Opinions Wanted: REDmote vs. DSMC Side Handle ?

[Phil Holland]

Another big recommendation for the DSMC Side Handle.

I've mentioned elsewhere that I have the hot keys set to the focus assist and exposure tools as well as a shortcut to shutdown the camera to conserve battery life when on location. It's very speedy to navigate the menus with. I use the 5.0" LCD Touch as well and have controls on both side of the camera, which is handy on set. Once you get familiar navigating with the side handle it quickly becomes the fastest way to work with the Epic/Scarlet.

Aside from all that it provides that extra record button in a handy place. The grip itself is very useful for handheld shots as well as operational considerations like sliding on and off a tripod. Also, the advantage of going ultra light weight with a single Redvolt in the side handle is really great if you need to get things down to the most compact size. It seems with each shoot I find more and more ways to leave the V-Mount off the camera and incorporate operating with the Redvolt in the DSMC Side Handle. They don't last forever, but with efficient power consumption practices I think you'd be pretty surprised how far you can make them last.

I shot yesterday with just Redvolts for a 5 hour shooting day and didn't even go through 4 Redvolts. I had the V-mount bricks around if I needed them, but getting the camera light really helps sometimes.

The Redmote is super cool too, but honestly, I couldn't live/work without the DSMC Side Handle.

 

[Wey Wang]

I spent 3 weeks on a feature with both the side handle and a Redmote and quickly fell in love with the Redmote. The only problem was keeping the thing powered. Easily solved with the Viewfactor ptap to usb adapter.

With the Redmote mounted to the side of the camera, it gives your AC the ability to change things without getting in your way.

 

[Joe Kleber]

[COLOR=#FFFFFF !important]The DSMC SIDE HANDLE is worth the price of admission solely for the Hot-Swap feature (when paired with RED BRICKS).

...same for the REDMOTE for the ability to Start and Stop wirelessly.

If I had to choose, it'd be the Side Handle. [/COLOR]

 

[Gunleik Groven]

See your point, wei. The redmotes I have had the chance to use, haven't worked that way, though...

 

[Patrick Grossien]

Another big recommendation for the DSMC Side Handle.

... The grip itself is very useful for handheld shots as well as operational considerations like sliding on and off a tripod. ...

Phil, when shooting handheld holding onto the side handle, do you use anything like the Outrigger handle along with it? If so, what ?

 

[Lliam Worthington]

Agree with everything Phil said. Loving the side handle. With a handle on the other side and a gunstock mount or brace works a treat for hand held too when you want it lower down and off a bigger rig. Great for guerilla or on the ground... However the red latch issue has bitten me too, though RED is aware and working on a fix.

http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?69245-Question-to-you-SIDE-HANDLE-owners/page2

Will be trying a DIY fix for now.

 

[Jon Carr]

Within the first week of owning my side handle, my touch screen has never looked so clean. I do love my REDmote, but to me it turned into just more of a toy to use on set, or when I do steadicam or jib shots. Both have great ways to control the camera but just the fact that you have a handle on the camera and there's quick keys right next your thumb, it's just something you don't wanna be without. Plus you leave a REDvolt in it and now you can just hot swap your RED bricks with ease. I adds some weight to the brain which I prefer, and now I can treat my camera like I could treat a DSLR for shoots if needed.

 

[Mark Deeble]

The side handle may not have the perfect form-factor but it is great to hold on to and the hot-swap ability is really useful - but... the Redmote gives you so much more information. If using the side handle, I find I never look at its display. The Redmote though is all about display - and it comes in to its own if you can use it reliably remotely... With 2.0.8 the range, for me, suddenly went from less than 5' to 100' - now I'm with 3.0.0 I'm back to less than 5' and dropped connections. However, I have confidence that RED will fix it.

 

[Phil Holland]

Phil, when shooting handheld holding onto the side handle, do you use anything like the Outrigger handle along with it? If so, what ?

Currently I don't, but I shoot handheld pretty rarely and only when it's called for. I usually go for a shoulder solution first, but I have shot handheld 3 ways that looked great.

- "Pizza Delivery Guy", Grabbing the side handle and bracing my left arm into my chest with my left hand as a camera platform, right hand on side handle.
- "The Marksmen", Place the camera on your left arm near the elbow using it as a platform for the camera body and grab the side handle.
- "The Defibrillator", Grabbing the camera by the side handle and the lens and pressing it against the chest. People often do this with the outrigger handle too.

I'm having fun with it with all those goofy names, but when it comes to the subtle movement of hand held work and producing the desired look those have all worked well for me.

The truth is do whatever it takes to get the look you want and in a stance you can actually operate the camera with. I put the camera on the toe of my shoe the other day to get a shot because I liked the pivoting effect it gave. Felt like I was floating on a raft. Three days before that I was on a bouncey yoga ball to emulate sort of a floating in the sky effect. Handheld and shoulder work is usually all about the feel you're after.

 

[Nathaniel Kramer]

Side Handle wins... RedMote is very cool looking but otherwise not reliable when not mounted to camera.. I do like the audible beep the camera makes when my AC presses record... when it can link...

 

[Jay Kim]

Very different opinions... I can live with 5" and a Redmote but not with 5" and a Side handle. My redmote works great on a Jib and a Steadicam and I cannot imagine how I can control the camera without it. On the other hand, the Side handle...maybe another way to control the camera but there is no way that it will replace my Redmote.

 

[Mike P.]

So how iffy is the connection of the REDmote? I'm hearing varying reports saying, "from my attic to my neighbour's basement" to "no more than 3 feet." Is it a hardware issue that causes cruddy connections, because I don't think that can be fixed with a firmware upgrade...last thing I want is another iphone4 (which still drops calls like crazy after being "Fixed" with iOS4/5/etc.)

 

[J Taylor]

Hi guys, how much essential is the Red pro 5' screen touch to control the camera? If I've the DSMC side handle ,and the Red mote, is there any after market LCD available similar to the Red touch pro to cut down the cost? With limited budget I am planning the package for my Red Scarlet. Thanks

Hey Earl,
If you are absolutely trying to save money I'd recommend a smallHD DP6 or DP4, great company, great monitor, I really love mine.

Having said that, I am all about the Red Pro 5' touch screen, I was very skeptical, but I've been using it for a few weeks now and I love it. The menus are intuitive and it's not the greatest touch screen but you get used to it and it becomes very quick to navigate. Also having a monitor that is perfectly calibrated is a huge plus! If you can I would say get it. If not...side handle and DP6?

-Jacob

 

[Will Keir]

Anyone?

Do Red One Bricks use V mounts? Do they work with the stage 3 modular adapter? Or is some type of adaper required?

 

[Sergio Perez]

Another vote for the side handle. I have both but the side handle, like Gunleik said, just opens the Epic for other forms of shooting. I shot my first test video only on Redvolts/ Sidehandle and touch LCD. It was like shooting on a 5D, with people not being "affraid" of the camera at all, and being relatively light and small to enter tight spaces, which proved invaluable for the Chinese opera part:

(I've posted this before but I think it ilustrates how handy the redvolts and side handle are. )

http://vimeo.com/38020250

Notice that starting at 49 seconds these exterior day shots where done handheld with only the Epic, a Canon 24-105 with IS on and the side handle with redvolts. Completely manageable.

The cantonese opera was an event that went for 3 hours, which I shot using the 5 redvolts I brought in my messenger bag with 3 canon lenses.

The Redmote I still haven't found a good use for it- haven't done any steadicam or jib shots with it, which I will eventually do. The sidehandle controls and touch screen controls have been absolutely fantastic and intuitive. The Redmote does, however, looks nice on the back and it gives a sense of "complete package" to the camera

 

[Stephen Williams]

The Redmote is fairly useless as a remote right now. Maybe it will become more reliable with firmware upgrades, but in my experience it seems to only work consistently when mounted on the back of the camera, which makes it difficult to mount v-mount batteries. I use redvolts exclusively and love the tiny form factor, so the side handle is indispensable to me.

Speak with tech support, there is a simple fix,

 

[Will Keir]

To answer my own question for anyone else out there reading. The modular adapter that ships with stage 3 is for attaching Quad chargers, it is not a V mount for use with Red Bricks.

The epic power cable/pin is smaller than the Red One. If you have the Red One battery belt clip for example, you need a 2b to 1b adapter for the epic/scarlet.

Anyone?

 

[Les C.]

So how iffy is the connection of the REDmote? I'm hearing varying reports saying, "from my attic to my neighbour's basement" to "no more than 3 feet." Is it a hardware issue that causes cruddy connections, because I don't think that can be fixed with a firmware upgrade...last thing I want is another iphone4 (which still drops calls like crazy after being "Fixed" with iOS4/5/etc.)

You might read over the posts on this thread:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?72254-RedMote-Please-Red

I have a REDmote on order, but ... I'm rather depressed when I read posts like this from three days ago:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?72254-RedMote-Please-Red&p=967589&viewfull=1#post967589

I've heard encouraging news lately that the new Side Handles have had their hardware issues resolved in recent shipments, but ... I've yet to hear any news of a hardware revision to the REDmote (for the enter keys, connectivity issues, range issues, etc.)

It would be nice to hear something from RED, to the effect that purchasers won't end up in RMA-hell if they buy one.

I'm not after perfection, just the assurance that if a product doesn't meet RED's high quality standards (and I'm not sure what to conclude after reading all those posts), that RED will cover the shipping both ways to get the problems resolved.

 

[Sergio Perez]

Concerning the side handle build quality, I can say I'm happy with mine. The only flaw the design has is that it has a spring inside the handle and in order for the battery to stay inside the handle securely, its "locked" by a plastic Hook on the inside top of the handle's battery compartment. The buttons, the grip, everything feels perfect to me. Also, in the beginning, I was constantly having difficulties attaching the battery in the handle, but I was doing a mistake: I was pressing the battery in by pushing the CENTER of the redvolt, which was a mistake. What I needed to do was to use two fingers and press the top part of the Redvolt to push the spring and for the top red plastic hook to secure the battery. Occasionaly it is still hard to close the door, but now about 80% of the times I can get it in and secure with no issues. Of course things would be better if there was no specific "technique" and you could just snap the battery in, but even with this small issue the Side Handle is excellent and I don't see myself sending it in for repair or upgrade since I use it every single day. Of course if the plastic top hook breaks then I have to send it in, but right now so far so (relatively) good!!

 

[Michael Millichamp]

To answer my own question for anyone else out there reading. The modular adapter that ships with stage 3 is for attaching Quad chargers, it is not a V mount for use with Red Bricks.

The epic power cable/pin is smaller than the Red One. If you have the Red One battery belt clip for example, you need a 2b to 1b adapter for the epic/scarlet.

The Modular adapter takes 4 Redvolts that have life spans of about 30-35 minutes a piece. It powers off of one at a time and not all 4 together, making them hot swapable.

To use any vmount battery, you need to get adapters like VF APU or Wooden Cameras Quickback and Battery module. To use the original Red One VMount battery plate, you will need, like you said, the 2b to 1b.