG-SRED-HDH-01-2.jpg


ZACUTO (379 USD):
2042lg.jpg
 
Shawn Nelson said:
The ET one is definitely well engineered, but the problem is that it can't be anything but parallel to the camera. So, if you want to look through the EVF at a different angle, you're SOL.

Then there's the ET price...at NAB it was $960 and I thought that was just completely unreasonable, so I stopped by their booth and talked to them about it (and about the off-axis viewing thing). They then told me they were going to raise the price. Wow. $1190 for what it is...is just not reasonable to me. Perhaps if my Red was being rented more.
Click to expand...

I think we often underestimate the engineering time, amount of labor and degree of complexity that goes into machining the parts that we lose sight of the fact that all of these companies have to make a profit to survive. IMO ET prices their products fairly. They could charge double and probably still sell because every single piece of ET gear I own is just solid and just works. Their EVF mount is many times more sophisticated in design than a beefed up noga arm so I think that it is appropriate that their pricing is higher when compared to a noga style arm. I know I am sounding like an ET fanboy, but I guess I am..and certainly grateful they are pumping out some really innovative and IMO well priced products.
 
Good pricing is the key

Good pricing is the key

Sure, they could charge more...but buyers wouldn't buy it then. They would find alternative ways to mount the EVF like we see here in this thread.

Look at RR mattebox, its a great product with an amazing price point. Sure, they could sell it for more like 1.5, 2 or 3K since I noticed RED users use ARRI or others...but they are far more expensive in 5-6K. They decided not to go that route, Chuck-ching $$$$ for RR. Good for them. You make a quality product with a great price...you will make money much like our trusty RED ONE camera and other fine products.

Yes, I think its a great product. Do I find the price fair, seems to be expensive...but its the "eye of the beholder" that is willing to shell out his hard earned money for these products.

cheers...
 
I have to agree. I mean, the evf costs 3K why would its grip cost a third of its price. I mean, 1K is a lot for just holding the thing. I really like it, but I am pretty sure one could design it with great quality for less.
 
estebanred said:
I have to agree. I mean, the evf costs 3K why would its grip cost a third of its price. I mean, 1K is a lot for just holding the thing. I really like it, but I am pretty sure one could design it with great quality for less.
Click to expand...

Estebanred -

Do you have, or have you used the EVF?

The EVF cost a lot more than 3K - the wait.... For the ease of use and stability I get out of the ET mount, I find the ET mount completely worth its cost.
Don't really like any of the "arm" versions out there or the DIY versions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top