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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

*** RPP''s & RPZ's FOCUS Re-Markings Professional Service ***

I've looked into the re-marking (adding marks to existing or fabrication of new focus scales) and the cost wouldn't be too bad. However, I am (as always) concerned about stepping on toes over at RED. I am still trying to gain support for lens repair from RED, such as parts and glass, so I really don't want to break any warranties by swapping out focus scales and removing front housings. Any feedback from RED on this issue would be helpful to me and the users. BTW, why do people want to remove the front housing?
 
Matthew Duclos said:
I've looked into the re-marking (adding marks to existing or fabrication of new focus scales) and the cost wouldn't be too bad. However, I am (as always) concerned about stepping on toes over at RED. I am still trying to gain support for lens repair from RED, such as parts and glass, so I really don't want to break any warranties by swapping out focus scales and removing front housings. Any feedback from RED on this issue would be helpful to me and the users. BTW, why do people want to remove the front housing?
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Hey Matt,

RED is okay with you adding Focus Marking to the the lenses but you would have to take over mechanical warranty if there is disassembly involved.

As far as the Hood removal form the 17-50, this "WILL VOID THE WARRANTY" so owner should have do so in the knowledge of this.
 
Correct... we have no problem with Matthew remarking the lenses. If Matt breaks something in the process he buys it :) heh heh heh.

As for the hood the lens doesn't work right if you take the hood off..
 
Jarred Land said:
Correct... we have no problem with Matthew remarking the lenses. If Matt breaks something in the process he buys it :) heh heh heh.

As for the hood the lens doesn't work right if you take the hood off..
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Thanks for confirming this Jarred, much appreciated.
 
Jarred Land said:
Correct... we have no problem with Matthew remarking the lenses. If Matt breaks something in the process he buys it :) heh heh heh.

As for the hood the lens doesn't work right if you take the hood off..
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Haha. I don't break things... I fix the things other people break. ;)
That's what I figured with the front housing. If it's similar to the other RED zooms, the front housing retains the entire focus scale and cam. The only way to get rid of the large front would be to replace it with another part. Not something I would recommend. Thanks for the reply Jarred. BTW... Any update on parts/glass availability?
 
While I agree that the markings on the lenses are somewhat of a problem, there are other and more significant problems causing my set from not being rented as much as I had originally hoped for. Here's what I'm hearing from people:

1) RED got a bad reputation (here at least) with their first two zoom lenses because they were poorly made (mechanically). They need a good service (lube) to work.

2) The RPPs are too big and heavy compared to something like Ultra Primes.

3) They have a weird flare-issue.

4) The markings are off.

5) The markings are oddly spaced.

Most of the people who have rented them have been very happy with them, however. I mostly bought them to shoot with them myself and for that they're absolutely perfect, but I'm not a professional focus puller or DP (as much as I'd love to be one day). I am - however - considering selling them again and buy something else partly because I'm finding it very troublesome that I can't get the lenses serviced locally.
 
OptiTek said:
Helix design being linear in nature limits the flexibility of the spacing. Cam design such as Cooke or, now Leica allows for non linear travel and there fore, optimal use of focus range and mark spacing. This is why Cookes have nicely spaced mid range marks and Leicas took it a little further with actually optimizing the cams to the optical design and making the spacing identical in far to mid range that makes the AC job much more straight forward.
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Very interesting, thanks for explanation.
 
Tony Lorentzen said:
RED got a bad reputation (here at least) with their first two zoom lenses because they were poorly made (mechanically). They need a good service (lube) to work.
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This really is a pity. RED jumped in head first and made a pair of affordable zooms for newcomers to get their hands on. Sure it wasn't the greatest lens ever, but in true RED fashion, they learned really quickly and did a great job with their second go at lens production. The RPP really are a great value in regards to cine primes. Of course they have their drawbacks, but most lenses do. Tony, for your sake, I hope your customers can overlook RED's previous oversights. Looking forward to the next crop of RED lenses.
 
Rome wasn't built in a day, as they say. I find that all the people who use RPP are very satisfied with them. Red's bad reputation regarding lenses is slowly evolving for the better with the RPP. I'd keep them if I were you Tony, I don't think there's anything that comes close to them, not in the same price range.

Matthew, are you going to post something publicly about your remarking services (pricing)?
 
Awesome thread. Matt, now that Jarred has said they have no problem with it, maybe progress can be had on a custom Duclos solution to this?
 
Don't thank me yet, Shawn. Thank Ketch and Mark Pederson for approaching me about it. I'll get the ball rolling again and determine cost and time frame. FYI, it won't be cheap. Keep in mind that RED made many sets of lenses that consisted of a dozen parts each and kept the cost to a minimum. We would be making less than 100 of a part that requires precise calibration. And we keep all of our manufacturing in the US.
 
Before this thread gets out of control, I also have to look into the details of making new scales with more marks and witnesses for each mark which means that the marks must be repeatable and they must be evenly calibrated throughout the production. If the engravings require individual marking and calibration for each lens, we're looking at a cost that is much higher than manufacturing a simple scale with more numbers and lines and simply replacing the existing scale.
 
Matthew Duclos said:
Before this thread gets out of control, I also have to look into the details of making new scales with more marks and witnesses for each mark which means that the marks must be repeatable and they must be evenly calibrated throughout the production. If the engravings require individual marking and calibration for each lens, we're looking at a cost that is much higher than manufacturing a simple scale with more numbers and lines and simply replacing the existing scale.
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Yes first I will be sending in my Lenses to Matt, and give him and his crew in off time to do all the proper work, also to help figure out time frames and work involved to determine Price.

Nonetheless any one serious should Post their interest here, and keep track of this thread.
 
If only it wasn't so damn expensive to ship stuff securely over the "pond" ...
 
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