RED DSMC Motion Mount Questions

[Mike Krumlauf]

I bought a Red DSMC Motion Mount EF for my EPIC MX and for whatever reason, I'm not able to get it working with my camera and I have a question...

Upon reading the manual for the mount, it says when the mount is in use the blue glass in the back turns yellow.. my mount is not doing this, its staying blue which is making the mount unusable. Now, I am using a Nikon 17-35 F2.8 with an EF adapter currently.. this lens does not have any electronic pins making contact with the mount, I know this is probably a stupid idea but, in order for that glass to change to its proper yellow while in use, do I need to be using an EF mount lens that has electronic pins in the back making contact with the mount? Does the motion mount not work with "dumb" lenses?

I'm really trying to figure out my issue so I don't have to return this next week. I was really looking forward to using the Global Shutter and Internal ND for things.

Thanks for all help in advance

 

[Mike Krumlauf]

I'm seriously taken back that NONE OF YOU have an answer for this given how much I know the motion mount has/was used.

 

[Les Hillis]

I don't think a hell of a lot of people did actually buy them, even when they were new. And so of course there would have been even less people than that having to deal with the things not working properly. Combine that with the general fall-off of traffic here and it makes sense that you might not get an answer at all to your question from one of those people who might actually have an answer.

Not trying to down-talk the Motion-Mounts altogether, but they were never a perfect, no compromise, must-have item for most people, imo. For me personally, I just never found the cost/benefit ratio high enough in their favour to get one when they were new, so I can actually understand their appeal now when they're cheaper.

If I were in your situation I'd just check to make sure the mount is compatible with whatever camera firmware you've got installed, check the mount's functionality with other lenses, then just return it if it still wasn't activating.

If you still really want to explore the Global Shutter and Internal ND features you could get another copy of the mount, perhaps from someone who actually used the thing and could help you trouble-shoot any issues you might have with it.

Sorry I can't recall any more helpful info about them.

 

[Anthony Berenato Jr]

Hey Mike, almost everyone chats in the Facebook REDUSER group now. This forum still has its highlights, but you'd probably get a better response there.

I don't have much information about the Motion Mount, and I've only ever had to use one once... but that was probably 5-7 years ago now. My biggest questions would be:

1. Is your firmware on your camera all the way up to date? Looks like the latest version is 6.3.106.

2. Are the contact pins on the back of the motion mount touching the contact pins on the camera body, or is the mount turned the wrong way?

The lensing shouldn't make any difference since the Motion Mount interfaces with the camera directly. So, either the Motion Mount is having a hard time making connection or the camera is. Either could be hardware or software, but I'd probably check your firmware first.

 

[Les Hillis]

Sometimes getting the peripherals, including the RED accessories, to be fully functional and recognized by the camera body also requires going through the 'Camera/Add-ons Update' (or whatever it's called) section in the camera menu. Can even require resetting all settings to default and rebooting etc.

 

[Mike Krumlauf]

Thanks guys. I think for what this thing cost me, im going to send it back for a refund while I still can.

 

[Tom Hanmer]

Hi Mike
Have just put mine back onto my epic to check for you. Not sure if the colour of the glass is changing but can confirm that it works fine with a dumb lens. Put a Leica r 21-35 on to check. Currently on build 6.3.104. The camera upgraded the accessory automatically when I turned it on and then I had to reboot. I'm sure you've got it the right way round but maybe worth checking.

 

[Tom Hanmer]

Just to add, this was a great accessory for my epic, really sped up my workflow when run and gunning and the precision was great. I did find it changed the look of the camera slightly but in my opinion in a good way. Has never worked on my DSMC2 though.

 

[Mike Krumlauf]

Hi Mike
Have just put mine back onto my epic to check for you. Not sure if the colour of the glass is changing but can confirm that it works fine with a dumb lens. Put a Leica r 21-35 on to check. Currently on build 6.3.104. The camera upgraded the accessory automatically when I turned it on and then I had to reboot. I'm sure you've got it the right way round but maybe worth checking.

Thanks for checking. I ended up sending it out to return today.

 

[Blair S. Paulsen]

At this point, I have to wonder if the electronic shutter (typically referred to as a global shutter, which is not exactly the same thing) can be tailored to do much of what the motion mount does. For a bit of context, the motion mount was developed in part to provide the ability to vary shutter characteristics beyond just serving as a variable ND solution. Based to some extent on the Tessive Time Filter, it can produce a sine wave shutter characteristic that eliminates most temporal aliasing (at least perceptually).
I do not know the specifics of how the electronic shutter on the new sensors operates. If it can be done, a sine wave shutter characteristic option would be incredible.

Cheers - #19