Redrock microRemote?

[Dean Sam]

I've just received my unit today after waiting patiently for 3 months.

Like the feel of the control knob and the whole controller is solid as a rock.

Will be testing it over the next few days, will try and take some pics of my set up and post what I think of it.

 

[Barry Cheong]

Looks like most people are now receiving their units. I just received mine last week and quickly pieced it together. Have yet to field test it.

I definitely agree with the general consensus on fit and finish on the unit. The whole system seems to be built quite solidly and should hold up very well in the field. The handunit, especially, has a good solid quality feeling in your hand.

The motor is tiny! Far smaller than I thought it would be. I also ordered the fingerwheel option, which seems to work quite well with initial practice and is a nice alternative when you don't need wireless. The unit is responsive. I got a little bit of stair stepping, when going through several walls from my basement, to a room upstairs on the opposite end of the house, which is extreme, but otherwise the unit was responding fine.

My largest complaint would be the dovetail bracket on the motor. I wish it was a little longer. The motor is short and I can see needing extra reach to get to small circumference still lenses. It might just be where I was rigging it in my initial test (Canon 5D, 24-105 on an Letus MCS rig, rigged top rods). This shouldn't be a problem with larger cine lenses. Perhaps they will offer something in the future, with maybe a 19mm mount option also.

Also, the design of their tightening knobs (which is right across all their products) requires a good amount of reefing down (vs other manufacturers knobs) to make sure it's absolutely tight. You also need a screwdriver to remove a backplate on the handunit to change the 2x AA batteries, which can be inconvenient in the field, though a minor detail. Lastly the unit does not ship with any literature/manual which is odd. It's fairly intuitive if you've worked with other units before, but details like changing the torque on the motor aren't apparent at all. Their support team did send me a PDF link once I inquired about it.

Also, a heads up that the unit does not ship with a marking disc. I ordered a "2nd" one thinking I would get an extra but was told that's not the case. They do give you a foam insert which is nice!

Overall good first impressions, and I'm looking forward to working with it in the field. Really impressed with what they've been able to deliver at this price point.

 

[Tim Morten]

My largest complaint would be the dovetail bracket on the motor. I wish it was a little longer. The motor is short and I can see needing extra reach to get to small circumference still lenses. It might just be where I was rigging it in my initial test (Canon 5D, 24-105 on an Letus MCS rig, rigged top rods). This shouldn't be a problem with larger cine lenses. Perhaps they will offer something in the future, with maybe a 19mm mount option also.

I found that I could slide the 15mm out (after loosening it) and turn it upside down to get more reach.

Also, a heads up that the unit does not ship with a marking disc. I ordered a "2nd" one thinking I would get an extra but was told that's not the case. They do give you a foam insert which is nice!

Interesting... my unit included one marking disc. Maybe this was an oversight?

 

[Barry Cheong]

I found that I could slide the 15mm out (after loosening it) and turn it upside down to get more reach.

Thanks Tim! Will have to try that mounting option.

Interesting... my unit included one marking disc. Maybe this was an oversight?

So you didn't pay anything extra or have to add it as an accessory?

 

[Loren Simons]

Barry,

Please contact support and let them know about your marking disc, or lack of one. The unit does ship with one standard. Also, as Tim pointed out the motors clamp is designed to be reversed when needed, fitting both large lenses and smaller ones. I always try to make sure that the motor clamp is in the position that allows for the most contact between the motor and the clamp itself.

 

[Barry Cheong]

Barry,

Please contact support and let them know about your marking disc, or lack of one. The unit does ship with one standard. Also, as Tim pointed out the motors clamp is designed to be reversed when needed, fitting both large lenses and smaller ones. I always try to make sure that the motor clamp is in the position that allows for the most contact between the motor and the clamp itself.

Thanks Loren! I've contacted Support, explaining my thought that one was included and that I was expecting a 2nd one when adding one to the overall order, but they maintain I should have received only one. Perhaps I will quote them to this page?

 

[Loren Simons]

Barry,

Shoot me a PM with your sales order number in it and I'll take a look at it personally. Include your support case number as well if you could.

 

[Ryan Chapman]

Alright guys.. RT Motion MK3 vs Redrock micro remote. Anyone used both? Right now they are looking pretty similar for price point and wait times.

 

[Tim Morten]

Haven't used the RT Motion, but before I made my deposit on the RedRock, I looked hard at the specs.

The fact that I only need one motor, and my interest in the integrated microTape/microRemote/touchscreen is what swayed me towards RedRock. For multiple motor applications, RT Motion seems to have a leg up.

 

[Dean Sam]

I did own the RT Motion MK2, between that and the MicroRemote. MicroRemote to me is better.

The Mk3 looks pretty good though. Interesting to find out how the two compares.

 

[Ryan Chapman]

Cool, thanks for the input. I was kind of hoping that based on the price/functionality that you get from.the redrock.

Any word on when you'll be taking more orders, Loren?

 

[Dean Sam]

Hooked up the RedRock at the rental house two days ago.

It was easy to use and configure, I had a dogbone at hand, hooking it up to 19mm rods wasn't an issue.

Auto and manual calibration was a breeze. Motor is really small, tested it with Arri Ultra Primes and CP2s, it drove both types of lenses easily.

I did notice at very slow racks, there was "stepping" or "jittering", probably due to the resolution of the the unit ? Tried playing with the different torque levels. No difference.

For normal use, it was smooth and accurate. I do like the feel of the control knob, has a nice resistance to it.

A nice system at a very reasonable price. Well done RedRock.

Wish List:

1. I do hope that RedRock will come out with a 19mm mount for the motor.

2. Better resolution for the motor for smoother slow racks. Via a firmware update ?

3. Please release the Arri Alexa, Red Epic/Scarlet Run/Stop cables soon. Really need em !

 

[kevin holmgren]

Just started researching a new follow focus for my scarlet. Been just pulling by hand. There are units from 300 - 3000 bucks, of course materials and build quality are key, but listened to the guys from the RC podcast talk to the guy that designed it got me thinking of just paying the big bucks for a remote follow focus like this. I geuss it would be nice to see what the minimium cost would be to get the equivelent of a normal FF, and then what each step up would cost till I have a full remote control follow focus with the rangefinder. And I am really looking forward to figuring out how to use this on a crane or steaycam...

On what level does this interact with the Reds? just start stop or more?

Anyone know if Red is working on a FF solution, or the Middlzler module do anything remote focus on still lenses (which budgets has constrained me to...)

Anyone else have any novel ideas how to use this tech to tell better stories?

Thanks!

 

[Loren Simons]

Ryan,

We're looking at mid-October for reopening orders of the microRemote.

Dean,

I'm glad you had a good first impression. The calibration processes are really simple, gotta love that. I didn't notice any stepping when we went down to a set and had them use the remote on their set of ultra primes, we dialed down the torque a bit and it worked really nicely. Drop me an line if you want to talk a bit more about that

Kevin,

The microRemote has the ability to start/stop for a range of cameras, more to come on that later. In regards to your "start small build up" plan, that's sort of the idea that all Redrock gear was built on. You can start with the fingerwheel setup when you're operating yourself, and then rent or buy a wireless handheld unit for when you need an AC. The gear's designed to grow with you.

 

[Kyle Gentz]

Ryan,

We're looking at mid-October for reopening orders of the microRemote.

Dean,

I'm glad you had a good first impression. The calibration processes are really simple, gotta love that. I didn't notice any stepping when we went down to a set and had them use the remote on their set of ultra primes, we dialed down the torque a bit and it worked really nicely. Drop me an line if you want to talk a bit more about that

Kevin,

The microRemote has the ability to start/stop for a range of cameras, more to come on that later. In regards to your "start small build up" plan, that's sort of the idea that all Redrock gear was built on. You can start with the fingerwheel setup when you're operating yourself, and then rent or buy a wireless handheld unit for when you need an AC. The gear's designed to grow with you.

Mid october is approaching.....

 

[Trevor Meeks]

Got this email from Redrock today, as I was on the original reservation list. A funny thing... I never got a message from their first run of orders, but whatever.

You are receiving this email because you are on our microRemote reservation list.

We are writing to let you know the microRemote will be available for purchase exclusively to reservation holders for a limited time before going on sale to the general public.

Orders can be placed on Monday October 15th, 2012 starting at 9:00 a.m. and ending no later than 5:00 p.m, all times pacific standard time. Due to demand, the microRemote is still limited in availability, so orders are handled in a first come, first served basis. Should we run out of available inventory the early reservation purchase program will end, so make sure to get your order in early!

This insinuates that the original reservation/wait list will get a shot at ordering before the general public does... but no date for when the the general public can order.

Just a heads up for those of you who aren't on the list... who knows how long you will wait (again!)

 

[Ryan Chapman]

Got this email from Redrock today, as I was on the original reservation list. A funny thing... I never got a message from their first run of orders, but whatever.



This insinuates that the original reservation/wait list will get a shot at ordering before the general public does... but no date for when the the general public can order.

Just a heads up for those of you who aren't on the list... who knows how long you will wait (again!)

Any updates on how this is going?

 

[Brent J. Craig]

Are there any Microremote owners out there who can give me an idea how the resolution of this device compares to Arri and Preston's wireless?

I work on high end commercials, and need very precise lens control. I'm often pulling within the width of the witness mark, and scale down the Preston to handle these minute adjustments.

Is the MicroRemote up to this level of accuracy?

Redrock sales had no idea what I meant by "resolution" and when I explained it in 5-year-old language, they said the info was proprietary and they couldn't tell me.

For a device that you can't test before buying, and can't return without a restocking fee, I would hope for some real-world feedback on resolution, repeatability, responsiveness and reliability.

Can I pop on a 180mm lens and expect to be able to smoothly pull focus between an eyeball, eyelashes, and eyelids with no stepping or lag???

Anyone?

 

[Loren Simons]

Hey Guys,

Update on shipping. We did re-open sales in mid-october one last time to reservation holders before going ga, and it sold out. The good news is the next sale will be for general availability, working on that now.

Brent,

The remote is being used on a network television production right now, and it's been working very nicely for them with their Arri Ultra Primes. There are features like torque adjustment for finer focus, and the ability to bracket your lens to get a longer throw on your controller where need be. I would suggest trying the system first before you buy it, but I expect as more users receive them you'll be hearing more and more about it.

 

[Trevor Meeks]

Hmmm still not a very solid answer on resolution. You guys can't provide any numbers? Just about every other wireless FF manufacturer can.