Red E ND PL Mount

[Drew Baird]

I don’t believe these are out in the wild yet, so we will likely need to wait a bit for lens compatibility feedback

 

[Edward Saltau]

Any word on the case that the spare cartridge sits in? I assume there's some kind of case for it... practical thing? Something you can have in your pocket while out in the elements?

 

[Vedran Strelar]

Looks like shipping of the RL - PL eND adapters is delayed. I made my order on the same day it was made available on RED website, however got a message from RED sales rep yesterday that estimated delivery date is early July.

 

[George Nathanson]

Was hoping to see some shutter magic vis-à-vis the old motion mount (Square and Soft shutter options). Thinking about sticking with the Breakthrough DIF mount.

 

[Alex Waugh]

I've just found out the BT DFM works with all the Cooke s4i glass and that's a huge deal for me. I'd prefer an active mount but if the 18mm and 25mm clash with the eND like they do with the Kippertie, i'll probably go Breakthrough.

 

[andrewhake]

Has anyone actually received the Breakthrough DFM yet other than testers? I have kind of been waiting to see some more in use before getting one, but it definitely seems like a great option that isn't quite as expensive as a full E-ND solution. I love the X4 VND in my Canon RF adapter but the DFM mount seems like it still isn't readily available? It looks like BT does finally have them available ready to ship in July.

The BT DTM is just fully passive though so that is one of the big differences in terms of cost.

 

[Vedran Strelar]

I received my RED RF/PL adapter with E-ND yesterday and my initial impressions are:

- I really like the build quality, and locking ring is really smooth and has a good grip. I also own RF-PL adapters from Tilta, Metabones and Kippertie, the one from RED feels on the same level as Metabones which is the one I prefer the most.
- Good news is that the eND and clear cartridges have small protective "pelican" case to keep them stored safely!
- Camera will recognize the mount and eND (I believe only if you have the latest firmware installed) and in the menu you can choose if you want to dial the ND increments in 1/4, 1/3 or full stops. ND values will show in top right corner of the overlay.
- + and - buttons on the eND are well designed, you can definitely feel when you have pressed one of the buttons.
- You can change the ND value with clicking the + or - on the adapter, assigning user buttons on the side of the camera, via SmallHD monitor with Red Control and through the RED app on the phone.
- I did not see any color shifting while using any of the values on the ND, I even tried to put a solid Nisi IRND .9 on top of it to shoot wide open outside and I did not see anything weird happening in terms of IR pollution or color shifts.

I will try to do some tests in next few days with eND and clear filter as well as adding some solid NDs on top of it and will send updates here.

* EDIT * - So it's also possible to change the ND values of the eND via the RED Remote app.
* EDIT 2* - I have mounted the Schneider Xenon FF lenses and DZOFilm Pictor zoom lens and they are both mounting without any issues (Well Schneiders do not have a long protrusion rear element, but I Pictor Zooms have a bit longer rear protrusion depth and good to know no issues with them.)
* EDIT 3* - For some reason now changing ND values via SmallHD with camera control works, before it was not there under ISO settings page/button.

Some useful links:
https://support.red.com/hc/en-us/art...nd-Maintenance
https://support.red.com/hc/en-us/art...-Compatibility

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[Vedran Strelar]

Unscientific test alert!

I did a quick test of how the eND PL mount performs and if there are any noticeable color shifts. In a test here I did a correction of +3 on the tint to add green when CLEAR filter was mounted, and tint is 0 when adding a 2-7 stops cartridge. So its good to know that 2-7 stops ND cartridge add a slight but constant green tint - throughout the range from 2-7 stops, it does not shift.

This test was shot in 8K 17:9 aspect, which on 18mm Schneider FF Xenon lens gives a little bit of vignetting. Important to know, this vignetting is not present here because of the Red RF-PL adapter with eND, it's present as well with all the other RF-PL adapters I have (Tilta, Metabones, Kippertie). These Schneider lenses do not fully cover the VV sensor size, however when I shoot 8K 16:9 aspect ratio, vignette pretty much completely disappears.

 

[Les Hillis]

Thanks for the real world examples.

Don't mean to be 'that guy', but there is a slight visible colour shift with the last 7-stop shot. Some even less noticeable differences between some of the other shots too. Nothing that would prevent anyone from using the eND under most circumstances though, especially if you're not doing side by side A/B shots that might emphsize the differences.

Again, not trying to be a dick or make it seem worse than it really is, but just sharing what I'm actually seeing there. Was curious about it's actual real-world performance, but have never seen test footage from that eND before.

I'd say, with the information from your review, that it's still a good eND option.

Thanks again for that.

 

[Vedran Strelar]

Don't mean to be 'that guy', but there is a slight visible colour shift with the last 7-stop shot. Some even less noticeable differences between some of the other shots too. Nothing that would prevent anyone from using the eND under most circumstances though, especially if you're not doing side by side A/B shots that might emphsize the differences.

You are right, there seems to be a slight shift to magenta on 7-stop. As well, overall exposure on 7th stop was just a bit darker than a stop of light jumping from 6th stop, (while I compensated for one stop with shutter angle, and I am pretty sure ambient light did not change that much - not very controlled environment for this test). Adding green +1 on tint makes it match with rest of the ND values on the last 7-stop shot.

 

[Les Hillis]

Good to know it was easily correctable. Noticed the exposure difference too. The things are meant to be used under variable lighting conditions, so it all seems within spec and fit for purpose to me. Other less convenient means and methods can be used if fussing with even more controlled precision and corrections are needed for some reason.