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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 :)

my personal Nikon lens set - opinions? improvements?

Tico

sure - PM me. I'll swap you a redrock hat for the gearbox. I guess for anyone else in the future, please contact us (or for that matter, any manufacturer) if you run into this or any other questions regarding products.

Cheers

Brian
 
And in a fun little twist, the Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 lens has .08 pitch knurls on its focus ring. Yep, I can pull focus with the Cavision FF I'm using on set.

Having noted that, it's a pretty rough ride for the 1st a.c. since the knurls are squared off. I've already ordered my JBKCine gear for this lens.

But... in a pinch...

:shifty:

Michael
 
Evolve

You may want to go back and re-read the thread. Our first offer was to replace the gearbox free of charge. After he pointed out that it was all said and done, but that he would send us the broken gearbox for our reference, I offered the hat.

But since you brought it up, we also offered to give him a free new microFollowFocus as well.


Brian
 
Brian Valente said:
Evolve

You may want to go back and re-read the thread. Our first offer was to replace the gearbox free of charge.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. It was. And then it seemed like that was no longer the case.
Only reason why I wrote anything at all.

Brian Valente said:
After he pointed out that it was all said and done, but that he would send us the broken gearbox for our reference, I offered the hat.

But since you brought it up, we also offered to give him a free new microFollowFocus as well.


Brian
Click to expand...

Which is great of you and the right thing to do. Kudos and thanks for clearing that up. It sounded like you were going to give him a hat for his troubles.
Please take no offense. Acerbic humour laced with purpose is my pleasure.
Nice to meet you.
 
Indeed - the pleasure is all mine:biggrin:

Brian
 
Here is my set of Nikon primes/zoom Lenses,
1. 24mm f2.8
2. 35mm f2 & f2.8
3. 50mm f1.4
4. 85mm f2
5. 105mm f2.5
6. 18-35mm AF-MF f3.5-4.5 zoom
I haven't had a chance to try them all out yet but they are all very clean glass.
does anyone know anything about the 18-35mm zoom? I got a great deal on it that i couldnt pass up. Ofherwise i would have bought the 17-35mm zoom. Also, what else would you guys suggest. I was thinking about the 135mm f2.8 and the 200mm f2.8. Or maybe another zoom like the 80-200mm zoom. Not sure, what do you guys think?
 
So does the Nikon lens mount adaptor decrease the angle of view? The chip for Red is a full super 35 correct?

I asked in another thread why Nikon lens tests show blur or out of focus for stop 2.8. I havent heard a response. Lens problem right? 2.8 is Ok with other, 35 glass???/ arri /cooke?...I love to shoot at 4 or below..... Will the lens mount refit on the next build fix this??? or just better glass.

thanks....
 
RED said:
I asked in another thread why Nikon lens tests show blur or out of focus for stop 2.8.
Click to expand...

That's a very generalized question. Each lens has its strengths and weaknesses at various f-stops. But, in general, still lenses are designed to be optimum at smaller iris sizes while cine lenses are designed to give great pictures wide open - amongst many other factors.

Michael
 
Evolve, Brian's correct...

Evolve, Brian's correct...

Brian Valente said:
Evolve

You may want to go back and re-read the thread. Our first offer was to replace the gearbox free of charge. After he pointed out that it was all said and done, but that he would send us the broken gearbox for our reference, I offered the hat.

But since you brought it up, we also offered to give him a free new microFollowFocus as well.


Brian
Click to expand...

...he generously offered to replace the microFF outright. Not once, but twice. I graciously declined. However, I can certainly vouch that Brian stands behind his products, let there be no doubt of that.
 
Okay, got my JBKCine custom-built lens gears for my Nikons:

264_1196358248.jpg


Also got one on my 17-35 zoom. Still figuring out how to get one on the 80-200 AF-D since there is a permenant tripod mount on the back of the lens that interferes with installation.

I'll keep some Redrock Micro gears around for ad-hoc still lenses that end up on my set. They came in real handy the other day when I wanted to do a zoom pull on a fixed-distance talent. I simply slipped the gear from the focus to zoom barrels on my 80-200. Great when you can't afford cine primes with the full lens gears.

Michael
 
Jerry Kosan of JBKCinequipt is an excellent cine tech and machinist. And a good person too. Those one piece gears are a superior way to go as opposed to the plastic expandable types that vary diametral pitch depending on how much they opened or closed to fit various lens diameters.
 
Yep, Jerry is da man. He even provides computer-printed labeling with all the items in your shipment. Very professional.

One challenge to getting these gears: You need to measure barrel diameters with a caliper yourself so he can build to your specs. Here are the measurements for my lenses:

24mm f2.0 ais – 2.421”
35mm f1.4 ais – 2.655”
50mm f1.4 ai - 2.502”
85mm f1.4 ais – 3.170”
105mm f1.8 ais – 3.077”
17-35 f2.8 afd - 3.275”

The 105mm is a little loose. Could be my measurement. The 17-35 gear can cause drag in the focus knob of the lens if you tighten the allen bolts too much. There’s a specific balance between grip and avoiding affecting the lens that works just right. The 85mm gear includes a plastic insert between metal gear and lens barrel due to the sizes of metal blanks available to Jerry for machining.

I don't note any radius changes with the Redrock micro gears. They are very usable aside from the big, ugly bolt interfering with a 360-degree turn.

Michael
 
Thanks for the input Michael.

Regarding the Redrock microLensGears, we designed our gears with these goals in mind:

1. inexpensive ($50-60 per gear)
2. Can be attached quickly, without any undue pressure or markings to the lens barrel (such as what happens when set screws are used)
3. Large diameter & width (for still lensesthis larger diameter greatly helps with being able to focus more precisely and the width helps with externally focusing lenses i.e., the barrel moves when you focus)
5. Can be attached to just about any lens - even those with tripod collars permanently attached ;)

Having had my nikons previously geared by cinetech in asuza (similar to JBK) I found that approach to be expensive, a bit clunky, and ended up scratching my lenses.

Chuck I don't see the drawback of what you are describing. they are flexible by design so one gear fits many lenses, but once attached they don't flex.


Cheers

Brian
 
Morning Brian,

Not flex, but spacing of the teeth depending on how much the pitch diameter changes as the result of how much the inside diameter is closed downed by the clamp. If this has not proved to be a problem then all is good and I should keep my mouth shut. lol

yours,
 
Hi Chuck

morning to you ;)

the teeth spacing does not change with our gears - that would be a pretty big problem I would imagine. Instead there's a gap that flexes to support different sized lenses. The flip side is that it doesn't rotate 360, but then again with very few exceptions (macro lenses most notably) most still lenses rotate only a fraction of a circle - 90180 ime


Cheers

Brian
 
Ahh, said the blind man. Very clever. Your right about the still camera lenses, besides the macros as you say I've only seen a few like the Zeiss designs for the Contax that got even close to 360 degree rotation.
 
I own lens gears from SGPro, Cinevate and Zacuto. I've also used Redrock.

The Cinevate is very good, but takes too long if you want to move it between different lenses, and is a little expensive to buy one for each lens. (This of course depends on the size of your lens kit, and the size of your wallet.) It has the largest diameter, which is a help when the focus points on the lenses are too close. If it was half the price, this would be my favorite. $116.82 for 1.

The SGPro (I have Type 2) is priced right, and basically works the same way as Cinevate. Only it's quicker and easier to move between lenses. And cheap enough to buy one for each lens. The only con, they're a little smaller diameter than Cinevate (but larger than the others.) £72 for 3. (Equals $149)

Zacuto is a nice patent, and very universal, but I don't think they'll hold up to use as well as the others. They come in 16" length and you cut them to fit your lens - so once you've cut them they'll of course only fit that diameter lens. They feel a little "cheap" concidering the price. $310.00 for 4.

Redrock is simpler and more plasticy than the Zacuto, but works OK. $150.00 for 3. SGPro is much better and $1 cheaper.

My favorite is SGPro.

focusgears.jpg


Left to right: Zacuto, SGPro, Cinevate. (I've modified the Cinevate to make it easier to move between different diameter lenses; that was before I got the SGPro.)
 
Hi,

Do you know who can modify this way Canon FD lenses in Canada ?
 
Nils - everyone has a preference - that's why there's vanilla and chocolate. I have found the set screw approach too damaging for my lenses and places too much pressure in small area. The Redrock lens gears have flat feet and spread it much more evenly across the entire barrel.

And of course the lens gears work across all still lenses including canon FD


Brian
 
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