Red One tripod question

[Mo Kamal]

I'm currently in the process of finalizing my red one order, and unfortunately I have to cut a few corners and delay ordering a few accessories.

I know Red recommends an O'connor or tripod rated upto atleast 40 pounds, but I am wondering how flexible this rule is.

I wanna buy a nice O'connor in a few months, but in the mean time do you guys think that my Cartoni focus which is rated upto 22 pounds could be suffucient. I am using Nikons, so no heavy zooms.

Also, how does the Red camera connect to the fluid head? is it the same as your standard DV/HDV like an HVX200 for example? or is the baseplate different?

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

The Cartoni Focus head is a little weak for RED. It will work for very light configurations, but with a RED body, small lens, battery, drive and LCD, you will be at the maximum weight for the Focus head to operate as it should.

For O'Connor heads, the 1030HDS is a good choice if you don't need the tilt range. Otherwise, the 2060HD is perfect for RED, but IMO is a bit big for EFP and field work a lot of times. A good middle-ground head that fits between these two is the Miller Arrow55. Many of us, myself included, are using it and it works very well for the RED One, even with larger lenses. The larger Cartoni Gamma / Delta heads work well too. So do Sachtler, etc..

When picking a tripod system, also be sure to pick a nice set of sticks, not just the head. You want a good set of legs that can handle the weight and not flex, twist or move in any way.

The camera has 3/8" and 1/4" mounting holes on bottom. Two of each. You can mount your tripod plate directly to the camera. If you intend to use bottom mounted rods with the camera, you will need extra hardware. The extra hardware would be an ET Arri base plate with companion Arri-style dovetail plate. Or you will need the RED bottom plate combined with the RED cheese plate or the ALLSTAR dovetail plate. RED's shoulder dovetail that mates with their bottom plate can also be used for tripod-mounting, however it does not provide for a very sturdy mounting solution and can wiggle under motion or vibration.

 

[Ryan Skeete]

Or you will need the RED bottom plate combined with the RED cheese plate or the ALLSTAR dovetail plate.

Jeff,

Why would you need to combine both the cheeseplate and the bottom plate? Can't the bottom plate mount directly to the bottom of the camera and then mounted to a dovetail plate?

Just curious...

 

[ericyoung]

Jeff,

Why would you need to combine both the cheeseplate and the bottom plate? Can't the bottom plate mount directly to the bottom of the camera and then mounted to a dovetail plate?

Just curious...

Because unfortunately the RED bottom plate dovetail cutout is just slightly different from ARRI specification and doesn't fit ARRI compatible dovetails.

Allstar's RED fit dovetail is an alternative RED bottom plate solution.

Personally I've found the current design of RED shoulder mount to be adequately rigid for light to medium lightweight RED configurations, and although not amazingly padded is very low profile for shoulder mounted work.

Note it's possible to mill or sand off the two raised ridges on the top of the RED shoulder mount dovetail so that it will fit into the Element Technica ARRI style bridgeplates as well as the RED Bottom Plate. http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=22867
This is useful for all those of us who have bought the RED Base Production Pack and want to use as much as possible of it!

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Jeff,

Why would you need to combine both the cheeseplate and the bottom plate? Can't the bottom plate mount directly to the bottom of the camera and then mounted to a dovetail plate?

eric already answered, but I figure I will too. The RED bottom plate attaches to the bottom of the camera. It has a center channel for a proprietary RED dovetail design. Currently the only dovetail items on the market that will fit into the bottom plate are RED's shoulder dovetail attachment and the ALLSTAR dovetail. Additionally, the RED cheese plate is designed to fit in there as well, but not using the dovetail mechanism, it is held into place via two bolts and the cheese plate provides a solid mounting surface with many holes for mounting options.

Personally, I recommend getting an Arri baseplate for the camera and a companion ET Arri dovetail. This way, you are pretty much rigged up for industry standard mounting of the camera, whether you're shooting with cine-oriented crew and gear or EFP, etc.. The RED bottom plate and cheese plate (or ALLSTAR plate) works well, but they are non-standard.

Also to the original poster, the ET Arri dovetails will fit into O'Connor tripod heads in place of the sliding "euro-plate", eliminating one more piece of hardware and lowering the center of gravity by half an inch. The 12" and 18" dovetails are an excellent choice for O'Connor 2060 or 2575 owners.

 

[Ryan Skeete]

Jeff + Eric

Thanks for both your replies. I too have been contemplating investing in the Red. All these little tips sure do help.

cheers

 

[Mo Kamal]

Yes, Thank you so much for all the info

Sorry I didn't reply right away, my connection has been down

 

[Mo Kamal]

Jeff Kilgroe: please check your inbox, thx

 

[Michael Koob]

manfrotto/miller

manfrotto/miller

Hi everyone. I'm looking for a tripod, too. I'm running out of money, so I have to buy the cheapest but best tripod/head available. First, I wanted to buy the manfrotto 526 head, capacity 16kg/35ibs. Now I'm a little bit confused. Jeff - you say, the Cartoni Gamma works well, but it has the same capacity as the manfrotto 526 - 35ibs. The Cartoni Delta can handle 22kg/48ibs, almost as much as the Miller Arrow55 or even Sachtler video 20. At the moment I just use Nikon lenses, but I want to be ready for real cine lenses and configuration. The Arrow55 seems to be nice and not as expensive as as Delta, Vinten, sachtler ... with the same capacity. Are you happy with this head? What sticks do you use? There's an Arrow55 system (1726) - do you think that's good? Don't you think the manfrotto 526 head is ok? (it's so much cheaper ). Thanks for your help.

Michael

 

[Rich Schaefer]

Hi everyone. I'm looking for a tripod, too. I'm running out of money, so I have to buy the cheapest but best tripod/head available. First, I wanted to buy the manfrotto 526 head, capacity 16kg/35ibs. Now I'm a little bit confused. Jeff - you say, the Cartoni Gamma works well, but it has the same capacity as the manfrotto 526 - 35ibs. The Cartoni Delta can handle 22kg/48ibs, almost as much as the Miller Arrow55 or even Sachtler video 20. At the moment I just use Nikon lenses, but I want to be ready for real cine lenses and configuration. The Arrow55 seems to be nice and not as expensive as as Delta, Vinten, sachtler ... with the same capacity. Are you happy with this head? What sticks do you use? There's an Arrow55 system (1726) - do you think that's good? Don't you think the manfrotto 526 head is ok? (it's so much cheaper ). Thanks for your help.

Michael

Michael, get yourself a good head! It is second to good glass IMO. I see you are in SE Germany talk to Sachtler. I am sure you know they make great stuff and service will be easy for you.

Maybe a used clean video 18 or 20 will do the job.

Also remember, tripods and heads hold their value and last a long time!!! A good one will outlast your cameras with very little service. I bought an O'Connor 1030 in 1992 with a Beta SP camera. I think maybe I serviced the O'connor once. The Beta SP is DEAD! that same 1030 flys my HD and Red cameras today!


Additionally, keep in mind it will work for any camera in the same weight range!!! (like most HD cameras). Maybe you can get a rental, or you will need it if you buy into another format or if you need to sell it!

Buy good support!

Good Luck,
Prost,
Rich

 

[Celestino Gianotti]

Hi everyone.

I'm looking for a tripode too.

there are somebody have experienced a DEREE chinese head and legs?

Ciao

Celestino