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RED Cradle, or Zacuto's equivalent?...

Dave Draper

Dave Draper

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Hey guys,

I'm in the process of getting all the bits and bobs I'll need for a future RED One purchase, but was wondering...

Should I get the RED Cradle, or Zacuto's DoubleMount, Red Plate, Switronix Double Battery Mount and Wireless Plate?

The RED Cradle is $750, and Zacuto's equivalent setup is $620, but looks more customizable / modular. Both would work on my current Zacuto rig.

Which would you advise I go for, and why?

M101.
 
I think you will find that Red's cradle is not generally well received. It's big, clunky, and heavy. It serves it's purpose though. Element Technica's speedy clamp mounts should be available really soon, and they seem to be the lightest and most thought out mounts.
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20221
 
I think it all boils down to what you want for your camera - if being as lightweight as possible is important have a look at Element Technica's V-Lock battery mount (& their vibration isolating Red Drive mount looks good too):

http://www.elementtechnica.com/vdock/

If weight isn't such an issue but speed is then the Switronix GP-TS-RED hotswap mount looks great too:

http://switronix.com/product_details.php?cmd=info&id=214

You get the ability to swap batteries without the interminable wait of re-booting and crucially you also get battery info passed to the camera if you're using Red Bricks, so no chance of sudden shut downs. I think they're also working on a version that plugs straight into the Red's power lemo so it might be worth waiting because that could kill two birds with one stone (i.e. reliable battery plates/pins plus hot-swap ability). A lot of Red owners have been having problems with Red's battery plates (inferior pins I think) - apparently Red will be upgrading these parts on all battery plates when the cameras go back for their audio board upgrade. I'd imagine more recent cameras are already shipping with the improved pins but it's worth checking with Red.
 
I don’t often rave about Red accessories as I’m more concerned about suggesting ways for improving a product and Red has been fertile ground in this regards.

But just because it’s designed by a 3rd party company to replace a Red component doesn’t automatically mean its better!

I think the Red Cradle is a very good solution and I prefer it over other solutions I tried.

The improvements for the Red cradle that quickly come to mind are wind nuts instead of hex bolts for cradle mount, larger thumb screws for drive locking and maybe a gel shock mount between the cradle mount bracket and universal mount. See link….
http://www.vibrationmounts.com/Store.asp?Page=Products1.htm

Once Switronix have a Lemo cable instead of using an additional battery mount, it’ll be more worthy of consideration. But unless you really can’t do without two batteries, I can’t see the point of having that additional weight of a second battery because it looks/sounds like a ‘good idea’.

And then you’ve got the problem of mounting the drive.And this often means using something like the ET shock mount.

The ET shock mounts is a great idea for environments with a good degree of vibration but I wouldn’t use it as an everyday device (particularly for hire) as the v-mount isn’t a positive lock device which is okay for batteries but not for media. The v lock male can sit incorrectly skewed in its v-mount mate and then pop out if not locked . The silicon shock mount also makes it harder to feel if you’ve made a positive lock.

Personally I think to solve the red drive problem is to design a light weight close fitting bracket that locks into the drive grooves and uses a positive lock assembly that has fitting for rods or universal mount.

Dave
 
david farland said:

And then you’ve got the problem of mounting the drive.And this often means using something like the ET shock mount.

The ET shock mounts is a great idea for environments with a good degree of vibration but I wouldn’t use it as an everyday device (particularly for hire) as the v-mount isn’t a positive lock device which is okay for batteries but not for media. The v lock male can sit incorrectly skewed in its v-mount mate and then pop out if not locked . The silicon shock mount also makes it harder to feel if you’ve made a positive lock.

Personally I think to solve the red drive problem is to design a light weight close fitting bracket that locks into the drive grooves and uses a positive lock assembly that has fitting for rods or universal mount.

Dave
Click to expand...

I haven't had any troubles with the V-Dock system. So far it has just worked without issue. And I got one for each drive, so I just pop one off, put the other one on. Very quick. No dropped frames.
 
Yep...that's how it's all meant to work!

hiring my equipment out I need idiot proof solutions.
i'm normally an excellent test.
The ET gear is fine, I just think it can improve.

Dave,
 
david farland said:
Yep...that's how it's all meant to work!

hiring my equipment out I need idiot proof solutions.
i'm normally an excellent test.
The ET gear is fine, I just think it can improve.

Dave,
Click to expand...

Fair enough. For me personally, I like the lightweight form factor of the ET mount. Almost adds no weight all all to camera other than the weight of the drive.
 
I did NOT like my Red Cradle. So I cut it apart and mounted the pieces on the rods.

The thing often slipped down and always seemed to cover the rear LCD.

My $.02
 
there's quite a few locations it won't come near the rear display.
I've never had any problems with the mount slipping. do you tighten up the screws with an allen key?
D
 
I very much like the idea of the Switronix Double Battery Mount, and it would mount perfectly to the Zacuto DoubleMount / RED Plate, but I'm not sure about the hard-drive mounting options out there.

For instance, the Zacuto Wireless Plate, suggested for mounting the RED Drive in the photo below, is apparently held on with "super heavy duty Velcro"...

http://www.zacutoimages.com/p457268748/e202d9d7

But is this really going to offer the necessary security for mounting something as fragile as a hard-drive?

M101.
 
There are a view harddrive mounting options out there, including Element Technica's V-lock system and Ugrip's clamping case with rubber gaskets.
 
What about this Velcro shiznit?

Interested to know people's opinions on how they think "Super Heavy Duty Velcro" would fare for hard-drive mounting...

M101.
 
My opinion is only a fool would use it.
Dave,

ps: so where can i buy it!
 
Element for the drive mount all the way... Quick compact modular - it just works. Battery shown here is not element but ET's mount would do pretty much the same thing, they just did not manufacture it yet when we put the camera together.

Quick release top handle is based on some ET parts.

Heat sinks were a joke from a job where we were shooting in Santa Clarita and it was really hot, but I have not seen any heat warning since they got put on so maybe they are helping after all.

10_1226161725.jpg



Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com
 
Zacuto Wireless Plate with Ledge

Zacuto Wireless Plate with Ledge

Just to clarify about the VELCRO. The Zacuto Universal wireless plate has a shelf on the bottom of the wireless plate. The idea was to keep it light and not have to make a different enclosure for every kind of box you want to install on it. Since the unit is sitting on the shelf the industrial velcro (which can hold a person) is just keeping it from falling off of the shelf. It's impossible for anything to come off when mounted on the Universal Wireless Plate. It's actually had to get things off of the Wireless plate once stuck to it.

p450784037-3.jpg
 
how well does the backing adhesive hold up with multiple velco joinings.
D
 
david farland said:
how well does the backing adhesive hold up with multiple velco joinings.
Click to expand...

Good point there, Dave!

Being such a huge fan of Zacuto, I'd like to see them come up with a RED Drive mounting option that isn't likely to induce the heebiejeebies. Plus, I (and I'm sure many others) would snatch one up sooner than you could say "Rubber-Baby-Buggy-Bumpers".

So come on, Steve - Get something in the pipeline! :biggrin:

M101.
 
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