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Ranger Gemini

P

Pat Cooksey

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I just purchased a Ranger Gemini. It is coming in piece by piece but I don't have the camera body yet. I have a question about lens mounts. It comes with a shimmed PL mount, however I also bought the captive Cannon FS mount which is a DSCM2. It did not come with shims and I don't know what captive means. The mount has electronics, but I'm unsure whether the camera does. If not, then I can't use stills lenses like the Sigma 18-35 because the apature is controlled electronically in DSCM2 camera brains. The question is, what does captive mean and does the camera have electronics?
 
I found, downloaded, and printed the 197 page Ranger operations manual and it appears the Ranger is fully loaded with the same lens electronics as the DSCM2 cameras.
 
Chad Lancaster said:
captive means the screws stay in the mount. It's got a washer on the inside to hold the screw in place that way you don't lose the screws when taking off the mount.
Click to expand...

Thank you Chad.
 
Hey Pat,

I know for sure there's a special version of the PL Mount which is made ad-hoc for shimmed DSMC2 bodies so maybe you should check if the same thing applies to the Canon mount...
 
I doubt there is a chimmed canon mount, but I guess you can chim any mount. If they did it smart they front mount the scensor ever so slightly. Thst would make the canon mount chimmable as well.

Also for still ef glass bsckfocus is less importsnt as the lens markings are quite in accurate. But sure if you use good ef glas with long focus swings and good markings you wantvthr mount to be dead on.
 
John Fitzpatrick said:
There is no shimmed Canon mount (yet) therefore you might find inconsistent focus measurements with the Canon mount however it will still work.
Click to expand...

The focus marks on a majority of EF mount lenses won't really be that accurate anyway. Nor would most people be that accurate measuring focus from camera to subject for that matter..
 
Anyone have a favorite base plate/ riser for the Ranger?

I was looking at the Bright Tangerine and the Arri dsmc2 base plate. The Arri looks a bit more secure and has rosettes built in and comes standard with rear 15mm adapters. And the BT as the dovetail system built in and looks better suted for modular systems like a dsmc2.

What do you all use?
 
James Sielaff said:
Anyone have a favorite base plate/ riser for the Ranger?

I was looking at the Bright Tangerine and the Arri dsmc2 base plate. The Arri looks a bit more secure and has rosettes built in and comes standard with rear 15mm adapters. And the BT as the dovetail system built in and looks better suted for modular systems like a dsmc2.

What do you all use?
Click to expand...

You don't need the arrival rosettes on the ranger as they are allready there on the camera body. And if you only want 15mm I would actually go for the smallrig Red/arri baseplate as you dont really want 15mm rods in the back of ranger since thats where you will have your shoulder if you do handheld.

So I would actually recommend the less costly of them all where you can remove the arri rosettes. https://www.smallrig.com/smallrig-arri-baseplate-for-red-dsmc2-1998.html
 
Hi Björn!

The Ranger base is shorter than the DSMC2, so any plate designed for the brains is going to stick out past the curve of the Ranger, and would cause discomfort operated that way, no?

EDIT: I bought an Arri baseplate for the DSMC2 and had to do a little bit of dremeling to get it to fit, however, it makes a really nice base plate for the Ranger, and adds rear 15mm rod mounting points, as well as symmetrical Arri Rosettes for dual handle bars. Also compatible with all of the Arri mounting options that rental houses have, so have to highly highly recommend it for the Ranger, if you are handy with a Dremel. It is a light weight yet solid and reassuring base plate for setups with bigger lenses and more AKS.
 
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Björn,

I think the Bright Tangerine base plate is a good compromise. The back sticks out just a little bit, but not bad for quick shoulder work.
And it is totally possible to cut or file off that little bit on the operator side if one wanted to.

It allows the camera to stay very minimal and compact. The base plate slides directly onto Arri dovetail.

There is also the option to purchase an additional 15mm rods adapter for the rear of the base plate, if one wanted rods for the back. The ability to mount the rods adapter on either side also allows the user to choose which side the locking mechanism is on.

Typically the camera itself is already complete, so the Bright tangerine keeps everything really compact.

Will see how the locking mechanism holds up. Those parts are very small, and it feels like repeated use on the Arri dovetails could wear it out. TBD.

Everything else seems well though out. Worth a look when considering base plates, especially for the Ranger Gemini.

The black paint matches the Ranger finish better than the pictures suggest.

https://www.brighttangerine.com/store/left-field-15mm-lws-baseplate-for-dsmc2/

EDIT: I have been absolutely loving the Bright Tangerine Baseplate. Highly recommended for anyone looking to slim down the Red Ranger setup. Which is already smaller than a shooting configured Alexa Mini, while also not having loose parts. The unibody makes thing very streamlined.
 
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At the Red user meetup a couple weeks ago, i saw an Arri mount, or 3/8-16, to Arri Rosette adapter for mounting arms to the operator side. Does anyone know what it is or where to buy one? It has an offset so it is even with the AC side Arri rosette.

(See attached image)



EDIT: that part is sold by GDU likely, however, I found that Bright Tangerine makes one too, for $80 or something.
 

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James Sielaff said:
At the Red user meetup a couple weeks ago, i saw an Arri mount, or 3/8-16, to Arri Rosette adapter for mounting arms to the operator side. Does anyone know what it is or where to buy one? It has an offset so it is even with the AC side Arri rosette.

(See attached images)


EDIT: that part is sold by GDU likely, however, I found that Bright Tangerine makes one too, for $80 or something.
Click to expand...


Searching for this option as well for my Ranger Gemini. Can anybody confirm one of those Adaptors fit to the lowest 3/8-16 Mounting point on the operator side of the Ranger? There is not a lot of space and the SSD compartment might get in the way.

https://global-dynamics-united.myshopify.com/products/gdu-rosette-to-3-8-16-adapter
https://www.brighttangerine.com/store/accessory-rosette-mount/
 
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